By Monty Tayloe

By Monty Tayloe

y' J Rappahannock News Staff Writer f _~mebrating its 29th year, the Inn at f j Little Washington started out as a

rural gas station in a tiny town in the late ‘70s. Now, despite the tiny town’s location almost two hours from the District of Columbia, the Inn routinely tops lists of “Metropolitan Area” best restaurants. The Inn at Little Washington has moved the mountains of Rappahannock County inside the beltway, at least in the minds of restaurant critics.

Although $200 dinners and $600 a night rooms create expectations of tuxedoed staff, high tea and tapestries, the Inn maintains a quirky yet elegant atmosphere, which cuts-at the formality of traditional fine dining, and reflects the vision of the Inn’s helmsman, Patrick O’Connell. O’Connell, an award winning self taught chef, is rarely seen outside a pair of dalmatian spotted pants, and has been known to serve macaroni and cheese with white truffles and snails. However strange that may sound, O’Connell’s vision works. His Inn has made rural Rappahannock County into a sought after destination for celebrities and beltway insiders, and the Inn’s popularity spawned an industry of bed and breakfasts to house customers who want to eat at the Inn’s five star food but couldn’t get a booking for one of their fifteen five-diamond rated rooms. Former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner came straight from the gubernatorial inauguration in January to the Inn, and Alan Greenspan celebrates his birthday there every year.

Intelligent design

An early clue to visitors that the Inn at Little Washington will defy their expectations for fine dining comes from the dogs. Especially on weekends, guests to the Inn are regularly greeted by O’Connell’s partner and co-proprietor Reinhardt Lynch with their two Dalmatians, Pearl and JoBe. The spotted dogs are the inspiration for the spotted pants worn by O’Connell and all the kitchen staff, and guests in the Inn receive cookies from the dogs