Editor Pick
The Stone House Restaurant & Country Inn
- February 5, 2001
- Rated 4 of 5 by
kjlouden from , West Virginia
The recipes at The Stone House Inn have remained unchanged for a century or even longer. Place mats tell you that and about previous owners and their cooking and also previous guests to the Inn. I believe there have been only three owners in this century, so the features of a very old inn have been preserved pretty well. Parking is ample and free. The Inn is right on the road, just one giant step from where cars pass, a reminder that this Route 40 was indeed The National Pike, a road that early dignitaries, surveyors, and settlers wanted open to facilitate travel from the coast into the interior of a developing nation. So, when I read that important historical personages ate and slept here, I took it seriously. See the inn for yourself at their website: www.stonehouseinn.com and you will agree that this place was important to travellers west a long time ago.
The menu includes chicken and dumplings, made the way General Braddock liked them, cooked according to the same recipe that he enjoyed when he was a visitor there. I just had to order that, since I am an afficionado of authentic recipes. It was delicious, just like grandma used to make. But I was also delighted on another occasion by the tiramisu, very light. (The present owner is quite an accomplished chef.)
I always ask at an inn if I can "look in" the rooms, even if I'm not staying there. I have found that at mealtimes most rooms are empty with the doors open for viewing. Of course, the owners like to show off their beautifully preserved bits of history. I believe I saw all the rooms at The Stone House Inn, all delightfully furnished with antiques and decorated with the ambiance of a bygone era. As for the decor in the dining areas, ask to sit in the front dining room, as the bar area and back room are not so nice, paneled and not as authentic. The Inn is always busy at mealtime, so you may have to wait; however, you won't mind, so pleasant are the surroundings. Take this opportunity to do your tour of the Inn. Besides, this is a well-managed place where just a little confusion never gets out of control. I live less than two hours away, so I'll return again and again.
From journal A Summer Working (and Playing) in the Laurel Highl