This week's trivia question: who said this quote: "You know what's great about you English? Octopussy." The answer will appear at the end of our article.
Contrary to this mystery person's statement, however, we've discovered the ever-elusive second reason to give the English their due: Lord Hardwicke's.
Located on Route 29 North, Lord Hardwicke's is a short drive from central Grounds. Though it's only about a quarter-mile from Harris Teeter, it's not within a realistic walking distance for most students.
One of the more surprising features of Lord Hardwicke's is the size of the dining area. From the outside, the restaurant doesn't appear to be very large; however, once inside, you comprehend the folly of your assumption. For the most part, you need not worry about the possibility of an annoying couple or a screaming baby being seated in the booth next to you.
We'll be the first to admit that we've never been to England, so it wouldn't be appropriate for us to judge the authenticity here. However, if you blindfolded us, brought us to Lord Hardwicke's, and then uncovered our eyes and asked us where we were, England would be one of our first guesses. It's not every restaurant that has a big Union Jack hanging on its walls.
Numerous televisions are scattered about the dining area. And although almost every set was tuned into a football game (of the American variety), we were seated at a booth where the only television in sight was playing a rerun of Roseanne. Those are the breaks in life.
The service here wasn't as prompt as other places we've visited. While the restaurant didn't appear to be over-crowded or under-staffed, there were multiple times when we were ready to order, or our drinks were empty, and our waitress was nowhere to be found. In her defense, and that of Lord Hardwicke's, she was courteous and amicable, but the unhurried service did detract from the overall experience.
Perhaps the best part of the food at Lord Hardwicke's was that it didn't match our stereotype of English food. We half-expected the menu to consist solely of foods, such as scones or steak-and-kidney pie, which produce scoffs from the American dining public.
In fact, the menu can almost be described as routine. Aside from a few unique items, no diner will have a problem deciding from the numerous sandwich, burger and steak items on this menu.
Even as this may disappoint those looking for authentic English food, most diners will be satisfied with whatever dish they order.
For starters, we recommend the fried mushrooms ($5.99). These fungi were juicy on the inside while the outer breading was still crispy. They're great plain or dipped in ranch dressing. Other appetizers include standard fare at other restaurants, including the potato skins ($5.99) and the nachos ($5.99).
Lord Hardwicke's has a decent burger selection, ranging from burgers with just American cheese to those with bacon and even mushroom. The Wellington ($6.99) is a nine-ounce burger served with lettuce and tomato on a Kaiser roll. It's a big burger, and those who don't feel like ingesting a half-pound of beef should opt for one of the smaller options, such as the six-ounce Kingston ($5.59).
Sandwiches own a fair amount of menu real estate and cover a variety of tastes. The Reuben is a quarter-pound of corned beef with Swiss cheese and sauerkraut, while the grilled portabella consists of a marinated and grilled portabella mushroom. The sandwiches are pleasing enough, although some appear to be hastily thrown together. For example, the Hobo ($10.99) was filling, but it gave more an impression of being just random tenderloin strips with onions and mushrooms thrown on a roll rather than an actual cohesive sandwich.
For good measure, all burger and sandwich orders come with your choice of steak fries, potato chips, potato salad or cole slaw.
Not all of the entrees at Lord Hardwicke's can be eaten without the use of silverware; those itching to break out their knives will be pleased to see the steak menu, ranging from the filet mignon to the classic London broil.
We recommend the peppercorn whiskey sirloin ($12.99), which comes with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Topped with a delicious mushroom sauce, the steak is nicely complemented by the potatoes, which mercifully do not resemble or taste like the instant potatoes you get at a lot of restaurants.
The people at Lord Hardwicke's don't mess around with dessert. The apricot-orange cheesecake ($4.29) and the blackberry cobbler ($3.99) proved to be the high points of the meal.
The cobbler in particular was incredible. It was so fresh and hot that it partially melted the vanilla ice cream that covered it.We would have enjoyed dessert even more if the aforementioned meals hadn't completely filled us up.
Lord Hardwicke's is a participating restaurant of the Corner Meal Plan; students with this meal plan need to consider a meal here sometime.
The price is reasonable, the food is good, and the atmosphere is laid back but classy. We recommend you give it a shot.
Finally, the answer to our question is Homer Simpson. If you got this right, have someone give you a pat on the back and then treat yourself to dinner at Lord Hardwicke's.
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