Emeril used to talk (before he was a celeb) about needing “Smell-o-vision”; I wish I could do “taste-o-blog”…..
Where to start? When one is dining at “one of the ten best restaurants in the world”, expectations are soaring, but we really didn’t know what to expect..
So, after we DFD’d, we walked over to the Inn, and were immediately greeted with “Good evening Mr. Moody, your table in the kitchen is being prepared, would you like to sit in the lounge and relax with a cocktail or glass of wine?” Of course. We were seated in a little bar area with plush chairs, small tables and the same lush decoration as the lobby. Three silver dishes of those wonderful nuts appeared, the “kids” had sparkling wine, and MFO and I did the usual cocktails (it’s my duty). Mine appeared in an up glass, with a stabber of something, and when I asked the server he apologized, whisked it away and almost instantly had a perfectly prepared DMOTRWAT. We had some good conversation anticipating the food, and just before we finished, the maitre'd came to the table and said our table was prepared and could he usher us in..
Before we stood up, he went on to say that Patrick O’Connell was a self taught chef, originally wanted to be an actor, but through kitchen work found his calling. He has been dubbed “The Pope of American Cuisine”. With that we left the little bar area, and approached a couple of double doors, which opened into the kitchen. There was Patrick in front of the Sous Chef Station with the whole kitchen staff lined up behind him, hands folded behind their back , not quite at attention... One of the ladies was dressed as an alterperson, white smock and red collar. Wow... “Welcome to the Moody’s!” We were then led to one of two “Chef’s tables”. If you go to the Inn at Little Washington web site, and watch the pictures scroll, eventually you will see a picture of him with the kitchen in the background, and our table was the one to the right of the fireplace.
Since we were to the side of the kitchen we had an excellent view of its operation. Everything in the kitchen was stainless, with that huge copper hood, and the walls done in wood, and around top of the walls were old English scripts about tradition (I never saw the whole thing). There were Gregorian Chants playing, giving the whole space a church like atmosphere (commensurate with the “Pope” thing), but what amazed me was that it was very quiet. If you’ve been in other kitchens, you might hear chopping, or pans hitting the burners, clanking this and that, but not here. Everybody went about their job quietly; orders were relayed from the Sous Chef and repeated back by the line workers, but just in speaking voices. Never heard any “Where the hell is my CHICKEN!!”. Servers picked up dishes from the Sous Chef station where Chef O’Connell remained all night, touching each plate that left the kitchen. As it should be.
Francois, who would be our captain for the evening presented the menus and the wine list. There were two menus, the regular dinner service menu
And the “tasting menu” note the top line…. How nice….
Being the birthday boy, I wanted to do the Gastronaut menu, and everybody else honored that (one in all in) so we did six with wine. What the hell, die broke. With that settled, our course for the evening was set (10 courses, 7 wines). Water glasses were in silver chalices, and kept full all evening, replenishing ice as needed.
While we pondered those decisions a little box of the popcorn was set before us and fresh truffles were grated on top. Very tasty…
As we were finishing munching (and the cocktails that appeared from the bar), a little amuse bouche was brought to the table in the form of six little ceramic spoons, each with a little taste of something which was described. For instance one looked like a little fried egg, except the “yolk” was cucumber essence, and the “white” was a bed of foam of Gin and Tonic… very creative and fun..
Then the bean soup…
The little puff is a perfectly made Gougere, light and fluffy with the bite of the Gruyere, served alongside the silky soup which was rich with bean flavor…you didn't want it to end..
I am not going to go on about all the dishes, although FOJTE did capture an image of all of them, but just a few..
The "Tin of Sin":
The little “tin” of caviar had a layer of the little eggs that tasted of the sea, and under that the cooling cucumber rillette on top of the peekytoe crab.. heavenly.. of course the wine was Champagne a classic combination..
Filet of black cod:
Which “paired” (okay, I said it) well with the primier cru Chassagne Montrachet.
And let me insert a little comment here.. which applied to each and every dish we had. See those little mushrooms? You eat one of those, just by itself and say “wow!” woodsy, musty little guys, the red peppers? Wonderful. Cut into the shrimp dumplings and there were the shrimp. Great by themselves. The sauce was fork worthy, the cod was just a little crispy on top then silky smooth under that. My point in this is (and I’ve made it before) each and every ingredient on each and every plate could stand on its own. Not just there to be pretty (which of course it was), but every bit on the plate was wonderful. And when it all comes together.... That’s what you get at great restaurants.
The lobster fricassee:
The Rib Eye:
The bone marrow custard was encased in a cup made from a potato, the risotto was, well, you get the idea. Those onion rings were in some lightly seasoned batter..
With each course fresh wine glasses were supplied, and the sommelier lady explained about the wine. There was some winespeak, but after she figured out we knew a little about wine she loosened up and was very fun to talk to. She pretty much knew her subject and she is on her second level of becoming a Master of Wine..
When we thought we could eat no more, the Sorbet appeared and was followed by a special dessert, a small baked Alaska for my birthday which was presented by Chef O’Connell..
We finished up with the chocolate bread pudding. We were about four hours into the dinner, we never felt rushed, nor hurried. As we were leaving Chef was kind enough to let us take various pictures. Those currently reside in FOJTY’s camera and will be displayed at a later date. If you ask me what was my favorite, the answer would be each dish that was in front of me. What a display.
And when I whine about service it is because I have experienced places like the Inn at Little Washington. All silver was replaced between each course whether or not it was used. Even when white wine followed white wine, a fresh glass was presented. I think each dish was on a differently shaped plate. Each course was presented in the same way. Three servers approached the table, each with two dishes. They came and stood beside the table, and with eye contact all six dishes were set simultaneously, well, almost; invariably the ladies plates were down before the men’s. At that point, the dish was described in detail. Nothing was cleared until it was obvious everyone was through.. no “are ya still workin’ on that?”. “Guys” was never uttered. Francois was continuously unobtrusively attentive, always watching, doing just a little of this and that, making it right. You never noticed, except it was just right. Toward the end he sort of joined in the conversation here and there.
As we were leaving, each couple was presented with a small “go box” containing sweets and treats
And to conclude, my own menu
So ended what is one of the most memorable evenings of my ever lengthening life. A time spent with things that are most dear to me: MFO, my sons and their wives, together as a family. All convened over wonderful food and wine, served with professional skill. I’m not sure what more one could wish for. And, by God we were
No comments:
Post a Comment