A peppery, fine-textured country pate served with toasted Italian bread slices; a sorbet medley, a chunky, well-spiced gazpacho and creamy New England clam chowder were all delicious stage setters for the entrees ahead.
All come with coleslaw, bread and a fresh vegetable medley.
And he shaves them on a box grater, mixes them with grated heirloom beets and butternut squash, bean sprouts and lemon vinaigrette, puts the colorful medley between two slices of grilled whole-grain bread spread with white-bean puree and goat cheese, and presents a sandwich that even some children would eat.
Try the prix fixe menu called the "Special O" consisting of a house Cesar Salad, cheesy chorizo bread, a signature side dish of a potato and veggie medley, a petit filet, wine and dessert.
I skipped the macrobiotic option available for the seriously health-conscious, and feasted on several kinds of muesli, a medley of fresh fruit, porridge, croissants, cakes and breads and a cooked breakfast in the hotel's informal dining room which also serves lunch and dinner.
It turned out to be a strawberry medley, using fruit from another farm; the menu also offers chocolate bread pudding with a caramel sauce.
One of our guests seemed shocked when his appetizer, called river combo, arrived: a medley of mozzarella and zucchini fingers and baby mushrooms, all heavily breaded and deep-fried, and accompanied by standard marinara sauce for dipping.
Or try the chocolate chip and seriously big peanut butter cookies (50 to 75 cents each); the chewy, tart lemon bars ($2.50); triple chocolate bread pudding ($4.74); Rice Krispie treats ($1.75); fudge brownies ($2.25); or the magic bar ($2.50), a medley of coconut, walnut and chocolate chips on a graham cracker crust.
The bread basket's disappearance was followed instantly by the arrival of four heaping dinner-size plates of salad, a lovely medley of fresh, diverse greens enveloped by dressing.
Detractors lament the architectural medley.
