2009 Fall Dining Guide

By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

The recession has forced a lot of us to rethink our budgets and reevaluate our wish lists. Sadly, luxury restaurants are sometimes the first treats to go. If it's at all possible, try not to trim the inn from your options. More than three decades after he opened its now-gilded doors 90 minutes from The Other Washington, chef-owner Patrick O'Connell and company continue to spin dreams into reality in four dining rooms dressed as if royalty were expected for dinner. More than two dozen dishes make it hard to settle on just one from each of the three savory courses, but if forced to choose, I'd probably opt for the baby lamb carpaccio, cleverly joined on its plate by Caesar salad ice cream that becomes a dressing as it slowly melts; a fricassee of sweet lobster partnered with delicate gnocchi and curried walnuts; and sweetbreads as you rarely find them: gently crisp, a little custardy, and lavished with local grilled peaches and nearby ham. The inn occasionally abandons the Full Pamper, as when a server unceremoniously deposits Seven Deadly Sins, a fanciful sampler of sweets, with nary an explanation of what's on the platter. Still, it remains the region's most romantic destination and counts among the wittiest. Overheard in the posh cocoon of a lounge: "Some people tell us they feel like they're in a movie when they're at the inn," a server tells a couple as he shaves summer truffles over a little box of popcorn. Easing a twosome into a cozy corner banquette overlooking the restaurant's garden, the same chap warns his charges with a wink, "The only way out is to eat your way out!" Now that's a challenge any food lover can (and should) relish.