Paris, Virginia is a small, quiet village, and the Ashby Inn is perhaps its central attraction. We missed the town altogether on our first pass in our car, and when we turned back from the highway onto the lone and snowy street, the sign at the entrance to town proclaimed "Road Ends in .3 Miles". The original Ashby Inn was built in this charming location in 1829. While much of the house has changed over time, the front porch from the original house remains the same one that hosted Generals Joseph E. Johnston and Stonewall Jackson from the Civil War Era of the United States.
Thus, the Ashby Inn Restaurant has been around for a while, but what attracted our recent attention is that it has a new chef who is one of our personal favorites, Tarver King. We had previously enjoyed Chef King's cuisine at the 5-Star Dining Room at the Woodlands and Hilltoppers in Middleburg, Virginia. When we learned this was Chef King's new kitchen, we had to check it out.
The restaurant exhibits a rustic and comfortable feel. The food is well thought-out, and yet the menu is packaged for casual fare. As an example, the first section of the menu features "snacks" which are bite sized portions along the same size as tapas, though very different in construction. The remained of the menu consists of Farm Fare, featuring fresh and seasonal ingredients sourced from local Virginia farms.
We began with several "snacks", trying four of them, one for each member of our dining party. My daughter and I shared beignets and curry crackers, both of which we really loved. The beignets were with smoked crème fraîche, deep fried and satisfying, with a pleasantly sweet filling inside.
The Puffed Curry Crackers were airy and light crisps with intriguing flavors.
My husband tasted a Cured Trout Tempura.
My mother-in-law enjoyed Brandade & Toast.
For our main course, my daughter and I ordered Pork with Chili, Lime, Clams, and Jasmin rice. The flavors of the sauce were lovely and the clams were an enjoyable accompaniment. However, I found the pork to be not quite as tender as I would have liked.
My mother-in-law's roast chicken on the other had was super juicy, having been brined for a week prior to roasting. It was served with a delicious spicy sausage, white lentil, and arugula. She did find her meal just a bit too salty, which was in fact a general consensus regarding several of the dishes throughout the evening.
My husband's main course was probably the best dish of the night, comprising tender and flavorful Smoked Beef served with potato, cauliflower, and foyot sauce, which is Béarnaise with a touch of melted glace d'viand (meat stock, reduced to 1/10th of its original volume). The Smoked Beef was highly original, and in this creative preparation, the flavor profile was comfortably delicious.
The desserts were also very interesting and creative. "Apple Textures" featured apple in various preparations including apple caviar, apple sorbet and freeze-dried apple.
A Brown Butter Sponge Cake was served with almond ice cream, brown butter powder, toasted almonds, chocolate soil and coffee pudding.
Both the apple and the sponge cake desserts were tasty; however as with the main dishes somehow a concentrated salty taste surprised us. This seemed particularly out of place among these sweet bites, and thus was just a little bit off for our palates.
A melted cheese dish of Potted St. André served fondue style with garnishes of walnut and mustard was appropriately salty and therefore quite delicious.
Overall, we enjoyed our trek to Paris, Virginia, and a fresh approach to comfort food at the Ashby Inn Restaurant.
