Just why anyone would want to take on the backbreaking task of restoring a country inn is beyond me, but thank God a few have tried and succeeded. Not the least of them is chef Thomas  Henkelmann, who, with his partner, Theresa Carroll, has maintained the 1799 farmhouse integrity of the Homestead Inn while bringing the dining room to the front rank of rural restaurants.
     Owing to his training at the great Auberge de l'Ill in Alsace and Aubergine in Munich, Henkelmann demonstrates an impressive talent for displaying delicacy and robustness on the same plate. He does a Provençal brandade of garlic-spiked salt co then nestles it on croutons with a tomato-and-black-olive vinaigrette. A lusty, rare breast of Muscovy duck is accompanied by potatoes stuffed with leeks and mushrooms. Peaches are filled with marzipan, baked to succulence, then lavished with white-chocolate ice cream. And afterward, there's a soft bed upstairs and the scent of autumn in the Connecticut air outside your window.

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