Windy Hill: An idyllic treasure a few miles to our west

The thing you notice the most about Windy Hill Farm is how quiet it is. I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere that was so entirely quiet!

My favorite activity was the garden tour and long-table lunch in the bucolic setting. Here are gardener Amanda Webb and executive chef Ben Warwick leading the discussion. The chef said, “All kinds of restaurants have a garden salad. But they don’t have a garden!”

It was such a beautiful day.

They grow as much of their produce as they can.

It is such a well-organized operation.

The harvest includes four different kinds of beans.

Squash — and squash blossoms!

Raised beds.

Strawberries!

Chef Warwick chats with our friend Bruce Anderson.

While we were in the garden, we heard a buzz from above. It was a drone hired by Windy Hill’s marketing firm to capture footage on such a pretty day.

Better than a scarecrow!

The beckoning table.

Bruce and Monique Anderson are ready to eat.

Monique and I loved the very appropriate china!

And the flowers.

Lunch was served family style with passed plates. Clockwise from top left: buttermilk pea salad; fresh beans with garlic; hashbrowns with caviar (my favorite offering); grilled Denver steak with barbecue jus; steelhead trout melts (my second favorite!); and garden salad with champagne vinaigrette.

I thought the L’Enjouée Blanc was a perfect lunch wine.

Alan Carmichael, left, with new friends.

We saw an eagle.

And a lot of other birds!

Later in the afternoon, after a few hours of downtime, Monique and I took advantage of a honey, wine, and cheese tasting. Here’s the beekeeper, Daniel Lewis,  explaining the process.

The tasting spread.

Albarino, Orange Gold, and Sancerre rose. All were delicious and very distinct.

Monique with a jar of honey to take home.

We could see the beehives from the porch of our Water Tower cabins. You have the choice of three kinds of accomodations: the cabins, some lodge rooms, or the farmhouse, which can accommodate parties up to 10 people.

Another activity that Alan and I dropped in on while we were there was a flower arranging class.

Alan and some of the class materials.

The Watchhouse is where you check in and drop by for information throughout your stay at Windy Hill Farm.

I’d describe the aesthetic there as “upscale rustic.”

See what I mean?

The dining room is called Wilder. Its slogan: “Further we go, the wilder it gets.”

Dining room.

By the time we left, he felt like a friend!

I started with a delicious martini.

All the food is fantastic. Here are some of the things we ordered the first night. Clockwise from top left: fried oysters with wild garlic and green chili; garden salad with Benton’s ham and cornbread; wood-grilled redfish with spring preserve, creamer peas, and sourdough; chocolate molasses cake with toasted marshmallow and chicory; strawberries and cream topped with biscuit; and petit strip steak with roasted beef jus and Yukon gratin.

Bruce enjoyed his strawberries and cream!

Chef Ben Warwick stopped by to say hello.

After dinner each night, there was a fire in the fire pit right outside our cabins. And the makings for s’mores, of which Monique took advantage.

The highlight of the trip — and the reason we chose that particular weekend to go to Windy Hill — was the music of Cruz Contreras.

The setting was sublime. We were lucky to score an outside table for our second dinner of the trip.

Thanks to our friends Monique and Bruce Anderson for joining us. When are we going back?

My recommendation: get yourself to Windy Hill Farm! You will feel as if you’ve been on a much longer vacation.