This Restaurant Is The Most Fascinating In VA, Food Site Says

WASHINGTON, VA — Diners who want both good food and a restaurant that tells a story should head to The Inn at Little Washington, according to a food site’s inventory of “The Most Fascinating Restaurant In Every State.”

Food Love, whose content includes recipes, food news, and opinion pieces, ranked the selections. Some states had more than one restaurant in the ranking. Illinois had three, and Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine and New York each had two on the list.

The Inn at Little Washington ranked 13th among the 58 restaurants on the list. Editors said:

"Renowned for being one of the country's foremost fine dining restaurants, The Inn at Little Washington has three Michelin stars and offers superlative food in a magnificent setting. The inn itself, scenically set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was built in 1895, but it originally served as a gas station with a dance hall above it. It opened as a restaurant in 1978 and has since been listed as one of the best restaurants in the world, serving up imaginative American cuisine."

The selections were based on user reviews, awards and accolades, and first-hand experience by members of the Food Love team.

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"Dinner was like being in a fairy tale," a Falls Church woman wrote, in her yelp review of the Inn at Little Washington. "Five courses with several amuses bouches in between. We opted not to do the wine-pairings, instead ordering single half-servings of a couple of different wines with a few of the individual courses. Everything was prepared to perfection and displayed to perfection. It was truly a sensory experience, not only for the palate, but also the eyes and the nose. It's difficult to single out any one of the courses to elaborate on - they were all just so delicious."

"Perfect in every way," Andrea M. wrote in her Yelp review. "Fine dining with a whimsical vibe keeps the experience from being too stuffy. From the over-the-top friendly host, to the Dalmatian chef pants, to the mooing cheese cow-- what fun! Not to mention the food is locally sourced and absolutely fantastic. Never ever had a bad experience at ILW. It remains our #1 special occasion restaurant choice."

“There are countless restaurants in America that tell a story – whether it's because they were beloved by presidents or film stars, because they reflect the state’s own fascinating history, or because they were the birthplace of a dish that went on to become iconic,” Food Love wrote.

Tennessee’s Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville topped the ranking. As the story goes, its spicy fried chicken “was invented after Thornton Prince’s scorned lover tried to take revenge on him by adding a significant amount of chili and spice to his favorite fried chicken,” the site said. “Far from hating it, he loved it – and he spent his time perfecting the recipe before opening his own restaurant.”

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Rounding out the top five were:

No. 2 Gianni’s at the Villa, in Miami, Florida, housed in the mansion where fashion designer Gianni Versace lived – and died;

No. 3 Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City, founded in 1888 and featured in films and television shows, including the famous Meg Ryan scene in “When Harry Met Sally”;

No. 4 Golden Steer Steakhouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose famous diners have included Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio and Natalie Wood; and

No. 5 The Griswold Inn In Essex, Connecticut, built in 1776 to house shipyard workers who worked on the first warship for the American Revolution and steeped in local and national history since.

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