30th Anniversary dinner tonight. Very excited.
A very fine list, with a few wines at ~double retail, which counts as reasonable at a place of this status. I am taking the max 2 bottles allowed and will buy a champagne off the list, I think. Current plans (changes by the minute): start with a grower champagne off the list, then 2007 Jacquesson Dizy Terres Rouges Rosé (which drinks more like a red – a strange and wonderful wine we had at Les Crayeres) and 1985 Leoville Las Cases.
Dined there once in the mid 90s, terrific room and fare. Mazel tov.
Thanks Glenn. I’ve been ridiculously fortunate.
Congrats! The 1985 Las Cases is drinking great. I had a bottle a couple of weeks ago, and it was terrific.
Mazes tov on your 30th anniversary. May I ask how many people will be dining? Seems like a lot of wine at a table for two. Then again, I’m a lightweight.
Is that like asking a lady her age? 
Ha! No, that would definitely be excessive for two, especially since we are lightweights as well.
Our son is coming, and we are also hosting my oldest (longest-term?) friend and his wife. So 5 people. (My son may only have a glass or two. He is our designated driver)
Enjoy!
Congratulations, Neal.
happy anniversary!! sounds like a fabulous night is ahead of you! cheers!
I love the Inn at Little Washington. There are very few places like it in the U.S., or really anywhere. Kind of a relic, but one where the cooking is still at an extremely high level. And the surroundings are obviously spectacular.
I celebrated a memorable anniversary there a few years back, where I drank '99 Truchot Gevrey Combottes for something like $100.
I especially love the cheese cart.
Congrats, Neal! Sounds like a great way to celebrate.
A family favorite (note, not as a family trip)
that’s not what I observed
edited to add Happy Anniversary Neal and Mrs Mollen
Congrats and enjoy!!
Dinner was just lovely. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of tasting menus; to me, a dish that disappears in a few bit is the equivalent of a one ounce poor at a tasting. If the food is good or very good, the portion is almost never satisfying. Here, there were a couple of dishes (Maine Lobster with Pearl Onions, Citrus Butter Sauce and Garden Bok Choy and an ged Gouda Macaroni and Cheese with Australian Winter Truffles) that I could have made a meal of and others that didn’t thrill.
But the service is impeccable, friendly and (for a temple-of-gastronomy kind of place) very down to earth, including Patrick O’Connell who welcomed us back into the kitchen after dinner and insisted on group photos. Everything about the place is warm and comfortable and friendly, and they seem to try as hard to be welcoming as many other haut cuisine restaurants try to be elitist.
The wines were just perfect. We started with a Jean Milan Special Brut off the list (at about double retail) which was crisp and precise and perfect for the amuse and early courses. That was followed by the 2007 Jacquesson rose I mentioned above, and it was sensational with the food. A very different champagne but one that goes down so easily with almost anything but the heaviest of dishes.
And we finished the night with the Leoville was was glorious. Just a magnificent bottle of aged bdx, and one that will have a long life ahead of it. If you have well-stored bottles, you are in for a treat.
I don’t usually take pictures at dinner, but the picture above is the “Carpaccio of Herb-Crusted Baby Lamb Loin with Caesar Salad Ice Cream”
Bravo!
Why is this in the travel forum? Because you had to drive there?
Happy Anniversary!
Thanks Jay, ad thanks to all for the good wishes. I am a lucky guy.