Thursday, October 20, 2011

Joshua Wilton House

Today, I'd like to begin with a story (skip to the not-italic section for the normal entry): Several days ago, I was pulling into the parking lot at Ragtime Fabrics, and the man parked next to me rolled down his window. He gestured across the street to Union Station. "Have you ever eaten there? Is it good?" I told him it was okay, but not extraordinary. "I want to take my wife somewhere nice tonight. What would you recommend?"
I told him that I had heard that the Local Chop & Grill was pretty good, but I hadn't been there. "Of course, if it's a super special occasion, you should go to Joshua Wilton House."

When I got home, I told this story to my husband. Only then did it strike me as odd. "It's kind of random that he asked me about that," I said. "Do I exude this air of 'Harrisonburg Dining Blogger'?"

Fabric-store-parking-lot-dude, if you are reading this, I hope you and your wife had an awesome dinner together. It's a great town for food, and I recommend that you explore every inch of it.

One point that put me at a serious disadvantage when trying to answer this gentleman's question is that my husband and I are not really "fine dining" people. We're hopelessly casual and slouchy. We're cheapskates. We're shy and uncomfortable with the kind of waiter attention that one gets at really Nice Restaurants. The hush and clink of crystal unnerves us. My husband only wears ties to funerals and hasn't bought a suit since high school. Oh, and we have a one-year-old.

Last week, though, our son's daycare offered a "date night" and we jumped at the chance to go out without the baby (much as we love him). We decided to go to the Local Chop & Grill, because we hadn't been there. We got there, and the place was packed. The maitre d' (or hostess? I don't really know what the difference is) told us that it was JMU Parents' Weekend, so there weren't any tables available--and that, even if it weren't, we really should make a reservation on the weekend. We went to Thai Flavor instead (one benefit of knowing the hole-in-the-wall restaurants is being able to get a table, without a reservation, even during JMU Parents' Weekend!) and had a wonderful meal there. Incidentally, Thai Flavor got a new sign--good job, folks! It's much easier to find now. I'm hoping to visit the Local Chop & Grill some other time and give a full report. Incidentally, *last* year, we also had a dining issue related to JMU Parents' Weekend. Next year, I'm marking my calendar!


All of this is a really lengthy preamble to the actual entry. Joshua Wilton House is, without question, the best Nice Restaurant in Harrisonburg. It really is completely incredible. I've eaten dinner there exactly twice, and both times were transcendental experiences. Mark Newsome is a real chef, and you can taste the quality of his care and attention in every bite. He was recently featured in the documentary American Meat. WMRA's Virginia Insight did an interview with Newsome and some other people involved with the documentary, which you can listen to at their archive.

  • Location: 412 South Main Street. It's in a beautiful old Victorian house (pictured above), and has practically no sign.
  • Website: joshuawilton.com
  • Food Profile: Locavore fine dining
  • Price: An entree will run you around $25, but if you're going to get all gussied up and go out to a nice place like this, you'll want a "first course" (aka appetizer) ($10), a salad ($10), a nice beverage, and one of their beautiful desserts. So, plan on $50 or more per person, plus a nice tip. You won't regret it.
  • Warnings: They have a dress code! This might be the only restaurant in Harrisonburg that does. Don't show up in a t-shirt. Their website describes appropriate dress as "smart-casual," which I think of as what you might want to wear to an afternoon wedding. 
  • Specialties: I don't know who their dessert chef is, but I worship the ground he or she walks on. The Crème brûlée is totally amazing. Bon Appetit called it "so ethereal it could steal a Frenchman's allegiance." That really doesn't go far enough. 
  • Local sourcing? Yes. They've been doing local since before it was a thing.
  • Tips: 
    • Sound expensive? Here's my favorite way to enjoy Joshua Wilton: They have an awesome lounge/bar. It feels like the smoking room in one of those English country houses, with leather upholstery and dark wood paneling. The bartender is friendly and the drinks are incredible. Go in there, get a drink, an appetizer, and a dessert. Enjoy the atmosphere without doing the full dinner.
    • There is an online reservation form on their website. Useful, especially if it's JMU Parents' Weekend!
About Joshua Wilton House:
The house itself was built in 1888 by Joshua Wilton, a Canadian transplant who came to the Valley after the Civil War. Interestingly, Joshua Wilton was instrumental in bringing electricity to the Shenandoah region. In its long history, it has been home to several families as well as a fraternity. In the late 1980s, the Moore family purchased it, began restoring it to its original (pre-frat-house) beauty, and converted it to its present restaurant and inn configuration. Mark Newsome, Sean Pugh, and Ann Marie Coe bought it from the Moores in 2004. They have maintained the restaurant's tradition of excellence ever since.

Food:
I really cannot stress enough how incredible the food is. It is fresh and local--some of the fruit even comes from Chef Newsome's backyard. The restaurant prides itself on sourcing the highest quality ingredients. When the raw material is that good, the best chef knows to get out of its way and let the natural tastes come through. Every time I've been there, I've been impressed with the inventive, yet not over-done, combinations of flavors. Unlike the stereotypical high-end restaurants (where the joke is that the higher the price, the smaller the entree), the portions are perfectly sized. Every detail matters, and it's clear that the staff works together to assure that they all are addressed. From creating relationships with local farmers to fashioning a beautiful garnish, the Joshua Wilton House staff prides itself on perfection.

Atmosphere:
This is definitely formal dining. And yet, one of my JWH experiences included one of the zaniest people I've ever known. He was telling crazy stories and getting all of us laughing until we cried--and that didn't feel out of place. JWH is formal and yet friendly. It is a very authentic place. There isn't any pretension in the waiter's flair as he pours your wine--he is genuinely doing it in the most perfect way he knows, out of a love of excellence. The food is unadorned because it has nothing to hide. The formal atmosphere arises from a mutual agreement between the patrons and staff that there is a way one should behave in the presence of art.

1 comment:

  1. JWH is truly my favorite restaurant in the Burg. My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary there this year at an Amazing Spanish wine tasting dinner. The wines were incredible (we ended up buying several bottles to take home) and the food was perfection.

    I think your tip about enjoying the JWH on a smaller scale in the lounge is right on. I just love that atmosphere (it makes me feel like I’m inside one of the stories I watch on Masterpiece Mystery Theater).

    Lastly (but certainly not least) the Crème Brulee is indeed heavenly...

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