The NOVA Live campus, formerly known as Farm Brew Live, is a playground for adults. Its Black Sheep Restaurant, located in a stunning restored barn, has been a Northern Virginia Magazine Best Restaurant perennial for years. Just outside, The Yard brings in music fans for live shows. Beer lovers have long enjoyed the sips at 2 Silos Brewing Co., accompanied by a meal from Food Truck Alley.
And the campus is still growing. This year, MurLarkey Distilled Spirits moved into an impressive 25,000-square-foot space, and Villagio Hospitality opened an adjoining restaurant, Proof Kitchen + Bar.
But when the hospitality group’s director of culinary operations, Bryan Yealy, calls Proof “a hidden gem,” he is wrong. Not because it’s not a treasure, but because, just a couple of months after its debut, it’s one of the most difficult reservations to score in Northern Virginia. The word is out.
And the draw isn’t just its bar program, featuring cocktails made from MurLarkey whiskey, vodka, and gin. In fact, even avowed teetotalers will find much to love here. The diversity of options owes to the many international faces of the restaurant’s home city of Manassas, says Yealy. “It’s a huge melting pot of everyone,” he says of the restaurant leaning into a globally focused menu.
It’s true of the excellent staff, too, whose families hail from around the world. The kind embrace of the service began the moment a manager complimented my dining companion’s attire on our first visit. One server, who called us “lovies,” might have taken matters a step too far, but even without the pet name, we felt thoroughly cared for at each visit. The waitstaff are all too eager to share recommendations, accommodate allergies, and make you feel as though you’ve made a friend.
And the food? Yealy, working with executive chef Justin Gudiel, executive sous-chef Christopher Turner, and executive pastry chef Erica Goon, has curated a menu that will satisfy casual diners, those celebrating special occasions, and everyone in between. It may sound like too many cooks in the kitchen — especially when figuring in a pair of sous chefs — but the large bill of fare goes off mostly without a hitch thanks to what Yealy labels an easy collaboration.
A new commissary kitchen makes producing high-quality food at a large scale easier, says Yealy. A prime example? Twice-baked potato pierogi, which taste somewhere between a classic potato-and-cheese dumpling and a fine-dining twice-baked potato, thanks to copious amounts of butter, sour cream, and bacon. The pockets, with their al dente skins, are sunken into horseradish crema and topped with bacon jam.
A close second for the title of best appetizer is a prettily plated stack of six half-moon-shaped tortilla chips. The unconventional nachos are layered with collagenous oxtail chili, whiskey queso, and mole. Still not enough flavor? On the bottom, find refried black beans. On top, a drizzle of lime crema and a smattering of pico de gallo. There’s a lot going on, but each element works in harmony.
Another commissary production is dough for the flatbreads. Yealy calls them “not so flatbreads” because the dough “has got some air in it.” In fact, the chewy, lightly crisp crust is better than plenty of pizzas in the area, but it retains just enough flatness to earn its name.
The bestseller among these is a stunner: The Mènage à Roni bombards diners with pepperoni in spicy, meaty ecstasy. First, there’s the pepperoni-based tomato sauce. Then, wands of grill-kissed pepperoni and crispy cupping peps. Fresh basil and a drizzle of hot honey put it over the top, but this $15 dish will fill up anyone who orders it and leave them begging for a return engagement.
Burgers are another low-cost way to enjoy a memorable mouthful. Served on fluffy, commissary-crafted milk buns, the juicy smash burgers come in several forms, including one that combines peanut butter and fried banana in an Elvis tribute. But Proof also cures and smokes its own velvety pastrami. The best way to enjoy it is piled on a pair of patties, along with bacon, slaw, and Swiss cheese with a side of spicy house pickles.
At just $6, I would pair burgers and flatbreads alike with a side order of the Proof Caesar. The bright, lemony dressing is a delight that’s miles from the anchovy-spiked funk I usually appreciate in a Caesar. Instead, this version gets its balance of darkness from a haystack of shaved Parmesan. I would pay $6 just for the giant croutons that shatter at first bite.
A salad will be unnecessary with most of the large-scale entrées, but order it anyway. I still appreciated it with my shepherd’s pie. At Proof, the tomato-red stew centers around braised bison. Chunky carrots and leeks are soft beneath a wavy-topped layer of mashed potatoes so filled with Parmesan that a forkful comes away from the hot plate with a handsome cheese stretch.
Desserts are the least remarkable part of Proof but still worth trying. All are presented in small Mason jars, making them tough to share. The best is the s’mores jar, which comes with a portion of chocolate-mayonnaise cake with melty ganache. It’s finished with a large bruléed marshmallow, also made at the commissary, and graham cracker crumbles.
It’s not often enough that a restaurant makes fun its goal. At Proof, as at the rest of NOVA Live, that’s precisely what the experience is designed to embody. And the plans come to delicious fruition.
Proof Kitchen + Bar
Rating: ★★★ ½
See This: Fringed chandeliers light a room filled with comfy couches, a bustling bar, and a display of whiskeys in glass jugs.
Eat This: Twice-baked potato pierogi, pastrami burger, Proof Caesar
Appetizers: $9–$16
Entrées: $11–$65
Dessert: $9
Open for dinner daily, brunch replaces lunch on weekends.
9861 Discovery Blvd. Ste. 115, Manassas
Feature image by Michael Butcher
This story originally ran in our September issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
