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While we love going to Norfolk's Bakers Crust with their fantastic dessert crepes, we wanted to do something different.
So we decided to try a friend's recommendation and spend it at Carrot Tree Kitchens, a quaint and historic stone cottage up on the bluff in Yorktown.
With eight adults and four grandkids in tow--including a toddler and a crawler-- this Yorktown restaurant couldn't have been more perfect!
Home Cookin', History, Fabulous Desserts, and Room to Roam
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Because there were 12 of us (plus baby), we had reserved one of Carrot Tree Kitchens private dining rooms upstairs.
(On the main floor, they have two wood-paneled dining rooms, furnished as they would have appeared in an 19th century tavern.)
We walked up the narrow, twisted stairway to a private room which can seat up to 18 comfortably. It had plenty of room on the side for little cousin Noelle to crawl around...and for the kids to play cars while waiting for the food to arrive.
We even had our own private stereo system, complete with period music to set the mood. As we gazed out the mullioned widows at the nearby cottages, we felt like we'd gone back in time about 200 years.
Our kids were thrilled to find a kids menu, with PBJ's and grilled cheese with chips and a brownie.
All of the adults decided to go with the special of the day--chicken cordon bleu, with vegies and dessert. Carrot Tree Kitchens is home cookin' at its best...and very reasonable, at $11.99, including dessert.
Ah yes. The desserts...
With so many of us, we were able to try almost all of them...Dad's Coconut Chess Pie, Perfect Pecan Pie, Sue's Sweet Potato Pie, Ole Olson's Orange Blossom cake, Carrot Cake, and (my favorite!) Grandma's Chocolate Cake.
We gave top marks to Grandma's Chocolate Cake, with chocolate ganache in the middle and milk chocolate frosting...and to the Carrot Cake. Our sweet waitress, Liz, told us that she normally hates carrot cake with pineapple in it. But she added that this carrot cake is made with crushed pineapple, so it adds moisture, without being obviously pineapple-y.
Our verdict? She was right. It was some of the best carrot cake we've ever tasted.
Who was Cole Digges and why were we eating in his house?
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Carrot Tree Kitchens is located in the historic Cole Digges House on Yorktown's Read Street, up on the bluff among a smattering of historic houses and antique stores.
Built in 1720, the house is a carefully preserved, three-story cottage built by one Cole Digges. Digges, son of the area's most successful tobacco grower, owned most the waterfront at one point.
Fast forward two hundred and fifty years. Restauranteur Debi was challenged by a restaurant manager to produce a better chocolate cake. She did, by calling her grandmother at midnight for the family recipe and shopping and baking till 3 am.
In 1995, she opened Carrot Tree Kitchens, Williamsburg's first scratch bakery in years. She opened the Yorktown restaurant location at the Cole Digges House in 2003.
It is open for breakfast and lunch Monday - Saturday from 8 am - 4 pm, and Sundays 10 am - 4 pm. Dinner is only served Thursday through Saturday, and you'll need to make reservations to use one of the private rooms upstairs (like the one in the picture above).
Carrot Tree Kitchens address: 411 Main St., Yorktown.Carrot Tree Kitchens phone number: (757) 246-9559.
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