Food & Excitement at Dog Street Pub

An American Gastropub
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Don and I were in Virginia recently and spent a day touring Colonial Williamsburg.  For lunch we dined at a more authentic tavern, so for an evening bite, we headed out of the Olde Town area to grab some food at Merchant's Square.  We had been intrigued earlier when we passed a sign, with a dog!  We didn't know we'd have some excitement surrounding our dinner outing!

​Evening in the Olde Town

It had been a hot day, so as we headed towards the pub, it was nice to see the old street becoming quieter and cooler as the sun went down.  All those poor employees in their hot costumes!

From Costumes to Uniforms
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As we traveled down the street we noticed some different costumes. There seemed to be a number of men in uniform, looking very serious.  There was also some crime tape around an area near the historic City Hall.  It seemed someone had left a backpack on a wooden bench near a barrel. 

Moving Along
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We were curious, but continued down the road towards the pub, where we knew beer and food awaited.

Cute Building
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The pub on the corner was appealing, with tower and weathervane above.  There was a small crowd dining outside, which looked inviting.

Inside
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The inside was actually pretty comfortable, with a bar and a few levels. Lots of big windows and iron light fixtures.  But we are from Texas and we don't get to do much patio dining in the summer, so we waited for an outside table.

Beer and Food Made With Beer

​Don was most excited about all the beer options. But I was pretty delighted with so many unusual choices on the Small Plate Menu.

"Welsh Rarebit" was my number one pick. It was much more exciting than what I remembered from childhood. This was made with brown ale & horseradish cheese over English toasting bread.  It was rich and decadent.   I was a little disappointed that our waiter, who I think was putting on a British accent, pronounced my dish like it's spelled. My mom always called it "Rabbit" which was maybe why I liked it. There's evidently quite a debate over how you say it.

The Rueben Croquettes were pretty crazy!  Panko covered corned beef, Swiss and sauerkraut!  And then Don went for some Mulligtawny, a yellow curry soup with chicken and coconut milk.  Welsh Rarebit was my favorite of the three.

Excitement Besides Food
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We enjoyed our food, while watching the tourists and locals wandering by the patio area.  Then we had more to a watch, as a parade of emergency vehicles flew by, with sirens blasting.  It was dark, but we were pretty sure we saw the words, "bomb squad" on the side of one.

Eat and Run
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Since I'm always up for a dining adventure, I pushed Don to get the bill so we could go see what all the excitement was about. But we could no longer get anywhere near where the backpack was sitting on the bench. (which is a good thing) The crime tape area had been enlarged and we wandered around to the end, where the most important trucks were parked.  We watched one man put on a suit that looked pretty much like the Michelin Man.

All is Good
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There really is nothing amusing about this at all.  It's a sad thing that a backpack, probably holding a water bottle and a guidebook, must be treated with such caution.  But that's the world we live in now.  Don and I watched while 2 suited men disappeared towards the backpack.  Before long they returned, holding the pack. Their body language showed relief.  There were high fives and the hot suits were removed.

Good Ending
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We chatted with a few other curious tourists and got reprimanded by a policeman for walking across a grass field, where they had evidently run out of crime tape. We meandered back to our car through the peaceful streets of town. We were glad that there had not been more excitement, than what we'd  encountered. Our adventure that evening obviously had nothing to do with The Dog Street Pub. But I will always remember the excitement that surrounded our pub meal!