Last week, I introduced you to the bed and breakfast where we stayed for our 10th wedding anniversary (see Part One here and our date week here to catch up). Today, I'm going to share with you the food. I just want to apologize right off the bat, as you will be jealous and very hungry by the end of this post.
Part Two: The Food
The Fearrington House Inn, where we stayed for three nights and four days, was a foodie paradise. The hubs and I live for foodie adventures. We've eaten at some extraordinary places and had such great food over the last few years. Actually, it is often the food alone that will determine how a vacation goes for us. Our friends and family know this too and often my sister and her husband will have "food vacations" with us, where we go to all the most interesting places we can find to try out our next delicious crush.
I really value supporting local farmers and sustainable food, so most of our tasty treats are discovered by searching out those establishments that share that value. That is how we initially found The Fearrington. They have a small farm of their own, local gardens, and support the local farmers around them as well. They are what you would call a Farm to Fork restaurant and use freshly sourced, seasonal ingredients. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate these places. It not only helps the community, it also usually equals incredible meals to enjoy too.
The B&B offered a gorgeous (yes, gorgeous) full breakfast every morning, afternoon tea (one of the joys of my life), multiple snacks awaiting us in our room, a packed picnic one day, and a couple of lunch and low-key dinner venues on site. I only have photos of our afternoon tea and our picnic, as I wanted to enjoy my breakfast and dinner with my husband without disturbing others around me with the camera. It was vacation after all.
Breakfast was tasty and served by the friendliest couple of ladies you could meet in the morning. Their oatmeal was heavenly. I know right? Oatmeal. But it was sooooo good. They had a full menu, so we tried multiple items each morning we were there, but the oatmeal was my favorite. It's funny, I heard the waitresses with an English accent regardless of the fact that they were American. Ha! I couldn't help it. I'm so used to traveling in the UK and having these wonderful full breakfasts, that I can't help but associate them with the accent.
Afternoon tea is an especial delight for me and my husband. We are both quiet, slow-paced, comfort loving, romantic people and there is just something about sharing a pot of tea and finger foods with someone you love on a warm and lazy afternoon. It also helps that this B&B had such a beautiful selection of teas and dainty little tasties. I almost always choose a plain black English tea as I love the smooth, rich taste (especially with a drop of cream) and the way it clears the palette to try all the little array of foods they served. They had the typical fare, cucumber, ham, salmon, and egg finger sandwiches for the savory bit, but I have to be honest..I don't really want the savory bit. I am a dessert girl and my sweet tooth always wins. The tiny sweets were so lovely and I had my very first macaroon! It was delicious. I don't have any idea why that particular treat has escaped my grasp until now. They also had THE most delicious little biscuits with clotted cream, lemon curd, and raspberry preserves. By the last day, I very sheepishly asked the waiter if we could have just the biscuits and nothing else. Yep, I'm that lady. Luckily, he obliged and we had a plate of biscuits between us! Being embarrassing FTW!
Lunches and dinners at The Granary, a restaurant located in the Fearrington Village, were satisfactory. They were pretty regular meals, which was expected (although the staff was incredible as always). We did eat at Lantern in the town nearby, and weirdly, didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. Maybe it was an off night or maybe it was just that we felt mildly uncomfortable or out of place, but nonetheless, my Bucket List Dress got a night that was a bit disappointing as its debut outing. No worries though. We were going to have the best meal of our entire lives soon and just didn't know it yet!
That brings us to dinner at The Fearrington House Restaurant. Oh. My. Heavens. Where to begin with this treasure of the taste bud gods. We had no idea what to expect. We looked the place up and it is a AAA five diamond restaurant (the only to be green certified) and is one of the top 50 restaurants in the US. The chef was just awarded one of the world's top culinary accolades in 2012 and after our meal, he was in danger of a marriage proposal from me. Luckily, I didn't see him or there would have been a seriously embarrassing moment on our hands.
Our dinner there was lavish in a keenly sophisticated way. No over-the-top or cheap flair. The courses (of which we had easily 10 or more) were delicate, beautiful and prepared with what I can only imagine is a great respect for food. It was quite astonishing really. We also had a Sommelier who paired every course with wines and other such liquid delights. He was so nice, amazingly informative, and a damn wizard if you ask me. I've never enjoyed wine with food (literally, not ever) until that night and somehow I enjoyed every glass he poured. Each one complimented its paired meal in a way I didn't know was possible. One of the later pours tasted very much like the best kiss you've ever had.
That meal was, hands down, the best meal either of us have ever had the pleasure of eating. It was also the most expensive meal we've ever had, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't hesitate to give that chef, sommelier, and staff my car, the keys to my apartment, my pin code, and somebody else's first born to be able to eat there again. They could have easily taken all that from me without a fight regardless, as I had had quite a bit of wine by the end of that night. Luckily, we only had a short walk to the comfort and safety of our room.
The room is where we spent our next day, including lunch as it was raining and we were comfortable with a day in to relax. The staff prepared a picnic for us and delivered it to our door! There was a bottle of Pellegrino, olives, sandwiches, salmon, cheese & crackers, fried chicken, and dessert. Doesn't that sound loverly? It was. We just turned on the in room Bose radio to classical, opened the curtains, and sat together watching the rain while enjoying our lunch together.
Stay tuned for the last installment of our B&B getaway, The Setting, next week!
Last Week's Thursday Thrill:
