Brunch at the Dodger
- Ashley Branch
- Dec 1, 2015
- 3 min read
Back on the mission to find stellar brunch, I used Harrisonburg’s Taste of Downtown to find another good spot: the Artful Dodger.
For the past 5 years, Harrisonburg has invited businesses to participate in special offers twice a year during Taste of Downtown. This past week, 25 businesses participated for breakfast, lunch, dinner, drink, and most importantly, brunch specials. I decided to use this opportunity to try brunch at a downtown Harrisonburg staple, the Artful Dodger, affectionately known as “the Dodger” to regulars.
Now, I do visit the Dodger quite frequently, but not when the sun is up- it’s a café by day and the only good place to dance at night, so I was very excited to see how the food held up to the bar experience.
In addition to their regular brunch menu, there were three special offers for the Taste of Downtown event for just $6, and only $9 if you wanted a boozy drink with your brunch- this in itself is exciting just for the sheer fact that it was a bargain. My experience only got better.
A great thing about being at there for the café hours is that there is more light, so you can see the artwork from local artists all on the wall, as well as the many eclectic decorations that are hidden all around- wonky lamps, an old fashioned vending machine, and retro radios are all lined up against the wall and around the bar counter. Every customer held a different mug; they were all mismatched but still looked like they belonged to the same eclectic set.
There were three entrees offered as part of the downtown event: chicken and waffles, steak and eggs, and corncakes with vegetables. I chose the Chicken and waffles. But this is just the beginning- the specials were more gourmet, more complicated; I didn’t get just any chicken and waffles. I got an espresso waffle, with juicy, fried chicken, topped with a honey-sirracha sauce, with a side salad of fresh greens, hard-egg, bacon, feta cheese and a house-made red wine vinaigrette. I had a spiced Nutella coffee to drink, with dashes of cinnamon, smoked paprika, dark chili powder, cayenne, raw sugar cane and espresso.
Perhaps my favorite thing was the simplest at all, a terra cotta pot of tots- say that three times fast. It was an actual flower pot full of perfectly crisped tater tots. It was served with a delicious aioli dip. It was exactly the quirky, homey kind of thing that suits the Dodger so well.
Something that really stood out to me is that these are not your typical breakfast food combinations. This is brunch- the perfect mix of breakfast and lunch- and the dodger creates the very best balance of the two, not just serving breakfast foods into the late afternoon.
There was a live performer singing throughout the meal, which was something you don’t typically experience at brunch. The staff was especially helpful in explaining what the combos were, and giving great advice on trying to pick between all the options. I left feeling that I will be recognized when I go back, and that is half of the experience there. I will return soon, and I encourage all who have yet to give it a try to go see what it’s about- you won’t be sorry.
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