Sumac's Spring Menu at Pen Druid: Ramps, Morels & Pork Belly
America's top-50 wood-fired kitchen serves an al fresco spring menu this weekend at Pen Druid Brewing in Sperryville — no reservation required
You don't need a reservation. You just need to show up. Sumac, the award-winning wood-fired kitchen recognized as one of America's top 50 restaurants, is serving its spring al fresco menu at Pen Druid Brewing in Sperryville this weekend — Friday through Sunday, April 17–19 — and the menu is exactly the kind of seasonal, ingredient-obsessed cooking that makes a drive out from DC feel completely worth it.
The Weekend Hours at Pen Druid
- Friday, April 17: 2–6pm
- Saturday, April 18: 12–6pm
- Sunday, April 19: 12–6pm
Service is al fresco and first come, first served. No tickets, no reservation system — just arrive, grab a Pen Druid brew, and settle in for some of the most technically accomplished cooking happening in the Virginia foothills right now.
The Spring A La Carte Menu
Sumac's April menu is a tight, confident showcase of what early spring looks like through a wood-fire lens. The kitchen is leaning hard into foraged and seasonal ingredients — ramps, morels, wild mustard greens — alongside the cured and smoked preparations that have become Sumac signatures.
- Sumac Plate — Pickled Radish, Smoked Char, Rugbrod, Smoked Butter, Sweet Pickled Pears
- Morel Tartine — Pain Perdu, Ramps, Jimmy Nardello Sauce, Beer Cheese
- Wild Mustard Greens — Coal Roasted Potatoes, Grune Sobe, Chilis
- Pork Belly — Fermented Oat Fritter, Alliums, Pork Jus
- Smoked Apple — Yaupon Custard, Spruce Tips, Bay Leaf, Choux Craquelin
The Morel Tartine is the dish to start with — pain perdu (a rich eggy bread) topped with the season's prized morel mushrooms, wild ramps just off the mountain, Jimmy Nardello sweet pepper sauce, and a smear of beer cheese. It's a Piedmont spring on a plate. The Wild Mustard Greens with coal-roasted potatoes and grune sobe (a green herb sauce common in Central European cooking) shows the kind of cross-cultural thoughtfulness that earned Sumac its national recognition.
For dessert, the Smoked Apple with Yaupon Custard is a quietly extraordinary finish — yaupon is a native American holly used as a tea substitute, and here it anchors a custard layered with spruce tips and choux craquelin. It's the kind of dessert that makes you wonder why more kitchens aren't doing this.
A Seasonal Pairing: Sumac + Pen Druid
Part of what makes Sumac's setup at Pen Druid so appealing is the pairing opportunity. Pen Druid's own unfiltered, farmhouse-style beers are made just steps away, and the outdoor setting along the Thornton River valley means you're eating with Blue Ridge views. Sumac's post captured it simply: "The weather is beautiful. Come out this weekend for brews, views, and a taste of spring." Hard to argue.
What to Know Before You Go
Sumac operates as a pop-up style kitchen inside Pen Druid Brewing's space — the menu changes weekly and items can sell through. If you have a specific dish in mind (the Morel Tartine will go fast), arriving closer to open is your best strategy. The kitchen is also very small by design, which is part of what makes the food so precise.
Planning Your Visit
- Venue: Sumac at Pen Druid Brewing
- Address: Pen Druid Brewing, Sperryville, VA 22740
- This Weekend's Hours: Fri Apr 17 2–6pm · Sat Apr 18 12–6pm · Sun Apr 19 12–6pm
- Service: Al fresco, first come first served — no reservation needed
- Website: sumac-va.com
- Note: Menu changes weekly; dishes subject to availability
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