When Donovan Kelly described Tim and Suzanne O’Neil’s restaurant as “crummy-looking,” the next time he came in to Planet Wayside in Hamilton, Tim O'Neil slammed down Kelly’s order of a smoked-chicken sandwich.
Five years later, Kelly sat in the same restaurant joking with the O’Neils and ordered his lunch, along with the chicken salad he always orders for making sandwiches later. In front of him was a copy of “The Quest for the Holy Grill” that Capital Books Inc. in Dulles published this year.
“I love it. Initially, I wasn’t crazy about it, but it had an instant effect,” Tim O’Neil said between waiting tables and cooking. “It brought in tons of business.”
Tim O’Neil referred to Kelly’s review of Planet Wayside in “The Quest for the Holy Grill: 50 Crummy But Good Restaurants within Rambling Range of Washington, D.C.”
THE 140-PAGE book came about in a circuitous fashion. Kelly, 60, had just written a freelance article for the Washington Post’s Food Section that described berry picking in western Loudoun County. The Food Section editor asked for a map showing the location of berry patches mentioned in the article, but Kelly did not want to give away any secrets. Instead, he showed the location of three of his “favorite down-home restaurants,” claiming they were where professional berry pickers ate, as he said in the introduction to “The Quest for the Holy Grill.”
“Maybe we crummy-looking restaurants deserve special reviews of our own,” Tim O’Neil had told Kelly, so Kelly talked to the editor about writing a one-time article about reader-nominated crummy restaurants. The nominations kept coming in, enough for Kelly to continue the Crummy But Good reviews for two years. The Washington Post asked readers of the Food Section to nominate their favorite Crummy But Good restaurants, then Kelly conducted the reviews, picking a few of his own restaurants.
“In hindsight, I’ve been doing this all of my life. It’s my own inclination to seek out these places,” Kelly said. “I find them so interesting. You meet characters like Tim.”
KELLY DEFINES CRUMMY as a down-home, comfortable restaurant that is far from being “hoity-toity” with the five forks and cloth napkins, he said, adding, “It’s a place you hesitate to take your mother inside.”
Far from being an expert on cooking, Kelly said a good restaurant has to entice him to come back for the good food, good menu and relaxing atmosphere.
“I can’t tell you what spices are in here,” Kelly said, pointing to one of Friday’s specials, a French stew called cassoulet. The O’Neils had long since apologized, noting that their business picked up 25 percent after Kelly’s review of Planet Wayside published.
“Most of the places are home cooking just like this one. They’re all individual Mom and Pop operations,” Tim O’Neil said.
Planet Wayside, the first restaurant listed in Kelly’s book as one of the top 10, has become his home away from home, just as are the other 49 restaurants he reviewed. “You feel like you’re part of a family, you’re part of a group. You don’t have to put on airs,” he said.
"Donovan is looking for places that are throwbacks to earlier eras where there was real home cooking ... and where people know each other inside and there is a sense of camaraderie among the guests and owners," said Gale Waldron, freelance writer and art supporter who reviewed the book for the Washington Post and élan magazine. "Donovan has an extremely wry and witty sense of humor that comes through in every restaurant review."
THE RESTAURANT review series ended after a new editor started overseeing the Washington Post’s Food Section. Last fall, Kelly began a monthly segment on WAMU Radio, 88.5 FM, in Washington, D.C. to continue the Crummy But Good reviews. This time, the nominations came from a smaller group of Crummy But Good Scouts.
Two years ago, Kelly wanted to compile the reviews into a book and talked to two different publishers who were interested in his idea but for various reasons did not follow through. Kelly then talked to Capital Books, a company that agreed in two days to publish the reviews, which by then, he had redone and updated.
“That’s the kind of thing I like to do — fun and not too serious,” Kelly said.
Kelly used to work for the U.S. Geological Survey, retiring from there after 32 years of service. The Pennsylvania native moved to Virginia in 1969, then to Hamilton in 1973, transferring from Albany, N.Y., with the Geological Survey. He started out as a report specialist and by 1980 was working in senior public affairs. He wrote more than 1,000 press releases during his tenure.
“I usually write in a rush,” Kelly said. “What I enjoy is the first rush … and suddenly the story writes itself.”
FOR THE PAST 10 years, Kelly has been writing about weekends in the mountains for a Western Virginia weekly newspaper. He writes 10 humorous essays a year for élan magazine in Great Falls; plans to write additional books, including a follow-up on the crummy restaurant reviews; and wants to explore writing fiction and poetry.
Kelly will hold a book signing party from 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 21, at Planet Wayside in Hamilton. A second book signing will be held from 6-7 p.m., Dec. 4 at the Vienna Inn in Vienna.
Kelly and his wife Rita Kelly of 37 years have two children and two grandchildren.