The Inn at Little Washington - Appetizers

Dinner at the Inn at Little Washington is definitely not for someone who is in a rush. It is a time to relax and savor the exquisitely prepared dishes along with the time spent with that special someone. Patrick O’Connell finds a way to make this experience very special while still maintaining a sense of fun. Through out the entire meal, one is constantly reminded in many subtle ways that one should not take this, and life in general, too seriously.

Upon being seated at the table, our head waiter appeared to present our menus for the evening.  these were personalized for us with an anniversary greeting and presented us with the options of the Tasting Menu (with or without wine pairings) or a three course meal plus dessert. Both Ms Cocktail and I opted for the three course meal. We were then presented with a wine list that is as large as most small town phone books. I’m no slouch at wine, but I was clearly out of me element as I had no experience with the majority of these wines and vintages. A quick conversation with the very knowledgeable sommelier steered us in the direction of the 2006 Capiaux, Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir which we quickly ordered a bottle of.

It was at this point that the first of our very delectable eats arrived. This of course, was the bread. We had two options available to us; a cornmeal crusted poppy seed French bread and a pecan raisin rye with sea salt. It took much self control on my part to not keep a string of those little rye breads appearing at our table the entire evening because they were mighty addictive.

Soon after the bread we were presented with four canapés presented on spoons: a peeled and roasted yellow grape tomato, a crusted and fried risotto ball, a beet puree with vodka jelly and “The World’s Smallest Baked Potato”. After these were were presented with an amuse of white mean soup with a Virginia ham spring roll. Tiny and delicate, the salt of the ham was a wonderful counterpoint to the subtle richness of the soup.

Next up comes the first course.