Inn at Little Washington

I started writing this post on the 15th. Today's the 29th. Better late -- two weeks late -- than never?

On Thursday, the 13th, we went to the Inn at Little Washington to kick off Mary Ellen's 60th birthday celebration. (See the previous post, "Every year at this time . . . ")

Last spring, Cassie and Roger gave us an outrageously large gift certificate for the Inn -- ostensibly as thanks for helping them get their house ready for sale. They would have saved a lot of money (and got better workmanship) if they'd just hired a union carpenter and a professional interior designer.

Washington, Virginia is about an hour and a half from Vienna. We arrived around 3:30 and checked into the bed and breakfast we would be staying at -- the Foster Harris House. I'm not wild about B&Bs, but neither am I wild about a long drive over dark country roads after eating and drinking for several hours. Also, the B&B made the trip a little more special.

Washington is the county seat of Rappahanock County, but it is still a small town. Very, very small. The "downtown" is four blocks long and two blocks wide. Total population of the town: 147. After dropping our bag at the B&B and enjoying a complimentary glass of wine, it took us a total of about 15 minutes to see everything there is to see in town. Thence, back to the B&B to relax in back yard, me with a New Yorker article about colic, of all things, and Mary Ellen with a sudoku. I also got a chance to play fetch with our hosts' beautiful young Labrador retriever.

Our dinner reservation was for 6:30. Service was excellent and very correct, but less formal and much more down-to-earth than I expected. We began with a small tray of four tiny appetizers (shrimp, watermelon, something else, and something else), followed by a tomato, beet, and orange (I think) bisque that was very good.

Mary Ellen ordered:

• Crisp Maryland crabcakes with a trio of summer sauces: garden sorrel, classic tartar and roasted red pepper
• Seared diver's scallop with olive tapenade in gazpacho, and, as her main course,
• Pan seared grouper on parsley risotto and ginger stewed tomatoes with caramelized baby bok-choy

Dan ordered:

• Fire and Ice: Seared tuna sashimi with daikon radish and cucumber sorbet
• Carpaccio of herb crusted baby lamb with tabouli and rosemary mustard, and, as his main course,
• Pepper crusted tuna pretending to be a filet mignon capped with seared duck foie gras on charred onions with a burgundy butter sauce

Pretty good memory, huh?

(No. They gave us a menu as a souvenir. )

Inn_at_LW

Click the menu for a larger view.

A waitress suggested appropriate wines for the main courses.

Mary Ellen's meal was very good. Dan's was outstanding.

For dessert, Mary Ellen asked for "Seven deadly sins: a sampling of seven of our most decadent desserts" and Dan asked for a glass of Courvoisier. Bless her heart, Mary Ellen shared her dessert with Dan. Dan didn't share his Courvoisier with Mary Ellen.

Afterwards, we were given a short tour of the kitchen and then we strolled back to the B&B, arriving a little before 10, and enjoyed (well, sipped at) a glass of port in the living room before turning in.

The second "B" part of our B&B was at 9:00 the next morning, and it was a little more elaborate than we're accustomed to. OJ and coffee, of course, along with fresh baked croissant and a custard yogurt with fresh fruit. Then, poached egg on puff pastry with sun-dried tomato sausage and avocado salsa. Finish with a tiny wedge of German pancake filled with lemon curd. Lots of firsts for me: My first yogurt, my first poached egg, my first avocado. I could have lived a full life without ever tasting any of them, but I can't say that they caused me any problem.