That in mind, we booked a table at Townhouse, a small restaurant in Chilihowie, Virginia, a tiny town north of the Tennessee state line. Finding no place to stay overnight, we reserved a room in nearby Marion, a small town notable mostly for its former glory days. We stayed at the General Francis Marion Inn, critically-acclaimed for sleeping, dining and original art-deco staircases, but found the main street obviously lacking in stores, restaurants and actual human beings. Sagging from the heat and feeling the fine dust of desperation settling on our skin, we decided to hole up in our hotel room until dinner. I eased into a steaming bath in the gleaming white tub while Adam napped into late afternoon, tossing and turning in the room's creaky four-poster bed.
What kind of a bang is this?
Well, it might not sound like much, but to be honest, we were there for that little restaurant I mentioned above.
Town House has a short, but storied history, involving small-town restaurateurs who wanted to do more with their kitchen. They found a young couple (John Shields and Karen Urie looking to run their own show and hired them on, telling them to take whatever risks they wanted, push things toward their own vision.
So smart. Just trusting them to do their thing(s). They drew on their training for the fundamentals (Shields did time at Alinea in NYC and they met working at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago), but their inspiration is drawn from the Appalachians in which Chilihowie is nestled.
In not too much time, the pair were making a name for tiny Chilihowie where Town House is located. A writer from the NYT gave them gold stars and suddenly, people were driving from all over the country to try delicate tubes of shaved vegetable 'minestrone' or chewy, broken 'chocolate' made from cocoa-infused meringue.
No detailed review from this writer. I'm still off-duty. But it was lovely, quirky, surprising and fun. Parts were incredibly delicious. For me, the highlight was a 'deconstructed gazpacho' that clearly channels Michel Bras' iconic natural wonder of a 'salad.'
And it was our anniversary dinner.
2 comments:
Those dishes look incredible. Absolute works of art. You certainly have a talent for finding these places. Perfect for a foodie on her anniversary. Best wishes to you both, and glad to heaar that you had a great time
Your M
intriguing! all those little things in rolls and so colourfulrtgfffffffffffffff (that 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 is 'Evey' and the other dishes looks as if it has heather in it! how did you manage to eat it?
Seems like a perfect Anniversary dinner.
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