Until recently I had experienced two restaurants that were
incomparable to any other. The first was
the Paul Bocuse Restaurant near Lyon, France in 2000 and the second was Jean
Georges in New York City circa 2002. Two
completely different experiences yet unequaled in food, service, ambiance and
so much more. I would go as far as to
call each of them a meal of a lifetime.
Last week I was lucky enough to add a third restaurant experience to
this category – The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.
I originally heard of the Inn at Little Washington over 20
years ago on a travel show. Food and
travel shows weren’t as popular then as they are today, but did air once in a
while on PBS or some obscure cable channel.
Even back then, I was fascinated with food and the concept of cooking seasonal
and local cuisine and that is what this restaurant made famous long before it
was the thing to do. The Inn at Little Washington
is also an actual historic inn. For
years I’ve thought about visiting the restaurant and possibly stay at the inn
but alas, had never had the opportunity; until recently when I planned a trip to
the Shenandoah Valley with my son. We did
not stay at the inn and in fact the restaurant was over an hour’s drive from
our hotel but I was determined to go and lucky enough to get reservations.
Now you might think it’s a bit ridiculous to take a 12 year
old to a place like this and even the person who took my reservation commented
how lucky he would be to have this experience.
The thought crossed my mind too, but I knew my son would love the food
and he had recently won a poetry contest at school so I decided to reward him
with a great meal and memory rather than buy him something that would be
temporary.
It was great to return to this region after so many
years. I had visited last in 1977 during
our move from Tennessee to New York so it was strange to relive those memories
with my son. As I walked through Luray
Caverns, drove down Skyline Drive and hiked along the Natural Bridge I realized
how time flies and yet so many things remain the same. Perhaps one of the stalactites had grown a
millimeter since I saw it last but I wouldn’t possibly notice.
On the day of our reservations at the Inn, we took on a
fairly challenging hike of approximate 3 miles to a waterfall along Skyline
Drive which was a steady descent to the falls but quite a climb back along the
Appalachian Trail. In fact Fitbit
awarded me my first 100 flights climbed in a day badge after this hike. It was
the perfect way to work up an appetite we would surely need to enjoy the feast
that was to be put in front of us later that evening.
When we arrived at the Inn, we were promptly greeted by the valets
who parked our car and escorted us inside.
My son loved that they called him “sir” though he did look quite grown
up in his dress pants, button down shirt and jacket which he reluctantly wore
at my insistence. The Inn is located in a charming old building and decorated quite traditionally inside. We were guided to our
table and given menus that were created just for us and even had our name on
it. Apparently they do a separate menu
for each party based on any allergies, dislikes, etc. which they inquired about
when I made the reservation. Upon taking
our seats, our waiter immediately asked if he could get us some drinks since it
was so warm and humid outside. I opted
for a glass of champagne (an apropos start I thought), and my son ordered sweet
tea which you can do in the South.
As we were perusing our menus and asking questions, a
passing thunderstorm caused a loss of power and we were left sitting in the
dark until all the staff at the Inn hustled to bring out lanterns and candles
for the tables. This was turning into
and even more interesting and exciting experience.
Even in the dark, the staff did not miss a beat. The manager stopped at each table to ensure
all was ok and spent extra time with my son to reassure him that all would be
fine. To which my son responded with “hey,
I lived for 5 weeks without power during Irene and 4 weeks during Sandy, I’m fine
thank you.” We were immediately handed
modified menus which removed any items that needed to be cooked in an
oven.
With a little bit of coaxing they allowed me to order their
gastronaut’s menu which consists of ten courses while my son ordered the 6
course a la carte menu. Generally
everyone in the party is required to order one or the other. What can I say, we are both pretty persuasive
and this is where it definitely doesn’t hurt to have a companion who is 12
years old.
The meal my son chose :
 |
| Baby Lamb Carpaccio with Caesar Salad Ice Cream |
- Truffle Dusted Popcorn
- Shot of Cucumber Vichyssoise
- Carpaccio of Herb Crusted Baby Lamb Loin with Caesar Salad Ice Cream
- Aged Gouda Macaroni and Cheese with Virginia Country Ham
- Pepper Crusted Tuna Pretending to be a Filet Mignon capped with Seared Duck Foie Gras on Charred Onions & Burgundy Butter Sauce
- Southern Butter Pecan Ice Cream Sandwich with Bittersweet Chocolate and Hot Caramel Sauce
 |
| Cucumber Vichyssoise |
 |
| Aged Gouda Macaroni & Cheese |
 |
| Southern Butter Pecan Ice Cream Sandwich |
My Gastronaut’s Menu:
- Truffle Dusted Popcorn
- Shot of Cucumber Vichyssoise
- Savory Panna Cotta with a Caviar Surprise & Quail Egg
- Summer Maine Lobster Potato Salad
- Black Cod and Gulf Shrimp in an Orange-Saffron Broth with Tomato Jam
- Antarctic Sea Bass in an Dashi Broth Perfumed with Ginger ( my favorite dish)
- Truffle-Stuffed Breast of Pheasant on Garden Succotash and Sauteed Golden Chanterelles
- Prosciutto Wrapped Loin of Veal with La Ratte Potato Puree and Summer Vegetables
- Strawberry Gin Sorbet with Lemon Granite and Champagne Sabayon
- Bitter Chocolate Marquise “Taillevent” with Pistachio Ice Cream
 |
| Panna Cotta with Caviar Surprise |
 |
| Black Cod & Gulf Shrimp |
 |
| Sea Bass in Dashi Broth |
 |
| Maine Lobster Potato Salad |
 |
| Truffle Stuffed Pheasant |
 |
| Strawberry Gin Sorbet etc. |
 |
| My dessert |
Prior to our meal we were served a tray of Amuse Bouche which
included Compressed Watermelon with Goat Cheese, Bloody Mary Jelly Bean and “Chips
and Dip” in a molecular gastronomical sort of way. With my meal I chose to order a half bottle of
the 2011 Ken Wright Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir.
It was a delicious wine that was complex and earthy with great
balance. It didn’t work with all of my
courses but I just drank water with those.
We ate part of our meal by iPhone light which made for an interesting
adventure which we will not soon forget.
Many of the photos I’ve shown were also taken under the light of my son’s
phone making for some pretty good shots.
In the end it was best to have ordered the different menus because
it gave my son a break between each of his courses allowing him to rest and
build up an appetite for the next course.
He polished off every bit of food he was served except for the popcorn
which he didn’t care for too much. His
favorite was the lamb carpaccio – something he had never tried before. I really love that he is so adventurous with
food. It makes it so much easier for me
to eat at good restaurants when we travel.
I’m not sure what I would do if I had a child who only ate the standards
and always looked for a chain restaurant or worse yet, fast food.
Despite the challenges of a power outage, the Inn at Little Washington
managed to provide us with a fantastic experience and my third meal of a
lifetime. We were not rushed but were
given attention when needed - that is the sign of exemplary service. Completely full and satisfied, we retrieved
our car and I drove back to our hotel through thunderstorms and a very dark
Shenandoah State Park while my son slept like a baby.
I hope someday I will return to the Inn at Little Washington
as well as to Jean Georges and Paul Bocuse.
Perhaps I’ll be lucky enough to have a fourth meal of a lifetime, but
for now I’m still flying high from this recent experience.
Note: We stayed in a hotel with a kitchen and ate all the other dinners in and mostly picnicked for our lunches to be able to pay for this extravagant treat. It was well worth it!!
