www.roanoke.com

As autumn's paintbrush creates lush, colorful scenery, the time for planning a car trip to view the leaves and landscape is at hand. My suggestion for a rewarding autumn excursion takes you 115 miles south of Roanoke to Chilhowie, a small town in Smyth County, where geography and history converge with the distinctive food at Town House for a memorable experience.

Town House is an upscale, chef-driven restaurant in what was originally Heninger's Grocery and Dry Goods store, a vintage commercial building built in 1910 and situated in the two-block Historic District of Chilhowie.

The Vibe

Town House opens its doors promptly at 5 p.m., and when I went, a group of eager diners waited outside. The elegant, minimal decor of the dining room, punctuated with historic photos of Chilhowie and an arresting oil painting by Charles Burega of Atlanta, immediately captured my attention. Beautiful copper-bordered tables constructed by the owners, Tom and Kyra Bishop, seat about 40. I wondered if the carefully selected interior motif hinted at preparations to come from the kitchen.

Meet the chefs

John B. Shields and his then-fiancee, Karen Urie, came to Town House in 2007 after responding to an Internet query. Shields and Urie have impeccable culinary backgrounds. Shields had been sous chef at one of the country's legendary restaurants, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, before doing a two-year stint at Alinea, another innovative five-star restaurant in the Windy City. Urie also worked at Charlie Trotter's, as executive pastry chef.

Instead of accepting Trotter's offer to open another restaurant in Las Vegas, Shields and Urie headed to Chilhowie, where their culinary genius bonded with the ambitions of the Bishops to create a fine dining destination.

Certified Sommelier Charles Berg completes the top-notch staff. His wine selections transition with the seasons and complement the daily changing menu.

The menu

A horizontally printed, single page menu presents a la carte choices and two tasting menus. For those who prefer the traditional plated courses, the a la carte menu features an appetizer salad ($9), four entrees ($20-$29), and a choice of desserts ($9). The four-course tasting menu ($48) offers two choices each of appetizers, second courses, entrees and desserts. The nine-course menu ($98) incorporates a few items from the a la carte and four-course menus.

For all preparations, the chefs focus on a balance of distinct flavors and textures with densely nutritious food pairings. Each component, no matter how tiny, is essential to carrying the flavors of the whole dish. The aim of the tasting menus is to give diners a complete, satisfying meal. The chefs purchase local, seasonal ingredients for the most part, but sometimes, in the absence of premium quality, they use ingredients from beyond the area.

What I tried

A complimentary cocktail snack consisting of two black olive shortbread cookies sandwiched with a lemon confiture (jam) filling, its sides adorned in frilly Parmesan cheese shavings, stood on edge on a marble slab. My dining partner and I relished these tidbits, talking about the soft cookies and play of sweet, sour and salty flavors. Because I ordered the wine pairing ($40) with my meals, Berg poured Piper Heidsieck Brut champagne for this, as well as for the following course.

We both ordered the four-course tasting menu and selected alternate dishes in order to experience the extensiveness of the chefs' culinary talents. My partner started with gently cooked bright red tomatoes paired with an oval of local goat cheese and black Okinawan sugar in the style of cajeta (meaning the sugar was cooked to a dark syrup), all seasoned with a touch of citrus.

I relished the pickled loup de mer (French for sea bass) and seeds of summer, a dish incorporating tomato, a few artfully placed raspberries, yellow squash, some quinoa (a high-protein Andean grain) and vanilla. This dish exemplifies the use of seasonal ingredients in flavor and textural balance.

My second course, turbot and gulf shrimp, included pil pil of kohlrabi (a turnip-like vegetable), ham fat, galia melon, rose water and horseradish, a satisfying Basque-style preparation appropriately accompanied with a small, decorated bowl of Hakutsuru Tokubetsu Junmai Ginjo sake. My colleague's delicately arranged caramelized eggplant and cantaloupe with grilled mango, ginger pudding, peanut, tamarind raisins and basmati rice tasted of each ingredient but came together as one.

Just when I thought some bread would be nice, out came two substantial, freshly baked rolls with a small carafe of olive oil. Perfect.

A gorgeous flower festooned the foamy mousse that enveloped my entree of short rib of beef and arugula kimchee with apple, lychee, cucumber, wasabi, and foie gras emulsified with soy. Touches of spice heightened the luscious rare beef flavor, while the heat of wasabi offset the foie gras; the mousse provided a temperature contrast as it was warm on the outside and cool within. The wine, a softly spiced Columbia Gorge (Oregon) Sineann Oak Ridge Vineyards Gewurztraminer, added immeasurable pleasure to this dish.

My partner's Thorntree Farms lamb with cauliflower, ramp marmalade, licorice, maitake mushrooms and toasted cereals, had a lot going on in flavor and texture, especially with the licorice and mix of grains. However, all of the ingredients produced a harmonious dish.

Desserts crafted by pastry chef Karen Urie turned out to be the showstoppers. She describes these as "desserts created to emulate the hills of our rural surroundings using ingredients made to look like rocks, when in reality, they are chocolate truffles."

Purple Mountains, a composition of large and small "rocks" coated with marzipan powder, mixed with anise seed and black sesame oil, features frozen yogurt sorbet, making a delicious contrast. My cold smoked chocolate with carrot, Indian curry, coriander and fenugreek gave me a barely sweet symphony of flavors. Along with the accompanying Warres LBV Port 1999, my evening ended on a perfect note.

The wine list

The vast collection of food and flavor-driven wines includes selections from Virginia, California, Oregon, Italy and Germany. The Town House wine list of 130 bottles won the 2004-2008 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and provides at least 50 bottles under $50, with selections by the glass (from $6) to the half-bottle ($28). The highest-priced wine is $700 a bottle.

When I go back

I will order the a la carte meal just to try something different.

Not to be picky, but ...

Small plate dinners do not appeal to everyone; members of my own family and some friends consider it a novelty. Perhaps designating one evening a week as "All-American Night" with a menu featuring customarily portioned comfort foods might elicit a chorus of cheers from traditionalists.

The bottom line

I have a deep appreciation for the details involved in creating modern American cuisine and pairing each course with an outstanding wine. Chefs Shields and Urie accomplish this while executing meticulous, delectable meals. I am pleased Town House is within driving distance of our area, giving us plenty of opportunities to enjoy their fine cuisine.