His food strikes the right balance between serious gastronomy and wit. On a recent visit he used sweet, silky prosciutto from Friuli to offset tart pear slices and bracing young arugula. A sage-infused wine jelly, so jiggly it threatened to fall apart, dressed a terrine of foie gras, with only a tiny pile of flaky sea salt to season it. Filleted and seared rockfish from local rivers got just the right balance from braised bok choy and delicate sweet and sour jus. The wine list avoids weak producers, and many wines have a couple of extra years on them.
Someone is adept at finding good menu matches.
Highfield Sauvignon Blanc Elstree 1997 from New Zealand added just the right zing to the prosciutto, and Chteau de la Maltroye Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Maltroye 1995 wove its earthy, honeyed, floral notes with the Macaroni and Cheese. Art tiles line the ceiling in the spacious new kitchen, completed only last year, and the most coveted dining spots are the two antique wooden tables nestled by a stone fireplace. The Inn opened in 1977 in what had been the general store, and O'Connell and Lynch, who currently own more than 60 percent of the town, are gradually making it over in their own style, to the consternation of some local residents. To the glitterati who arrive in limousines and sometimes helicopters, however, The Inn at Little Washington is a little bit of Camelot in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. All Rights Reserved.