We are on the road to Aylesbury, an area in the English countryside famous for its delicious ducks. We pass contented pigs loitering in their half-dome condos, and drive the Fosse Way, a road built by the Romans, toward Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire (Oxford Road Near Aylesbury; 1296-74-7444, www.hartwell-house.com), a seventeenth-century estate sprawled over 90 acres and named for the “hart”  deer that lingers at the trickling water or “well.” 
     Hartwell House is  one of three country inns I visited that have earned membership in the demanding Relais & Chateaux. What they all have in common – besides towel warmers, sleep-inducing king-size beds, deep bathtubs, helipads, room keys so large there is no fear of losing them in a pocket, and fawning staff – is thoughtful and memorable cuisine. And we received the royal treatment at Hartwell, a legacy here ever since Henri XVIII paid 500 pounds annually to stay here for five years while exiled from France,. 
  The common rooms are grand, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking impeccable grounds designed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown, who did Hampton Court and favored open spaces. Jacobean carved figures (one of Winston Churchill) line the staircase heading to the 32 guest rooms and suites. “They’re there to guide you as you go up the stairs to bed at night,” explains general manager C.A. Jonathan Thompson, who recalls William Jefferson Clinton broadcasting a speech from the library, a Rococo-style room with old tomes encased in built-in shelves.
    A Champagne toast by the fire leads to lively conversation at dinner. The dining room, with arching ceilings and large round tables, is perfect for conversing or flying solo, with a full-on English breakfast in the morning and the day’s paper spread out. 
    Chef Daniel Richarson,  with the property for 10 years, seven as  head chef,  does an understated, simple and somewhat safe classical cuisine.  His menu steers towards the hunt; among the many game meats are roasted wood pigeon, partridge, venison, and  the also-famous Vale of Aylesbury lamb. On the first round we sipped a Menetou Salon, Domaine L. Teiller '02 ($57), and passed appetizers, among them pan-fried goat cheese, tangy soft discs balanced with the sweetness of mulled wine, cranberry compote, and the nuttiness of toasted walnuts.  With our second course was a Crozes-Hermitage Comte de Raybois, Ogier et Fils '02 ($58), an earthy wine. I try the lamb – a gentle-tasting, tender meat, not gamy as I had expected, served with quenelles of whipped potato. The accompanying fresh spinach was lightly sautéed in lamb jus, a dish that struck me as high-style comfort food and just the right nourishment for a conversation then veering towards ghosts. At one time Hartwell House served as a finishing school for young ladies just after World War II until 1983. So one wonders if the sound of clattering typewriters in the wee hours was proof of dinner conversation or a mysterious rain shower? After all the Morning Room was used to teach typing skills, according to Thompson.)
   For dessert, there were excellent cinnamon and prune-Armagnac ice creams and mango sorbet.  A Three-course dinner is $82.
      I slid into  an after-dinner read by the glowing embers in the fireplace of the front drawing room, cloaked in a magnificent tapestry. The fringed sofa swallows me. The calibrated chik-chik of the grandfather clock prompts me to climb the stairs to bed. The Jacobean faces, arms at the ready with swards, protect me as I ascend the stairs.
      

    Riding the gentle slopes of the Cotswolds, the sheep-dotted region known for its wool, we arrived at Mallory Court  (Harbury Lane, Bishops Tachbrook, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire; 1926-330214, www.mallory.co.uk), a 29-guestroom manor lovingly renovated by owner Jeremy Mort and his late partner Alan Holland. Upon our arrival a crackling fire took the edge off a drizzly day.
    Each common room and nook feels as private and intimate as the next – as though this is your home for the duration of your stay. The plush carpet matches the soft grass of its 10-acre gardens and lawn, now bursting with  crimson roses and lavender-lined walkways. The meticulous care (Mort is so hands-on you may find him watering the plants) is matched by the friendliness of the staff.  
     The austere dining room (below) with its upholstered armchairs is a romantic setting where  you fall under the spell of head chef Simon Haigh, who pushes the classical limits with his stunning cuisine. Along with the Relais & Châteaux designation, Mallory Court maintains a Michelin star, and three AA Rosettes, an excellent mark for food by UK’s award system.
     The butter-soft ballontine of foie gras ($25) comes with lightly toasted brioche.  His nage of seafood is a delicate seafood broth kissed with vermouth and baby fennel. Flaky sea bass,  John Dory (a popular fish on all the menus), shrimp, red mullet, and scallop float like ethereal islands, with a sprig of chervil to complement the delicate anise flavors of this sumptuous rendering.   I was so taken with the dish, I’m not sure what the table conversation was at that point. To match, we had dazzling wines – a Château Fuisse, Pouilly-Fuisse '99 ($80); and a Gevry Chambertin René Bouvier '98 ($80), all on the mark with the meal.
    The fruity prune and Armagnac soufflé ($23) was a galactic avalanche of after-dinner pomp. Petit fours, gelée diamonds, chocolate truffles, sent us gingerly to bed.
     Only on Sundays does Haigh serve the requisite roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, a diehard English dish chefs can’t escape. 
 
   Chewton Glen (New Milton, Hampshire; 1425-275341; 800-344-5087; www.chewtonglen.com) hums with refinement. The eighteenth-century mansion remodeled in brick, with 58 guest rooms and suites, is a quintessential country hotel with a spa and country club  situated in the New Forest (a misnomer since it is actually an ancient forest with wild boars and ponies) and a worthy 20 minutes' walk to the ocean.
     I collapsed on a Laura Ashley-styled sofa, only to be revived with a Full Afternoon Tea ($32), whereby a new friend and I exchange fisticuffs over the last dab of fresh clotted cream. Ye gads, with strawberry jam and scones it could be a lifetime diet if not for the occasional need for lean protein.
    It is not uncommon to see guests here clad only in hotel robes and slippers shuffling along the red carpet to the adjoining spa for a beauty treatment or massage, or a dip in the new hydrospa, a do-it-yourself water circuit with Jacuzzi-like jet propulsion and soothing sensations to relax and revive your spirits and to test your engineering instincts.
    Besides the hydrospa, the inn’s latest change is in the kitchen. At the time of our visit, Alan Murchison was the head chef, but he has since been  succeeded by  Luke Matthews, senior sous-chef here for ten years and trained under the tenure of Pierre Chevillard, who served as the inn’s head chef for 25. 
    When I dined there,  the famous Aylesbury duck became reality:  The tian of confit was incredibly tender, rich yet cut with tart-sweet spiced  Morello cherries, cherry purée, star anise, and cinnamon. Sea bass was a light delight, pan- sautéed with scallops and the sweet anise touch of caramelized fennel. John Dory appears on the menu as does roast beef and Yorkshire pudding every Thursday and Sunday. Desserts by Roman Barre are divine. Small pear pearls caramelized to an addictive sweetness were set in a flaky puff pastry tower with a marzipan bottom to create an innovative tart tatin. The petit-fours of black currant gelée coated in Space Dust (Pop Rocks) were literally a juicy explosion. Some of us retired to the bar, with its plaid and dark wood, a lapping fire and cigar smoke, for an after dinner drink.    A three-course meal was $101.
  Chewton Glen sums up the English countryside experience. It is the kind of place where retired couples sit side by side, silent in the drawing room, sharing The Daily Telegraph over tea, or a young woman lounges by the pool, tucked into the latest Harry Potter.
 
  One way to see the English countryside is to hire a guide, someone with the breadth, experience and insider’s knowledge of a location you’re planning to visit. TAG (Take-A-Guide) has offices in New York (800-825-4946) and London (020-8960-0459) and provides professionals who driver you and your group to places of interest throughout Europe. Our TAG guide, Claire Ross, a native English woman who lives in Italy, was a tireless flexible soul who engaged us with anecdotes and historical information.  


NEW YORK CORNER

Mas
39 Downing Street
212-255-1790

    A strange feeling came over me when I entered Mas, a brand new French-American restaurant in one of the prettiest sections of Greenwich Village:  I could actually hear myself think!  True, when our party arrived at 7:15 the place was more than half empty, but even when it filled up, conversation at our table was gratifyingly easy, and even though I seemed to detect a very faint sound of music in the background, it seemed a pleasant playlist that did not intrude in the least on the ambiance of the evening or the ability to carry on a civilized conversation.

     As a matter of fact, everything about Mas (which is pronounced "mah" and means "farmhouse") is civilized, without being in the least pretentious.  It could hardly be otherwise when you find the L-shaped dining room done with such sweet bonhomie, including a small bar and a communal table contained within two stone pillars.  The rest of the decor  does indeed have the ambiance of a French farmhouse, with old beams and sandstone,  although one renovated by  someone who never milked a cow or trudged into a dining room in muddy boots. There are dark blue suede banquettes, sheer curtains, and very pleasant lighting, and there are artists' ceramics and vintage flatware on tables covered with linen.  Neither so rustic as Millet painting nor as prissy as a Pierre Deux store, Mas's decor strikes its own urban farmhouse notes with easy-to-love chic. The young waitstaff adds to the cheeriness of the place with a sort of innocent effusiveness that borders on sweetness.  They may be reading their lines from rote, as if in a high school play, but they are genuinely good-natured and kind of fun. 
     Owner Hugh Crickmore's 200-label wine list is not particularly long, but it’s well selected, with a number of good bottlings under $50, and plenty of unusual Rhone and Burgundies bottllings. Mark-ups are generally fair, with a few lower priced wines hiked high, while  some upper priced wines are priced remarkably low.
     Swiss-born Chef-partner Galen Zamarra, 28, who's done stints with George Blanc and Michel Bras in France, and David Bouley in NYC, cooks with a a precision I admire in all the best chefs.  It skirts being precious, though portions are not large, by being marvelously focused on one or two ingredients and texture.  It’s impossible not to love his approach to grilled Portuguese sardines (far superior than all others in the market), with their mild flavor wed to a Parmesan sablée, with caramelized spring onions and a toasted pine nut dressing.  So, too, an amuse of curried mussels with just the right pep to get the palate engaged.  Neversink River rainbow trout comes stuffed with ramps and smoked trout, and a salad of pearl onions and fennel, a masterful balance of all sorts of savory flavors and textures.
   Delightful and light was a salad of Maine crabmeat and portobello mushrooms marinated in balsamico and olive oil, and big-eye tuna "l'Occidental" earns its sobriquet from a quick searing in beurre noisette, with crispy organic shallots.  Flaked Atlantic cod with a saffron vinaigrette and sun choke chips was the last of our four wonderful appetizers.  Main courses were only slightly less interesting but still delicious, starting with very good roasted red snapper with a purée of ramps, a lovely carrot stew, and a tomato sauce tinged with anise.  Excellent indeed was an item called "clay pigeons"--squab baked in clay with a bordelaise duck tart.  This being ramp season, more of them found their way into a wrap for loin of lamb, which itself was rather bland, served with artichokes à la barigoule.  There was plenty of flavor, however, in the duck breast with pistachio nougat and a frisée salad with smoked duck.
     You can't pass up the oddly named farmstead American cheeses offered here at very reasonable prices, from a NYS Sprout Creek Barat and Connecticut Cato Corner Hooligan to the Vermont Jasper Hill Constant Bliss and the California Cow Girl red Hawk.  Best of the desserts was a gianduja chocolate bar scented with lavender and served with Guinness Stout ice cream, some Port wine, and dragee (a French medicated candy).  Rhubarb tart was fine, with its orange frangipane, but the accompanying black olive ice cream was simply horrid.  Much better was the acacia honey ice cream that came with banana tuiles and yogurt.
     Appetizers and desserts are fairly priced, but main courses are pretty high for a restaurant in this part of town, with several in the mid-$30s.  There is a $68 four-course dinner, and Mas stays open until 4 AM with a late night menu of items ranging from $2-$9.

* From June 2-5 Sofitel Philadelphia will host French-Vietnamese Executive Chef Didier Corlou of Sofitel Métropole at Chez Colette restaurant. The tasting menu, ranging in price from $45 to $55, will feature a choice of three appetizers, three main courses and three desserts, and will be available for lunch and dinner.