A recent "Texas Monthly" article named The Stillwater Inn among its list of 10 little-known restaurants across Texas that "put big cities to shame." That said, you can imagine my delight when I realized the The Stillwater Inn resides only about 15 miles from Mr. Wonderful's hometown - where we happened to be spending the Thanksgiving holiday.
Naturally, we stopped in with friends for a Friday night dinner at the 30-year-old French-inspired B&B, where owner Sharon Stewart greeted the six of us at the door in a neat black beret. The restaurant is housed inside a lovely century old Victorian home with lofty ceilings, hard woods and several cozy dining rooms.
Shared sides included crusty homemade bread and churned butter. A lovely salad of mixed greens and fried goat cheese. Roasted Brussels sprouts. Creamed spinach with garlic and Parmigiano-Reggiano. A goat cheese-stuffed portobello.
But the focal point - for me - was the escargot bourguigonne recommended in the article. Ours arrived topped with tiny pearls of golden bread (pictured.) My first rodeo with snails was highlighted mostly by the fragrant garlic herb butter the critters were smothered in. Much like mushrooms, I concluded.
For a main course, the mister had a New York Strip with Bordelaise and blue cheese. For me, a beautifully rare filet with sautéed mushrooms and a side of creamy scalloped potatoes.
Dessert was a pretty average vanilla gelato with chocolate sauce. But the sweetest standout was the Stillwater Coffee - a decadent nectar of espresso, Kahlua, Bailey's and cream served with a dollop o' whip cream. I should have taken a picture because it was gone in 60 seconds.
