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Riverstead (Formerly Town House), Chilhowie, VA - Chefs John and Karen Shields Have Reopened, But Are Departing For Good April 24-25 - Closed


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Small world:  my mother was a waitress at Ben and Mary's for a couple of years in the mid '60's.  Serious.

I hope she did OK--horse people of that era were legendarily cheap (with some notable and locally renowned exceptions) and the middle class folks--well my dad once gave me a stern talking-to in my late twenties over a 25% tip he saw me leave; I've never let him see any check I've paid since. He's a strict 15% man having been raised in the Depression, but compared to him a lot of the local entrenched/generational wealth tossed nickels around about as casually as if they were manhole covers.

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About the time that your dad was frugal in the Depression my mom took a job at the original Hot Shoppes at 14th and Park road.  She worked there until the mid '60's when she remarried and moved back to Bealeton where she grew up.  Ben and Mary's was her last job before retirement and she loved it.  I never lived in that area-when my mom remarried I stayed in Silver Spring where I grew up.

It would be incredible if the Shields' would open where my mom had once worked.

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http://www.riverstead.com/  As of this morning they are now accepting reservations.  This is John and Karen Shields from Chilhowie's Town House Grill along with the Ashby Inn's Neil Wavra who are "reopening" for a total of six days in the Farmhouse that was associated with the Town House Grill.  Three days in June, three days in July.  Simply this is one of the Great dining destinations anywhere.

There are also two rooms available in Riverstead.  Prices are $200 per person all inclusive for dinner.  $800 all inclusive for dinner for two, lodging and breakfast.  I am not sure if these prices include wine or if there is corkage.

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Exciting news!  Cannot wait to hear how they thrive.

Per the website:  "For non-alcoholic beverages, we will offer vegetable and fruit juices..." 

I wonder if they mean straight-up juice bar beverages, or light and refreshing concoctions featuring freshly squeezed juices?  Hopefully the later.  From a pairing and satiation perspective, it's often better to have a glass of filtered water with a touch of watermelon and cucumber and fresh mint than it would be to have an entire glass of watermelon juice.

(so says kmango)

(who finds frozen kumquats diagonally halved, de-seeded, and bobbing about in a champagne flute of sparkling water)

(pairs amazingly well with many dishes)

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Greetings all, Neal Wavra here (formerly of The Ashby Inn). It has been some time since I contributed to this forum and I am pleased to note that Riverstead will launch officially in June. I will join John and Karen this weekend in Chilhowie to begin work on the menu and beverage offerings. For my part I will be putting together two wine pairings options. One will focus exclusively on the wines of the old dominion and the other will feature wines from the old world. I am looking forward to the opportunity to hone in on how best to support and accentuate the delicate and subtle that is found in their cuisine. Some courses will be very pure in their simplicity and others will have a depth derived from flavor developed over time through fermentations and the like or through the use of umami amplifying qualities. This arena will be a foray into pairing and matching that draws less from classic norms and more from a modern vanguard of food and wine affinity. Much to look forward to!

Neal

Oh and re the juices they will be more the latter than just straight juices.

Also RE Ben and Mary's I will mention it if only for the self serving benefit--I Iive 5 mins from there.

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Hello everyone,

I want to personally thank you for the support over the years.We're excited to announce the opening of Riverstead!

If you haven't visited our website (www.riverstead.com), please do, as it "should" answer most of your questions about what we are trying to accomplish.

Aug & Sept dates are now available for booking and as we move forward, we'll start to increase the number of nights we're open. As of now, the June & July dates are fully reserved.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask myself or my great friend & colleague Mr. Neal Wavra.

Thank you for welcoming us!

John Shields

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Just a quick update. Janet and I dined at Riverstead this evening. About 14 courses of cutting edge preparations somewhat reminiscent of Alinea but, I would say, less theatrical and more substantial. Rather than the wine pairing that Neal spoke of above we brought along a couple Pomerols from home, one to drink and a backup just in case. The first was fine, but we went ahead and opened the second to share around the room.

There were 13 in attendance, including Tony Conte (chef at the Oval Room) with his wife and a sous chef, and Trevor Moran, the new chef at Catbird Seat in Nashville (formerly sous chef at Noma in Copenhagen) with a group of four others, so it's apparent Riverstead is generating a lot of interest in the industry.

John and Karen are the two nicest people you could ever hope to meet -- Neal too. We had a great time. Lovely Karen is about to increase the family size by one.

Most importantly for all in DC, John and Karen are still actively looking for a location in the area.

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Deterred by the 350 mile drive, we'd never made it to Town House, ending up disappointed at the missed opportunity when it closed, and disappointed a second time when the DC project was put on hold.  We weren't going to miss the opportunity to attend one of the Riverstead dinners, which we did this past weekend.

Upon our arrival, we were immediately greeted warmly by Neil, whom we'd met previously when he was at the Ashby Inn.  (I would love to be a regular at a DC-based restaurant with John and Karen in the kitchen and Neil running the front of the house.)  Neil introduced us to Karen, who was the only one in the kitchen at that hour; main prep is done at the Town House space and then plastic wrapped and carted over around 4:30.  Given that she probably had lots of other things to finish up (not to mention that she's a month from giving birth!), I felt a bit bad about how long she spent standing around chatting with us, but we really enjoyed it.  (Thanks to a Kickstarter pledge, we were also able to spend a few hours on Sunday in the kitchen at Town House observing prep and generally pestering everyone with questions.  It was a great insight into the whole experience, and a lot of fun.) 

Big picture: we had some outstanding dishes, and an excellent experience.  I am glad we made the trek, and very excited to taste what they can do in a permanent restaurant setting.

We began the evening by enjoying the unseasonably pleasant weather -- thanks polar vortex! -- on the porch, where we were served a few canapes, including a delicious "sunchoke cannoli" of fried sunchoke skin filled with pureed sunchoke cream and topped with marigold petals.  (Marigolds are apparently in the same family as sunflowers, making their inclusion nicely thematic.)  The standout dish of the night was a seaweed-infused tomato water granita that got briny seasoning from sea grapes, trout roe, and dashi.  Fermented vegetable sourdough biscuits were accompanied by a fabulous butter mixed with Grayson cheese.  Desserts were outstanding:  A fascinating smear of rich, densely flavored beet fudge cake was topped with fresh mint, smokey embers ice cream -- made from infusing embers in the milk before churning -- and mint ash.  A combination of white chocolate and preserved carrot was paired with a gorgeous (in both appearance and flavor) salad including carrot flowers, lemon thyme, and purslane.

Other courses were less impressive -- although everything was enjoyable -- but our conversation with John on Sunday made clear that he has a great sense of the weaknesses and that many of the issues seem attributable to the kinks of this temporary format.  A last-minute replacement corn dish was a bit sweet; on Sunday John was tinkering it into a dessert.  A delicious combination of chard, roasted beet, slightly sour cooked raspberries, and grated preserved egg yolk felt a bit incomplete without a protein to replace duck heart omitted for our pescatarianism, although I imagine that this would be less likely to happen in a full restaurant than a set-menu pop-up.

Overnight guests are greeted in the morning by an array of cold breakfast items.  Homemade yogurt, blueberry chia seed compote, and granola made for a very good parfait, but the standout was a delicious chard and roasted spring onion crostata.  

Descriptions of everything we ate (and photos) on my blog.  

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Deterred by the 350 mile drive, we'd never made it to Town House, ending up disappointed at the missed opportunity when it closed, and disappointed a second time when the DC project was put on hold.  We weren't going to miss the opportunity to attend one of the Riverstead dinners....

 

jca76, i feel the same way! and am very excited to dine at riverstead in october. thank you for the very thoughtful post. i have some vague notion of what to look forward to but you're the first to post a very thorough and thoughtful description of your experience.

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I must add a comment about Neal Wavra and his participation in this.  My wife and I were viistors five times at the Ashby Inn, four when Tarver King was the chef and one when the chef de cuisine from the Inn at Little Washington took his place.  We passionately loved the Ashby Inn favoriing because of these men two birthdays and one anniversary.  I must also add from more than twenty years of heavy European travel, over time, I have eaten at more than 40 two Michelin star restaurants and 12 three stars-all over time.

Neal Wavra is as fine, as friendly and welcoming, as knowledgeable and reassuring as anyone that I met in any restaurant anywhere in Europe.  From Katherine Constant at Violon d'Ingres (the benchmark) to Schwarzwaldstube and Bareiss to Gagnaire and Ducasse to El Raco De Can Fabes to Le Calandre and Dal Pescatore and on and on and on.  Neal Wavra is the equal of anyone.  An absolute welcoming ambassador who presents a lifetime experience perhaps better than anyone on earth.

Then I could talk about his incredible knowledge as a world class sommelier (trained in Walla Walla),his successful operation of the Ashby Inn;  I can imagine "marrying" Neal with the proper chef for what would be a world class nightly adventure in Washington.  I deeply hope that someone considers this.  It is a direction that will greatly benefit the city and our perception around the country..

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At $800 per couple for dinner and an overnight stay, expectations are naturally high for the Riverstead experience. Add 10+ hours of round-trip driving time, and it becomes a very difficult decision. How likely am I to be disappointed when the bar is set so high? Although I had regretted not dining at Townhouse while it was open, and I had told myself upon reading of the new Riverstead dinner series that it would be too rare an opportunity to pass up, I waited months before pulling the trigger. When a dinner & lodging reservation opened up for my birthday weekend, I decided to just go for it.

I'm really pleased to report that John, Neal, and their team comfortably exceeded my expectations for our Friday night dinner and stay. Riverstead is a lovely home and I can't think of a better setting for an escape from the city. Our meal, from the first snack to the last dessert, was innovative, beautiful, and most importantly, delicious. Unconventional ingredient and flavor combinations are often hit-or-miss, but the Shields' dishes reflect months or years of careful refinement. Every element on the plate added depth and interest to the course. Nothing was gratuitous or extraneous. Neal's passion for wine (and hospitality) is obvious. He is such a welcoming host and hearing him describe his intelligently-curated wine list is a joy.

I'm including photos of the menu and most of the courses below (we enjoyed the first few snacks on the porch and I didn't have a free hand to take pictures). Although I liked everything, favorites include "Tomato seawater with trout roe", "Vegetable sourdough", "Dungeness crab with roasted squid stock", and "Embers of wintergreen branch & mint". Note: I don't recall being served the first snack (corn sandy), nor the second-to-last dessert (sweet & dried corn) shown on the menu.

John Shields has stated in interviews that he wanted to welcome Riverstead guests like vistors to his own home. Yet, I wasn't prepared for how true this would feel. Most of our dining companions were friends of the Shields' and also knew each other well. We heard stories of frequent visits to Townhouse while it was open; the other couple staying overnight were enjoying their *third* Riverstead dinner! The Bishops (owners of Townhouse and Riverstead) shared the table next to ours with Chuck and Diane Flynt of Foggy Ridge Cider (we began the dinner with their "Handmade" craft apple cider). Side note: Diane is an incredibly warm and kind woman and Foggy Ridge makes delicious ciders (reminiscent of dry Champagnes) that pair beautifully with food. Stop by their tasting room in Dugspur, VA (we did, at Diane's invitation), or attend their cider class at the Vienna Whole Foods on 9/2 at 6:30PM!

I didn't expect to meet so many loyal and long-time fans of the Shields at this small dinner. But, after thoroughly enjoying Riverstead, I can completely understand their devotion. Selfishly, I hope that John and Karen eventually end up in DC, so that it would be easier to enjoy their brilliant cooking. But part of me also admires to purity of these remote and infrequent events, where the chefs are doing what makes them and their supporters happy--not what investors or critics dictate.

-Charles

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At $800 per couple for dinner and an overnight stay, expectations are naturally high for the Riverstead experience. Add 10+ hours of round-trip driving time, and it becomes a very difficult decision. How likely am I to be disappointed when the bar is set so high? Although I had regretted not dining at Townhouse while it was open, and I had told myself upon reading of the new Riverstead dinner series that it would be too rare an opportunity to pass up, I waited months before pulling the trigger. When a dinner & lodging reservation opened up for my birthday weekend, I decided to just go for it.

At this point, we're not making a trip there but really appreciate your in depth review and photographs. It does gives a sense of what the experience would be.

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At $800 per couple for dinner and an overnight stay, expectations are naturally high for the Riverstead experience. Add 10+ hours of round-trip driving time, and it becomes a very difficult decision. How likely am I to be disappointed when the bar is set so high? Although I had regretted not dining at Townhouse while it was open, and I had told myself upon reading of the new Riverstead dinner series that it would be too rare an opportunity to pass up, I waited months before pulling the trigger. When a dinner & lodging reservation opened up for my birthday weekend, I decided to just go for it.

A superb post that is sincerely appreciated.  Charles Tsui thank you for taking the time for the photographs and your thoughts.  Question:  I am surprised that there were individual tables.  For whatever (?) reason I thought this would be a communal experience where the 12-14 guests would be at a single, long table, even two six-eight seat round tables.  Did the individual tables makes a difference?

Regardless of the tables this is an extraordinary experience, to be one of 12 or 14 diners for the evening, at the kitchen table (s) of great chefs.  I know of nowhere else in America today that somehow can have an evening like this.

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A superb post that is sincerely appreciated.  Charles Tsui thank you for taking the time for the photographs and your thoughts.  Question:  I am surprised that there were individual tables.  For whatever (?) reason I thought this would be a communal experience where the 12-14 guests would be at a single, long table, even two six-eight seat round tables.  Did the individual tables makes a difference?

Regardless of the tables this is an extraordinary experience, to be one of 12 or 14 diners for the evening, at the kitchen table (s) of great chefs.  I know of nowhere else in America today that somehow can have an evening like this.

Joe

I'll jump in here.  Charles may reply differently later, but when we were there (thanks) I would say the room is so small and the group was so convivial that it was somewhat, or a lot, like a communal table anyway.  We had had an opportunity to chat with the the Conte group (the chef from DC) before moving into the dining room (hors d'oeuvres and drinks were served on the porch, where we gathered).    Chef Moran (the chef from Nashville) showed up late, after a few courses had been served, but the size of the room facilitated conversation anyway (he indicated he would be soon be trying a meal at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, and I gave him my take on what to expect and what to order to be sure of the complete experience there).  It was also quite easy to have a look into the kitchen, and to engage John and Karen in conversation.  Bottom line is it's a small, extremely informal, and intimate setting.

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Joe, our experience was very similar to John's description above. I recall reading an interview with John Shields or Neal Wavra where the topic of communal seating was brought up. The response was that it had been considered, but that not all guests might like the arrangement. I think that's a wise choice. With pricing that's comfortably in the higher tier of fine dining, you wouldn't want to exclude a couple who just want to privately celebrate a special occasion.

You're right that the demographic of these dinners is very different than the typical restaurant mix. Most attendees appreciate that they are part of something rare, unique, and special. They're there to share in something (sounding a bit hyperbolic here) historic--to savor the evening and discuss their experiences. As a counterpoint, there was one couple sitting behind us who basically kept to themselves and left quickly at the end of the meal. My wife also isn't nearly as food-obsessed as I am and she just tags along for such dinners to make me happy. I'm not sure that she would have been comfortable with the idea of sitting with a group of strangers (she's much more extroverted than I am, but talking about food and wine isn't high on her list!)

In our case, the evening ended up being very much an experience shared with our fellow diners. We got to know 8 of the 14 others there well, which to me is simply remarkable. I wouldn't expect to talk to a single other customer if I had dinner at a typical DC Metro restaurant. Honestly, I think this was partly because of the atmosphere created by the hosts and at least equally because of the warm personalities of the other guests. We waited in the sitting room as the other guests arrived. It quickly became obvious that many of them knew the Shields and knew each other. It could have quickly become awkward as the two of us seemed to be the only "outsiders"--new to John's food and not from the area. Instead, everyone made sure to introduce themselves to us, tell us about their history with Townhouse/Riverstead, and offer suggestions for our visit to the area. We continued talking out on the porch as the first snacks were delivered, before heading into the dining room for the main event.

As JohnB described, the dining room is quite intimate. There's enough space between tables for private conversation, yet it was easy enough to speak to our neighbors. John and Neal welcomed the group at the beginning; it was really like we were in their home. I wanted to observe the kitchen for a bit, but felt bad because the space was so small. It's quite impressive that they can crank out so many courses from such a modest facility (though the relaxed pacing must help--dinner was 4+ hours from first snack to last dessert).

Hope this helps. Anyone who's on the fence: just go!

-Charles

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There is a real sense of community when you dine at Riverstead.

I had the good fortune, as a solo diner, to be invited to dine with a table of wonderful people. It was something that put my experience over-the-top - aside from the food and hospitality of John, Karen, Neal, and David.

I rank my meal at Riverstead among the best of my life.

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Tom S gives it No Stars ... (but only because he only went once) :P

I thought he absolutely raved about it and implied the 600+ mile roundtrip drive was worthwhile.

I believe this is as much about the experience of where you are having this; it is extraordinary.  I must note that Neal was pouring Ankida Ridge pinot noir which is something of a VA cult wine and known as the only pinot that in VA that may be good.  The actual winery is open to the public one day a month and is far up a southwestern mountain.

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We're headed here next month, sans toddler...can't wait!

Only dilemma is figuring out how much to drink (or "to front-load" said drinking, given the apparent 4+ hours from start to end).  We're not staying in Chilhowie -- booked a hotel in Roanoke to get a head start on the drive home.

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Definitely great pictures-beef tongue & beets? not something I can imagine craving, but it looks amazing (just like the rest of the dinner), & I like the picture of the surprisingly small kitchen w/ the iPad or tablet up on the shelf, I cook like that, too.

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I just got this email from the Shields.

GRAND FINALE
BOOK DINNER
April 24 & 25
 
Join us for one final round of dinners, as we celebrate with friends!
 
 It is with great joy, to let you know, we will be moving on to a new and exciting endeavor.

We can't thank you enough for the support over this past year and look forward to cooking for you again, in our new home.

-John & Karen

Are they finally returning to the DC area?  There goes my reason for ever going to Chillhowie.

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Final (enticing) menu

----------------------------

Dried corn sandie & butter

Sunchoke & yogurt mousse 

New bamboo shoots

WIld asparagus & grasses

Smoked beet with dried scallop & trout roe

Young almonds, rhubarb & plum flower

Oyster with spinach, black radish, spruce & seaweeds

Slowy cooked mackerel with grilled ramp juice

Vegetable sourdough

Dungeness crab, poached foie gras & scrambled kani miso 

 A porridge of Carolina gold rice, squid, kasu & dried turnip 

Roasted beef & shiitake with Sea Island red pea miso

Squab with preserves & chicken cream

Lemongrass & licorice sundae

Sorrel & parsley sorbet, grapefruit, yogurt & jasmine tea  

Chocolate malted mushroom

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I just got this email from the Shields.

GRAND FINALE

BOOK DINNER

April 24 & 25

Join us for one final round of dinners, as we celebrate with friends!

 It is with great joy, to let you know, we will be moving on to a new and exciting endeavor.

We can't thank you enough for the support over this past year and look forward to cooking for you again, in our new home.

-John & Karen

Are they finally returning to the DC area?  There goes my reason for ever going to Chillhowie.

Just a couple of additional details on this, as we considered booking it but may wait until they begin their next venture.  What an interesting and seriously compelling menu, btw!

Online booking is available here.  The site and e-commerce engine is a bit off kilter depending on the browser but it does work and seats do seem still available.  This grand finale dinner is priced at $250/pp with tax and gratuity included.

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Are they finally returning to the DC area?  There goes my reason for ever going to Chillhowie.

So here's some semi-informed / uninformed speculation.

I heard from a very reliable source that Neal and Star Warva are trying to open a place in Marshall, VA.  The goal was to be open in April, but delays in renovations have pushed the date back.  To when, I don't know.  But if the Shields' last hurrah is at the end of April, and Neal plans to open his place very soon after that.............hummm.........?

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On 3/29/2015 at 2:06 PM, Bart said:

So here's some semi-informed / uninformed speculation.

I heard from a very reliable source that Neal and Star Warva are trying to open a place in Marshall, VA.  The goal was to be open in April, but delays in renovations have pushed the date back.  To when, I don't know.  But if the Shields' last hurrah is at the end of April, and Neal plans to open his place very soon after that.............hummm.........?

On 3/29/2015 at 7:05 PM, Keithstg said:

The two are unrelated (also speculation, but informed rather than semi unless huge changes have occurred).

I haven't heard anything "official," but yes, the two are unrelated from what I hear. Interesting that this coincides with our new Architecture thread.

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I don't think this has been reported here previously.  For those who may be interested in the next phase of John and Karen Shields careers, they are opening a dual restaurant (The Loyalist and Smyth) in Chicago.  Smyth was the county in Va. where John and Karen's restaurant(s) were.  Linked article gives some information, although the opening date has slipped a bit; Loyalist is in operation and Smyth will open Aug. 26.  It's an upstairs/downstairs deal, one casual and one (Smyth) more serious with an 8-course menu at $135.

Apr 27, 2016 - "Smyth & The Loyalist will Head for the West Loop in June" by Penny Pollack and Maggie Hennessey on chicagomag.com

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