(a 2-minute read)

In 1985, I visited The Inn at Little Washington upon the urging of one of my guests at The Point. He and his wife had accidentally come upon it while meandering around the Blue Ridge Mountains "on the trail of the lonesome pine;" he said it was the most sublime dining experience of his life.

That was when the only room at the inn was the dining room. For five years, the limos from "Big Washington (D.C.)" had rolled in and out every night-66 miles isn't much for what was being heralded as the best food west of Paris. But most patrons thought it would have been much nicer to climb upstairs to bed and then be whisked back to town the next morning. So in 1984, Patrick O'Connell, chef/co-owner, and Reinhardt Lynch, manager/co-owner, built 8 bedrooms upstairs and it became a real inn and really "in!"

That and subsequent visits confidently confirmed everything that I had been told-that this was the best little inn in America and it deserved to be recognized.

Let me simply say that Messrs. O'Connell and Lynch's devotion to excellence and the execution of their remarkable talents is very special and personal indeed. Once when I arrived, earlier than expected, they enthusiastically rushed me to the dining room. I'd already had a bit of lunch on the way but I couldn't refuse Patrick's elfin smile: "I've just made some bread from a new recipe, it's nearly ready. You must try a bit." Reinhardt contributed a magnificent Puligny-Montrachet to this impromptu picnic. A moment later, hot bread in one hand and plates in the other, Patrick presented me with a beautiful trout, caught locally and smoked with his own combination of hardwoods. I munched and tasted and sipped as one new dish after another was whisked from the kitchen with great pride and love. The cuisine is, if possible, even more brilliant today so try whatever the ultra-professional waiter suggests but don't miss the Bourbon Pecan Tart with Patrick's own Pecan Ice Cream.

Needless to say, the rooms and suites are glorious-individually and luxuriously-designed with a keen eye to detail. Marvels of lush fabrics and matched marble, the accommodations rival any in the world.

The Inn at Little Washington is a magnificent obsession in which every aspect is a triumph of extraordinary talent and imagination.

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