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Rappahannock Newi Staff Writer
Soft morning light filters between the lace and chintz into the silent dining room of Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Flint Hill. The tables await the noontime gathering of hungry patrons.
Though, inside the two kitchens, the clang of pots and pans muffles the silence as staff begins early morning preparation of such fine dishes as zucchini and basil phyllo triangles with pine nuts, crab cakes oriental with spicy sweet and sour sauce served with sesame noodles, Tuscan chicken, chocolate mousse marquis with mint creme anglaise or plum crisp with ginger ice cream.
Perfect American cuisine is what eating is all about at Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Flint Hill. Such perfection is not accomplished without detailed precision.
This precision comes from hours upon hours of planning and preparation by chefs and proprietors Heidi Morf and Vinnie DeLuise.
“It’s just American cuisine,” co-partner DeLuise says with modesty of the menu, which includes a selection of several entree like chicken, beef, vegetarian entrees and seafood. The menu changes every three weeks.
Everything on the menu, from a broccoli, bacon and cheddar cheese omelet to grilled grouper with pineapple mango salsa to sour cherry and chocolate spice cake with whipped cream, is created and prepared by Ms. Morf and Mr. DeLuise and their kitchen staff of six.
Prices range from $5.75 for a Sunday brunch and luncheon selections to $16.95 for grilled beef tenderloin with tomato aioli served on shoestring potatoes for dinner.
Mr. DeLuise’s arm, steadly slicing meat for lunch sandwiches, never falters as he speakes. “We do some ethnic food but it’s basically American fine dining,” he adds with modesty. “We try to serve fine food and keep the prices down,” he said.
Inside the tiny restaurant, the tables, capable of seating 52 on the main floor, cozy together between fine antiques and the swish of ceiling fans. The room, dating back before its eating establishment days to mercantile days as a general store, contrasts its somewhat Victorian atomsphere with the downstairs arrangement, comfortably dressed in a more rustic motif with its stone bar and red trim.
“I think it is a dream of people who work in a restaurant of owning one,” Vinnie said as he sliced meats for the luncheon menu. “I never thought it was financially possible,” he said.
With help from The Fauquier National Bank, Mr. DeLuise’s and Ms.
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