Thirty hours away, and it felt like a real vacation.
It had been a minute since I'd been back to Salamander, tucked into Sheila Johnson's sprawling estate in Virginia's horse and wine country, just an hour outside DC. You start the drive out on the highway with a little traffic, and then the further you go, the more everything softens into rolling hills and fence lines. I love that drive into charming little Middleburg and up the long road to the estate. I was fascinated to see all the new homes now dotting the property.
A little history, cause if you don’t know: Sheila Johnson bought this land, all 340 acres of it, wanting to build one of the finest resort experiences in the country, and she did. It's the first destination resort in the DC area with a Forbes Five-Star hotel and restaurant, and the only Forbes Five-Star spa in Virginia. The land itself once belonged to Pamela Harriman, the diplomat and daughter-in-law of Winston Churchill, which is why the resort's restaurant carries her name.
When we arrived, our bags disappeared quietly and we were led into this gorgeous entryway, luxe couches, fireplaces, and ample seating areas spilling out onto a massive veranda where everyone was just ... sitting. Relaxing. Isn't that a novel idea? David and I checked into our room, spacious and well-appointed, with a king bed, a cozy sitting area, and our own patio looking out over the grounds. Fire pits and games scattered around, and in the distance, I could actually hear the horses at the equestrian center.
Sun worshippers that we are, we immediately made our way to the brand-new pool, Champions Pool, and it's a stunner, a full acre of it, tucked right into the surrounding woods. Butterfly gardens are everywhere, drawing in beautiful butterflies. There's a spot for the kids to splash around and a quieter side for the adults, with staff hovering just enough to take care of anything you need without ever feeling like they're hovering at all.
After getting a good dose of vitamin D, we wandered into Middleburg for a bit, and ducked into Tremolo, Jarad Slipp's wine bar, for a glass of wine and a snack. Jarad's a Master Sommelier, his list is excellent, and the by-the-glass options are even better. Prior to dinner, David opted to take a nap (shocker), and I took one of the resort's trails and got a good walk in, saying hello to a few beautiful horses grazing along the way.
Dinner at Harrimans
Harrimans leans hard into the region it sits in, Virginia's farms, its seafood, its butchers, all showing up on the plate. Industry veteran Isabel Dubois greeted us warmly, and Chef Bin Lu sent out a multi-course dinner that started strong: cornbread at bread service, plus a little surprise of baby eels mingled with grapefruit sections. A platter of East Coast oysters in a local cider mignonette graced our table, then we moved onto an onion soup consommé made silky with a Parmesan custard. I'm a sucker for panzanella, and this one was bursting with summer-sweet tomatoes. We split a Wagyu tartare too, served Napoleon-style with a wasabi-horseradish cream pastry.
For my entrée, I basically built my own dish. Tucked under sides was a whole Maine lobster, and I wanted lobster, just not as a side. So, thanks to our lovely server, who suggested I order the Cappalonga pasta with razor clams and top it with the lobster. Voilà, a fantastic idea. The creaminess of the sauce, the chew of the clams, and the richness of the lobster made for one of the best bites of the whole trip.
Dessert, from Chef Mollie Turner, was just as lovely, a delicate strawberry elderflower tart with lemon curd, on a buttery sablé Breton with a tart strawberry-rhubarb sorbet. The table next to us was celebrating a birthday and passed us a slice of their cake, unprompted. That's is the kind of place this is.
The Morning After
We didn't think we were hungry the next morning until monkey bread showed up on the breakfast menu at Harrimans. Ooey, gooey, sweet, doughy, gone in minutes. I stuck with that and some berries, David went full breakfast: a veggie-stuffed western omelet, fried potatoes, and a fluffy biscuit.
After that, we split off. I got another good walk in around the grounds, including a stop through the chef's culinary garden, which is honestly beautiful, packed with vegetables and herbs all destined for Chef Bin Lu's dishes. Of course, a quick hello to the horses roaming the grounds. David headed to the spa instead, starting in the sanctuary to unwind before his treatment, a personalized massage. His was tailored into a 60-minute deep tissue massage, with CBD oil worked in to help with some of the more painful spots in his back. He came out completely restored. Pro tip: ask for Allison.
Then it was time to pack up and go.
On the Way Home
We made one more stop in town, a tiny coffee shop called Nido, hidden behind one of our favorite Middleburg shops, Nature Composed, a lush and verdant plant store. Nido pours coffee from Broad Porch Coffee Co. and makes its own iced tea blends with herbs straight from the garden out back.
Driving out, we swung through Marshall hoping to hit The Whole Ox, a butcher shop we've fallen for, for some things to bring home and maybe a smashburger. Closed on Mondays, unfortunately. So we pivoted to Red Truck Bakery instead, which just got a refresh, and grabbed our usual favorites: the salted chocolate chip and the Lone Ranger cookie, a little bit of everything, chocolate, coconut, pecans, pretzels.
Thirty hours away, and it felt like a real vacation. Already looking forward to coming back to Middleburg and Salamander this winter to see what the season brings
