The Whitehouse Inn

After an afternoon of hiking at Oak Openings we decided to head on over to the Whitehouse Inn for a good meal. I haven't been here since I was a kid, and they have clearly remodeled. Everything seems bright, clean, and new.

The restaurant features portraits of all of the Presidents as well as a prominent mural of the White House. The plates have American flags on them and so on and so forth. I think the owners skew Republican as there are two colorful pictures of the Decider as well as a huge portrait of St. Reagan.

I wish they would play with this theme more; instead they piss away all this great material by naming Onion Rings after Harry Truman. This is akin to going to see Bill Cosby, only for him to do fart jokes for ten minutes and leave the stage. But I digress.

The french onion soup was a standout: rich, flavorful broth and plenty of melted cheese. They actually serve it with a small pair of scissors so you can cut the cheese while you eat (fart joke!).

My partner ordered perch which he described as light and flaky. The salad that preceded it could have been a meal unto itself. The $0.75 charge for homemade bleu cheese dressing was worth every penny. The homemade tartar sauce was a little sweet.

I had the Texas BBQ platter featuring ribs, brisket, and chicken. The chicken was a little disappointing -- certainly not worth docking a star over -- but it would have been nice if it had the same blackened, smoky goodness as the fall-of-the-bones tender ribs. The ribs were outstanding. The brisket was surprisingly complex. They must have used some kind of dry rub on it.

I could have powered through and polished off the whole plate, and there was a LOT of food. It was simply that good.

Hopefully they'll rename some things on the menu. Who wouldn't order an Impeachment Cobbler or an Obamarita? Wasted material, I tell you.

Can't wait to go back.

If you are going to dinner, awesome, get the garlic rubbed prime rib and potatoes. You'll have enough leftover to fry up again for breakfast. If you're going to lunch, good luck. Outside of the French Onion Soup, which is amazing and served with scissors to cut the cheese it's so thick, their lunch menu is meh. I have yet to find anything good on it, and usually opt for a bowl of soup and diner salad. Their in-house ranch is amazing, though.

We came back last night, June 29 2013, Loved the remodel. food and service were top notch.