For those of us who cook on a regular basis -- not to mention for many who don't -- dining out is a treat. Yet if we're honest about it, too many restaurant meals are too soon forgotten, either because the food is nothing special or the dining experience itself feels tired.

Kyrk Pyros would like to change that.

Last February, the new owner of the George Washington Hotel in downtown Washington, Pa., started offering themed "white-glove" gourmet dinners one weekend a month in the hotel's revamped Oval Room.

And it's not just the intimate setting in the elegantly appointed private dining room, or the fact that the servers really do wear white gloves, that makes the meals special. In treating diners to five full courses, at $50 to $60 per person, Mr. Pyros hopes to recapture some of the glamour the landmark building was known for during its heyday in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, when it was a stop on the National Road.

Modeled after the famed Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., the George Washington opened on Feb. 22, 1923, after two years of construction. In particular, the two-story, balconied ballroom off the mezzanine, which included furnishings from the Peacock mansion in Pittsburgh, was known for being especially fabulous.

"This was the place to be," said Mr. Pyros of the 84-year-old hotel, whose guests included everyone from Henry Ford and Lou Gehrig to Guy Lombardo, Admiral Richard Byrd, Harry Truman (who stopped when he drove home to Missouri from Washington) and President John F. Kennedy, who checked in with his wife, Jackie. "We hope to bring back that grandeur."

Washington County native Eugene Lucas, who ate dinner in the formal Pioneer Room every Sunday after church while he was growing up, certainly remembers the Adams-style hotel as the cat's meow.

"Oh, it was a beautiful place," said Mr. Lucas, 84, who is retired from a career in the metals business and serves as an honorary board member of the Washington County Historical Society. "They had their own silver and china, and artwork acquired from all different estates."

Indeed, as recounted in "Focus on Washington County" by Harriet Branton, a reprint of 50 local history articles, each piece of the specially made silverware was adorned with the Washington family crest, while the plates used in the 300-seat dining room were decorated with a stagecoach surrounded by ladies and gentlemen dressed in colonial costumes.

So famous was the hotel for its exquisite accommodations and outstanding food that later on, when Mr. Lucas traveled as an adult, whenever he mentioned he was from Washington, Pa., people would say, "Oh, the George Washington!"

"Anytime Pitt and West Virginia played football, you had to have reservations for dinner, because you always stopped after the game."

In the late '60s, however, the George Washington -- like so many other small-town hotels -- fell victim to the new interstate system. By the time Mr. Pyros purchased the building in 2003, with dreams of converting two upper floors into a boutique hotel, it was being used for Section 8 housing.

Millions of dollars later, the hotel is making a comeback. And the monthly white-glove dinners, which have featured everything from the foods of Italy to the flavors of Greece and the Mediterranean, are also finding an audience. In fact, said Mr. Pyros, more than half of the diners hail from outside Washington County, some from as far away as Bedford.

In creating the themed menu, executive chef Stanley Varner, who honed his cooking skills at the former International Culinary Academy in Pittsburgh, chooses dishes that incorporate what's in season.

Choices at November's "Home on the Range" dinner, for instance, included a rich and creamy baked mushroom gratin as an appetizer; a warm brussels sprouts salad tossed with walnuts and a delicate thyme vinaigrette; and a pan-seared fallow venison tenderloin, with a red wine-pistachio glaze, that was as buttery and tender as filet.

But really, it all depends on what the 25-year-old chef is in the mood for.

"It's what I like," said Mr. Varner, a Washington County native who graduated from McGuffey High School in 2000.

Served at a relaxed pace, with live music from the adjoining Pioneer Grill playing quietly in the background and candles flickering atop the tables, the dinners carry an air of sophistication. Yet the bright-white gloves on the waiters provide an unexpected elegant touch.

"It's almost a step back into time," said Josh Uniejewski of Canonsburg, who attended November's five-course dinner with his wife, Brandy.

Tired of what he calls the "TGIF" experience, the couple was looking for a different way to spend "date night." And Mr. Varner's menu sounded interesting.

Said Mr. Uniejewski, "It was fantastic."

The next five-course dinner will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m Jan. 25 and 26. The "Changing of the Seasons" theme includes main-course choices of Pistachio Encrusted Lamb Chops, Seared Tuna Steak with Cherry Grits and Peach Melba Glazed Cornish Hen. Price is $50 per person. For more information or reservations, call 724-225-1605.