Town House Redux: The Sweet and the Savory

We made the 8 hour round trip drive Saturday to Town House in Chilhowie, VA again to sample the now ten course(instead of a mere paltry 9 courses!) tasting menu at what we felt at our June initial visit was perhaps the best meal in the United States. The dining room this time was full, in contrast to our Saturday night in June. Word is out.

The surreal twilight zone feeling that we had at that first visit was gone...we settled into our seats knowing in advance that there was no way to do this restaurant than the full monte. But could lightning possibly strike twice and could the chefs deliver again? Or was the first visit some sort of hypnagogic fluke?

Of the 10 courses, 7 were new. The chilled vegetable minestrone remains as the opener (and should, as it is visually arresting and shows off knife skills). It will be a great cover for Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazine when they finally arrive here to do a feature. The chorizo bouillon with Spanish influences and the dessert of truffles with buttermilk, young pistachio, peppermint and red wine remain as well. The owners Tom and Kyra Bishop(who have been there both of our visits serving food and clearing dishes) have said that a restaurant that changes seasonally was a goal of theirs....we thought the 70% turnover of the tasting menu in less than 3 months meets that goal.

Caramelized salmon roe and crab was the second course. Served with smoked coconut, avocado and banana, parsnip and cilantro marmalade, we thought as it was placed before us that there might be too much going on on the plate...we had a flashback to a crab two ways that Grant Achatz served at Alinea earlier this year that was so busy as to be hallucinatory. This, however, turned out to be our favorite complete dish of the evening.

The Orange from Valencia arrived next and was also a knockout dish...even the breadcrumbs tucked inside with the shellfish were terrific. Check out the photo on the Town House blog.

Hamachi and Bev Eggleston's pig tail with a grilled oyster and a broth courtesy of Allen Benton was next. Squab and foie gras praline wih meyer lemon, cream of parsley grapes and sorrel followed and was also a hit. Following that, the chorizo bouillon that we also enjoyed back in June remains a wonderful interlude. Next, came a lightly pickled and tea smoked o toro.

Thorntree farms lamb cooked in ashes with what appears to be a thin shaving of wood was also one of our favorites of the new savory dishes.

Two desserts followed, but before those, a digression is necessary. What makes this restaurant stand above other molecular gastronomy restaurants like Alinea and WD 50 is the commitment to flavor. While a meal at a molecular gastronomy restaurant always involves a bit of theater(think Cirque de Soleil type not the Disney Broadway musical kind), Chefs John and Karen Shields combine sweet and savory in a way unlike anything we've ever experienced anywhere in the world. It is the combination of the sweet and savory that makes this food so special, and taste so good. It is the combination of these two unique talents that makes this place one of the best anywhere. Without both of them influencing and adding/tempering each dish, it would not be the same miraculous restaurant. That is why, when the inevitable James Beard award comes, it has to involve both of them.

Perhaps the single greatest memory of the meal was an olive oil cake/meringue component of the Gazpacho of fruits and vegetables dessert. It is perhaps the greatest baked sweet we have ever had. It brought back memories of a warm fresh baked croissant you might have from the neighborhood bakery if you are staying in France. It was that good. It was something you'd love to have each weekend curled up reading the Sunday paper. Some high end restaurants in New York will give you a little baked good to take home for breakfast the next morning...I might suggest that Town House do the same with these little treasures. The gazpacho also included something called an olive berry which we never had encountered before...available at the local farmers market...a consistency and tang a bit like a pomegranate seed.

Finishing up was the truffles with buttermilk, young pistachio, peppermint and red wine, which was as wonderful as the first time. No Benton's bacon ice cream this visit, but hopefully that will return at another visit.

Sommelier Charlie Berg has assembled a terrific fairly priced wine list combining old and new world. Here's the link: http://townhouseva.com/files/Town%20House%20Wine%20List.pdf . We had the 2006 Evesham Wood Le Puits Sec Pinot Noir, evoking a bit of burgundy with a bit of barnyard, and tart light red fruit such as sour cherry, raspberry and cranberry.

Although it is somewhat remote, it is well worth a trip to Chilhowie, VA. Here is a link to the menu: http://townhouseva.com/files/Town%20House%20Menu.pdf. Photos of some of the dishes are available here: http://townhouseblog.blogspot.com/ . We've had a camera both times but get so distracted with the presentation of each dish, we forget to snap a photo. In case you missed the New York Times article, here's a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/dining/17town.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=chilhowie&st=cse