We discovered this hidden Inn a few years back. We don’t live far, so we’ve never actually stayed there overnight, but we have eaten dinner there quite a few times. It was the bee’s knees when we first started going. It was something different within a comfortable driving distance. The owners are the most pleasant people and waitress we always seemed to have so warm and welcoming. We love out-of-the-way places and the Inn at Vaucluse Spring offers a large old farm house setting to dine in. Mike grew up in a similar house and he’s even commented that certain details, like the big floor to ceiling doors and doorknobs, remind him of his old home. It’s quaint and grand all at the same time. There are about seven tables per dining room, with the addition of one sitting area for everyone to gather pre-dinner for whatever punch concoction they put out for you. Those concoctions are really spectacular by the way, I believe I’ve had a few ginger lemonades, ciders, and sangrias that taste just as good going down as they look in that ornate crystal bowl.

Again, the food has been great over the years, but we have noticed certain cooking trends and can pretty much expect every main course to be sous vide. That’s wonderful for some proteins that can be tough or even helpful to infuse certain flavors into the meat. Fillet of Beef, however, does not benefit from this cooking style. It can turn it into bland mush. Pork has always be sous vide here and that is disheartening because getting that fat to melt into the meat and crisping up the skin on a tenderloin is really a culinary delight. You put a sliced, pink, water infused essence in front of me and I can’t tell if it’s pork or chicken or mutton. All the flavor that we’ve come to love in a particular protein can be sous vide right out of it.

Our last trip to the Inn at Vaucluse Spring just happened to be a wine dinner for a local Virginia winery. Knowing beforehand that local wine isn’t the quality we prefer, we were really going for the food and setting. It had been about a year since we had been there and we were ready to see what had changed and what had stayed the same. The farm house was still as charming as ever. Hard wood floors, ceiling height that could easily double what is standard for today’s houses. Beautiful wide entryways and tastefully decorated so that you really feel like you are in an old Virginia farm home. The owner was happy and welcoming as he greeted us at the door as usual. It was nice that he remembered us as well. The pre-dinner gathering drink was a Sav Blanc from the local winery hosting the dinner. It was good, but I missed my Vaucluse punch. We had an introduction to the winery owners and Chef Adam Policinski as well. Before every meal, he comes out to greet the guests and give them a brief summary of what is to come in the meal. He will also come out at the end for a round of applause and questions. It’s homey and a nice touch.

We sat down to dinner and our menus were placed at our setting so we could keep track of what we ate and what was to come. Oooo…two proteins on this one! Pork tenderloin, and smoked fillet of beef. Surely both wouldn’t be sous vided? Alas, they were. While the entire meal was good, it made us think that maybe he cooked every protein in this way because he wasn’t confident doing it any other. We began to doubt the ability only because we had only ever eaten a main dish that was sous vide by this chef. Is it difficult? When I was 22, I cooked my first turkey in a bag. They told me it would be the easiest way for a beginner. It came out fine, but had no flavor or crispy skin! Thank goodness for age and experience because now I pride myself on my beautiful brown, juicy, flavorful turkey with the crispiest skin in three counties. I think Chef Adam would benefit by stepping out of his “easy” and will probably be surprised at how good his food can get without a sous vide safety net. Needless to say, our applause was half-hearted at the end of the night. This Chef has an interesting palate and his combinations in dishes are curious, with most of them being quite appealing. If we could just get him to char, grill, sauté, or roast something, he would get a standing ovation for sure.

Below is our menu from the wine dinner:

Compressed melon, sparkling strawberry, tomato lavender dressing, serrano ham, and micro pea tendril

Spicy scallop dashi, Chinese greens, house made bacon, with fried wonton crisps

Pork tenderloin, cambozola polenta, sautéed beets, and sesame beet vinaigrette

Smoked fillet of beef, braised fennel, pistachio, potato puree, and coffee hazelnut demi-glace

Grilled vanilla pudding, rosemary ice cream, almond cake, orange Pernod syrup, and curried marcona almond brittle.

The East Coast is often picked on by the West in the United States. Our beaches aren’t warm and sunny all year round. Our snow is more like hard ice pellets unlike the soft powder of the West. They say we are grumpy, pushy, formal, workaholics while the West is beautiful, laid back, and kind. We do have one up our West Coast pals…The Inn at Little Washington. Say what you will about my cold and hard-working end of the United States, but try as you might, you will never beat this food and service.  Sure, you have the French Laundry. I’ve had the honor of eating there and it was without a doubt enjoyable…but we still have something better. I’m not one crazy woman out there being bitter than I wasn’t born in Napa. There are quite a few people I know, and apparently a few more online that will tell you the same thing. My first trip to the Inn, I could tell you what I ate there months later. The French Laundry, not so much. One reviewer claimed the Inn was “easier to get excited about”. That is an accurate statement for me as well. It’s not a stuffy, nose-in-the-air, can’t get a reservation hype. It’s genuine people, loving what they do, and making you feel like they care. Pulling up to the Inn, your door is opened and you are greeted by the courteous valet. Upon entering the doors, you are once again warmly and happily greeted in the foyer. A few drinks before dinner? There are so many places to relax and enjoy one of their tremendous cocktails (The Diplomat, Tree Trunk, and Cherry Bomb are fabulous!)…the bar, the sitting room, the garden patio…they will put you anywhere that makes you happy. Going straight to the table? You will be served a “Warm Welcome”, a signature light and bubbly drink at the Inn at Little Washington. The service is OUTSTANDING. You will never find better service…anywhere. Not even in your mother’s own house. Sorry, Mom, but these people made a business out of catering to every whim.

A very good friend of ours was enjoying a meal there with his family. He wanted to try one of the Inn’s extensive collection of cigars. After dessert, he excused himself to the patio to enjoy the cigar. It just happened to be raining outside. A staff member stepped outside not only to cut and light his cigar, but to hold an umbrella over him while he smoked. Oh yeah…that’s service! I was dining there with my fiancée and one of his old friends just last year. The boys were catching up and enjoying cigars and bourbon on the patio. I was the designated driver, so the staff brought me out complementary hot chocolate (the real kind made with actual melted chocolate and milk), and a blanket to keep my legs warm in the chilly fall weather. It was nothing I would ever ask for, but they anticipated a need and took initiative. All that and I haven’t even begun reviewing the food!

You will remember this meal…the tastes, the mixture of flavors, the aromas, and the delighted look on the server’s face as he places it in front of you. All the senses are stimulated in a progressive and upbeat manner. The food is so good that others try to duplicate it. I’ve seen other restaurants attempt to serve eerily similar looking dishes, but the flavor is never as complex and pleasing as what you will be served at the Inn. Their Truffle Dusted Popcorn was featured as a recipe in the Washington Post. Restaurants don’t usually do this, but it’s just popcorn, right? Other restaurants have put it on their menu. Heck, we even try to make it at home. It’s never as good as the Inn’s. They have an edge in the culinary department. There is an intuition there, similar to anticipating the needs of a guest, herein the ability to understand how the palate transcribes pleasurable tastes to the brain.

The Gastronaut’s Menu is the way to go. People are flabbergasted at a $208 price tag. Pricey, yes…but if you compare it with the prices people are willing to pay for chain steakhouses and what you actually get in return, it’s a steal. The people of America waste their money on cigarettes, Starbucks, cable channels, and underwear. What do you get out of it? Make yourself feel like a King for one evening and appreciate the high level of service and even higher quality of food that you just don’t get anywhere else.

This wouldn’t be a full review of the Inn if I didn’t talk about the cheese. Cameron, the Maître Fromager, or “resident cheese whiz” is absolutely amazing. He is clever, funny, ridiculously knowledgeable, and is a true gem for this establishment. Faira, the cow on wheels, will accompany Cameron throughout the restaurant to present and deliver your cheese course at the end of your meal. If you’ve never spoken with a cheese master, Cameron would be the one to start with. It’s a passion and delight for him to speak with you about the cheese. Where it comes from, what the cow ate, how the cow was kept, where it slept at night…and so forth. Part of the experience is to have this new character come to your table to discuss what you will soon be indulging in. Savor it!

Below was our menu from one of our trips. No doubt when you go it will be different, but it just may be the best dinner you’ve ever had.

Truffle Dusted Popcorn

A Shot of Chilled Local Plum Soup

A Tin of Sin: American Osetra Caviar with Peektoe Crab and Cucumber Rillette

A Quartet of Rappahannock River Barcat Oyster Slurpees

Chicken Fried Frog Legs with Garlic-Parsley Puree and Gremolata

Miniature Filet of Cod Saute with Lemon Vodka Sauce and Lilliputian Pork Dumplings

Fricassee of Maine Lobster with Potato Gnocchi, Green Grapes and Curried Pecans

Pan Seared Duck Breast with Roasted Cipollini Onions and Duck Jus Perfumed with Thyme

Pineapple-Lemongrass Sorbet with Pink Peppercorn Granita

A Miniature Blueberry Crisp with Limoncello Pudding Cake and Summer Berry Frozen Yogurt

Many of our customers ask, where can I go to taste some of your wines? There are many restaurants in Virginia and D.C., but if you want to know where we go to taste our wines, L’Auberge Provencale of White Post is the answer. We have had numerous tastings at their lovely French provincial themed estate. It is a Bed and Breakfast, but boasts one of the most amazing menus and luckily welcomes reservations for their restaurant to the public. They get a lot of guests from “the City” as we call it in Winchester. Couples from D.C. flock to this little hideaway just to get away from the hustle and bustle. We are fortunate to live just a few minutes away, so our escape to their charming haven is slightly less dramatic. We might be the only people to dine there and use our regular voices. We can spot the out of-towners whispering of even just sitting in silence with each other. It welcomes you like a home, and we choose to be comfortable and happy in conversation there.

They proudly offer “Farm to Table” cuisine in a Southern French style. Timeless Wines has one of the best French portfolios you can find, and you can order most them with your meal here. The Sommelier, Christian Borel, has worked for his family’s estate for some time and is brilliant when it comes to choosing what wine will go best with your courses. You can even spot our wines in the pictures on their websites.

We have eaten there so many times, that it has become our “go-to” restaurant for not only wine dinners, but any special occasion like New Year’s Eve, or even on those days when all the small accomplishments you achieve finally add up to a nice meal out.

L’Auberge always serves an attractive amuse bouche to start. It sets a wonderful tone for the evening of beautiful presentation and flavorful dishes. The fall and winter menus incorporate Kobe and Duck, while the summer menus feature all the fresh vegetables from their garden. I will post their summer menu we just had the other night, but be sure to check out their website later in the year for new menus. They offer a three course, five course, and chef’s tasting menu.

James River Oysters- these were the creamiest texture I have ever experienced, and the mignonette served with them was the perfect amount of acidity. They were gone in minutes.

Parmesan Truffle Popcorn- We had our first truffled popcorn at the Inn at Little Washington. We try to recreate the snack at home thanks to our online truffle purchasing. L’Auberge does a great job with their version as well. With the prices they charge at the theatres, they might as well start serving truffle popcorn…we might actually go then!

Buttermilk Biscuit Crab Fritter- Roasted Garlic & Basil Aioli, Sungold Tomato Jam-Golden delicious buttery biscuit with a sharp and aromatic crab center.

Garden Tomato Soup- Wild mushroom farce, truffle froth- There is NOTHING like a hot, savory soup made fresh from the garden to get me going. It was perfection in a bowl.

Scrapple- Quail Egg, Spiced Apple Butter, Peach Butter

Warm Potato Salad- Vichey Cream, Charred Tomato Vinaigrette- Potato salad in its purest form! The potatoes (both cubed and whole baby rounds) were cooked perfectly. The cream and tomato gave such complementary flavors that I had to touch my potato in both for each bite!

Blue Cheese Brulee- Cheddar Cracker with Smoked Apple Gel, Sweetened Chevre Milk with Fruit Compote- This was Mike’s favorite part of the dinner. The goat cheese and fruit compote milkshake was beyond any cheeslover’s expectation. He asked if I could reproduce this at home…it’s a good thing we live close by, as I doubt I could ever get it to taste that good.

Painted Hills Ribeye- Cous Cous, Fried Brussels sprouts, Horseradish Foam, Dill Jus-This was Mike’s entrée and he claims it rivaled the goat cheese milkshake as the best part of the meal.

Blue Marlin- Garden Plum Tomato Puree, Haricot Vert, Amaranth- A thick square cut piece of marlin served with fresh vegetables and a tangy tomato puree.

Strawberry and Grand Mariner Soufflé with Molten Chocolate- I snapped of a picture of this bad boy for you. Soufflés are the other love of my life. I look for them everywhere. When I finally find one, I leave no trace in the dish. Such was the case here!