A Matter Of Taste

A Matter Of Taste

Inn 422
A Bed & Breakfast Hotel
1800 W. Cumberland St, Lebanon
274-3651
by Sue Barry

While dining at Inn 422, I was bewildered — yet impressed. How can a restaurant having 55 entrées and 37 appetizers on the printed menu have a chef prepare everything fresh and to order? Above that, nightly appetizer specials can hit 10 selections, nightly special entrées top 20, and desserts average this side of 30! I asked the waitress (who obviously respects the chef/owner of Inn 422) and she explained that the chef only sleeps four hours a night. I get exhausted just from reading the menu! Granted, the restaurant does not carry a lot of everything and they may run out of certain items if a few orders are placed a night. And a Veal Piccata dish can easily turn into a Veal Marsala with just the mere mention.

But, the next question is — why? Why so many offerings? The chef just wants to please and give everyone a lot of choices. So go ahead and choose (if you can.) Then sit back and get ready to be pleased.

A Victorian Bed and Breakfast owned by Scott and Crystal Aungst, Inn 422 is located in the midst of Lebanon’s commercial chaos. Soft nighttime lighting highlights this circa 1800 mansion as its auto dealership neighbor (and one time owner) attempts to keep that lighting low. Walk up the welcoming front steps onto a wrap-around porch and you will find patrons dining al fresco during nice weather.

Inside the inn, a parlor is located to the right of the entrance and houses an organ that has been part of the mansion since 1900. It has now been turned into a player piano and provides subtle music to dine by. The parlor is a reprise for smokers who can contemplate their endless meal selection by watching the refrigerated dessert shelves rotate.

A hallway wall touts credentials, photos and letters of accolades — one such from the Central Pennsylvania band, the Badlees, who loved their stay and dinner here.

You will be seated in one of three intimate dining rooms. Cloth-covered tables fill a lovely room with a fireplace, appearing to be the select room for the early dining crowd. Those choosing later times, dine in the chandelier-accented back room off of the kitchen area. Tables in a third room, the library, can be reserved for smokers.

Inn 422 does not have a liquor license but they graciously offer a complementary glass of wine or beer for toasting. In contrast, you can bring your own. A big black bucket full of ice was provided for the bottle of wine we brought. And, as we opened the bottle ourselves, we were informed that we could place the bucket on the table or put it on the floor. Crackers and port wine cheese spread are on the table to nibble on while you ponder your selections.

What do we really want for appetizers? Pierogies, Polenta, or Rumaki? Quiche d’jour, Crepes d’mer, or Scallops Provençal? Crab Claws, Frog Legs, or Buffalo Wings? From the selection of specials, we craved (6) Oysters on the Half Shell ($7). Having the perfect chill, the oysters were nicely displayed on ice with the standard accompaniments that make oysters tasty. A slight squeeze of lemon, a few drops of Tabasco, and a very minimal dollop of cocktail sauce gives these oysters the sought-after flavor.

A special appetizer of Carpaccio ($9) was not exactly the classic Italian cold-slivered raw beef dish that we thought it would be. Although good, the tenderloin was cooked rare then sliced and served warm with traditional capers, onion, and parmesan. Both appetizers were garnished with a small chilled ramekin of onion dip as a base for a stick or two of celery and carrot.

All dinners include a choice of two from a list of 19 assorted salads, vegetables, and potatoes. Earlier this spring, the owners started offering a number of salads to choose from instead of providing simply a house salad with dinner. The wait staff helps out in the kitchen by preparing the salads. When our waitress brought our salads out before the appetizers, she realized the error at the moment she began to put them on the table. Saying, “pretend you didn’t see that,” she quickly removed the salads and took them back to the kitchen. The salads had to have been made again when proper delivery time came, as a tossed greens salad was fresh with no wilt in sight and a spinach salad had bacon dressing noticeably warm.

Tomatoes with fresh mozzarella is a dish that one would normally be charged extra for at many restaurants when substituting for a dinner salad, but at Inn 422, it is simply one of the 19 choices of sides. Four huge slices of beefsteak tomato are topped with fresh mozzarella and served on greens then drizzled with basil-enhanced extra-virgin olive oil.

Now for the entrées. The choices? A 10 oz. Filet Mignon, Steak Diane, or a featured Beef Wellington? Fettuccini Alfredo, Fettuccini Carbonara, or Scampied Fettuccini? Chicken Nanette, Chicken Chasseur, or Chicken Mediterranean? Cajun Tuna, Cajun Swordfish, or Cajun Halibut? Sauteed Lump Crabmeat, Broiled Crab Cakes, or Baked Crab Imperial? Smoked Pork Chops, Golden Fried Honey Dipt Chicken, or Grilled Chopped Sirloin?

We went for really special “specials.” Created and named for the famous French writer, Châteaubriand (sliced center tenderloin filet served with a variety of vegetables) is usually always offered for two persons. Not at Inn 422. Although it was enough for two, this single portion of sliced prime Black Angus tenderloin ($28) was served perfectly medium-rare with whole baby artichoke hearts and mushrooms in a deep and earthy red wine bordelaise sauce. A nicely marbled 18 oz. Prime Rib Eye Steak ($28) came overflowing a large platter and cooked to the required desire of doneness. The rich and creamy Jumbo Lump Crabmeat Au Gratin ($26) had a double meaning in our eyes as “jumbo” applied to serving size as well as to the lump crabmeat.

Another grand display was Striped Lobster Ravioli ($28). Squid ink provided the black stripe on these homemade stuffed lobster pillows, which rested on a pesto studded cream sauce, presented aside a 6 oz. South African cold water lobster tail, piggy back on its shell. A side of drawn butter was gently kept at a melt. Each bite of the ravioli exposed the fresh pink flesh of lobster meat.

Had we known ahead of time that there would be 29 different desserts offered, we would have saved room. (Although we should have guessed.) With choices like Chocolate Truffle Tort, Strawberry Streusel Cheesecake, Bananas Foster, Cherries Jubilee, all we could squeeze in was Lemon Sorbet. But, what a Lemon Sorbet! It was the purest and most refreshing Lemon Sorbet I ever had in my life. The chef made it that day. I am still bewildered.