Normally my husband posts about our meals. This time I thought I’d give it a shot. After years of talking about it, we finally got decided to go to the Inn at Little Washington to celebrate my husband's birthday. Since no one has posted about the Inn a few months, here is a more detailed description of our meal.
The Prelude: First came a small stack of thinly sliced brown bread with raisins and a poppy seed role. Without any explanation, my husband got only the small stack of sliced brown bread. His poppy seed roll arrived during the second course- they are much better when they are fresh from the oven. The brown bread with raisins was delicious. The presentation was unexpected and made for easy eating. The bread was served with room temperature butter (I hate it when places serve bread with cold butter). The amuse followed in the presentation that we had read about- a small plate with four spoons. The waiter explained that each spoon was meant to be eaten in a single bite. We got a cube of watermelon with balsamic and cilantro, a ball of melon with prosciutto, a tiny rockshrimp (can't remember with what), and a roasted pepper puree. The table next to us had two different items: the world's smallest stuffed baked potato and a beet mousse quennelle. There was clearly no good way to split the little spoons. It was irritating not to get to try everything. Next came a duck consomme. It was dark and rich and presented without spoons in little teacups.
First Course: I had the Melange of Spicy Big Eye Tuna. I could have eaten bowls of it. It was served with a Sake-Yuzu sorbet that was added to the bowl at the table and then melted over the tuna to form a cold broth. The tuna perfect and the dish had just the right amount of refreshing-heat and sweetness. My husband had the carpacchio of lamb. It was neat play on lamb and mint as it was served with a tabbouli salad. The portion was dauntingly large. The lamb was translucent, melted in your mouth and was not at all gamey.
Second Course: I had the hot and cold foie gras which was served with pickled cherries and a tiny buttered brioche toast. Both pieces were perfectly seasoned and cooked. The pickled cherries added a great contrast and the cold foie gras on the buttered brioche toast was rich and delicious. My husband had the soft shell crab tempura. It was served on a piece of compressed watermelon, which was an interesting touch. Again, perfectly cooked and the tempura batter was cripsy and light.
Main Course: I had the crispy sweetbreads with local peaches and chanterelles. The plate arrived with three large sweetbreads, lightly fried and in a rich brown sauce. The peaches were in tiny balls and were intensely peachy. All of this was served over a small amount of fresh tagliatelle. It was delicious. My husband had the tuna pretending to be filet mignon capped with seared duck foie gras. First of all, the serving was huge. The slice of foie gras was larger than the one on my second course. The combination of raw seared tuna steak and duck liver was pretty amazing. It was probably the best piece of tune either of us had ever eaten. It was a highlight of the meal.
Dessert: Before dessert we were presented with mini Stawberry-Passionfruit-Basil Bubble Teas in shot glasses with the traditional wide straw. The tapioca pearls were tiny and the flavor was fresh and intense. Not sure why we got them since they were on the tasting menu, but we were glad that we did. We loved them. For my actual dessert, I had the chocolate ménage a trois. The mini soufflé was overcooked and tough and the caramelized sugar on the crème brulee was cold. We both really loved the black forest mousse bomb, which was the best thing on the plate. My husband ordered the cheese for dessert and we got to experience Faira the Cow first hand. The fromager was very knowledgeable and put together a really interesting selection of cheeses. We were both impressed by his professionalism- he came to our table after being mocked by a rowdy table near us where, much to the shock and horror of her companions, one member of the party ordered cheese for dessert. This is when having well rehearsed service was an advantage-despite their hysterical laughter as he described all of the cheese, the gentleman pressed on as if the group was being attentive and polite.
The lobby and main dining room had large arrangements of Asiatic lilies and you could smell them through the whole restaurant. We were seated in a small glassed-in room off the parlor. The room was notably chilly, at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the restaurant. The direct garden view was great, but we missed out on the superior people watching and eavesdropping potential of the main dining room.
We both thought the service that they are so famous for was attentive, but not perfect. The pacing seemed off. One waiter was always hovering to clear plates making me feel rushed. The soufflé and crème brulee might have been better if I had eaten them immediately, but I wanted to wait to start until after my husband’s cheese had been served. We ordered two half bottles of wine and the second did not arrive until several minutes after the main course had been served. Clearly service with a smile and making customers happy is a big priority because at least three different times during our meal we heard one of the managers strongly chastising various staff members for not being sufficiently accommodating and friendly to guests. One other issue: there were mosquitoes in the restaurant. In addition to the little basket of mini goodies, I left with three bites on my arm.
After reading some of the posts we were nervous that that their food would be tired and lacking innovation. We didn’t go there looking for cutting edge molecular gastronomy and so we pleasantly surprised by menu items like the compressed watermelon and bubble tea. We were both impressed with the subtle way they showcased seasonal items. Our overall impression was that the food and service were excellent, just not perfect. The meal was expensive without seeming over-priced. We both agree that we're in no rush to go back unless someone else was paying for it, but we’d volunteer to drive.
Normally my husband posts about our meals. This time I thought I’d give it a shot. After years of talking about it, we finally got decided to go to the Inn at Little Washington to celebrate my husband's birthday. Since no one has posted about the Inn a few months, here is a more detailed description of our meal. The Prelude: First came a small stack of thinly sliced brown bread with raisins and a poppy seed role. Without any explanation, my husband got only the small stack of sliced brown bread. His poppy seed roll arrived during the second course- they are much better when they are fresh from the oven. The brown bread with raisins was delicious. The presentation was unexpected and made for easy eating. The bread was served with room temperature butter (I hate it when places serve bread with cold butter). The amuse followed in the presentation that we had read about- a small plate with four spoons. The waiter explained that each spoon was meant to be eaten in a single bite. We got a cube of watermelon with balsamic and cilantro, a ball of melon with prosciutto, a tiny rockshrimp (can't remember with what), and a roasted pepper puree. The table next to us had two different items: the world's smallest stuffed baked potato and a beet mousse quennelle. There was clearly no good way to split the little spoons. It was irritating not to get to try everything. Next came a duck consomme. It was dark and rich and presented without spoons in little teacups. First Course: I had the Melange of Spicy Big Eye Tuna. I could have eaten bowls of it. It was served with a Sake-Yuzu sorbet that was added to the bowl at the table and then melted over the tuna to form a cold broth. The tuna perfect and the dish had just the right amount of refreshing-heat and sweetness. My husband had the carpacchio of lamb. It was neat play on lamb and mint as it was served with a tabbouli salad. The portion was dauntingly large. The lamb was translucent, melted in your mouth and was not at all gamey. Second Course: I had the hot and cold foie gras which was served with pickled cherries and a tiny buttered brioche toast. Both pieces were perfectly seasoned and cooked. The pickled cherries added a great contrast and the cold foie gras on the buttered brioche toast was rich and delicious. My husband had the soft shell crab tempura. It was served on a piece of compressed watermelon, which was an interesting touch. Again, perfectly cooked and the tempura batter was cripsy and light. Main Course: I had the crispy sweetbreads with local peaches and chanterelles. The plate arrived with three large sweetbreads, lightly fried and in a rich brown sauce. The peaches were in tiny balls and were intensely peachy. All of this was served over a small amount of fresh tagliatelle. It was delicious. My husband had the tuna pretending to be filet mignon capped with seared duck foie gras. First of all, the serving was huge. The slice of foie gras was larger than the one on my second course. The combination of raw seared tuna steak and duck liver was pretty amazing. It was probably the best piece of tune either of us had ever eaten. It was a highlight of the meal. Dessert: Before dessert we were presented with mini Stawberry-Passionfruit-Basil Bubble Teas in shot glasses with the traditional wide straw. The tapioca pearls were tiny and the flavor was fresh and intense. Not sure why we got them since they were on the tasting menu, but we were glad that we did. We loved them. For my actual dessert, I had the chocolate ménage a trois. The mini soufflé was overcooked and tough and the caramelized sugar on the crème brulee was cold. We both really loved the black forest mousse bomb, which was the best thing on the plate. My husband ordered the cheese for dessert and we got to experience Faira the Cow first hand. The fromager was very knowledgeable and put together a really interesting selection of cheeses. We were both impressed by his professionalism- he came to our table after being mocked by a rowdy table near us where, much to the shock and horror of her companions, one member of the party ordered cheese for dessert. This is when having well rehearsed service was an advantage-despite their hysterical laughter as he described all of the cheese, the gentleman pressed on as if the group was being attentive and polite. The lobby and main dining room had large arrangements of Asiatic lilies and you could smell them through the whole restaurant. We were seated in a small glassed-in room off the parlor. The room was notably chilly, at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the restaurant. The direct garden view was great, but we missed out on the superior people watching and eavesdropping potential of the main dining room. We both thought the service that they are so famous for was attentive, but not perfect. The pacing seemed off. One waiter was always hovering to clear plates making me feel rushed. The soufflé and crème brulee might have been better if I had eaten them immediately, but I wanted to wait to start until after my husband’s cheese had been served. We ordered two half bottles of wine and the second did not arrive until several minutes after the main course had been served. Clearly service with a smile and making customers happy is a big priority because at least three different times during our meal we heard one of the managers strongly chastising various staff members for not being sufficiently accommodating and friendly to guests. One other issue: there were mosquitoes in the restaurant. In addition to the little basket of mini goodies, I left with three bites on my arm. After reading some of the posts we were nervous that that their food would be tired and lacking innovation. We didn’t go there looking for cutting edge molecular gastronomy and so we pleasantly surprised by menu items like the compressed watermelon and bubble tea. We were both impressed with the subtle way they showcased seasonal items. Our overall impression was that the food and service were excellent, just not perfect. The meal was expensive without seeming over-priced. We both agree that we're in no rush to go back unless someone else was paying for it, but we’d volunteer to drive.