Dinner al Fresco

Now that the restaurant kitchen is starting to operate more smoothly post transition to a new kitchen crew, I felt like I could take off last evening to spend some time with Ann. In fact, I decided early enough in the day that Ann and I discussed options for dinner and decided that we needed to eat some of the asparagus and eggplant from the refrigerator.

I got home around 4:30 and began prepping and Ann arrived home at 5:30 just as I was finishing cleaning up the kitchen. In an hour, I sliced and blanched all the vegetables for dinner, made a pot of chicken paprikash for Ann to eat later in the week, blitzed a pint of tomato goat cheese (fresh tomatoes, salt, and goat cheese) in the food processor, and made three cups of white bean hummus.

After Ann took a shower, we went out on the patio with this bottle of Ramey Syrah and enjoyed what proved to be an exquisitely beautiful evening. I couldn't have randomly picked any better evening to be off. Or a better random bottle of wine. This Syrah is more French than Californian with an earthy nose riding on top of plum fruit with hints of black pepper. Understated and delicious and decidedly contrarian for California.

Ramey Syrah: More France Than California

At some point later in the evening (gotta love these long days!), I fired up the grill and grilled the eggplant along with the asparagus and broccoli that I had blanched earlier. I went by the farmers market in the morning and found a few things we could use for dinner: two small cucumbers, the first of the year; a small basket of greenhouse cherry tomatoes, also the first of the year; a couple handfuls of broccoli side shoots, again first of the year; and a lone bunch of radishes, about the last of the spring. These are the first new vegetables at the market in weeks!

Vegetable Platter with Two Dips

While we were waiting for the grill to heat, I heard a big crash from inside and knew instinctively what had happened. I arrived in the kitchen about two seconds later to find a shattered platter in the floor; tomato-goat cheese spread plastered all over the dishwasher, cabinets, and walls; and the brown dog happily licking up the mess from the floor. Carter and I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen while Ann hauled Grace outside for a hose bath. Dogs!

Mary's Rock, Appalachian Trail

6:30 Sunday morning before Memorial Day found me up and walking dogs and by 7:00 I was getting our lunch together while Ann brewed us some coffee. Because of the forecast 90-degree highs, we wanted to get up and out on our hike from Thornton Gap to Mary's Rock back to Pass Mountain Hut and back.

After heading south down US-340 to Luray, we climbed us US-211 east up into the gap. Actually, the Garmin had us cut through a back road from 340 to 211 and thus avoid Luray altogether. Once we turned north off 211 in the gap to enter the Skyline Drive, we found ourselves 20 cars back in the line at the entrance station. Thanks Memorial Day weekend! I was hoping for a line exclusively for season passholders, but only one line was open. I can't really blame the Park Service for this: who wants to work on the big pre-summer holiday weekend?

While waiting our turn, we amused ourselves watching the myriad Barn Swallows that are nesting under the eaves of the entrance station. They were performing their aerobatic maneuvers within mere feet of the car. They are splendidly-colored and highly entertaining to spend a few minutes with. Once through the gate, we headed south on Skyline Drive and a minute later were pulling into the Panorama parking lot, where we hit the head, put on our hiking shoes, and saddled up for the day.

I got to try out my new camera rig, straps that attach directly to the shoulder straps of my backpack. It seems to work great, but I think I need to try some extenders so that I have enough room to twist the camera to portrait orientation. It's a promising $9 start to carrying my camera, rather than a $100 or $150 investment in a harness.

Mary's Rock Trailhead at Panorama Visitor's Center

From the parking lot to the AT is about 30 yards on an access trail. We turned left and uphill, heading south on the AT to Mary's Rock. Given the busy nature of the weekend at this popular location, we were seldom alone on the trail for more than five minutes. This would change on our afternoon hike as we headed north towards Pass Mountain Hut. On this stretch, admittedly less scenic and therefore less popular, we rarely saw anyone and those that we saw tended to be thru-hikers moving on in the mid-afternoon to reach their overnight campsites.

Halfway Up, Looking East

From the gap, we quickly gained altitude and as you can see in the photo below of Ann walking under a really crazy branch of a tree, the trail is relentlessly uphill. It's just under a two-mile hike with just over 1000-feet of elevation gain. The AT runs up the east side of the ridge here and so we were in the fairly strong morning sun all the way up. It was a hot climb.

Two-Mile Climb

The views at the top looking west into the Shenandoah Valley and north up the Skyline Drive are definitely worth the climb.

Mary's Rock, Looking Northwest

On Top of This Part of the World

While Ann dawdled a bit at the top doing her thing working the crowd and playing with all available dogs, I decided to poke around to see what I could see. I found a tiny shrub growing up between the rocks with a decidedly cherry-like blossom, which I am now guessing is Black Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa. Near that were blueberries in full bloom. And flitting in and out of the shrubs were nesting Juncos. Now I can add Virginia to the list of places where I have seen nesting Juncos.

Atop Mary's Rock, Black Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa?

Blueberries in Bloom

Juncos are Nesting Atop Mary's Rock

On the way back down, we were entertained by a very agile at least seven-foot black rat snake climbing easily through the trees. In my experience, it is the rare rat snake that grows to be this big. The grace with which it moved through the trees was astonishing. The rat snake pattern is visible in the original image but not really in this dumbed down version.

Seven-Foot Black Rat Snake

This handsome bloom belongs to a plant called Bowman's Root, a plant that I have never encountered before.

Bowman's Root

Silene caroliniana, Wild Pink

Blackberries in Abundance

Tiny Raspberry Growing up Through Bloodroot

Tall White Violet, Viola canadensis

Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum, and Ferns

Robin's Plaintain

Puffballs

I thought, erroneously as it turns out, that the wild azaleas were done blooming for the year and so they are in the lower parts of the AT that we have been frequenting of late. As we approached 3200 feet they became more and more prolific, and about 3400 feet, both sides of the trail were lined in gorgeous blossoms head height and well above.

Wild Azalea

The AT above 3200-Feet Was Lined in Head-Height Azaleas

Michaux's Saxifrage at 3500 Feet

Solomon's Seal with Blooms Below Stalk

False Solomon's Seal

Viburnum (Arrowwood)

I was hoping to see Mountain Laurel in full regalia this weekend, but we're obviously still too early. We did see a very few flowers open at lower elevations (2500-2600 feet), but no showy masses yet.

Mountain Laurel Beginning to Bloom Below 2500 Feet

A Blue Groundcover, Likely a Creeping Veronica

Creekside Golden Ragwort, a Beautiful Sight

Here's a great example of a cinquefoil, Potentilla simplex, from Latin quinque folium (perhaps via French cinq feuilles) meaning five leaves. It's kind of neat that all the Potentillas (at least the ones I know) have five petals on their flowers as well.

Common Cinquefoil

Maple-Leaf Viburnum

Blue-Eyed Grass

I snapped a picture of this striking green and gold plant thinking that it was Green-and-Gold, Chrysogonum virginianum, but on closer inspection, I've never seen this plant before. It turns out to be Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus.

Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus

Once back down from Mary's Rock, it was just about noon when we hit the Panorama parking lot where we wolfed a quick lunch, used the restrooms, and refilled our water bottles. Then it was back to the AT north, crossing first 211 and then Skyline Drive in quick succession, heading for Pass Mountain Hut. The AT on this side of the gap runs through a lot of relatively open glades edged in blooming blackberries. The Rufous-Sided Towhees really like this kind of habitat: they were everywhere and several of them entertained us, scratching away at the leaf litter looking for food like miniature chickens.

Mostly Glades North of Thornton Gap, Deer Heaven

Admiring the Ubiquitous Blackberries

I remarked to Ann that this was perfect habitat for deer, knowing that they love to browse areas like this. It wasn't too much later that she spied large deer tracks on the trail and then a really big doe who was most unconcerned about our presence. Bears apparently like this habitat too. A group of dayhikers a couple of minutes behind us showed us photos of a bear that we just missed. Bummer.

A Really Big Doe

What we didn't miss was an annoying pair of thru-hikers who were blaring electronica while walking through the woods. It was our unfortunate luck to have four encounters with them during our day. If you don't want to listen to nature around you, at least have the decency to put in your earphones. We ended our northward hike at the Pass Mountain Hut (nothing to see there) where we encountered a couple more thru-hikers knocking off for the day. The annoying pair of hikers was well known to them and they counted themselves fortunate that the annoying duo decided to push on further north for the day, rather than spending the night at this shelter. Though it was the girl who was blaring the music, the guy, in particular, has a rep on the trail for being really loud and noisy in camp, just the kind of fellow hiker that others come to hate. Don't be this guy on the trail!

Our afternoon had clouded over and the relief in the heat was palpable. It started to spit rain on our return trip and we spent the last 30 minutes of the hike in a little bit of rain, but not enough to warrant getting out the raincoats. About 10 minutes away from the car, I did grab a plastic bag out of my pack to cover up the camera, but that was about it for rain. It had pretty much stopped by the time we packed up and headed back home.

Paso Robles Syrah

Back at home, we enjoyed this bottle from Epoch Estate Winery, the 2012 Authenticity, a Syrah blend that was a gift from Neil and Katy, made by Katy's cousin. It really was delicious and not a big fruit bomb like I have come to expect from Paso. We were pretty beat after a long walk and so dinner was really simple: turkey, lettuce, and goat cheese on toasted baguette. We both crashed super early after the wine and all the exercise.

Meeting Levi

Sunday, we drove out to Tom and Ann's in Capon Bridge, WV, ostensibly to have a leisurely afternoon lunch with them, but the ulterior motive was certainly to meet their new dog, Levi, who was most certainly the star of the show, despite all of Tom's many culinary efforts. So, meet Levi....

Levi

Lev's a big boy and very eager to please, no doubt because he came from a local shelter after a couple failed placements. His sweet disposition doesn't change the fact that he's 85 pounds of happy wagging tail. That thing's a weapon! I found out quickly when I took him for a walk that he has a rock fetish: excavating and carrying rocks seems to be his thing!

Cheese and Salame, Two of the Basic Food Groups

We arrived to this wonderful spread of cheese and salame: Gorgonzola Dolce, Stilton, Fiscalini Cheddar and Asiago Stravecchio (extra vecchio/older than 18 months) for cheeses, and a chorizo picante and rosette de Lyon for sausages. The rosette de Lyon in particular was outstanding. We do a lot with Fiscalini cheeses at the restaurant and I just love the products from this farm in Modesto, CA.

Tom, Doing his Thing

After warming up with some cheese, sausage, and wine (an Alto Adige Gewürztraminer, a Sierra Foothills Sauvignon Blanc that I brought, a Napa Zinfandel, a Sierra Foothills Cab, and a Columbia Valley Syrah), Tom got on to lunch proper: ham, potato gratin, and carrots. All quite wonderful, but just couldn't compete with Levi! ;)

Ham with a Pineapple-Jalapeño Sauce

Gratin of Potatoes with Stilton

Carrots and Dill

Ashby Inn, Paris VA

We finally made it to Ashby Inn. We have been trying forever, but our schedules will just not cooperate. Seriously, the last time I was there was before John and Roma Sherman sold it and that has been many years ago now. But finally, the torrential rain on Sunday washed out all our other plans and, truth be told, Annie put down her foot. So she booked a table for which we were 5 minutes late because it was raining so hard that visibility was that bad. I figured slower and later was better than faster and really late.

Ashby has a new chef, David Dunlap, formerly executive sous of the Inn at Little Washington and we got to spend a few minutes chatting with him. He's just finishing his first month at the Ashby and I have no doubt that the transition from the vast number of employees at the Inn to the minimal staffing at the Ashby is going to take a lot of getting used to, not to mention the huge number of shifts that David is working. He does have the fact that he is only 31 on his side. At his age, I could work those hours too, but not any more. Best wishes to him!
 

Host extraordinaire Neal Wavra greeted us at the side door and showed us right to a booth. We run into each other every now and again at business functions, but because we work essentially the same days, we rarely get to visit and catch up. It was great to have a few minutes to chat with him even though he was working.

 



Sparkling Cabernet Franc from Michael Shaps

A few minutes after seating us, Neal returned with two glasses of sparkling wine and a sly little grin on his face. I could see that we were going to be playing the guessing game. The first thing I noticed was the color: a deep golden that might have been a touch copper-colored, maybe just slightly cloudy. The initial nose was slightly beery or cidery, in a good sense, and the wine was elegant on the palate, rich and round in the mid-palate, with great lemony acidity to finish. I ruled out a lot of wines including both my initial guesses from the rusticity of color and nose: Asprinio and Mauzac.

In the end, when Neal came back around to the table with his hand covering the label, I had to admit that I had no reference point for this wine. "It's from right here," he said, showing me the label of the 2008 Shaps/Stafford Méthode, a blanc de noirs sparkling Cabernet Franc. I have tasted plenty of other sparkling blanc de noirs including 100% Pinot Noir and 100% Pinot Meunier, but never have I had any kind of sparkling Cabernet Franc before. No wonder I had no frame of reference!

 

I was just not in the mood to order anything at all. I told Neal that we wanted to start with a half bottle of sparkling and a big red of his choosing. He asked "Something unique?" and "Blind?" to which we responded affirmatively. Yes please, unique and blind. We started with a half bottle of François Diligent Champagne Rosé Brut and there was no point in doing this blind as there are only a very few sparklers on the half bottle list.

Check the Color on this François Diligent Champagne

And now on to lunch. Ann ordered off the menu and I asked the server to order for me, something different from what Ann ordered, so that we could taste more of the menu. We enjoyed the very fruity and very colored rosé sparkler with our first courses, octopus carpaccio for Ann and cauliflower soup for me.

Octopus Carpaccio

We love octopus, so we were really looking forward to seeing what the carpaccio concept would translate to on the plate and we were not disappointed. Being in the business, I appreciate all the labor that went into fabricating this beautiful plate. The flavors were disappointing, though. I had a distinct flavor of fish sauce crossed with lavender and I found this off-putting. Next time, just braise my octopus with some chorizo, slop it on some polenta, and call it a day! I felt bad for the servers having to lug around the 3-pound glass plates that this is served on.

The cauliflower soup was a white soup in a white bowl, poured tableside, so there wasn't anything to photograph. The warm cauliflower purée with curried pistachios and tea-soaked raisins was delicious, though I couldn't taste the curry on the pistachios or the tea on the raisins. I could have done with a bit more than the 3-4 ounce portion served, but it was well done. Ed 1; Ann 0.

Just before our second course, Neal brought two glasses of red to the table and I took a second to contemplate mine before tasting it. Just from the color alone, I was already thinking Syrah but I briefly considered Petit Verdot. Two sips and I was convinced that I was drinking Syrah, but Syrah from where? The wine displays a nice blueberry core, firmish tannins, and decent acidity. Notably lacking was the jammy fruit such as you might find in Paso Robles. The decidedly New World style ruled out Northern Rhone. Moreover, it displayed none of the vivid aromatics that scream Australia. Hmm.

Our second courses arrived just after this. Ann ordered the pink snapper with potato leek broth and I found set in front of me a plate of steak and eggs.

Pink Snapper with Leek and Potato Broth

The pink snapper was cooked well enough, but the dish wasn't exciting. If I am served a fish with the skin on, I want the skin crispy. This wasn't. Also, the broth might have been a good idea on paper, but it didn't really translate to the plate. Rather than the ethereally light take on warm vichyssoise that it could have been, it was a gluey mess that I would not have allowed to be served at my restaurant. I'm not sure where the leeks were; I didn't taste them in the broth. So, good ideas and a nice enough presentation, but the details were missing.

Steak and Eggs

On the other hand, I would have never ordered steak and eggs, but I am glad that someone ordered it for me. As you can see, the steak and eggs were super well done; props for that. The sauce is styled a sauce Choron, but I learned Choron differently, as a sauce pink with tomato purée. I'd be happier calling this a Béarnaise with diced tomato, but nomenclature aside, the sauce was really well executed and delicious. Ed 2; Ann 0.
 

While we were chatting and slowly working our way through our dishes, Neal brought the bottle of red to the table and asked what it was. I offered up Syrah from Washington State and was very surprised when he uncovered the label: Massena 2010 Shiraz Barossa "The Eleventh Hour." This was a wonderful bottle that shows just how far some Australian producers have come in producing delicious modern wines. Examples like this will go far in helping the Aussies capture some of the market that they lost during the decades of making soft, jammy, overripe wines.

Before dessert, our server brought out two complimentary plates of pancakes for us to try (and they were delicious):

Buttermilk Pancakes, Sassafras Whipped Cream, Hickory Syrup

For her final course, Ann ordered a torched Grayson cheese. That would have been my preference too because we are both nuts for this awesome Virginia cheese. Note to self, time to reorder a block for the restaurant.

Brûléed Grayson Cheese with Pickled Plums and Citron Blend

I must say that even in the stupor of a brutal 90-hour week, I could never come up with a plate presentation this staid and uninspired. We love the idea of brûléed cheese and it is one we have done over and over at the restaurant, but the presentation doesn't fit the dish. Do you see the pickled plums? It's a speck of sauce up under the citron blend (the microgreens).

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake; Honey Ice Cream

Not being a dessert person, I sure would never have ordered chocolate for myself, but I was happy to taste this. As good as the mousse was, the honey ice cream was better. I would have made the cook replate this if I saw it coming out of my kitchen though, with all the elements at different angles to each other and the spacing all off. Still, the ice cream was as good as any that we make in our kitchen (and we make it every day) and that makes it Ed 3; Ann 0.

Just as our desserts were hitting the table, Neal arrived with two half glasses of another red wine, this one lighter red and a touch bricked. I had no idea what to think at this point in our meal, but the very rustic nose and light color reminded me of Pinotage. The flavor did not; however, with really high levels of acidity. Clearly a rustic red wine from Italy, but I had no idea what. I was leaning in the wrong direction though thinking perhaps a Langhe Rosso when Neal showed me the word Aglianico on the label.

On balance, our meal was very good and we had a fabulous time—actually it was the best restaurant meal we've had in a while—and I'd recommend the Ashby to anyone, but in the best of all worlds, I'd like a bit more precision from the kitchen and hopefully that comes as things settle down. Neal, thank you for your incredible hospitality and letting us a spend a rare afternoon together in your care.