This restaurant and Inn is located roughly 70 miles from downtown DC and is as beautiful and charming as they get here in the US (and Europe?) The town of Washington, VA has notable history and was first surveyed by George Washington in 1749.  Since that time, it’s grown to the unwieldy population of… 183 people. How a destination of this grandeur and success began here is beyond me but no doubt, this rural, remote location is part of its charm.

The restaurant was founded by Patrick O’Connell close to 30 years ago and grew from a small catering company that he and partner Reinhardt Lynch started out of their home. Today, this operation has grown into a restaurant that has been rated one of the Top 10 Best Restaurants in the World by The International Herald Tribune and rated as the number 1 Inn in the US by Zagat. Not too shabby.

My first visit to the Inn was nearly 4 years ago while I was in DC for business and I made a reservation for myself and another co-worker. The restaurant’s habit of printing each parties menu with a personal touch, in this case the menu read “A Warm Welcome to the Dunnuck Party”, had my colleague looking over his should wondering if there was an ulterior motive. Regardless, the meal was spectacular and the evening was memorable enough for me to book another reservation for my wife and other family members.

Upon arriving this time, the two lovable Dalmatians that had guarded the entry way during my last visit and gave the room such a comfortable feel were missing but the real fire burning in the entry hearth compensated nicely.

Food:

We started out with a small plate of amuse bouche and then were served a decadently rich, apple and rutabaga cream soup. This small serving was so good I could easily have settled for a large bowl for the evening and been happy. After this intro, the first courses started and the Mélange of Spicy Big Eye Tuna literally exploded on the tongue with flavor. While excellent, the Carpaccio of Herb Crusted Baby Lamb and Tabouli and Rosemary Mustard lacked a little excitement but a Poached Pullet Egg in Duck Consommé with Hedgehog Mushrooms and Shaved Black Truffle had me breaking out into a sweat when they started shaving a massive truffle over the top. Perfumed, rich and just brilliant.

The second courses were all excellent with Fricassee of Maine Lobster with Potato Gnocchi, Green Grapes and Curried Walnuts taking the cake. I had ordered the same Foie Gras dish, A marriage of Hot and Cold Foie Gras with Ice Wine Jelly and House Made Quince Preserves, during my last visit and this time it wasn’t as good. The Foie Gras portions were noticeably smaller but none, the less, still delicious. The country classic of Macaroni and Cheese with Virginia Country Ham, Aged Gouda and Shaved Black Truffle certainly satisfied as well.

The Main Courses also lived up to the billing with a perfectly done Pot-Au-Feu: Prime Tenderloin of Beef, Braised Pork Belly and Breast of Chicken simmered in an Aromatic Broth with Winter Vegetables. Having cooked Pork Belly recently, I’d love to know how they deal with all of the fat. I queried the waiter and wasn’t buying his 12 hour, slow cook, fat disappears story. The Pepper Crusted Tuna, Pretending to be a Filet Mignon, Capped with Seared Duck Foie Gras on Charred Onions with a Burgundy Butter Sauce was stunning and even more enjoyable when my cousin pretended that a slice of Foie Gras was Tuna and served it to his beef hating wife. The hopeful, wife realizes she loves Foie Gras, was not the outcome. An additional order of Veal Sweetbreads Braised in Ruby Port on Pappardelle Pasta with Huckleberries and Country Ham was disappointing and undercooked. I had this same dish on the last visit and had billed this as the best Sweetbreads going so this was a disappointment and a let down. The Pan Roasted Maine Lobster with Baby Bok Choy, Grapefruit and Citrus Butter Sauce was “perfectly succulent” per the wife.

By the time dessert rolled around, I think we were all sufficiently sated and a couple tried to bow out and pass completely… no way, no how and a quick switch to the cheese tray ensued. This place has a cheese service that will rival anything Europe can dish out. Perfectly ripe Époisses, pungent Camembert, you name it, they had it. The traditional desserts were also perfectly prepared and the Hot Granny Smith Apple Tart with Buttermilk Ice Cream was as good as that dessert can get. Other notables include A Chocolate Ménage a Trois: Black Forest Mousse Bombe, Chocolate Crème Brulee and Bitter Chocolate Soufflé and a dish that was easier to look at than eat; A Chocolate Mint Fantasy: Our Mint Ice Cream Festooned with Chocolate Streamers.

Wine:

Surprisingly, the wine list was reasonably priced and had numerous selections under $100 (a good number under $50 even.) We were definitely going for value so I grabbed a 2005 Clos du Mont Olivet Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes Montueil la Levade off the list for $35 bucks. We decanted this and it showed beautifully with dark, rich fruit, minerals and graphite aromas, medium to full body and a long finish. While this lacked complexity, it had enough depth and richness on the palate to warrant a year or two in the cellar (90pts.)

The Sommelier recommended the 2005 Frederic Mabileau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Eclipse ($40) and despite my reservations regarding these wines, this was stunning. The bouquet was stacked with smoky, charred lead pencil notes, tobacco, ripe herbs and concentrated cherry and dark fruit notes. Very tannic on the palate, this fleshed out in the decanter and was just beautiful by the end of the evening (92pts.)

After ponying up our life’s saving to cover the tab, we were treated to a tour of the kitchen. Immaculate, precise and streamlined, just seeing this orchestrated performance in action was fantastic and capped a lovely evening with my wife Traci and family. This restaurant is so good, it’s worth the flight to DC alone.

Salut and thanks for reading!

- Jeb Dunnuck

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 10:17 pm and is filed under Random Notes, restaurant reviews, tasting notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.