3* – The Inn at Little Washington. Washington, VA

Decided to finally check out The Inn at Little Washington for Valentine’s Day weekend. In short, it was an excellent experience and the food was very good, although I do have some quibbles. All in all, a great experience that we enjoyed but probably a one and done thing. I think we most enjoy 1-star restaurants most for our preferences, so worth bearing that in mind.

The good –

• Service – The service was truly exceptional and we got the best seat in the house for an early dinner. The dining room is laid out kind of oddly, with a primary dining room and then a galley with 4 tables, two on the ends. And two small tables in the middle. We were on the far corner in a secluded area which really was just perfect. Absolutely no complaints. Some of the best service of any kind we’ve ever had.

• Food – The lobster mousse was the best main dish and was one of the better things I’ve ever tasted, but the real showstopper was a paw paw fruit pre-dessert palate cleanser. The paw paw mousse was incredibly buttery and almost tasted like buttery lobster, weirdly enough. Truly different and delicious. The blue fin tuna and swordfish crudo was also excellent.

The less than spectacular: I found the entrees to be a bit underwhelming. One of us got the duck breast with foie gras, which was delicious but had the consistency of sous vide (not a complaint as much of an observation) and there was not much of a sear on the fatty side. So, it was tasty, but nothing I couldn’t have made myself, although the sauce was very good. It came with spatzel and cabbage and the Germanic influence was interesting. We also got the venison tenderloin which I found to be underwhelming but my wife enjoyed, so we swapped our plates. Again, very good but not the best I’ve ever had, with very good sauce work.