By the Gastronomes
Are you all ready for an adventure? Do you like a really great burger, amazing fries and an ice-cold beer with a good salad tossed into the mix? Maybe listening to some good local music on a Friday or Saturday night? How about meeting some Blue Ridge locals at a funky throwback bar and restaurant that reeks with character? The Horseshoe Curve Restaurant is the place to be!
Located in the Blue Ridge close to the small berg of Bluemont, VA, the Horseshoe is nestled in the heart of a legitimate “horseshoe” curve on Pine Grove Road right off of Route 7. There isn’t any real signage so you have to get your bearings before you head out.
We have been roaming around this area of the Commonwealth for well over 30 years visiting several of the wineries and small towns in the area and can’t believe we didn’t know about the Horseshoe until friends of ours told us about it a couple of months ago. On our latest trek to visit Twin Oaks Tavern Winery on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon, it dawned on us that we had to be close to Horseshoe. Good old Google maps indicated that the distance between the winery and the restaurant was a two minute…yes minute…drive. Who knew?
As we made our way around Horseshoe Curve, there it was on the left side of the road. There were only a couple of vehicles in the parking lot. At first, we thought maybe it was closed but we were there for lunch and it was just after noon. They had just opened and we were their first customers of the day. We weren’t alone for very long as diners started drifting in as the afternoon went along.
I come from a small town (pop. 266) and this bar is very reminiscent of my dad’s “Saloon” so I felt right at home. The space is small in one sense but large in others. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words” so I will leave the photos to do just that. You should get a good idea of what to expect from them.
The Horseshoe has been in the same family since 1946 and is approaching its 80th anniversary. Quite a feat for a small business in this day and age. As we walked in, we were greeted by a very friendly face and warm welcome from Tracee Wink. Tracee inherited the restaurant from her grandfather and operates it with her husband of 30 years, Jim Wink. He is a very spry 80+ year old and has all sorts of stories to tell. He greeted us with three jokes and one of his favorite quotes “We don’t serve women here…you have to bring your own!” Cue the drum roll – parumpump!
As would be expected the menu is very simple and straight forward – the aforementioned burgers including a ‘veggy’ version, a selection of sandwiches including haddock, chicken (grilled and fried), ham & Swiss, cold roast beef and a ribeye steak sandwich. Prices range from $8.75 to $12.75. Sides are sold separately ranging from Rte 11 chips, the fries and beer battered onion rings. On the side’s menu, there are also several appetizers the likes of fried pickles to chicken wings and all of other usual suspects. The dinner choices were limited to the fried shrimp and fish and chips while were there. Tracee said the price point on the beef for the hot roast beef dinner just didn’t make it viable to serve right now. Probably the highlight of the menu (besides the burgers) is Tracee’s Special Salad. They are made daily with the best available produce and may be topped with a protein of your choice. They come in three sizes with the small plate at $8.25, medium $12.25 and dinner size $16.25. You have a choice of dressings including their house special balsamic vinaigrette. The next time we are there, I am going to check out the salad. We both just had to have the burgers on this trip and they lived up to their reputation. We split a side of fries and still had to bring some home.
The Horseshoe is a beer and wine only establishment but they serve a good variety of hard ciders and hard seltzers as well as a pretty decent wine list all with excellent price points for both by the glass and by the bottle. They offer several soft drink options and coffee, tea, etc.
While we were there on a Saturday, we weren’t able to stay for the live music that night but several people commented on how good the musicians are that play here on a regular basis. We were told that they feature Country Music on the second Thursdays and they host the very popular Horseshoe Curve Monthly Blues Jam on the last Thursday of the month. Check out their Facebook page for details on the upcoming entertainment.
While the Horseshoe experience isn’t for everybody, it has a pretty good-sized regular following. They picked up two more with us. This will be a definitely be a regular stop when we are in Clarke County.
Horseshoe Curve Restaurant
1164 Pine Grove Road
Bluemont, VA
540-554-8291
