Pennybackers

Leaving this post up for posterity, but Pennybacker's closed in fall 2012.

• Location: 14 E. Water Street
• Website: http://www.pennybackers.com/
• Food profile: soups, salads, sammies.
• Local sourcing: Not sure. If they use local ingredients, they don't say so.
• Price: $7 ish for a sandwich
• Take-out: Yes! And also catering.
• Warnings: For a grilled cheese, if you don't specify what kind of bread and cheese you want, you will end up with American on white. The servers don't always ask.
• Specialties: This is the place if you want a gourmet tomato soup and grilled cheese combo. All the deliciousness of childhood nostalgia, with the option of having actually good food. Yum! I'm also a big fan of the Corey. It's the only chicken salad I've ever tasted that can rival my mother-in-law's.

About Pennybackers:
This is a relative newcomer to the downtown dining scene, and may I say, "WELCOME!" They've done a great job renovating an old carriage house in the Pennybacker building. The place feels warm and friendly, like an English pub, and is decorated with old photos and postcards of Harrisonburg in days of yore. Although they're new to downtown, they've already invested in good works. Before their opening, they auctioned off their tables at a benefit for the Harrisonburg Children's Museum. Winners were able to make a design on the tabletops with pennies. Bonus: if you go there with a small child and the kid gets antsy, challenge him to find all 10 heads-up pennies in your table. The staff is generally friendly, and the management is superb. In the summertime, head up to the roof-top. The view is great--arguably the best roof-top view in town.

Food:
Pennybackers makes a great sandwich. They're piled thick with all the fixings, and the ingredients are mostly very high-quality. There's also a wide selection, and you can mix and match to make your perfect lunch combo. Pretty much everything comes with a side of tatertots, which makes me feel like I'm about seven years old again...not that this is a bad thing. My one complaint is that there aren't many ways to sub in another side without getting more food than I probably wanted (for example, adding a bowl of soup). I have a potato allergy, so I gaze longingly at my friends' tots, and usually surrender mine to them. Most other downtown restaurants have at least one non-potato side option.

The soups also deserve a mention. I had a mushroom brie soup there a few weeks ago that was just amazing. The tomato soup runs a little on the spicy side--great for grown-ups who long for the happy days of childhood, but maybe not that great for actual children. I'd avoid it if your child has a sensitive palate.

Atmosphere:
Casual, but not too casual. It's a good family place, but you shouldn't be embarrassed to take a business lunch there. It's warm and inviting, but not sloppy.

But what if I hate soups, salads, and sandwiches?
Who hates soups, salads, and sandwiches??? Go somewhere else. Jack Brown's is just down the block. Get a hamburger and wait for your normal friends to finish a great lunch at Pennybackers. You all can catch up at the cat store.