Welcome to our list of favorite dining destinations in New York's Hudson Valley and Adirondack regions. We visit restaurants, wineries, barbecues, and a smattering of off the beaten path culinary destinations like maple sugar shacks and fromageries. My friends and I have been dining out together weekly for over twenty years. The locations we write about are our favorite destinations. We are not claiming they are the best, just our favorites. The posts are not "reviews" in the classic sense. - we offer only our picks, not pans. We will leave the criticism to others. We are a happy blog. We much prefer a good bistro to "haute cuisine", especially if they also have a nice bar. We prefer a crock of cassoulet and a bottle of Beaujolais to just about anything else. If you enjoy simple home style rustic cooking with a decent (but not too expensive) bottle of wine, then pull up a chair and join us.



This Month's "Well Said!"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

Ferran Andria

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Bruynswyck Inn, Wallkill, NY

The Bruynswyck Inn
2162 Bruynswyck Road
Wallkill, NY, 12589
8458951147
Closed Monday and Tuesday
www.bruynswyckinn.com


You might want to file this one away under "hideaways".  The Bruynswyck Inn is located just off of Ulster County Route 7, the Bruynswyck Road, which heads south off of Route 44 just west of the village of Gardiner.  The road meanders through the orchards and pastures and horse farms that occupy the space between the Wallkill River and the Shawangunk cliffs.  A more picturesque setting is hard to find. We stopped in for dinner last month, on a Wednesday night outing with the usual dining crew. It was my first visit to the inn, but Doc and George were obviously regulars judging by the friendly reception from Lee, who was holding court behind the bar when we arrived.  Her banter was as welcoming as the location, which has the look and feel of a vintage road house cum neighborhood hangout.  All that was missing was the neighborhood.  We were clearly miles from the nearest occupied anything.
Just caught Catskill brown trout
Lee announced that her significant other - Brittany born Chef Jean Boulidor - was in the kitchen, having recently returned from a day's fishing in the Catskills.  He came out to the bar with a platter of freshly caught brown trout, and I knew immediately what I was having for dinner. But the story gets better.....

Sitting on top of the bar was a a large paper bag.  A friend had stopped in with a day's foraging of golden chanterelle mushrooms, which solved the mystery of what I was going to have with my trout.  I love it when a plan comes together. 


Freshly foraged chanterelle mushrooms
At this point I did not even want to look at the menu, for fear of finding something that would dissuade me from my plan.  I did, if only to share some of the options with you, dear reader. The offerings are a nice collection of old standards - Coquille St. Jacques ($9), mussells Mariniere ($10), Escargot with a garlic butter sauce and a splash of Pernod ($8).  Some of the appetizers on the list - fried calamari and coconut shrimp - seemed out of place. Dennis actually ordered the calamari, which could have used a more assertive seasoning and some salt to pick up the flavors.  I did enjoy the coquille, made with plump seas scallops in a  creamy white wine sauce.  Entree choices included more classics - steak au poivre ($26), roast duckling ($21, and grilled lamb chops with mint jelly ($29)). You can view the entire menu here.  
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the platter of mushrooms, elegantly but simply sauteed in sweet butter, along with the afternoon's catch of brown trout, fresh from the frying pan.  Nothing better, and a most memorable evening.  


If you are planning a trip in this direction, I suggest that you consider including a few stops along the Shawangunk Wine Trail, and finish with a meal at the inn.  Leaf peeping season is right around the corner, and there are few places more spectacular than the Gunks to take it all in.



If you do stop in please let our other readers know about your visit in the comments section.


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