From bison ribeyes to melon gazpacho, these are Virginia’s can’t-miss bites

As a writer who traverses the globe covering golf, travel and all things food and beverage — and who racked up 110,000 frequent-flyer miles in 2025 — GOLF contributor Shaun Tolson has visited some of the world’s most famous golf clubs, resorts and best-kept secrets. Below, in Clubhouse Eats, he shares some of his favorite bites and sips from his recent travels.

It’s been more than 50 years since the advertising firm The Martin Agency (then Martin & Woltz Inc.) created the famous slogan “Virginia is for Lovers.” At the time, the slogan’s intention was to attract younger travelers to the state’s beaches, historical sites, and areas for outdoor adventure. But based on a few of my recent visits to Old Dominion — as the state is sometimes called — it’s clear Virginia is for food lovers, too.

Here, let me show you….

Colonial Cravings

Dinner in the Terrace & Goodwin Rooms at Williamsburg Inn (a stone’s throw away from the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club) is as much about meeting expectations as it is delivering surprises. You can’t go wrong with the grilled oysters accented with Parmesan cheese, fresh lemon, and herbs — an homage to Oysters Rockefeller (minus the breadcrumbs). It was John D. Rockefeller Jr., after all, who planned and designed all aspects of the property.

But as grilled appetizers go, the Terrace Caesar is the standout. The simple act of charring the split head of baby gem lettuce transforms a classic salad into something far more memorable. The grill creates a slightly smoky and more robust bite, allowing the sweet and tangy notes of the dressing to pop. The charred lettuce also showcases the mild brininess of the white anchovies while mirroring the texture of the focaccia croutons.

Equally memorable is the Summer Melon Gazpacho. In fact, this is the dish that my host said he always orders when he eats at the inn (so long as it’s on the menu). As for me, it’s unlikely that I would ever think to order gazpacho, so I had to give it a try — and I’m glad that I did. The medley of small diced melons serves as a sugary complement to the vegetal sweetness of the tomato-based broth, while braised fennel, crispy beets, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil leveled out the soup with subtle savory character. Some gazpachos can suffer from monotonous flavor; this isn’t one of them.

A short walk into Colonial Williamsburg brings guests to Shield’s Tavern, one of Williamsburg’s seven licensed taverns during the mid-18th century. Famous for its groaning board menu — the colonial era’s take on a family-style meal — the tavern serves up grand sallets (tossed salads), fried chicken, prime ribs of beef, and fried fish, among other staples. Yet it was the Creamy Spoon Bread that most captured my attention. Effectively a cross between cornbread and a soufflé, the dish was rich, indulgent, and an almost-too-hearty start to the meal. Consider that a first-world problem, albeit one with colonial ties.

A Road Less Traveled

Set near the shores of Lake Anna, about an hour north of Richmond and two hours south of Washington, D.C., Tributer Resort recently made headlines as the future site of a Tiger Woods-designed golf course. For now, the resort features a single layout designed by Tom Clark (with input from Ron Whitten), along with four-bedroom villas and two-bedroom cottages designated for overnight stays. Greens fees under $200 and reasonably priced overnight stays (for groups booking full use of villas or cottages) make Tributer a hidden gem, and the resort’s food and beverage program only reinforces that claim.

Whether you’re a carnivore at heart or a lover of fresh seafood, Tributer, as I recently learned, has you covered. I’m a sucker for a good ribeye, but the cut’s innate fattiness is always a bit of a concession. Tributer’s Bison Ribeye makes such trade-offs a thing of the past, especially since my steak was cooked perfectly — a feat not easily achieved given bison’s lean nature. Savory, rich, and slightly smoky in flavor, this seared piece of meat was nirvana, pure and simple.

Tributer may be 70-some-odd miles from the shores of Chesapeake Bay, but don’t let that dissuade you from ordering anything on the menu that features the region’s famed crustacean. The resort’s crab cakes are some of the best I’ve ever had, in large part because they’re teeming with crab meat. There’s a slight savoriness due to the herbs used in this recipe, but, by and large, these cakes are defined by the crab’s innate sweetness.

Similarly, the resort’s Crab and Shrimp Wedge is a salad that eats like an indulgent seafood tower. For starters, it’s an ideal mix of textures — the lettuce is crisp, the avocado soft, and the two types of seafood fall somewhere in between. Much like the aforementioned crab cakes, the sweetness of both the shrimp and the crab is juxtaposed by the salad’s rich, savory dressing. You could make a meal out of it if you wanted; you’d just be giving up the chance to cut into a decadent ribeye. My suggestion? Pair them together. That’s surf-and-turf as it was meant to be.