Even though my heart belongs to places like Bangkok Cafe and Old Town Grill (which I'll get to later), I think Sunken Well's worth mentioning.

This new-ish restaurant nestled in a residential neighborhood (Hanover and Littlepage streets) seats probably no more than 40, including its 6-or-so bar seats. After some fuss with the town about drunken revelers ruining Fredericksburg's pristine atmosphere, Sunken Well finally got a liquor license a few weeks ago, I think, and is on its way to becoming a real-live restaurant, instead of being in a state of sober limbo.

Anyway, I've been to Sunken Well only a few times, but they've all been enjoyable. The handful of cute guys who work there/own the place doesn't hurt, either, FYI. I think it's taken them a while to get the hang of the lunch rush and the accompanying fact that people do, in fact, enjoy drink refills, but the service is much improved from its early days. The ambience is nice, too -- dark wood, interesting art on the walls, dimly lit without it  being impossible to read the menu. Everything's clean and minimalist enough that you don't feel crammed in to what must be a converted house.

On to the food. At brunch, they have funny things like the Morning Joe sandwich, which involves "everything you love about breakfast, in a sandwich." I think it's something like bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, homefries, bagel, the kitchen sink, and American cheese. The pancakes are literally the size of the plate, so be forewarned -- but they're delicious. Good coffee; good homefries.

The Shrimp BLT is ridiculously good, as is the veggie wrap, as are the onion rings at lunch. And while their dinner menu seems pretty standard (chicken; salmon; tuna; steak, etc.), the presentation shines. The salad that comes with every entree isn't your typical iceberg-infested house nonsense -- it's fancy, dark greens and goat cheese and roasted red peppers and all kinds of goodies. The bread ain't bad, either.

I've always managed to stuff myself silly before the dessert menu arrived, so I can't advise on sweets. But if the rest of the menu's any indication, they must be pretty durned good.

Bon appetit!

--Carolyn, 7.10.06