Homeplace Restaurant

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My fiance, who is originally from Salem, took me here the first time I came to visit him. Right away I was totally blown away by the incredible views and the absolute charm of the Homeplace. The staff was friendly and the food was really great. Definite southern style cooking! And you can get as much as you want!

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Homeplace Restaurant is a shining gem in the beautiful mountains of Southwestern Virginia that I would recommend to anyone. My recent experience was with a group of teenage boys returning to Northern Va after spending a weekend at Radford University for a Virginia DeMolay conference. We had no reservation yet our party of 17 was eating within 30 minutes of our arrival on what was a busy Sunday afternoon. The food was delicious and the atmosphere provided the perfect opportunity for our large group to reflect on our weekend and enjoy some Sunday afternoon fellowship. The Homeplace is a dining event; the comfort food equivalent of a great Japanese steak house. I challenge anyone to dine at the Homeplace and walk out without a smile on your face and a hand on your belly.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Homeplace is a fantastic, wonderful reminder of comfort food in all its' glory. If you grew up in the South, Sunday Dinner was always an event. The larger the extended family, the better. That is the expression of the Homeplace. As so many have said, it's like going to Grandma's house for Sunday 'Dinner', only you don't get fussed at if you get your britches dirty playing in the yard while you wait for the meal.

The premise is this - you wait a good while to be seated, but you enjoy the view, and if you're smart, you decompress. About the time you think you could fall asleep in a porch swing or rocker, they take you inside of a typical old farm house. You're seated, a friendly waitress tells you the deal - you get all you want to eat of everything for one price. Your only choices are if you want two entrees (meats) or three, and what you want to drink. Oh, and if you have enough room left for dessert. Otherwise, that is it.

The wait staff is pleasant, once you're inside, the time goes quickly, you are NEVER rushed, and the food is comfort food. You choose from Fried Chicken (virtually a MUST) and roast beef or country ham.

Let me stop here - if you don't know what country ham is, do NOT complain that it is 'too salty'. That is what country ham is all about - salt cured. Sliced almost paper thin, cooked right (they slice & cook it properly here), it is a delicacy. It's not sweet, and it's not as fatty as 'city' ham, which is sugar cured. It is what it is, and if you refuse to try it because it is 'salty', you're the one missing out. You don't hear me complaining that a true Philly Cheesesteak is greasy, do you? Or that a deli sandwich from Katz's is a heart attack waiting to happen? Or that a slider is a gutbomb? So open your mind, and try something different. As for the saltiness? Remember that the next time you eat french fries, be sure to add NO salt to them, okay? Or potato chips? Don't eat them, they're 'too salty'. Sigh... Come on, live a little...

Back to the bliss of the Homeplace. You get a ton of sides - mashed potatoes cooked just right, milk gravy, green beans, pinto beans (we always called them soup beans), corn cut off the cob, cole slaw, sliced apples, and wonderfully fluffy biscuits. And they bring more, as long as you empty the bowl on the table, you can have more.

About the time you are ready to burst, they ask you about dessert. Oh, snap! I forgot about dessert! It's typically cobbler from the fruit in season (apple, peach, berry, etc.) and vanilla ice cream if you really want to die happy and bloated. So, of course you go for it all. Unless you have a doctor's appointment the next day, and you only ask for decaf coffee instead.

The prices are reasonable, the food is delicious, the scenery is as pretty and relaxing as you can get outside of some island paradise. Go, relax, forget about the wait and focus on the pleasantness of the day, and eat way more than you should. These kind of places are rare, and special.


To paraphrase the scene from 'Field Of Dreams' -

"Is this Heaven?..."

"No. It's the Homeplace..."

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