The Black Twig quenches thirsts and fills tummies — at wildly reasonable prices
The black twig apple tree is an old Tennessee variety introduced around 1830 as a seedling on the farm of Major Rankin Toole. It was said, the black twig tree produced Andrew Jackson's favorite apple. It is the ultimate in a tart apple; ne for fresh eating with tannic acid which adds body to cider.
The Black Twig is also the name of Daniel Gleason’s new Sperryville restaurant, the former Headmaster’s Pub, which o cially opened last Saturday. Gleason always wanted a brick and mortar, family-style restaurant and he’s excited to have a more stable place to cook outside of a food truck.
“We’ve always been sort of patiently waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. And this is very much the right opportunity,” he said. “It’s right here in our backyard. We know the area, the community really well now. We’ve been here for 5 years.”
Dan is an excellent chef, indeed his Sumac Food Truck that parks outside Sperryville’s Pen Druid brewery was recently named by Washingtonian magazine the 25th-best “restaurant” in the D.C. area, a rst for the food truck.
The new restaurant o ers a southern-style diner and bar. Among its o erings: diner burgers, fried cat sh, hush puppies, mac and cheese, Pimento cheese and Texas sheet cake.
Indeed, the food is already quite a hit — and the prices are wildly reasonable.
The “smashburger” for example is $8. The smashburger idea is the complete antithesis of the typical medium-rare, meat-heavy patties delivered on home grills, in bars, restaurants and fast food joints across the country. Instead of letting a big, fat burger lay on the grill to cook, you add the burger meat to a piping hot skillet or griddle and smash it as it cooks for the rst few seconds. The heat-pluspressure combo results in a crispy textured, well-browned burger that cooks in moments.
Dan has future plans for the huge room, formerly Headmaster’s game room, that now houses tables, a pool table and jukebox. Indeed, he hopes to add entertainment, such as band music and dancing, possibly line dancing.
Rappahannock is thirsty for such a venue. What a wonderful way to provide a social outlet to residents, weekend dancing, great food and comradery.