I’ve got 3 words for you: Sally’s Middle Name. The next 4 words for you are: Must have dinner series.
What does this mean? It means Sally’s Middle Name has launched an incredible 6-course themed dinner series and it’s something definitely not to miss!
My first exposure to this restaurant was through the Co-Owner Aphra. She, other than being a modern day super woman, shines when she talks about her restaurant. I could clearly see she has put her heart into the restaurant and I know with passion magical things can be done. My question to myself was, was this passion portrayed into the food? To answer that I took part in one of their dinner series with a set 6 course menu.
To make a long-story short, Sally’s Middle Name truly succeeded in embodying Aphra’s passion from the taste of the food, ambiance, to the service of the restaurant. Now, join me as I give you the tour of the 6-course menu with the theme of corn. (note that they change the theme every dinner series, next one coming up is Cheese and will be on October 10).
As a teaser to the 6-course meal and perhaps to break the ice with the people on the table (you share the table with other guests to make it more of a communal gathering), we started out with popcorn. The popcorn was cooked with beef tallow, making this popcorn a great appetite opener.
1st course: Corn Gazpacho with tomatoes and corn from Northern Neck Fresh, peppers and cucumbers from Earth N Eats finished with olive oil and sherry vinegar. The Corn Gazpacho was personally my least favorite item on the menu. The flavors were very mild and left the plate half full as I was hoping to save space for only the good stuff. So I waited for course number 2.
2nd course: Fried Oysters with corn relish, corn from Northern Neck Fresh, homemade “ranch” dressing, dairy from Trickling Springs Dairy. The oysters were exploding with flavors and I had to control myself from asking for another round!
3rd course: Corn & Watermelon Salad. The house-fermented jalapenos and watermelon are from Northern Neck Fresh. The dish was grated bottarga micro basil from Earth N Eats. It was a great refreshing mid-course dish. 
4th course: “Creamed Corn”. The corn was from Northern Neck Fresh, lightly sautéed in butter, fresh burrata, cippolini onions from Earth N Eats, pickled with apple cider vinegar, celery confit with garlic, bay leaves, arbol chilis, thyme.
5th course: Pennsylvania Chicken. Chickens from Earth N Eats, brined with mint and sage, stuffing cornbread, modified sweet corn bread recipe with chicken gizzards, hearts, liver (gotta use the whole animal!).
6th course: Peach & caramel upside down cake.
Since I’m gluten-free I opted with the corn ice cream. This was by far the best ice cream I have tried in my life. Who would have known that corn would taste this good in ice cream? I loved it so much I asked to come back another day for it but unfortunately it was a special treat only for the dinner series.
Fast forward 6 courses later we were all happily stuffed, satisfied and planning our next visit back. The next dinner series will be on October 10th and you can reserve your spot right here: https://nvite.com/DinnerAtSallys/l2rz4w