The Fearrington House

July 13th, 2010 |

Author: Marney

Joe and I celebrated our two year anniversary with a dinner at The Fearrington House (where Joe works).

For those of you unfamiliar, Fearrington Village is a charming, picturesque property located near Chapel Hill, NC. There are many attractions in this unique community including a 5-star Inn, scenic gardens, walking paths, boutiques, restaurants, and their famous belted Galloway cows. In addition, Fearrington has lovely venues for wedding receptions and hosts events such as art shows, culinary classes and book clubs.

Dining at the Fearrington House is truly a special experience. Upon entering, you are warmly greeted by the host, Juris. From that moment on, you are made to feel like an important guest due to the attentive, professional staff. The atmosphere is intimate with multiple small rooms, all elegant, yet simply decorated, treated windows overlooking the gardens, and soft lighting. Details such as table candles, fresh flowers and light background music add to the ambiance.

We didn’t need to spend any time looking at the menu because we knew a week in advance what we were ordering. Joe talked me into the 4 course option by saying, “Don’t worry Love, anything you don’t eat, I’ll eat.”

For the first course, I ordered the Crab & Pineapple Salad with Curried Onion Cream, Almond, Potato Wafer, Tapioca, and Yuzu. I found it lite, complex and summery. Joe ordered the Beef Carpaccio with Truffle, Foie Gras Mousse & Crispy Shallots, Tomatoes, Brioche, Pickles, Pine Nuts. In between mouthfuls, Joe noted, “seven to eight perfectly executed elements comprise each dish and when put together the flavors really come to life.” For the second course, I ordered the Herb & Potato Gnocchi with English Peas & Burnt Butter Cappuccino, Salsify, Morels, Spring Savory which was an absolute treat. The peas and mushrooms brought a nice texture/flavor combination paired with the supple gnocchi. Joe ordered the House Cured Veal Breast with Skate Wing & Brown Butter Parmentier, Capers, Spinach, Lemon and Thyme. For the main course, I ordered Seared Scallops with Poached Rhubarb and Ginger Veloute, Sea Beans, Cauliflower, Peas, Asparagus and Savoy Cabbage. Although scallops are typically not my favorite, this dish was a standout. The scallops were lite but flavorful, and perfectly cooked. I particularly enjoyed the pairing with peas, asparagus and sea beans. Joe ordered the Glazed Duck Breast with Pickled Blackberry & Tarragon Sauce, Broccoli, Confit Duck, Cipollini, Apple. Honestly, I was unable to get many comments out of Joe because he was too busy enjoying his entree. However, he did proudly mention that he had prepared all of the accompaniments to our dishes the day before. For dessert, we ordered the Warm White Chocolate & Banana Bread Pudding with Caramel Ice Cream, Maldon Sea Salt, Peanut Butter, Shortbread, Honeycomb and the Blackberry & Apple Baked Alaska with Tarragon Ice Cream, Shortbread, Muscat, Hazelnut. Both were impressive and had artistic presentations featuring multiple elements. At the end of the meal, our server brought us a complimentary assortment of house-made chocolates in a to-go box as a treat to take home.

The Fearrington House is a member of Relais and Chateaux and ranked as one of the top 50 restaurants in the nation on Open Table. Guests will not only enjoy 5-star food prepared by expert chefs, they will also receive an intimate, romantic, unique and memorable dining experience set in a historic farmhouse. If you appreciate quality cuisine, you would definitely value this dining experience. The food is contemporary, complex, artistic, intellectual and delicious!