Encore: Murphin Ridge Inn

Riding with the Amish

Another wondrous, restful, delicious weekend in Adams County, OH -- 70 miles east of our home in Cincinnati. We've come to think of the inn, known far and wide for its restaurant, as our country home. MURPHIN RIDGE INN, that is.
 Here are a few photos. In addition to walking in the woods, lying on a hammock, hanging out on the porch of our cabin in a rocking chair and of course eating breakfast and dinner there, this time we had a brief ride in a horse-drawn buggy with an Amish woman who works at the inn, and a quick look at a small helicopter that buzzed in one night.

Pancakes with a view

Me at dinner

Killer Pork Chop!

With the little heli

Murphin Ridge Inn: Foodie destination and relaxation heaven

It's just 75 miles from our house in the city, but truly worlds away.

View out the window--from the whirlpool

Murphin Ridge Inn, nestled amid Amish farms in Adams County, OH, has become our beloved retreat from city life.  Don't get me wrong, we love the excitement and stimulation of living in town -- and really despise the boredom and conformity of the suburbs, too. But spending time in a place where you can go for a walk or hike in absolute silence is a priceless treat and treasure.
The Inn includes a 10-room guest house and nine one-room cabins. Dinner and breakfast are served in a separate building -- the historic centerpiece of the property -- while there's also a swimming pool in season, a tennis court, a bonfire pit active almost every night, and miles of hiking trails on the grounds.

Sunrise over the meadowland

The Inn also is renowned for its kitchen; patrons from the western Columbus suburbs and the east side of Cincinnati often drive in for dinner.
We had our second consecutive Thanksgiving meal here while spending two nights in a lovely cabin, which features a king bed, whirlpool bath, see-through gas fireplace, rocking chairs and two porches (though it was too cold this time to sit out there).
I love the hiking trails and take at least two walks per day in them. On the day after Thanksgiving I went for an afternoon walk and would stop to listen: literally, no sounds, not even the wind or any birds. In the summer, you'll hear the birdies, of course. This is such a big deal to someone who is used to the sounds of the city!
At the end of one of the trails you come to a clearing leading onto a farm property. And there was a corral with a beautiful horse all by himself. He saw me and walked right over. Another big deal to the city girl.

Met him on a hike

Regarding meals, I am especially fond of breakfast there -- which is included with accommodations, of course. The main breakfast room is sunny and faces a grove of trees with dozens of bird feeders -- although there weren't too many feathered creatures this time of year -- and fields/meadows beyond. You meet and chat with other guests and the new owners -- a farming family who took over the Inn earlier this year -- and help yourself to yogurt and granola before being served the main breakfast.
(If you're lucky, you'll get to try the Foggy Bottom Pancakes, my favorite breakfast entree.)

Start your breakfast here

Nearby attractions and sights include a couple of Amish stores -- especially the big operation, Miller's -- the Serpent Mound, and many interesting hiking trails of various levels of difficulty.
There is no other comparable property this close to our city. Highly recommended any time of year, though I'll admit I prefer it when it's a little warmer outside. What a delight!

View from our breakfast table

(Gourmet) Weekend in the Woods

Murphin Ridge Inn Main House

If you live in the city or suburbs -- as most of us do -- you're probably well aware of the benefits and costs of urban/suburban life. On the downside, my husband and I notice a profound disconnect from the natural world. Don't get me wrong; we prefer the diversity, convenience and fun-factor of city life. But we also treasure our occasional forays into quieter places.

Last weekend we drove out to Adams County, just 70 miles east of our Cincinnati home, for another visit to our favorite rural retreat, Murphin Ridge Inn. This particular weekend attracted us thanks to the first "Spring into Spring in Adams County Arts and Crafts Day" held on Saturday 4/27. It also happened to be the end of the 2012-13 academic year and the start of my summer vacation.
The fair (or arts & crafts day) took place on a gorgeous farm just a few miles from the inn. On the same property and owned by the farm family is As It Was Antiques, which sits atop a hill overlooking miles of farmland greening up into the growing season.

Top highlight of the fair for us was participating in a cooking class with Murphin Ridge Inn sous-chef Josh Catone. Here he is with my husband, and a close-up of the asparagus-and-fresh-ricotta crepes that he/we made.

Cooking with Josh Catone (right)

Crepes for lunch

As for the Inn itself, I can't recommend it too highly. There are 10 rooms in the guest house, one of which has a fireplace and another has a whirlpool; but we always stay in one of the cabins dotted around the property. Each A-frame cabin (there are 9) has a porch with rocking chairs, king or queen bed, fireplace and whirlpool, along with a little fridge where you can store supplies.
The highlights for me out there, though, are the wooded trails on the property and the nightly bonfire. Along the trails, you often can stop and listen, and hear no human-made sounds. I just love that.
The bonfire provides the evening's entertainment (believe it or not). The place is so isolated you can't possibly go out in the evenings, so you eat at the inn and then sit by the bonfire for an hour or two afterward, chatting with other guests.
People love the meals, too -- in fact, it was as a foodie destination that I first made a point of getting out there. Here's a photo of one of our meals -- salmon and a vegetarian potato-dumpling kind of dish -- but my favorite munch out there usually is breakfast.

Entrees at Murphin Ridge Inn

We had two breakfasts this time, and the best was Sunday morning's multi-grain pancakes, which departing owner Sherry McKenney calls Foggy Bottom Pancakes (long story about how she came up with the name). They were the best thing I ate all weekend -- well, those crepes were awfully good, too -- and in such a lovely setting. Here's a photo of one of the inn's gardens as seen from the breakfast room.

Springtime at MR

Also right next to the main house -- which is where meals are served but it's separate from the building that has the guest rooms -- is a grove of trees with countless bird feeders and many comfy chairs and benches where you can hang out and check out the dozens of birds of many species sure to be chowing down.
The Inn has many loyal repeat guests, and there's no reason why if you live in metro Cincinnati (or Dayton, Columbus, or Lexington) you can't become one, too.

Foodie Destination Murphin Ridge Inn has changed hands

Murphin Ridge Inn, Adams Co OH

Fans of this wonderful, rural getaway an hour's drive east of Cincinnati know that owners Darryl and Sherry McKenney have had their 10-room, 9-cabin luxury inn on the market for a couple of years, at least. Well, they finally found the right buyers. Paula and Jerry Schutt have officially taken the reins this weekend -- April 27-28 -- and the truly beloved Darryl and Sherry have retired and moved on to be with their far-flung children and grandchildren. They've owned the place for almost 16 years--a time that saw significant expansion (adding the beautiful cabins to complement the 10-room guest house) and improvements.

We spent the last weekend of April at the Inn, in part because we wanted to check out the first ever "Spring into Spring in Adams Country" arts and crafts fair held on Saturday. By luck, it was the McKenneys' last weekend, so we got to participate in wishing them well.
The new owners are keeping things the same, for now, and retaining the entire staff, including chef and sous-chef. (Murphin Ridge initially got on my own radar because of its notable contributions to the foodie world, but we came to love it for so many more, non-food reasons!)

Sherry and Josh, departing owners

My next post will tell about the arts and craft fair, the meals we had at the inn as well as all those other reasons that you probably would love this place, too.

A world apart, and yet so near the city: Murphin Ridge Inn

Best eggs ever?

After hearing about (the restaurant, in particular) Murphin Ridge Inn for literally years, I finally was able to get out there last weekend. We didn't really know what it would be like, but in almost all respects, it exceeded our hopes for a short, nearby getaway.

We met several couples from metro Cincinnati -- the main source of patrons for the inn -- who have returned multiple times. Since it's only 72 miles from our driveway, out east in the Amish farmland of Adams County, Murphin Ridge Inn has to be the nearest rural, luxury retreat to home.

Don't be intimidated by "luxury," because it's not all that expensive for the quality of the accommodations, service, setting/scenery, and food. 

We stayed in one of the nine private cabins, which looks rustic from the outside but wow, was it fine once you step through the door. (For that matter, the front porch with two rocking chairs and a two-seat swing was a good place to hang out, as this photo of me suggests.)

On the porch of our cabin @ Murphin Ridge

The cabin had a king-size, four-poster bed, a whirlpool tub beside large windows overlooking pastoral scenery, and a glassed-in, two-sided fireplace -- among other comforts. 

We also enjoyed hiking on the grounds through woods and near Amish farms, and after dinner sitting around the fire pit talking to other guests.

But since this is a food blog, I'd better get to some discussion of the restaurant. First of all, it's a fun place thanks to the personalities of the owners, Darryl and Sherry McKenney, who make everyone feel welcome. To get to the inn, you have to drive quite a few miles on an unlit, narrow and windy road, so despite the restaurant's reputation as by far the best place to eat in that part of Ohio, the vast majority of dinner guests also are inn guests.

Dinner was good -- my husband liked his locally farmed chicken dish and my steak was fine -- but breakfast was outstanding. Sherry puts out a huge bowl of her homemade granola and vanilla yogurt near the reception desk, which is the start of your morning repast. Once you are seated, breakfast comes in a couple of courses, which vary each day. The granola was so delicious that we brought a few bags of it home. 

The other highlight of our breakfast was Sherry's scrambled eggs. OMG they were good -- fluffy, rich, and cooked to perfection. They were so fine, I ducked into the kitchen after the main breakfast crowd and asked Sherry for an eggs-cooking lesson, which she generously provided. Now I know how to wow my out-of-town family guests for Christmas morning brunch -- although I intend to practice a couple of times in advance.

All in all, we were delighted with our short visit to Murphin Ridge Inn.

Interior, our cabin

On the grounds at the inn