Clifton Inn seems to be that perfect melding of history, southern charm, elegance, and modern comfort. Meredith stayed here for an evening while passing through Charlottesville, and it was in large part due to Clifton that we made this most recent return trip to the area. As our first trip to a Relais & Châteaux property since becoming 5c members, we enjoyed a delightful upgrade to the charming honeymoon cottage and the opportunity to visit Jefferson’s Monticello before we departed. The staff was extremely accommodating in helping us plan our days, the property was unbelievably gorgeous in the springtime, and our stay was wonderfully relaxing and peaceful. Walking the grounds of the dog-friendly inn with Orvis, through the woods and beside the lake, we couldn’t help but daydream about many, many future return trips.

On our trip to Charlottesville, Michael and I made sure to spend a morning at Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, in order to take in the beautiful spring gardens. It was drizzling slightly when we arrived but cleared up shortly thereafter (while Michael was getting his history geek on with a tour of the home), so I took the opportunity to escape from my spot under a big shade tree and take some photos. Cherry blossoms, early garden vegetables, and beautiful varieties of tulips were just a few of the things that caught my eye.

Michael spent the weekend in Columbia, South Carolina for work and pretty much ate his weight in barbecue and fried chicken while he was down there. Orvis and I enjoyed a low-key weekend around the house, completing some house projects and trying a couple of new recipes. Once Michael arrived home, we decided to celebrate his return by finishing up a neighborhood walk at Willard Scoops, the ice cream shop a few doors down from our house, that recently re-opened for the season. Orvis even joined in on the fun with his own cup of vanilla ice cream!

We hope your week is off to a great start – happy Monday!

Photo from our trip to Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina!

I read the newest issue of Bon Appétit last night and found myself daydreaming about visiting each one of the 10 Best Food Lover’s Hotels in America. Our beloved Palmetto Bluff made the list, as did Maine’s Nebo Lodge. We’ve had our sights set on visiting Blackberry Farm, Longman & Eagle, and 21c Museum Hotel for quite sometime, and I’ve now added the Willows Inn and Dunton Hot Springs to that list. Click here to see the 40 nominated hotels.

During our long drive up to Maine from North Carolina this week we listened to several podcasts, but the After the Jump interview with food photographer/editor, Kristina Gill, was one of the trip’s best. It’s definitely worth a listen.

After reading this article about the American travel magazine, Holiday, in this month’s Vanity Fair, I’ve been combing the internet for a few particular issues. Also, the cover story of this month’s VF, about Audrey Hepburn’s time in Rome, prompted me to treat myself to a belated birthday present by adding this title to our coffee table book collection.

Per Joanna’s recommendation, Michael & I shared a pizza at Co. in Chelsea during our most recent trip to New York. This week she posted a recipe for The Best Pizza You’ll Ever Have from Jim Lahey, owner of Co. Yum!

I’d been debating where to stay for a wedding I’m shooting on the Cape this summer until I found out about the Salt House Inn in Provincetown on the Martha Stewart Living Blog – dilemma solved!

How easy & tasty do these Nori Veggie Wraps from A House in the Hills look?

Need to book a hotel in Boston? Jetsetter is donating all profits from any Boston hotel reservation on the site to The One Fund.

Happy weekend, friends!

One of the best parts about traveling to new places and trying new restaurants is that we find ourselves continually inspired the atmosphere, details, meals, and locations that we visit. We’ll often return home from a fantastic meal or trip and discuss how we can recreate a part of it in our own home. We’ve noticed that since beginning Map & Menu over a year ago, these recreations of ours have only become a more frequent occurrence. For this reason, we’ve decided to introduce a new series for the blog – Our Take. These posts will be our take on various dishes we’ve enjoyed while traveling or elements of design we’ve incorporated into our home.

This first Our Take is inspired by the 16-foot farm table at Gather. You may remember how I went on and on about the interior of this Yarmouth restaurant. After seeing the potted greens on the table, and in order to get a head start on our herbs this early spring, we decided to recreate the look with our own dining table & bistro chairs. On a random weekend afternoon, we found three zinc pots at Fiachre, a garden store in town, and promptly returned home to fill them with some of our favorite herbs – mint, basil, and oregano. Voilà! A cheerful, fragrant, rather inexpensive way to spruce up a table!

(These photos were actually taken a couple of weeks ago, and since then our herbs have really taken off in the light-filled room! Hopefully by the time it gets consistently warm outside, we’ll be able to just plant them in the baby bath or garden beds.)

Meredith and I spent her birthday on Friday at one of the places nearest and dearest to our hearts – Chapel Hill, where we went to school and met each other. It’s hard to beat Chapel Hill in the spring time. The small town and university covered in shady oaks and blooming dogwoods and azaleas is a truly inspiring place. We spent some time with Meredith’s sister, her son Pax, and their dog Charlie, and ate at two amazing restaurants – Mateo Tapas and Lantern. Saturday was spent shooting a wedding at Fearrington Village, and Sunday was a much-needed day of rest at Meredith’s home in Southern Pines.

We can’t wait to share more about our trip to the South (including a stopover in Charlottesville) in the next couple of weeks.

The Old Well

Pax & Charlie

Mateo Tapas

Junebug at Lantern

Conservatory

Coconut Cake

At last month’s Hush Hush #4, our friend Anestes couldn’t stop raving about the soft opening he’d just come from for a new sandwich place on Dana Street, and since he knows a thing or two about Portland’s food scene, it wasn’t long before a whole contingent of us were prepping to make a late night run to the Blue Rooster Food Company.

With a menu pleasantly stuffed with the likes of tater tots, housemade potato chips, ricotta and chile brussels sprouts (quite possibly the best in town), savory sandwiches, and a variety of delicious hotdogs (we’d recommend the Colombian and Junkyard), it’s almost impossible to find something that won’t blow you away for lunch, dinner, or late night. I could rave about each bite we’ve enjoyed here, but I’d be far from the first person to do so, and even further from the last.

We’ve spoken to co-owner Damian Sansonetti on each of our trips to the Blue Rooster, and love the level of excitement and high-brow culinary talent that he brings to the coolest of casual walk-in eateries. The Blue Rooster fills the perfect need in Portland when you don’t want to sit down for long but still want to be wowed with every bite. If you work in the Old Port and don’t make the Blue Rooster a priority for your next lunch day, you’re missing out.