This place is like a true diamond in the rough. I love the nearby skiing and groomed trails, that I can't get enough of. Cross country trails abound of levels (easy, moderate, difficult) with majestic scenery. You can also try Telemarking and snowshoing also. Rentals are availalbe and occassional lessons too.
However, the food here and the staff are just some of the nicest people I've ever met. Lately the snow has been sparse, but luckily the time I went it was in buckets. Because of the lack of snow though in past warm winters, the place has really been hurting for business.
That being said, this is place more so worth going for dinner. You need to make reservations for this incredibly quaint and popular place ahead of time, so make sure you do it's well worth the effort.
The place has a few basic beers and wines, and just makes down home simple comfort food. The lunch break I took after skiing was filled with a light oatmeal stout and a tasty shrimp jambalaya that burst with andoulie sausage and flavors. There are several soups, and they are all homemade and my friends all raved about them (particularly the turkey and lentils).
A real basic warming meal is prepared for dinner service. It's a sidebar which means they let you try a little bit of everything through some trays, but unlike a buffet the food doesn't sit there forever as groups are called up when it's time to take the items that are freshly then plated by yourself or your server. While the moroccan chicken was a bit of a dud, everything else excelled.
Maple vinagrette dressing on the appetizer salad was incredibly tangy, so was the basic seafood dip with horseradish which was plentiful and served with many crackers.
The sidebar items of pork tenderloin were cooked perfectly. Some tofu was done nicely, as were some side vegetables. The most impressive though is the steamed kale the place makes. It is seriously to die for, with hints of garlic, a light chewy sweetness, and it bursts in green color while not turning to a gray darkened mess.
I still think about that kale, I could eat buckets of it, and I am not a big fan of vegetables, but cook kale regularly (mostly with a lot of bacon, garlic and vinegar). But the white grass kale is a whole nother surprise.
There is also a cookbook for sale here, which includes recipes for many of the items served. I suppose I could learn how to make that kale, I am sure it's easy, but I would rather they kept their own little secret.
There's also a tucked away corner for a simple place for musicians to play while you eat. While you are in really cozy, the band doesn't play too loudly, it's at the perfect level, and you almost feel like you are being serenaded.
After the evening ended, one of the staff members, this real old guy came in during the massive dump of snow, no doubt looking for stragglers on the trails. Just in time before the set ended, he jumped on stage and started blowing a mean harp.
Then they brought out the moonshine for anyone to try, as 4 at a time grabbed a skiboard and all lifted and were forced to take a swig, everyone just beamed.
A new highway has been constructed which shaves an hour off your driving time from DC. It's easily worth a stay and a visit for a weekend to come down to this truly unique place. Being back in a brown and gray winter wasteland in DC here I just can't stop about coming back here someday.
Well worth the visit. read more