Troutbeck been around since the 1700s as an inn, private estate and tavern. It was originally owned by the Benton family who frequently hosted people like Thoreau and Emerson. The Spingarn family then owned it from 1875-1939 while Colonel Spingarn was head of the Comparative Literature Dept. at Columbia University, and hosted folks like Sinclair Lewis, Thurgood Marshall and Theodore Roosevelt. The Spingarns were active in the civil right movement and hosted early meetings of the NAACP at Troutbeck. In 1917 the original house burned and the Spingarns built the stone manor in 1919, which stands today. After some years of neglect it was bought in the 1970s and extensively renovated in 2016, reopening its doors to the public in 2017. We were fortunate to be able to get a reservation to stay there for two nights during the lovely fall season. It has multiple rooms in the main lodge but also many surrounding cottages. You don’t have to stay there to eat in their restaurant but it is the most fun way to go. There is a small bar for before-dinner drinks or you can order them and enjoy them in any number of cozy rooms with lots of fireplaces and stuffed furniture. Meals are all a la carte. It’s a lovely place and some of the food is outstanding.
Set Up
Food
Six Indian Cove Oysters with apple mignonette were well-seasoned raw oysters. They were delicate.
Peekytoe Crab salad was with persimmon, Aji dulce, lemon and Delfino cilantro. The thin persimmon slices covered the crab salad, which was oddly tough and chewy. It was a generous portion but the texture put off my husband. I enjoyed the fruity slices of persimmon and the flavor was good enough to me, to merit extra chewing.
Black Emmer Casarecce was mixed with Garleek sausage, spinach and parmesan. This was outstanding. They split the order for us in the kitchen, which is always a nice touch. The amazing flavor in the dish perfectly melded the various ingredients into a wonderful result.
Grilled pork coppa and loin was plated with Wild Hive navy beans, Grenada pepper and Nduja. The beans were slightly salty and the coppa (fatty shoulder) was way better than the loin meat. Even so, it was a delicious plate of food with lots of great flavors.
Long Island duck breast was plated with Hakurei turnip, apple and sunchoke. The wonderful duck was delicious and the caramelized turnips and apple elevated it even further. Another outstanding plate of food.
Apple Tarte Tatin was with walnut ice cream, candied walnuts and a Spelt palmier. The finely diced apple was caramelized but not served on a pastry, which is the usual presentation. Rather the parts were separate. The ice cream was mildly flavored but melded the other parts together nicely. The palmier was delicious and I wished they’d have broken them and put more of it in the mix. This one was good but somehow seemed that it should have been better.
