09/07/2026
Making friends with a moose and falling in love with the historically-preserved design across 200+ year-old cottages around the The Inn at Little Washington village... and all those striking wallpapered or painted ceilings!
Including a gorgeous house in tribute to — and lived in often by — Craig Claiborne, the The New York Times' first dedicated restaurant critic starting in 1957, credited with inventing the modern food critic.
When I first became a restaurant reviewer at the Bay Guardian, followed by Zagat and Time Out editor and reviewer roles, I read every historic critic I could get my hands on, from the pre-critic food writing of A.J. Liebling and my lifelong hero, M.F.K. Fisher, to Mimi Sheraton and, of course, .reichl.
I also dug into bios on Claiborne and have first editions of some of his NY Times cookbooks. What a joy to walk through this stunning house, lovingly tributing him, and hear a bit of the many storied, famous guests who have stayed here, part of chef Patrick O'Connell's wonderful world.
