Lebanon's Golden Lamb... update

Ohio's oldest operating Inn and Restaurant is the Golden Lamb in Lebanon (Warren County), Ohio. An opportunity to dine at the Inn leads to an update on a previous blog entry.

Dining on a Friday evening at the Golden Lamb saw a roving historian visiting tables and talking about the Inn's famous overnighters and the history of the region. While the list of presidents displayed at the entry implies that each stayed overnight, truthfully the more recent presidents have only visited and not camped out.

President Reagan's visit was well prior to his time in the Oval Office, coming in the late 1960's as a political favor while serving as Governor of California. He was enroute to the Republican National Convention making speeches and stump stops along the way. He did not spend the night.

President George W. Bush also did not stay the night, but rather stopped as a campaign appearance during his re-election run in 2004. He did take the time to tour the room where his mother, and former First Lady, Barbara Bush had spent the night during the presidential tenure of her husband (and George's father) George H.W. Bush. Perhaps the Golden Lamb should update their list with famous First Ladies!

Having stopped previously as part of a group tour, I had no real choice on dining options for our meal and ate in a separate banquet room. On this occasion, a family meal, we ate in the main dining room with access to the regular menu. Buyer beware, this may be casual dining but not at casual dining prices! Entrees for dinner begin around $13 and escalate upwards of $25. There is a neat option to combine fares in a Family Dinner with an all-you-can-eat entree with the same sides served to all.

While the food was very good, it does not align with the prices charged. But consider your time at the Golden Lamb not to be dining along, but the cost of dinner is like paying for a meal and a separate admission to a museum.

Even on a Friday night we were able to wander the floors above and peek at the various rooms named after the famous visitors and marvel at the stylings of each room from eras long past. History lives on at the Golden Lamb.

- J.