Joining the Third Wave at Garnett's

A woman needs a goal, no?

Still on my quest to taste every sandwich at Garnett's, I lunched there today but purposely waited until after what I thought to be the lunch rush, arriving somewhere in the vicinity of 1:30. When I entered, there was exactly one seat available in the entire place.

Call me egocentric, but that seat would have been for me, I presumed.

I usually try to get to Garnett's by noon to avoid the rush, but that plan would have accomplished nothing since I was told that the place started filling up at 10:30 and every seat was taken by 11:15. That was round one. By the time I arrived, they were on round three.

Of course, Garnett's got a glowing review from Style last week, so that may have alerted some newbies to their affordable, unique and very tasty menu and homey vibe.

Today's sandwich try-out was the Scuffletown Chicken Salad on ciabatta with a side of French potato salad. This chicken salad was a lot like my mother's with big, irregular chunks of white meat chicken lightly dressed with mayo and a hint of sweetness from pickle.

It's probably the best chicken salad I've had in Richmond so far and I have no doubt that Mom would give it the thumbs up.

Sitting on my right at the bar was a man who lives on his mother's family's farm in Tappahannock, which immediately interested me because my folks live on the other side of the bridge in Tappahannock. So he not only knew of their small town and its oystering/crabbing history, but he could guess where they moved from (the D.C. area) and how thoroughly they enjoy the change of locale (greatly).

Let me tell you how unusual that is. I could meet 100 people and it would be unlikely that even one would know of the tiny town of Morattico, so it was a kick to discuss the area with him. Yet another example of just how small the world is.

Today's visit was notable because it was the very first time I've not had one of the fabulous and frugal desserts at Garnett's. I admit I was sorely tempted by the chocolate hazelnut cake, but I just didn't have room, a rarity for me. Next time I will for sure, assuming it's available.

Even if I have to linger for round four. Whatever wave it takes.