Celebrating the people, passion, and stories behind great hospitality with Tock 10.
The Inn at Little Washington
Washington, VA
Origin
Transforming a rundown gas station 67 miles outside of Washington, DC, Chef Patrick O’Connell opened his restaurant in 1978 in “Little” Washington, Virginia (population 133) without formal culinary training. Taking inspiration from Julia Child and forging relationships with area farmers, he created a world-renowned dining destination known for whimsical presentations, luxury accommodations, and graceful ballet-like service.
Dubbed the “pope of American cuisine” by wine pioneer Robert Mondavi, O’Connell was also called “a rare chef with a sense of near perfect taste, like a musician with perfect pitch,” by the International Herald Tribune when it named the Inn as a top 10 restaurant in the world in 1994. The Inn has since earned three MICHELIN Stars and a MICHELIN Green Star for sustainability. O’Connell has won six James Beard Awards®, including Restaurant of the Year and a lifetime achievement honor. He even cooked for Queen Elizabeth, showing that everyone wants to dine with the always dazzling proprietor.
Who doesn’t love escaping to the countryside and being transported to a place blending Colonial America with French countryside charm? The Inn offers elevated American fare through nightly tasting menus or a luxurious $2,500 caviar tasting. With touches like caviar tacos and Faira, the rolling cheese cow, it’s elegance without elitism. This is old-school technique wrapped in countryside warmth, where craftsmanship and community take center stage over celebrity.
Queen's English
Washington, DC
The Concept
Chef Henji Cheung pays homage to his childhood growing up in Hong Kong with modern, Cantonese-inspired cuisine. Walk through the dining room lined with shimmering pink-and-gold chinoiserie wallpaper and perch at the six-seat quartz chef’s counter with a custom teak and walnut geometric face by artist Frederico Puyo. Cheung entertains diners like he’s hosting a cooking show while his wife, Sarah Thompson, oversees the beverage program and dining room.
Crowd favorites include drunken duck noodles and truffle dumplings, filled with edamame and topped with corn espuma. To share with the table: a whole crispy branzino served with crab butter, Hong Kong sweet chili sauce, and braised Napa cabbage.
For the selection of sauces, all of which Cheung makes in house, including tamari, ginger scallion, XO, Hong Kong sweet chili, and chili oil, the latter of which is available by the jar to take home.
Masseria
Washington, D.C.
The name
When creating the restaurant, Chef Nicholas Stefanelli wanted it to feel like the sprawling country farming estates, called masserias, that dot the Puglian countryside, his family’s ancestral home. That warmth is felt throughout as Stefanelli and his team strive to make you feel like family, a goal he pursues each night.
As the first standalone restaurant in D.C.’s former Union Market warehouse district, Michelin-starred Masseria blends industrial elegance with rustic Mediterranean warmth, whether in the sunroom, the bar, or the main Sala looking into the open, moss-green-tiled kitchen. Stefanelli pulls inspiration from coastal Puglia while sourcing ingredients close to home, merging these influences for the tasting and à la carte menus that feature luxe interpretations of traditional Italian recipes.
It genuinely is about the complete experience—the interaction with the servers, the open kitchen, and the ever-changing menu. They might even tweak a dish to better complement your wine selection. “How far you want to take that journey or where you want to take that journey is completely up to you as the guest,” Stefanelli tells us. “We’re just here to help bring it along and bring that experience up.”