Manka's Inverness Lodge   

Note: A fire in December 2006 has closed down the main lodge and restaurant until further notice. The cabins, annex and boat house are still open. Call for further details. This woodsy inn and restaurant has come a long way since its beginnings in 1917 as a sportsman's lodge. Today, Manka's is often frequented by celebrities and big-name chefs, but literally and figuratively it remains well off the beaten path. Manka's menu reflects the tastes of owner-manager Margaret Grade. Chef Daniel DeLong, formerly of Bix in San Francisco, helps realize Grade's ideas. Grade interprets the mantra "think globally, act locally" literally: All ingredients come from purveyors located within a half-hour drive from Manka's. The philosophy shows in the prix-fixe menu, served exclusively Thursdays through Sundays, which typically names the ingredients' providers. On one night a "cloud of Stella's pomegranates" may be served, along with "Annabelle's lamb's ear lettuce" with coastal Chioggia beets and fennel and "short ribs of Bill's natural beef." Menu items change almost daily based on supply and the season, but regardless, Manka's shares its growing fame with neighbors. The dining room softens dark, weathered-wood walls with white linen and mica lamps. But the feel is rustic: Honed wood chairs, custom-forged iron chandelier and ivy creeping in from the casement windows remind you that you're deep in the woods, where adventure lurks. -- J.M. Brown