100 Very Best Restaurants 2013: The Ashby Inn & Restaurant

Chef Tarver King’s modern cuisine contrasts starkly with the creaky charms of this rural inn,filled with oil paintings of leafy landscapes and wooden booths with brass plaques bearing the names of regulars. Bridging the two is a warm staff that guides guests through inventive dishes such as pungent curried broccoli and crunchy leeks sweetened with apple purée as well as cerebral desserts including deconstructed Black Forest cake and butter-corn ice cream with sponge cake, cashews, brown butter, and thyme. When it comes to wine, skip the bottle and turn to the menu’s daily by-the-dish pairing suggestions from sommelier Neal Wavra.

Don’t miss: Puffed rockfish with kale mayo; tomatoes with green-tea salt; smoked beef-rib loin with potimarron-squash purée; braised pork shoulder with sweet-potato-and-miso purée; chocolate torte with hickory syrup, grilled mochi, whiskey gelée, and peanut ice cream.

Open: Wednesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, Sunday for brunch and dinner. Expensive.