In these parts, fall is wedding season. And, if it’s wedding season, that means it’s anniversary season, too. Those of us who once had the good fortune of being married in Charlottesville’s most pleasant season now have the good fortune of celebrating in it. In our 13th year of marriage, my wife and I typically commemorate our big day at one of our favorite special occasion destinations. This year, we decided to try somewhere new. Friends had been so ardent in recommending Vintage restaurant, at The Inn at Willow Grove in Orange, that we felt compelled to see for ourselves.
Good decision.
In 2008, David Scibal and his wife Charlene purchased the inn, which, while historic—dating back to 1778—was starting to show its age. After a multi-million dollar overhaul that took two years to complete, they opened in October 2010. What a difference. Charlene, who once owned an art gallery in Florida, oversaw the transformation into a style she calls “urban meets plantation.” Having attended a friend’s wedding at the inn’s former incarnation, my wife and I barely recognized the new décor. Elegant yet comfortable, with lingering traces of shabby chic, it is undoubtedly now more chic than shabby.
Charlene, it turns out, is also a trained chef and planned a world class restaurant at the inn. While the restaurant’s opening chef had a successful run, earlier this year the Scibals decided to take it even further. In fact, it was the Scibals’ desire to press forward that acclaimed chef Scott Myers found most enticing in agreeing to take over Vintage. “They had a great restaurant but were still really interested in growth,” said Myers, a New England Culinary Institute alum.
And so, while Vintage already had elements of a farm-to-table restaurant, Myers was determined to take those elements to another level. Myers first became passionate about the locavore movement in the late 1990s while cooking in Vermont, which some have called the top state in the country for the movement. “I try to get as much as I can from the local area,” said Myers, who quickly became friends with Central Virginia’s producers and farmers. “It’s about more than just getting food, you know,” said Myers.
Myers arrived well prepared for Vintage, as he once ran the kitchen of L’Auberge Provencale, long regarded as one of Virginia’s top special occasion restaurants. From the start, our night was indeed special.
Too often, an amuse bouche can be a throw-away—a haphazardly executed way to dispose of excess ingredients. Good chefs know, though, that it is a kitchen’s first chance to make an impression. And, Myers’ kitchen nailed it. The clean flavor of a single scallop ceviche, scarcely adorned, showed the confident restraint of a talented chef who says food need not be crazy to be good. My wife and I both looked up from our plates and mouthed a barely audible “Wow.” Next came a board of house-made charcuterie about as plentiful as I have ever seen. A terrine of pork and duck, duck ham, pork rilletes, pancetta and rabbit liver mousse all found room on the board. As did a host of accoutrements, again made in Myers’ kitchen, like cranberry chutney, lemon marmalade, cornichons, old fashioned mustard and crostini.
If we were not celebrating, I might have stopped there. But, what’s an anniversary if not a license to gorge on forcemeat? So, for my entrée I ordered more, this time in the form of rabbit sausage. With braised cabbage, roasted Kennebec potatoes, and mustard gastrique, it evoked Alsace, and was the standout dish of the night. I later learned it is Myers’ favorite, too. I’d drive back just for that.
My wife opted for braised lamb shank. With white bean cassoulet, collard greens and merguez, it signaled the coming of winter, and, evidently, was to my wife’s liking. “I think it’s even better than your lamb shank,” she said, in reference to her favorite dish that I make, foregoing romance for candor on our anniversary.
While the inn has a separate pub area and menu that is popular with locals, it is special occasions that are the main draw for out-of-town guests. Almost every night, the inn hosts a birthday, anniversary, engagement or similar celebration, said Hope Scibal, Charlene’s daughter-in-law, who helps run the inn with her husband Matt. Guests of the inn even receive their own personal certified butler, “available at your beck and call” to help with whatever is needed, said Hope, whether it’s packing, unpacking, polishing shoes, designing itineraries and even delivering French press coffee and fresh beignets to your room in the morning.
Hmm. Next year we may have to stay the night.
