CLYDE’S—Clyde’s of Georgetown is the original, but the Clyde’s Restaurant Group has 13 reliably great places around town, and all run seasonal menus—from just-in produce from local farms to softshell crabs. Clyde’s is also behind the clubby Old Ebbitt Grill downtown, a classic Victorian-style saloon frequented by businesspeople and Secret Service agents. CLYDE’S: Tel 202-333-9180; www.clydes.com. Cost: dinner $34. OLD EBBITT GRILL: Tel: 202-347-4800; www.ebbitt.com. Cost: lunch $30.
JOSÉ ANDRÉS—Young Spanish chef and beloved local fixture José Andrés brought Spain’s famed tapas to Washington, at Jaleo, then stuck around to help create a downtown empire: Café Atlántico for Caribbean; Oyamel for Mexican small plates; Zaytinya for Mediterranean meze; and his tiny (six-seat!) uberexperiment in molecular gastronomy, Minibar by José Andrés. INFO: www.thinkfoodgroup.com. JALEO: Tel 202-628-7949. Cost: dinner $30. CAFÉ ATLÁNTICO: Tel 202-393-0812. Cost: dinner $50. OYAMEL: Tel 202-628-1005. Cost: dinner $30. ZAYTINYA: Tel 202-638-0800. Cost: dinner $35. MINIBAR: upstairs from Café Atlántico. Cost: prix-fixe dinner $120.
KOMI—Thirty-something chef-owner Johnny Monis is at the helm in this small Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, where a dazzling parade of petite but mind-blowing dishes is served in an unadorned space and enhanced by service that is charming, smooth, and smart. INFO: Tel 202-332-9200; www.komirestaurant.com. Cost: tasting menu $125.
THE MONOCLE—This solid 50-year-old Capitol Hill favorite serves reliably good fare that is a throwback to earlier times—you’ll find steak, seafood, and signature crab cakes here, and often enough, senators and congressmen schmoozing in the convivial, red-walled dining room. INFO: Tel 202-546-4488; www.themonocle.com. Cost: dinner $45.
Washington’s Ferry Land
THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS
Washington, U.S.A.
In the northwest corner of Washington State, the waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca mingle, forming the Salish Sea, home to the forested, rock-faced San Juan Islands. Although the archipelago is composed of more than 750 islands scattered across 10,000 square miles, only 170 of them are named. Of those, only about 40 are inhabited, and just four are served by Washington State Ferries.
Despite their proximity to Seattle, the islands have significantly better weather than the city and have retained their bucolic allure. Lopez is the most rural, and with few hills and friendly drivers, it’s a great island to explore on two wheels. Many consider the mountainous Orcas Island the most beautiful. From the top of 2,409-foot Mount Constitution, in rugged Moran State Park, views on a clear day stretch from Mount Rainier to Vancouver. Weekenders appreciate a sophisticated but casual eating scene, such as the dinner of fresh-from-the-greenhouse vegetables and locally caught seafood at the Inn at Ship Bay Restaurant. Turtleback Farm Inn strikes that same balance between refinement and rustic charm. The inn, a working farm set on 80 country acres, offers lodging in both a beautifully restored 19th-century green-clapboard farmhouse and the Orchard House, which offers glimpses of Mount Wollard. Work off prize-winning breakfasts by hiking the nearby 1,575-acre Turtleback Mountain Preserve.
San Juan Island is the most distant from the mainland, and the only one with an incorporated town, Friday Harbor. A bustling port, it’s also the place for kayak trips and unmatched whale-watching. Three pods of orcas, one of the highest concentrations anywhere, call these chilly waters home, as do seals and porpoises. Stay overnight at the Friday Harbor House, a contemporary hotel with a restaurant and sweeping views of the marina, and spend a morning at the Whale Museum, with informative displays of the San Juan marine ecosystem.
Lime Kiln Lighthouse, on San Juan Island’s rocky coast, is popular with whale-watchers.
WHERE: 90 miles north of Seattle; www.visitsanjuans.com. WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES: Tel 888-808-7977 or 206-464-6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. INN AT SHIP BAY: Tel 877-276-7296 or 360-376-5886; www.innatshipbay.com. Cost: dinner $50. When: closed Dec–Jan. TURTLEBACK FARM INN: Tel 800-376-4914 or 360-376-4914; www.turtlebackinn.com. Cost: from $115. FRIDAY HARBOR HOUSE: Tel 866-722-7356 or 360-378-8455; fridayharborhouse.com. Cost: from $130 (off-peak), from $200 (peak); dinner $35. WHALE MUSEUM: Tel 360-378-4710; www.whalemuseum.org. BEST TIMES: late Apr for the Tour de Lopez bicycling event; Jun–Sep for sighting orcas; early Sep for the Deer Harbor Wooden Boat Rendezvous on Orcas.
The Gastronomic Heart of Seattle
PIKE PLACE MARKET
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Not all roads in Seattle lead to Pike Place Market, but it sure feels that way. The site opened in 1907—making it one of the oldest continuously operating farmers markets in the U.S.—so growers could sell directly to customers, eliminating the middleman. Today, this always busy, always freewheeling marketplace’s circuslike atmosphere is underscored by street entertainers and the spectacle of fishmongers tossing whole salmon across the counters for the amusement of passersby.
The market is at the edge of bluffs overlooking the Seattle waterfront and extends across seven city blocks, filling 23 multilevel buildings with 600 vendors and as many as 40,000 daily visitors. Seafood reigns, with spot prawns (Northwest shrimp), halibut, geoduck clams, and oysters from a variety of Northwest bays all chilling atop mountains of shaved ice. But though the heart of the market remains its wondrous food, there’s a lot more than eats for sale in this assemblage of shops, stalls, and warrenlike underground arcades, from magicians’ supplies to wind-up toys to vintage clothes. The market is also home to some of Seattle’s best-loved restaurants and watering holes, many of them tucked into narrow offshoots such as Post Alley. A revered point of pilgrimage is 1912 Pike Place, site of the world’s first Starbucks, which began in 1971 as a plain-Jane hole-in-the-wall coffee shop before spawning a coffee mania that spread worldwide.
In addition to 70 luxurious guest rooms with views over the market and Elliott Bay, the cozy but elegant Inn at the Market, the only accommodation within Pike Place, delivers delicious southern-French room service dishes from the Campagne restaurant, while the more informal Café Campagne offers lighter meals and a wine bar. Next to the market, Etta’s Seafood Restaurant is a valentine to lovers of fish and shellfish, serving oysters on the half shell, signature Dungeness crab cakes, and smoked sake salmon. For this (and a bevy of other culinary delights such as Dahlia, Palace Kitchen, and Lola) you can thank local chef extraordinaire Tom Douglas. Another option is worth the 15-minute taxi ride to the city’s best-known waterside restaurant, Ray’s Boathouse, a real Seattle classic. It’s a fun spot for happy hour upstairs on the popular summertime deck, and there’s a more refined eatery downstairs. For a romantic Seattle sunset over Shilshole Bay, this is the best place to be.
INFO: Tel 206-682-7453; www.pikeplacemarket.org. STARBUCKS: Tel 206-448-8762; www.starbucks.com. INN AT THE MARKET: Tel 800-446-4484 or 206-443-3600; www.innatthemarket.com. Cost: from $185 (off-peak), from $245 (peak). CAMPAGNE: Tel 206-728-2800; www.campagnerestaurant.com. Cost: dinner $55. CAFÉ CAMPAGNE: Tel 206-728-2233. Cost: dinner $40. ETTA’S: Tel 206-443-6000; www.tomdouglas.com. Cost: dinner $50. RAY’S BOATHOUSE: Tel 206-789-3770 (restaurant) or 206-782-0094 (deck); www.rays.com. Cost: dinner $55.
Running the Rivers of the Mountain State
WEST VIRGINIA’S WHITEWATER RAFTING
West Virginia, U.S.A
With some of the highest thrills-per-rapid ratios anywhere in North America, West Virginia’s rivers are regularly ranked among the top ten whitewater runs in the world, passing through a landscape so rugged that it’s often referred to as the West of the East. Most outfitters suggest getting your feet wet in the curiously named New River (it’s purportedly the world’s second oldest river, after the Nile; see p. 381), which offers a range of rafting experiences along its 53 scenic miles, as well as opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and rock climbing. The lower river, aptly called the “Grand Canyon of the East,” drops 250 feet in 16 miles, with rapids ranging from Class II to Class V. Toward the end of the run looms th
e enormous 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge, which is the longest single-arch span in the northern hemisphere and the highest after Colorado’s Royal Gorge Bridge. Completed in 1977, it’s at its wildest during Bridge Day, in October, when 450 BASE jumpers, from as far away as Russia and Australia, don parachutes and jump from it for the 8.8-second ride of a lifetime.
North of the New River, the Gauley River is one of the country’s most challenging runs. In the 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a 40-story, 2,280-foot-wide dam in the river’s upper reaches, creating Summersville Lake. In summer the serene lake is kept full at an elevation of 1,652 feet above sea level, enabling a wide range of watersports. Rafting enthusiasts live for September and early October, though, when millions of gallons of excess lake water are released, turning the Gauley into a roaring beast with more than 60 steep Class IV and V rapids that have earned names like “Heaven Help You” and “Pure Screaming Hell.” The Upper Gauley is the more difficult section, flowing through a narrow canyon with drops averaging 32 feet per mile. On the Lower Gauley, tough rapids are followed by calm pools, giving you a chance to catch your breath and take in the utter beauty of the wooded Appalachian terrain.
Paddling against the New River’s rapids affords rafters thrills and views of gorges, cliffs, and other natural wonders.
WHERE: 50 miles southeast of Charleston. VISITOR INFO: www.newrivercvb.com. HOW: Lansing-based Wildwater Expeditions offers New River and Lower Gauley river rafting trips. Tel 800-982-7238 or 304-658-4007; www.wvaraft.com. Cost: from $129. WHEN: Mar–Oct on the New River, early Sep–mid-Oct on the Gauley. BEST TIMES: Oct for foliage; 3rd Sat of Oct for Bridge Day.
Where Presidents Take the Waters
THE GREENBRIER
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.A.
Like West Virginia’s wealth of river-rafting venues, The Greenbrier owes its fame to water—in this case the sulfur-rich springs that made it the summer capital of the Old South. With a guest registry whose names include Davy Crockett, Daniel Webster, and 26 U.S. presidents, the landmark white-columned property continues to attract pilgrims eager to “take the cure.” Begun as a cluster of cabins in the 1800s and later transformed into a stately 634-plus-room hotel, The Greenbrier today stands grandly amid 6,500 acres in a scenic valley of the Allegheny Mountains, as proud of its remarkable roster of more than 50 activities as of its pedigree.
There’s no mistaking that golf is the leading attraction, with three 18-hole championship courses plus a respected golf academy. The Greenbrier Course, site of both the Ryder (1979) and Solheim (1994) Cups, was laid out in 1924 and redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 1977. The 40,000-square-foot spa continues the Greenbrier’s 230-year tradition of hydrotherapy with a vast menu of services. Tennis on indoor and outdoor courts, horseback riding, fishing, mountain biking, croquet, and the new guests-only underground casino complex ensure that nongolfers will not feel neglected.
A staff of 1,300 exemplifies the resort’s characteristic graciousness and decorum—they’ll gently remind you that a jacket-and-tie dress code still prevails in the high-ceilinged, chandeliered dining room. A clubby steak house, Prime 44 West, pays homage to former Los Angeles Laker and West Virginia native Jerry West. The Greenbrier’s most unusual feature is its underground bunker, a huge complex built during the Eisenhower administration and intended to house members of Congress in the event of a Cold War–era nuclear war. It was declassified in 1992 and is open for the curious to visit.
Catch the nearby Midland Trail (U.S. Route 60), once a buffalo trail used by Indians and pioneers. It offers beautiful vistas of wooded mountains and travels the entire length of the state. The trail will lead you to Lewisburg, arguably the most beautiful town in the state, with a 236-acre National Register Historic District. Check in to the family-owned General Lewis Inn, a 1929 addition to an 1834 home, with 25 rooms and a restaurant renowned for its refined country cooking. Also make time to hike some of the 79-mile Greenbrier River Trail, which you can pick up nearby. If it’s August, it may feel like the entire state is in town to enjoy carnival rides, livestock shows, and blue-ribbon produce competitions at the annual state fair.
WHERE: 120 miles southeast of Charleston. THE GREENBRIER: Tel 800-624-6070 or 304-536-1110; www.greenbrier.com. Cost: from $295 (off-peak), from $370 (peak); greens fees from $185; dinner at Prime 44 West $50. MIDLAND TRAIL: Tel 866-768-7360 or 304-343-6001; www.midlandtrail.com. GENERAL LEWIS INN: Tel 800-628-4454 or 304-645-2600; www.generallewisinn.com. Cost: from $135; dinner $30. GREENBRIER RIVER TRAIL: www.greenbrierrivertrail.com. STATE FAIR: Tel 304-645-1090; www.statefairofwv.com. When: mid-Aug. BEST TIMES: Oct for foliage; 2nd weekend in Oct for Taste of Our Town festival in Lewisburg.
Sanctuary on North America’s Largest Lake
THE APOSTLE ISLANDS
Bayfield, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Strewn across 450 square miles of Lake Superior’s crystalline waters, the 21 Apostle Islands are tiny jewels on an immense inland sea, the largest freshwater body in the world. With the exception of Madeline, the biggest of the Apostles, all the islands are undeveloped and uninhabited, a showcase for craggy shorelines, old-growth hemlocks and hardwoods, and sculpted sandstone cliffs and caves. From minuscule 3-acre Gull to 10,000-acre Stockton, the islands are protected as the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, along with 12 miles of shoreline on the adjacent Bayfield Peninsula. Although more than 50 miles of trails crisscross the islands, which are home to black bears, bald eagles, and more than 200 species of migratory birds, the best exploration is done by boat. The Apostle Islands Cruise Service and captained sailboat charters offer a variety of options that revolve around beachcombing, hiking, and swimming in sun-warmed bays. The national lakeshore includes eight historic lighthouses—more than any other national park—some of which offer tours in summer. Kayaks are perfect for open-water passages between islands and for ducking in and out of the sea caves that pock the sandstone shoreline.
With sweeping island vistas and a yacht-filled marina, the gateway village of Bayfield (population 600) makes a great base camp from which to explore and arrange island excursions. After your adventures, you’ll be happy to rest your head at the Old Rittenhouse Inn, where guests are pampered in a lovingly restored Queen Anne–style showcase that also serves some of the best meals in town.
Millennia of waves have carved natural sea caves into the islands’ coasts.
WHERE: 90 miles east of Duluth, MN. VISITOR INFO: www.nps.gov/apis. APOSTLE ISLANDS CRUISE SERVICE: Tel 800-323-7619 or 715-779-3925; www.apostleisland.com. When: mid-May–mid-Oct. OLD RITTENHOUSE INN: Tel 888-611-4667 or 715-779-5111; www.rittenhouseinn.com. Cost: from $115 (off-peak), from $140 (peak); prix-fixe dinner $55. BEST TIMES: Feb–early Mar for hiking to the ice-coated caves along Bayfield Peninsula; Jul–Aug for warm weather and calm waters; early Aug–Sep for annual lighthouse celebration.
Elegant Escape Deep in the North Woods
CANOE BAY
Chetek, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
The spring-fed lakes, deep pine forests, and clean air of northwestern Wisconsin’s Indianhead region have long made it a getaway for everyone from industrial-era tycoons to U.S. president Calvin Coolidge. Near Chetek, the 280-acre Canoe Bay resort brings alive that era of back-to-nature luxury for those seeking solitude and respite. With no children, telephones, jet skis, or motorboats to pierce the serenity, Canoe Bay frequently makes the list of “most romantic” getaways. Nature and the architectural aesthetic are the lure here, with 23 elegant lakeside rooms and cottages promising stone fireplaces, double whirlpools, and wilderness views at every turn. Wisconsin native Frank Lloyd Wright’s protégé and collaborator on New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (see p. 843), John Rattenbury, designed the Rattenbury Cottage and Edgewood, a 2,000-square-foot showpiece of stone, wood, and glass with a 1,500-square-foot wraparound deck. Couples at Canoe Bay enjoy breakfast in bed, in-room massages, and innovative dining in a lakeside restaurant with an unpretentious but sophisticated menu inspired by sea
sonal picks from local markets and an award-winning wine list.
Guests can hike around three private glacial lakes via 4 miles of scenic trails that snake through Canoe Bay’s 280 acres of hardwood forest, and the resort provides canoes, kayaks, and rowboats for gliding across the crystal-clear Lake Wahdoon. Largemouth bass and pan fish provide catch-and-release fishing opportunities, and swimmers enjoy warm waters and a sandy beach on summer afternoons. Come winter, Canoe Bay rents snowshoes for traipsing around the snow-blanketed property, and Nordic skiers can explore 20 miles of groomed trails nearby.
WHERE: 120 miles east of Minneapolis, MN. Tel 800-568-1995 or 715-924-4594; www.canoebay.com. Cost: from $350; 3-course prix-fixe dinner $75. BEST TIMES: Jun–Aug for water sports; 1st half of Oct for peak foliage.
From Company Town to Luxe Golf Resort
THE AMERICAN CLUB
Kohler, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Sure, it sounds odd to build an exclusive resort around a plumbing factory, but that’s exactly what happened in the Village of Kohler, a name known for its stylish, high-end bathroom fixtures. In 1918, company president (and later governor of Wisconsin) Walter J. Kohler commissioned an impressive, block-long redbrick Tudor building directly opposite his factory as a boardinghouse for his immigrant workforce. In the 1980s, the dormitory was transformed into a high-end inn, and the property was gradually expanded to encompass four restaurants and 240 guestrooms fitted with (not surprisingly) lavish bathrooms. Today, one of Kohler’s favorite quotes is etched in stained glass in the handsome Wisconsin Room restaurant, once the workers’ dining hall and now part of the American Club Resort Hotel: “Life without labor is guilt; labor without art is brutality.”
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 142