My wife and I decided last minute to head out to Wisp for the holiday weekend.

Was wondering if you guys could recomend where to eat for Friday and or Saturday night and if we should be making reservations?

Thanx in advance for any info

Good luck, DCL is not known for its fine dining, and when i say fine dining i mean food prepped other than in a deep fryer. But here are some thoughts. Last year we ate at DCs right at Wisp and had a nice dinner and a good selection of beers. There is a tex/mex place right off 219 at the entrance to Wisp that we ate at recently and it has a big menu and decent food. Probably the best place I have eaten up there is the Deer Park Inn, but it is a hike to get there. I have not been there in years, but the Four Seasons room at the Will of the Wisp was always decent. Unos at Arrowhead is OK, but now you are in the realm of pub grub. If you have kids you cant go wrong with Smileys.

There is a place just up the road towards I-68 called Archies BBQ.

AWESOME

Come out of wisp beside the gas station and turn left up the hill. Its about half a mile on the left. Its probably not going to be a fancy sit down place like you want, but the food is great.

Fancy really doesn't matter. Was moslty just trying to get a feel for what was around. We have not been to Wisp before. Thanx for the info guys. Low key is good by us.

I 2nd Archies. GREAT ribs and wings!

I've been to the Black Bear twice and been disappointed both times. It looks great outside and in but the food has yet to deliver. Had steak both times thinking that the first time might have been an off night but no, it still kind of tasted weird.

There's a pizza place, Brenda's pizza, off Rte 219 on the right side of the road after you cross the bridge. It is awesome. If you have a family of hungry people try the abbodanza. It is ridiculous.

For the best variety of decent food with reasonable prices I'd recommend the Sante Fe Grill. A wide range of choices from burgers, tacos, steaks, seafood,, pasta, etc. They do not take reservations.

Archies is great for ribs, brisket and chicken. Very casual. They have a drive through take-away if you want to eat at home.

Brenda's has the best New York style pizza. Good place to bring a family. Mountain State Brewing has the best Neopolitan pizzas made in a wood burning oven. MSB also has great beer.

Agree with DJWOZ... Brenda's has great pizza... it is down the lake a short drive, but worth it. Definitely better than Uno's. In Oakland, the Cornish Manor has great dining and is a bit fancier. Love the beer at MSB and it is very close to Wisp. Can't go wrong with DJ's? in the Wisp hotel BUT the very BEST steaks are at Pine Lodge Steak House beside Black Bear. Also agree that Black Bear has been disappointing.

The Pine Lodge Steak House has great atmosphere & good steaks but I find it very overpriced. It is pricier than similiar restaurants here in Northern Virginia. I'd recommend it for a special night out with your wife or girlfriend but it is not a great place to take a family.

I've owned a home at Wisp for 10 years now. I am always searching for that great restaurant. It just isn't going to happen. At Wisp/Deep Creek if a reataurant isn't family and LOCAL friendly it will not survive. There is good food there but if you want a fine dining experience get it back home in D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh, etc.

[quote=djwoz]The Pine Lodge Steak House has great atmosphere & good steaks but I find it very overpriced.

I agree, Pine Lodge used to be the best in DCL. Last few times have been very uneven and prices have certainly risen. NY Strip is $29, Rib Eye, $35. Hard to recommend now.

Sante Fe is great for happy hour, while food, especially Mexican dishes, is not up to DC standards.

Haven't tried Archies, but I will next time we are up (President's Day).

Cornish Manor is worth the trip if you don't mind an extra 20 minutes.

Brenda's is simple but ample, large pizza is 2 ft across.

Uno's is pub food, crowded most weekends, but usually OK considering it's a crowded pub. Better on the deck in the summer.

I don't know if will o'wisp is still serving food, but best to stay away.

DC's at Wisp has friendly local waitresses who haven't a clue how to serve and can occasionally get you a decent meal.

The Brewery can be fun, I like the IPA. Live music sometimes.

That leaves McDonalds and Black Bear.

Pretty depressing list since I go up several times a year.

For many years we hit Sante Fe on Friday, Pine Lodge on Sat and cook in on Sun. Used to be no booze on Sunday, but now you can order drinks AFTER you have placed your dinner order.

Hey, you're going to ski, the apres is just gravy.

Enjoy your trip. We always do.

Steve

Thanx everyone for the great advice. We had a fantastic time at Wisp. Drove out friday morning/afternoon to find the place empty. When I say empty Imean freekin' empty. So we checked in real fast, got our gear together and hit the slopes for some night skiing/boarding. I had read on this forum that heading over to north camp is a good way to aviod any crowds. Well Friday night that was not a problem. There were no lines at all at any of the lifts. infact only every fith chair or so had a couple people in it. It was like having the place all to our selvs. Only ran into a person or two on the runs. Saturday was prity much the same. All in all a really great experiance. We will be back to ski Wisp again.

Now as for food. Friday night was a total bust. Everything was closed even DCs at the resort. Someone pointed us to Arrow market that was open untill like 2 am. So we grabed some snaks a bottle of wine and had "Christmas eve dinner" in our room. Luckly DCs was open on Saturday for dinner. Like everyone said not fancy or fine dining but good food for the most part

Hope anyone who was able to get out and slide had as good of a time as we did.