L’Auberge Provençale
13630 Lord Fairfax Hwy
White Post, VA 22620
540-837-1375
http://www.laubergeprovencale.com/

French | $$$$

Dinner at this lovely French bed and breakfast is a real treat. Chef Joseph Watters has created a wonderful dining experience by taking a farm-to-table approach and sourcing as much food locally as possible. The inn is a 90 minute drive from Washington, DC. in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

We started with a tiny radish in a clay pot, gazpacho, and a small deviled quail’s egg. The quail’s egg tasted similar to a deviled chicken egg.

My first course was the Carpaccio Reinvented. Tenderloin heated with a blow torch, freeze dried strawberries, and something called mighty blue from Spain. I do not understand what this is but it was good. A small tube sticking out the side allowed for last minute drizzling of vinaigrette.

The Chilled Minted Pea Soup with Buttermilk snow had green leaf Nasturium perched atop a Tzatziki sphere. The soup was light with the perfect mint flavor.

For my second course I chose A Hogs Trotter and a Sweetbread Story described on the menu as a custard thick farm fresh egg yolk and a smoked belly with fondant textured potato with an edible crispy potato film and concentrated stock of pork jus. I was seeing the chef liked to create items to visually fool you. I thought for sure I was getting a breakfast sausage but it turned out to be a crispy pig trotter with a soft inside.

My wife had A Walk Through the Hudson Valley with Foie gras, pickled Shirtless grapes, hazelnuts, and macerated apricots. This stunning dish is some of the best plating I have seen.

For my main course I chose the Strip Loin of Lamb with tabbouleh of couscous and quinoa, baba ganoush, tempura fried zucchini flowers with ricotta, and Rosemary Jus. The Rosemary Jus over the lamb was perfect, giving it a wonderful earthy taste. I loved the couscous and creamy ricotta together but it was hard to push the couscous around to mix it.

My wife had the Barramundi with steamed mussels, spring vegetables, and garden sorrel emulsion. I am not a fan of mussels so I take my wife’s word they were excellent. Also pictured is the small jar of super fine mashed potatoes created by pushing them through a tight mesh screen.

Our friends had the Duck Magret and the Wild Alaskan Halibut. I have no usable photo of the duck. The Halibut was cooked perfectly and came with an assortment of small fresh vegetables, almonds, and delicious caper-raisin.

In place of a typical sorbet to cleanse the palette before dessert the chef sent out a small chilled dish with a picked grape and champagne gelato on a thinly sliced strawberry. The waiter poured a rhubarb puree on top. It was all too much for me, I would have preferred sorbet.

My chocolate dessert with a dab of vanilla ice cream was just what I needed at the end of my meal.

The other desserts looked amazing. This vanilla ice cream ball was filled with strawberries.

Service was first class and the limited number of tables in the dining room kept the noise level low. Seating is available outside on a delightful patio but be sure you can stand the heat or humidity before reserving an outside table. Because of the plating and small delicate nature of some dishes dinner can easily take an hour and a half or more.

It was wonderful having authentic French cuisine in the nearby Virginia countryside. If you love French food or are a foodie looking for a magnificent meal consider a trip to L’Auberge Provencale.