We came back from Washington Sunday via I68…the $15 in tolls it cost us to get from home to Breezewood pissed us off. Then we took US 40 up. We weren’t in any particular hurry to get home; we were seeing the country, and the country is much more than DC (aka Mount Doom). We’d had the free breakfast at the motel, a little snack at the No Hablo Ingles McDonalds around Frederick somewhere, and were feeling quite peckish by mid to late afternoon. We were looking for a place that was not corporate, and on the outskirts of Washington PA we saw this sign:
Rusty underneath the sign
We went in, and were immediately underwhelmed. It was a bar, about a half dozen barflies around at 4PM, only one real dining table. I was going to leave, but Rusty had to pee. On the way, we saw the daily specials, and they looked somewhat promising. Then I was waylaid by the bartender/waitress, a kind and lovely young lady, who was carrying menus, and I allowed as how we’d look at them. They were more intriguing, and we were really hungry, so we sat down.
Surprise! The food was excellent!
I had a bowl of the Hungarian bean soup (a mix of green beans,potato, and ham), and Italian perogies (potato pirogies fried with onion, pepper flakes and banana peppers) with a draft Yeungling lager. Rusty had fried zucchini and a steak salad. The zukes, unusually, were sliced lengthwise into perfectly even plants (probably on a meat slicer) and were served with a tomato dipping sauce. The salad had a broad variety of vegetables. All were excellently prepared and interesting. Here’s a satisfied customer:
Rusty midway through steak salad
I tried to take a picture of Helen (as I assume her name was, from the ticket) at the bar, but it was dark and didn’t come out, so you’ll have to take my word that it was a name she deserved.
The blog post exists in gratitude for a good meal. Others will probably make the same mistake we almost did. So if you’re on US 40 and want to eat, stop at Kopper Kettle. You won’t be sorry.
Copper Kettle / Debbie D’s kitchen is located on Route 40 just south of Washington PA, which is a small college town. If you take the bypass around Washington you will need to head north about 2 miles on route 40, on the south side of town. I will second the food was plentiful and surprisingly terrific and the young waitress was truly areal beauty and very professional.
I came across this just the other day and was tickled pink to read it. You see, my mom is Debbie D and our family bought the Kopper Kettle in 1983 when I was just 6 years old. I still live in Washington now with children of my own and the Kettle is near and dear to my heart. Although a little around the edges, my mom has really made great improvements with the place in just the past 5 years. The food is fantastic and the bartenders and servers are the best! I used to work there part-time back before I was married – not a bad way to earn some extra cash. I always say that the Kettle is Washington’s best-kept secret… I’m so glad you found that out!
Happy to put in a good word, Kristen…thanks for your post.