Last week we were treated to an exceptional and memorable dining experience in one of those places where you would least expect it. To celebrate our anniversary, we journeyed north to the Checkerberry Inn near Middlebury, Indiana (just north of lake Wawasee) in the heart of Amish country. Who knew that some of the best wine service in Indiana would be in a restaurant where most of the employees are Amish?

The Checkerberry is a 14-room inn and restaurant located about 150 miles north and 100 years behind Indianapolis in the heart of Amish country. The Inn is located near Goshen, Indiana, on County Road 37, the Amish equivalent of I-65. This is not somewhere to be if horse poop on your tires bothers you. The Inn itself is really the best of both worlds - it looks old, but it's new construction, which means that compared to many charming, old bed and breakfasts, the bathrooms are large, the water is hot, and the air conditioning works. They have a wonderful library with a fieldstone fireplace, a lovely swimming pool, tennis courts and a walking trail. The only modern amenity lacking is cable TV, which really didn't bother me until I had to watch Tiger Woods dramatic win at the PGA Championship in a driving snowstorm on Sunday afternoon.

After several navigational errors, we arrived with about 10 minutes to spare before our 8:00 pm dinner reservation. The dining room was homey, but larger than we expected, and bustling with activity on a sold-out Saturday night. In spite of the crowd, we were immediately greeted by our server and offered an ample taste of the 1997 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon (Wine Advocate 89 points) while we browsed the menu and wine list. The wine list was short, fairly priced and very long on quality. Linda and I choose to begin with Caymus Conundrum 1998 at a very fair $8 a glass. Then, finding the St. Francis Reserve Cabernet 1996 on the list was such a surprise that even the $80 price tag didn't deter me (Wine Spectator 93 points, $45 Wine Guy price). After all, it was our wedding anniversary!

Wow! When was the last time you were offered a taste of a fine wine while being seated, were able to have Caymus Conundrum by the glass and found a 93 point Cabernet on the wine list at a fair price. At this point, they could have served burgers and fries and I would have been a happy camper! This was amongst the finest and most unpretentious wine service I have ever encountered. Every bottle of wine served came with a Mylar pouring ring (no drips). I even observed a couple who asked If they could finish their wine later. I later saw the wine waiting for them. It had been pumped out and sealed with a VacuVin wine saver!

They were equally meticulous about the preparation and presentation of the food. Entrees began at about $29, which seemed a little pricey until we realized that it included not only a salad, but dessert. Here is a restaurant that understands dessert. No need to feel guilty ordering it, as it comes with the meal! And, this is not just complimentary sherbet, It's an entire menu of wonderful creations from their pastry chef, Sharon Bennett.

Only the soups and appetizer were ala cart, so in the interest of thoroughly exploring the menu, I selected the Shrimp Tempura appetizer while Linda was lured by the Corn and Crab Chowder. The soup was rich, creamy and filled with corn and crab. So good, in fact, that Linda was hard pressed to trade with me halfway through the course. The Shrimp Tempura was as good or better than I have had in even the best of Japanese restaurants, and was accompanied by a fiery chili sauce that, while tasty, should have carried a Surgeon General's warning label. The appetizers were followed by a salad of exotic mixed greens, garnished with tiny black Corinthian grapes and a slightly sweet house vinaigrette. Very nice...

The entire dinner was well-paced and our entrees arrived after a comfortable break. Linda chose sautéed trout served over sliced Indiana cherry tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil, garlic and fresh basil, accompanied by a rice dish and fresh asparagus. I choose veal medallions prepared with shallots, shitake mushrooms, and drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar and truffle oil, all served over mashed potatoes. The veal was perfectly prepared and the balsamic sauce made it a perfect match for the excellent St. Francis Cabernet. The fish was excellent in its simplicity - tender, flaky and subtly flavored by the basil and garlic. And while it might have been better accompanied by a buttery California Chardonnay, Linda agreed that the Cabernet was so good it didn't matter.

No matter how good the food, the service always makes or breaks a restaurant. At this point in the evening, The Checkerberry went from being a very good restaurant to a memorable experience. Just as our dinner plates had been cleared, a bus person (avoiding a diner pushing his chair back) bumped our table hard enough to spill a glass of water and a partial glass of wine. We were immediately descended upon by the dining room manager and our server as they covered the wine-stained tablecloth. After surveying the table, the manager asked if we would like to take dessert in the Library since no other tables were available. Places were set for us on the coffee table in front of the fireplace and dessert orders were taken while we finished our Cabernet. Less than 10 minutes later, she reappeared with our desserts and complimentary glasses of Sempe Armagnac. We shared a hot apple tart, a puff pastry with orange cream, vanilla bean ice cream and rum caramel sauce and a Bailey's and Kahlua flan with warm cherry compote. No sooner had I put a fork to the tart than our server reappeared with a complete coffee service... regular or decaf?

The desserts were as good as they sound and the entire experience smacked of the kind of customer service that management guru Tom Peters used to say creates customers for life! Given the number of undistinguished "special occasion" dinners we have had, the Checkerberry gets two thumbs up from Linda and Doug for making our anniversary special. Using the 60 to 100 wine scoring scale we would give the Checkerberry Inn 90 points for ambiance, 93 points for food, 94 points for wine and 99 points for service.

Sunday morning we were awakened at 7 am by the clip clop of hooves as the Amish families made their way to church service. And we not are talking about just a little clip clop here and there; it was rush hour until almost 8 am. This part of Indiana is pretty much closed on Sunday, so after breakfast we took a quiet drive to Middlebury. Horse poop was again major feature of the county roads and the trails made it easy to spot the homes where the Amish community was gathered for morning services and an afternoon feast. It was kind of amazing to see the number of buggies parked at the farm of the family hosting Sunday services. Not being Amish is a decided disadvantage on Sunday's in Goshen, since we had to settle for a Subway sandwich picnic by the pool while everyone else in the county ate fried chicken, fresh vegetables and home baked pies on large outdoor tables.

Altogether, this was a very relaxing getaway weekend. If you go, drive up early on Saturday and do your exploring while everything is open. We have information available at the store if you are interested.