Vidalia, Milton Inn, Old Ebbitt Grill: Local delights, historic venues, old friends make dining special

About half the meals of this trip took place at the dining tables of the friends with whom we were staying.  Thanks, Trey and Di, for that stunning Kobe beef and for teaching Piers to make s'mores.  And Uncle Joe, you haven't lost the touch on the ribs, even though you've been away from St. Louis for decades.  For most of the rest, we took the cheap and cheerful option while out and about.  Cracker Barrel became a trip staple, delivering dependable, tasty food at a good price.

All of which allowed for a few splurges.

Vidalia, in Northwest Washington DC near Dupont Circle, is a restaurant that could go head-to-head with any Michelin star spot in the UK.  Its chef, Jeffrey Buben, says his food is "original American with a subtle southern influence."  Certainly menu items like shrimp and grits, Cheerwine jelly (Cheerwine being a cherry-flavoured soft drink from the Carolinas) and those sweet, mellow Vidalia onions give the place a distinct local flare.  But in elegance, presentation and delicacy of taste, this is a long way from your classic comfort food.  And in price, too.  A five-course tasting menu with good wines and 20 per cent service still came in at under £100 a person, cheaper than the equivalent in London.

Going for the tasting menu requires the whole group's buy in but, unlike tasting menus in Europe, this one allows you to choose your five dishes off the a la carte menu rather than being presented with the chef's set menu.  With five of us, that meant we saw much of the menu and more than a few forkfuls were shared across the table.  Popular dishes were seared Hudson Valley foie gras with rhubarb, spicy peanut praline, black pepper biscuit and the aforementioned Cheerwine jelly; lump meat crab cake with kale, savoy cabbage, smoked ham and creole mustard butter; those shrimp and grits ... with Vidalia onion, spinach, ham, tomato and a shellfish emulsion; and stuffed Beaver Creek quail with foie gras mousse, new potatoes, dandelion greens, pork jowl, blueberries and a citrus bourbon jus.  Great wine pairings, thanks to the sommelier, came from California and Oregon.  The dessert menu is gorgeous, turning classics like pecan pie, chess pie and s'mores into elegant plates of delight.

Another memorable meal in the capital came at the Old Ebbitt Grill, probably less notable for the food than for atmosphere and history.  It's the city's oldest saloon, founded in 1856 and the haunt of the political elite ever since.  Most famously, President Ulysses Grant wandered over from the White House frequently to hang out at the dark, ornately carved bar and smoke plenty of his famous cigars.  The rooms are mostly late 19th century, wood panelling, painted ceilings and heavily framed paintings, though it's all a bit at odds with the modern building around it; the interiors were moved here in the early '80s when the site of the original was torn down.  

It was soon after that move that Robert and Carol Zedler brought their daughter Allyson and her two friends, Dianne and Ellen, here for dinner during a whirlwind visit to DC.  Twenty nine years later, and here the three of us were again, meandering down memory lane and treasuring a friendship as durable as Old Ebbitt's reputation.

Up in Baltimore, the Milton Inn hosted our big night out.  A fieldstone house built almost 300 years ago, the place sits on the main road north and was a critical stopping point for all kinds of famous travellers.  It's been a restaurant since the 1940s, its rural location (about 45 minutes from the city) and colonial-style interiors make it a particularly picturesque spot.  The menu here is a bit more classical haut cuisine, though there are still local touches including the ubiquitous Maryland crab.  I started with the chef's award-winning crab soup, heavily laced with sweet chunks of meat, and had more of the crustacean in the Maryland Crab cake that sat between the fillet and the hollandaise sauce of my main course.  Three courses and wine here was about the same price as Vidalia, so you're definitely paying for the history and the atmosphere.  But you get what you pay for ... the candlelit historic interiors make for a spectacularly romantic and intimate night.


Back downtown in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, an honourable mention must go to the Rusty Scupper.  It's the kind of place you find in any upscale waterfront development in the States:  modern, glass-walled, menu heavy on seafood with a few steaks thrown in, big bar.  Great views, and arguably the best crab cakes we had in Maryland.  I've borrowed this photo from their web site to demonstrate how the breading in a proper crab cake is no more than the glue that holds it all together, with the pieces of meat retaining their individuality.  We were lucky enough to catch soft shelled crabs in season, and the sandwich they served me ... the whole crab battered, deep fried and placed between slabs of soft bread with lettuce, tomato and mayo ... was decadently tasty.

Leaving Baltimore, we headed south for the final part of our holiday, a bit of quiet recovery in a particularly luxurious B&B.  But that's another story...