Fine dining in a small town

As part of the week-long celebration of my forty-fourth birthday, a group of us decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the culinary jewel of Wyoming County, The Valley Inn. Three of the four members of my grade level team sport birthdays within a week of one another so they insisted on horning in on my good time. I was in the midst of inviting my middle school friends, who had stopped by my classroom on my birthday birthday, to The Valley Inn event only to be accused by my fellow Aquarian Geri that I was narcissistically hogging all the attention. "As much as Amy would like to petition the government to enact National Amy Day," Geri sought to clarify while I mouthed the word "week" to my friends behind her back, "this luncheon is to recognize the birthdays of three people," she glared at me while I looked confused, "not just one."

Having made reservations for 2 pm, I was surprised to see the hostess removing the "Open" flag from the front porch as we approached. When questioned, she cheerfully responded, "Oh, we stop serving at 2." She was quick to reassure our stricken faces that they were still delighted to accommodate us. She ushered us in and situated us at a round, roomy table. As we agonized over the delectable menu selections, I observed the unusually empty restaurant which created a more intimate setting for our gathering. Our meals efficiently arrived, artistically presented and scrumptious. We ate and chatted and ate and laughed and ate and argued and ate some more. If choosing a meal was tough, picking a dessert was torture. We ended up splitting two amongst the table. As we enjoyed our treat, chef/owner Buzz Bailey came out to see us. Glad that we'd enjoyed our experience at his establishment, he informed us that the server had gone home and, if we didn't mind, he was going to go upstairs to his apartment to do some work. We sat there, stunned as he said, "Stay as long as you want. I love listening to you girls giggle. Thanks for coming. Have fun." And with that, he waved to us and disappeared, leaving us all alone in an empty restaurant. Geri thought too late to ask for the key to the alcohol cabinet.

This is fine dining in a small town.