The Black Hen & Bar Blue — Restaurant in Blacksburg

I can't believe this is the same restaurant where some years ago I had the best pork chop of my life. Try to think of how many pork chops you've ever had. Really, ever. Then consider how delicious - how generously portioned, juicy, well prepared, well seasoned - one pork chop must be to not only be the best you've ever had, but to still, years later, conjure happy memories. That was The Black Hen.

Was, apparently.

Here's the rundown of my barely passable, too-expensive dinner last night.

My lamb "chops" (misleading, given that you are served a single t-bone chop) was adequately seasoned and correctly prepared to temperature, but was maybe half an inch thick. Puny, given the $35 price tag. Seven to ten bites and suddenly you're circling the edges of the bare bones, hoping that you somehow missed a spot. They skimped big time on the mint chimichurri, too, treating it more like a perfunctory parsley garnish rather than a complement to the lamb. It's lamb! Make with the mint!

The demiglace on my wife's sparsely seasoned filet tasted like soy sauce and cornstarch.

Our sides? Atrocious. Aggressively bad. Green beans overcooked so terribly that sending them out from the kitchen almost seemed like a gesture of hostility. I didn't eat them. Roasted potatoes reminiscent of the kind usually found drying out in the far corner of a chafing dish toward the end of some lame Mother's Day brunch. I ate half of them, but it was a chore. Here is the apparent recipe for my wife's broccoli: 1: Steam. 2: Transfer to plate without seasoning, finishing under the broiler or in the oven, finishing in beurre fondue, finishing with grated cheese, nothing, nada, zip, don't even think about it. 3: Serve. And I've had better mashed potatoes in a military-grade MRE, if for no other reason than the MRE at least came with salt and pepper.

The fried oysters appetizer was okay. The tempura batter got soggy in a few spots, though, and the spicy dipping sauce lacked enough kick to balance the oysters' potent briny fishiness. And serving the oysters on a little bed of scattered baby spinach leaves was weirdly depressing. You know? Like the spinach deserved better. (EDIT, WEEKS LATER: I should have put two and two together sooner, given how obvious it was: Of course the tempura batter got soggy. Hot-out-of-the-fryer battered oysters are deposited onto bed of raw spinach leaves, leaves in turn release water upon contact with hot batter, water in turn dampens batter. The spinach DID deserve better! Revenge of the garnish!)

Cocktail-wise we fared the best, but still not satisfyingly. The wife got a "pain killer," which was rummy and citrusy and very tasty. I, however, ordered a gin martini that arrived in an itty bitty cocktail glass that was much closer to an aperitif glass in terms of volume. Between two and three ounces of liquid, tops. It was a terrific martini, no debating that. A real shame that it cost 12 bucks, though. I had to order two to feel like I had drank one.

A shared appetizer, three (two, really) cocktails, two entrees. $170 total, after tip. I walked in last night with memories of that luxurious heritage pork chop of years back. I walked out still hungry, and sober as a nun. This restaurant is a testament to why, when one consults Google reviews, to read reviews starting with the most recent. The Black Hen ought to be, and at some point kind of was, a centerpiece of the community, especially given Blacksburg's philistine indifference to fine dining. I'm sad to see it reduced to such mediocre offerings.

The out-of-date menu currently posted to The Black Hen's website shows that they have indeed been lowering prices. (Our $35 entrees used to each retail for $38.) They are nevertheless still not close that elusive intersection of quality and value. Want a delicious, thoughtfully prepared menu at prices that won't make you feel like you got taken advantage of? Head up Main Street a couple of blocks to 622 North, which is exactly where honey and I went for a fine nightcap after giddily inhaling a funnel cake over at...

An Absolute Disaster! Had reservations for Valentines Day with my wife and another couple. We arrived, were seated but, had no idea this was "Cafeteria" seating. Nevertheless, we were given menus to make our selections. Did not recognize any of the drinks on the menu and, if you wanted wine, only three selections were available by the glass, everything else, you had to purchase a bottle. We made our selection with no idea what we would receive...at the same time that we ordered drinks, we ordered appetizers. Then...we waited and waited and waited...the server never returned. We were sitting at a table where one side was a shared, long bench seat and the opposing side were chairs. At the 60 minute mark, an elder couple sat down beside us and then approximately 5-10 minutes later, a younger couple joined them. In the course of events because...there were people at the door waiting to be seated and these folks bypassed them and were seated. Okay...then, almost immediately, they received appetizers! By that point, we had been there 1 hour and 20 minutes, our server was AWOL, no appetizers, nothing. Then I saw her chatting at another table in the middle of the cafeteria, I stood up and politely signaled for her to come over. She did and I asked for our drink bills. She was very polite, asked if I would like her to check on our food and replied, no thank you, explained about the amount of time we had been there, no appetizers and the table next to us had received there order almost immediately. She left to go get our bill. Then, the young man at the table next to us sat down beside me and asked what the problem was and stated that he was the owner...I repeated the story again; 1 hour, 20 minutes, no food, you had your food, I said that we needed to leave and go to another restaurant to eat, it was late and we were hungry. He replied...he would check on our meal and I said no thank you, the majority of the people in the restaurant were there before us and absolutely no one, had food. They were the priority. He said that he received his food because he "called ahead!" Unacceptable in my humble opinion...but hey. He asked where were we going to go and I stated a couple of places. He asked if we would be interested in the Bull and Bones. I asked why. He replied that he owned that establishment as well and that he would call ahead and give us free appetizers if we went and...we did. We paid our bill: $23.00 for Hmmm, 2 1/2 ounces of wine and a glass of beer...not much of a deal. The prices were totally off the charts. We left, drove to the Bull and Bones. The gentleman on duty was very polite and said; The owner sent me a txt and said to take good care of you, I don't know what that means but we will. So, we relayed that he was going to provide appetizers for us. We ordered the, and they arrived to our table promptly. Now, here's where it gets more interesting. They had a "Valentine's Day Menu." The two ladies in my group order the Lobster and Shrimp Cajun Pasta and the other gentleman and myself ordered the steak. Again, the meals arrived quickly...imagine if you will, a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese from the grocery store...that's almost exactly what the Lobster/Shrimp Cajun dish was. It contained five pieces of shrimp and we never discovered any lobster. To make it worse, it was so spicy, my wife couldn't eat it. I love hot and spicy dishes so we switched meal but, I could not eat it either. She took my steak...there lies another issue. There was so much fat and gristle, the majority of the steak was inedible. Now, the mash potatoes were the bomb...delicious. As I stated at the beginning, the entire night was a total disaster. I waisted the entire evening and around $120 for horrible food and ridiculously over priced drinks. The Black Hen claim to fame is that they are a "high-end" restaurant! (Smile) It's a cafeteria, with insane prices, the customer is a very low priority and making money is the Priority! I strongly DO NOT recommend...

I visited a few months ago and thought it was okay to good (appetizers were delicious and meat well seasoned but overcooked), but our meal last night was horrible. If the server was not on hour one of his first shift (and unsupervised), then I do not know what to say. Spilled water numerous times when filling. Only filled glasses half full. Had to ask for our visibly empty glasses to be filled. Did not understand that one of us was GF and so we wanted veggies along with the chips for the dip (we had to spell it out very clearly). Told us there were two drink specials (one was something mango) and did not tell us what they were or cost. Forgot to give us menus then to pick them up. Asked us what we wanted to krder as giving us menus. Had no sense of timing. Practically dropped the beer on the table. Two meals came out a good 5 (or 10?) minutes before the other two, despite two of the dishes being identical (and coming out minutes apart). Told us the deserts then said he thinks they may be out of one he just mentioned so we should assume they are out. Forgot a pen with the bill. I'm writing this review so that hopefully management can share this feedback and he can improve - it was as if he had never been in a restaurant and so had no idea what to expect. Which is NOT what you expect at the price point of this restaurant (ate at a deli in Roanoke today and the service was the complete opposite - and the food a third of the price).

I ordered the lamb chops. There were maybe 6 bites of lamb. The mint was not cut consistently yet was the best part of the meal - it helped mask the tough and overcooked meat. The green beans didn't even have their ends trimmed, and on top was a laughable display of potatoes that looked like they came straight from the breakfast potatoes section of the fridge at the grocery store. Not crispy cooked, not seasoned, and maybe 10 pieces "sprinkled" above the green beans. Zero stars for plating skills. The chef should know that making something visually appealing can mask a lot of faults in the dish.

I was joining friends who already were seated, and the front of the house was so confused. I told them the name and were seated, andand they were confused and were checking EVERY table inside. Finally, the other asked if I would recognize my friends and let me walk with them to the back. It was just.. bizarre.

It was a Friday before a game, but that's no excuse. If they have tables and are willing to seat people, they need to do better. If overwhelmed, then decrease the number of tables or drop the prices to reflect the quality we can expect....