Rob's Happy Fun Time Blog

Last night, I took Sarah to The Inn at Little Washington for dinner for her 30th birthday. Though her birthday was actually last Wednesday, the restaurant was celebrating its 25th anniversary that night and, though it was actually open to the public, it was also $1000 a couple (or maybe a person, I can't remember which) that night. Which is a bit out of my price range. So we opted to go a week after.

It took about an hour and a half to get out there, but it was really worth it. The inn seems to be in the middle of nowhere. The sky was absolutely gorgeous and looked even better when we left. Despite a bright crescent moon, we were still able to see a lot of stars. Certainly far far more than we're able to see from our apartment. Truly breathtaking.

The restaurant itself was very nice indeed. A guy in a top hat and coat came to our car and led us to the door then opened it for us. Someone was waiting for us and knew who I was when I mentioned that I had reservations for 8:30. He let us warm our hands by the fire before taking us on a little tour of the place, as we'd never been there before. We then were seated. Sarah got to sit on something almost like a couch with a little pillow to play with. While we were looking over the menus, they asked us if we wanted anything to drink and brought out some bread. After figuring out what we wanted and learning about how to order (since it was a multi-course meal and all), we ordered.

And then the food came. And what food it was. I've never had anything quite that good before. Since it's unlikely we'll be able to afford to go there again any time soon, we decided to try new things. Though I won't prattle on about everything we ate, I'd like to say that I tried rabbit for my main course and it was yummy. The desserts were also exquisite.

I also had some tea with my dessert (though it was a bit odd to have tea with my ice cream-y dessert, I wanted tea, dammit). Though I was completely flummoxed when he asked what kind of tea I wanted. I don't generally know the names of teas I like. I tend to stick with your ordinary black tea that you find in the supermarket or jasmine tea or something cinnamony and orangey. I probably should've just taken the one he suggested that he described as "smoky", though I wasn't thinking and that reminded me too much of... well... a barbecue. Though I know it didn't really mean that and I probably would've loved it. So instead of saying what I should've said, which is that I was looking for something spicy, sweet, and citrus-y, I said I wanted something sweet and fruity. :P So I ended up with an interesting black tea that was cranberry flavored. I forget the name of it. The woman who brought it said it was African something-or-other, but I totally forget what the something-or-other is. But it was very tasty.

We were allowed to keep our menus and the second page of the menu actually mentioned Sarah's birthday, which was a nice touch.

I think I under-tipped the coat check guy. I don't know for sure. But I'm not used to having my coat checked, especially at a fancy place, so I had no idea what was too little or too much. At least I left more than a 20% tip for dinner. They definitely deserved it. We were treated very well, especially for people who were obviously clueless and who didn't drink any of the expensive alcohol. :)

If you have the time and the money, I'd definitely recommend the place for a really special occasion. It's pricey and you may be able to get food that's just as yummy for cheaper, but the ambience and the treatment are worth it.