Sep 28, 2018 4 min read

With the Inn at Little Washington, Va., in his culinary background, Martin Lamarche almost ended up in a town that sometimes bristles at being called Little Washington, Pa.

Starting a restaurant in the Washington County seat didn’t work out for Lamarche, but Little Washington’s loss – in either state – turned out to be Finleyville’s gain, especially if you’re looking for a shrimp and grits brunch or crab cakes eggs Benedict.

While Lamarche, 43, and his wife, Kristin, were contemplating purchasing a building in downtown Washington, the location at 6108 Brownsville Road Extension “just kind of materialized,” he says, and the husband and wife co-owners opened V & V Scratch Kitchen in May.

There’s more than a touch of whimsy on the menu, whether it be on paper or an artsy green board that greets the dining public.

Fifty-four years is the life expectancy of a working chef. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’ve heard that. Eleven years and I’ll be gone, so I gotta do this right,” he says.

Lamarche brings with him experience at some legendary restaurants: Occidental Grill in Washington, D.C., and Terra, which recently closed after a 30-year run in California’s Napa Valley.

He was working in New York’s Hamptons, “and then I met a girl from Pittsburgh and that was it,” he recounts from the dining room at V & V. “I’ve definitely adopted this as my hometown.”

He credits her for their endeavor in more ways than one.

“My wife is what you might call, in the English language, a genius,” says Lamarche, who pronounces his first name “mar-TEEN.”

They practice what some only preach about buying local. Take, for example, a purveyor from Allison Park in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. “Goat rodeo” is sure to be one of the phrases that made its mark in 2018, and the mushroom goat rodeo pizza is no mashup, but a pie featuring Goat Rodeo Farm cheese, spinach and seared mushrooms.

Near the driveway to the little plaza stands the V & V smoker, packed with pork butts, pastrami, turkey, beef brisket, fresh corn, salmon, and Lamarche’s favorite, wings.

If sliced tomato is the typical veggie of choice when assembling a grilled cheese sandwich, V & V takes it a step beyond with a slice of their roasted Moroccan-style cauliflower, a natural with Muenster cheese, rye bread and spinach.

That rye with caraway seeds is from Mediterra Bakehouse in Robinson Township, Allegheny County, which Lamarche lauds as “old-world. We consider them one of our most important partners.”

Soda pop – from Pittsburgh-centric mint ginger ale to peach ginger beer, billed as “Jamaica’s finest,” and cherry that matches the name of Natrona Bottling’s Red Ribbon brand – is displayed near the sign that features LaPrima Coffee, with ‘Burgh-roasted beans.

And Joshua Zimmerman of the eponymous family farm in Mars, Butler County, not only grows and delivers zucchini blossoms, berries, tomatoes and micro greens, he settles in to order the finished product, a hefty sandwich and a pizza with fresh basil.

V & V is a counter-service operation, meaning customers order at the counter, pay before choosing a table and take a number so the server knows where to head with a tray of food. Lest anyone rack the brain trying to figure out what foods V & V stand for, it’s not vegetables and vinaigrette, it’s Vincent, 8, and Vivien, 4, who likes to introduce herself by saying, “Hi, I’m Vivien. I’m 50 percent of the V,” according to pastry chef Julia Cresta, a 2016 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Academy of Culinary Arts. Her brownies, cookies and macaroons are on display at the counter.

“Call me and tell me what you want,” she says. “Cookie trays, special occasions, wedding cakes.”

Midway through summer, V & V added a Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with omelets, waffles, pancakes and French toast.

“The community has kind of absorbed us, and it feels like we’ve been here forever,” Lamarche says as the outdoor smoker puffs.

V & V Scratch Kitchen is located at 6108 Brownsville Road Ext., Finleyville. For more information, call 724-782-0595 or visit vandvkitchen.com.