The Inn at Erlowest

[docsconz]

So far I have heard good things only at the ambitious new restaurant/ Inn on Lake George. I will be dining there on Friday and report back.

[docsconz]

More details will follow, but for anyone in or near Northeastern NY or even thinking about visiting NENY, run, do not walk, to dinner at The Inn at Erlowest. Chef Matthew Secich and his superb staff is passionately creating world-class quality food in a beautiful setting at very reasonable prices for the quality offered.

[syzygy8]

I'm anxious to hear. Where along Lake George is it?

[docsconz]

The Inn at Erlowest is located on Lake George off Rte 9 a mile or so above Exit 22 of the Northway. There is a large sign for Sun Castle and The Inn at Erlowest, but the entrance is otherwise nondescript. The road that leads down to the Inn is difficult to spot at the back of a lot that appears to be a dead end. It is narrow and winding leading down towards the Lake. The first impression for me was a bit of disappointment . The Castle (this is not an exaggeration) is a marvellous old building from Lake George's glory years, but it is surrounded by a bunch of unremarkeable townhouses that certainly detract fom the view and the overall ambiance. Once inside the building, however, that disappointment becomes a distant memory.

The building had most recently been the private home of one of the area's wealthiest and well-known residents, but was sold a few years ago to David and Cheryl Kenny of Lake George. The new owners apparently spared no expense in refurbishing the building and bringing in top-notch kitchen talent, equipment and ingredients. The inside decor is elegant Victorian. The tables are well spaced and well appointed with comfortable chairs. Service overall was friendly, attentive and efficient, although it lacked polish. Most of the servers were young men and women from Europe, who while enthusiastic appeared to still be working on their skills. Given the overall experience of the evening and the outstanding value presented, this criticism is quibbling, indeed.

We were offered our menus and the wine list. The first decision we had to make was whether to order ala carte or go with the Chef's Tasting Menu. either everyone did a tasting menu or no-one did. There were actually two tasting Menu options, both $79/person with an additional $55/person for per course wine pairings. One was the "Grand Tasting Menu" with principle proteins consisting of seafood, fowl and meat and the other was the "Vegetable Tasting Menu". Given that one of our party does not eat seafood (although she cooks it wonderfully), we were torn until Chef Secish came over and offered to substitute meat dishes for the seafood for our friend. that sealed the deal and we never looked back.

The dinner started with an amuse of lobster salad en gelee that was refreshing and tasty. Rolls and butter were also top-notch.

The first course of the Menu was Seared Saint-Jacques Scallops and Scallop Roe served with Gaston-Chiquet Brut, Carte-Verte NV. Our friend was served Chilled Sorrel Soup with Lavender Ice Cream along with a glass of Raventos i Blanc Brut Cava NV. The soup was the only dish of the evening I didn't taste, although she reported it delicious. The scallop was perfectly seared and served with a brunoise of caramelized vegetables and thyme. The roe was a nice touch that added some complexity to the dish. we were off to a fine start.

Seared Hake, Eggplant, Crawfish and Tarragon Oil followed with a Sancerre from Domaine Pastou, les Boucaults 2003 for us and Nebraska Conservancy Bison Tartare with fresh Wasabi and Quail Yolk for our friend. The hake was perfectly cooked, flavorful and delightful with the crawfish and the eggplant, which consisted of little eggplant pellets that appeared either to be sauteed or fried in some fashion. The dish worked beautifully. The bison tartare comes from free-range bison herd in Nebraska. apparently the chef buys the entire production of tenderloin from the herd as it is thinned. It too was delicious.

My favorite dish of the evening was next and it was spectacular. Butter Braised maine Lobster with Confit Tomato and Wild Thyme served with Macon-Villages, Domaine Bourdon, les Pierres 2002 Burgundy. Our friend had seared veal sweetbreads. I have almost become bored with haute cuisine lobster, but this dish made my tongue come alive with every bite. this was the one dish that made me almost regret the Tasting Menu instead of ala carte. I recently had tasting of butter braised lobster at Per Se and this dish was at least the equal of that. Magnificent. The sweetbreads were also delicious.

Seared Fois Gras, Lavender Ice Cream, Mango and Coca-Cola Reduction came next served Chateau Coutet, sauternes-Barsac 2000. This dish was very good, although it it did compare to the very best fois gras preparations that I have had, most memorably at Toque in Montreal. As would be expected, the pairing worked nicely.

While still quite good, the least succesful dish of the evening, Pheasant en Casserole with Pearl barley, Oyster Mushrooms and Port Cream, followed. The dish was more subtle than the others and might have benefitted from slightly more seasoning. Once again, I am quibbling, though. The wine was Bourgogne Rouge 2001 from Jean-Marc Boillot.

Another great preparation, Seared Lamb saddle, French Flageolet Beans and Roasted Red Pepper , was the favorite course of a couple of members of our party. The meat ws perfectly cooked and scented with some spices that I could not precisely identify. The beans added textural complexity and flavor to the dish, which was completed with a sauce of the roasted red peppers. This was served with 2001 "Saint-Esprit" Cotes-du-rhone from delas Freres. Once again, the course was magnificent.

Desserts were prepared by an imaginative and highly talented young Pastry Chef, Sabrina Guttridge. we had a pre-dessert of a pistachio custard that cupatureed the essence of he nut. The principle dessert was Moscato d'Asti Gelee with Fresh Garden Plums served with Moscato d'Ast 2003 from La Spinetta. This was a delightfully refreshing final course, the highlight of which were perfect blueberries in small cubes of the gelee covered by candied orange peel. Wow! Petit-fours followed and were tasty. Although I don't drink coffee, failure to offer any was a curious omission.

At the end of the meal, Chef gave us a tour of his kitchen (remarkable facility, similar to though considerably smaller than Per Se's. The kitchen is extremely well staffed to service the approximate 50 covers per evening. Chef also introduced us to Chef Guttridge and her staff. She had us try several different ice creams including Basil and Chevre, both exquisite.

There is an 8 person table off the kitchen for which the kitchen will create special meals for those guests. Chef Secich, a man extremely passionate about food, said that he most enjoyed preparing something that a guest normally doesn't eat in a way that the guest loves. I have no doubt of his ability to do so. He came to the Inn at Erlowest from Jackson, Wyoming. He has had previous experience with Pierre Gagnaire and The Inn at Little Washington.

IMO, this is a fantastic addition to the upstate restaurant (and Inn) scene. If they can keep up this level of food preparation they should become a destination restaurant worthy of travel for its own sake. I plan on going as often as I can.

[docsconz]

Just returned from another visit to Erlowest. In brief, I am happy to say that my opinion remains as positive as it was after my last visit. A place is truly special when even the "mistakes" come out good. I'll provide more detail shortly.

[Geepsie]

My husband and I met Matt Secich in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in January, 2004. We were riding up the small elevator to our room, and happened to glance at the restaurant's blurb on the wall. The Alpenhof Inn featured the Alpenrose Restaurant. The menu had en eyecatching font that said "tasting menu, look at me!" And the tasting menu looked wonderful. Can't beat walking downstairs for dinner, so we made reservations for that evening. What a meal! It was as memorable as Docsonz notes. We ate there twice more (every night we were there, except one). Matt sources unusual and superb ingredients: shot chuckar from Louisiana, deckel from prime steak dry aged, pheasants that he hung himself in his walk-in refrigerator. He even had an 80 pound lamb hanging for aging.

Crystal, his wife, is gracious and knowledgeable. She matches wine to Matt's dishes, and does an excellent job of anticipating the taste synergies and conflicts in the food. She substituted out other wines in a twinkling, if we had already had it in combination with a dish on another night.

Never been to Lake George. We're going up there this winter to XC ski, because Matt is there, and we want to eat his food again. (The third night we were in Jackson Hole, he did a tasting menu just for us. The man knows how to handle sweetbreads.)

[docsconz]

Now for a little more detail about our latest meal at Erlowest. The restaurant really is extraordinary. It is unique for the North Country where the best restaurants really are more bistro like rather than haute cuisine. Erlowest is haute cuisine using a plethora of luxe ingredients, cooking them very well and imaginatively and then presenting them beautifully. The restaurant is not without its flaws, although for the pricepoint and the overall product they are relatively minor. The service, still not quite up to the standards of the finest restaurants in NYC, is improving and is certainly better than acceptable.

Last night we opted to order off the menu rather than the Grand tasting, although there were some delicious and unique items located there. After an amuse of some local tomatoes, pine nuts and herbs with balsamico, I ordered Spanish chipirones or baby squid that were labeled as piste'. These were served with roasted red and green peppers and parsley salad.

The chipirones were very good, but could have been served a little hotter. They were reminiscent of dining on the Costa Brava.

My wife ordered Perona Farms smoked salmon with trout caviar, garden cucumbers and Yukon Gold Blinis. This too was beautifully presented and had a nice balance of flavors.

Our wine for the evening was a Condrieu that worked well with the various seafood dishes we had.

My wife's main course was Fried Wolf Fish with tat-soi, Roasted parsnips and House -Made tartar Sauce.

While the fish was of firm consistency with good flavor, it did not quite live up to its billing as the best fried fish I've ever had. That is not a major criticism, however, since I have been fortunate enough to have had some wonderful fried fish in my lifetime. This was quite good and sufficiently different in flavor and texture compared to other fried fish as to deserve its inclusion on the menu. The roasted parsnips and tat-soi were excellent.

My main course, Butter braised maine Lobster with Chantarelles, Potato hash and Summer Truffle did not disappoint.

Chef Secich does amazing things with lobster. Therer was jsut enough truffle flavor in this dish to be beguiling without hijacking the rest of the dish. Outstanding.

A pre-dessert of crab-apple with chevre and aged balsamic vinegar was just the tonic before the main dessert.

I had a trio of herb creme brulees, mint, sage and thyme that were outstanding in the texture and expecially purity of flavor. They each held the essence of the herbs without being overwhelming..

My wife had fresh local raspberries with champagne zabaglione , which she enjoyed very much.

The petits fours were particularly interesting and exemplify what I said in an earlier post about a place being charmed when even the mistakes work out well. In this case we received two dark chocolate truffles with cacao. I selected mine and my wife selected hers. Mine waas full of bitter chocolate flavor. I mentioned to my wife that it was particularly lacking in sugar, but this wasn't a bad thing. She said hers was somewhat sweet, though not overly slow. it clearly possessed sugar. I asked the waiter if they were supposed to be different. he checked in the kitchen and said no. I then asked him if we could sample some more. he brought another serving and my wife and I each split one. They were clearly different with one being significantly sweeter than the other. It was actually quite an interesting contrast. They were both very good, but different. I asked the pastry chef about them. She said they werre supposed to be the same. I suspect that someone failed to addd sugar to a batch or didn't add the full amount. Nevertheless, they were both excellent.

I particularly like the fact that Chef Secich has discovered the wonderful local ingredients available at the local Farmer's markets. I just hope that he doesn't keep all the great produce for his restaurant. He informed me of some big plans in the coming months for specific events including some very interesting benefit dinners. I will relate more as the news becomes more solidified.

[phaelon56]

Did they offer coffee on your second visit and if so, how was it? (You did know I'd have to ask - right? ). I did find it quite puzzling that they didn't offer coffee or tea on your first visit but your descripotions and marvelous photos have me salivating at the thought of a visit (which, alas, may have to wait for late fall or early spring).

[docsconz]

In fact they did offer coffee, which we declined. The blend is the chef's special blend. while I enjoy coffee, I drink it very rarely.

[syzygy8]

Each time I go upstate to visit the inlaws, the Mrs. knows a visit to Cafe Capriccio is in order. I think next time I might change the regulation and try Erlowest. It looks fantastic. Thanks for the great insight, Doc.

[mrabinow]

I personally have a problem with this establishment. I say this even though I haven't visited it or tasted the food or experienced the environment.

I am about to make a drive from NYC to Montreal and saw this thread. I thought that this might be a nice stopping off point for dinner and so I went and checked out their website. On their website I found:

The Inn is not appropriate for children

Outside visitors are discouraged from entering any guest room

Now, I am not advocating bringing children to fine restaurants and I have been personally given a tee-shirt with the Mae West sayig "Any man you loves whiskey and hates children can't be all that bad" (or something like that - I'm writing this @ 2 in the morning), but I think that great restaurants are ones that can make people (adults and children) feel confortable. I know that I have brought my children to a number of the best restaurants in NYC and they have been made to feel more than welcome (and they have not bothered the other guests in the restaurant).

I really question evaluating a restaurant solely on the basis of the quality of the food. An additional feature is how comfortable you feel in the restaurant. I would wonder about any restaurant or inn that feels the need to specify that children are not welcome. The really good ones don't seem to have this problem. It sounds extremely stuffy to me. I'm not sure that I would feel confortable there with or without children.

Edited August 31, 2004 by mrabinow (log)

[Geepsie]

Let's not get into the old flame about kids vs no kids in restaurants. Erlowest is what it is, and they obviously don't feel that is about kids. I am very happy that Other People's Children will not ruin my dining experience. Most people can't judge what is annoying to other diners when it comes to evaluating their kids' behaviour. I'm sure you don't fall into that category. However once they let you in, they have to let everyone in.

Show them what you think by not eating there.

Oops. I guess I've gotten into it. Vaguely sorry.

Geepsie

[mrabinow]

My point is really not kids vs. no kids. Rather, it is about the ability of a really good restaurant to make a person feel confortable regardless of whether you are the type of person they would prefer to serve. I have seen Jean George's kitchen adopt their menu for kids; the same at Gramercy Tavern. This relates to the discussion that was had earlier about what makes a 4 star restaurant where most people seem to think that service was part of the rating. My point is that if the restaurant makes this point up front then it lacks the ability that really good restaurants have of making people feel at home and comfortable.

[docsconz]

I believe the point of the restaurant is that it is not really a family destination. One must realize that Lake George as a whole is a family oriented resort destination. Having this clearly stated alerts people that this is not a restaurant one should casually bring children to or that a family coming off a busy day at the lake should stumble into thinking it a typicaal lake george area restaurant/Inn. That is not to say that children with an interest in good food, who could behave properly at a fine dining restaurant would not be welcome. In fact, I am quite certain that they would be received warmly. If I gave an impression of the restaurant as being stuffy, I am sorry. It is anything but. If I have it is because I have focused almost entirely on the food. It is a fine dining establishment, make no mistake, but it is also one I find it very easy to relax in.

As far as outside visitors entering into any guest room, I would certainly appreciate that policy if I were a guest there. They are happy to show their unoccupied rooms (if there are any) to visitors who ask.

I think you would find this to be a very favorable stop on your way to Montreal. I think the restaurant compares favorably to the top restaurants in that wonderful city and I love the food in Montreal. If I am gushing it is because I am so very excited to have a restaurant of this ambition and caliber in my back yard. Previously, I would have to travel to New York or Montreal (Toque would be comparable) to dine like this.

[mrabinow]

I believe the point of the restaurant is that it is not really a family destination. One must realize that Lake George as a whole is a family oriented resort destination. Having this clearly stated alerts people that this is not a restaurant one should casually bring children to or that a family coming off a busy day at the lake should stumble into thinking it a typicaal lake george area restaurant/Inn. That is not to say that children with an interest in good food, who could behave properly at a fine dining restaurant would not be welcome. In fact, I am quite certain that they would be received warmly. If I gave an impression of the restaurant as being stuffy, I am sorry. It is anything but. If I have it is because I have focused almost entirely on the food. It is a fine dining establishment, make no mistake, but it is also one I find it very easy to relax in.

As far as outside visitors entering into any guest room, I would certainly appreciate that policy if I were a guest there. They are happy to show their unoccupied rooms (if there are any) to visitors who ask.

I think you would find this to be a very favorable stop on your way to Montreal. I think the restaurant compares favorably to the top restaurants in that wonderful city and I love the food in Montreal. If I am gushing it is because I am so very excited to have a restaurant of this ambition and caliber in my back yard. Previously, I would have to travel to New York or Montreal (Toque would be comparable) to dine like this.

Thanks for your response. I certainly didn't get the impression from your description but rather from their website. Actually, Friends Lake Inn used to have that policy also. A number of years ago, before the owners had kids they explicilty said no children allowed to stay overnight at the inn. This did not apply to the restaurant however and I assume that the same applies in this situation. However, I had the feeling that Friends Lake Inn got the message across in a nicer way.

[docsconz]

I think the location makes all the difference. Friends Lake Inn is much less likely to have a family just wander in. Greg and Sharon Taylor, now formerly of Friends Lake Inn are great people and their Inn has always been warm and inviting, but the cuisine while excellent, never aspired to the level of haute cuisine that Erlowest does.

The website for Erlowest clearly needs improvement, if not just to show the restaurant and its capabilities better. at this point I would not let my expectations be colored too much by the website. That is easy for me to say because I have been there.

As for children, my five year old is not ready and I will not bring him, but I will not hesitate to bring my 14 and 13 year olds. I have every confidence that they will be welcome and enjoy the restaurant.

[docsconz]

I had another great meal at Erlowest Saturday night. Along with the food being beutiful and delicious, Chef Secich also has a playful streak.

Here is his "breakfast", an appetizer of "bacon and eggs" with a mimosa. This was the openeing course to his tasting menu of the evening. It consisted of fantastic ceviche scallops with half a golden cherry tomato on each for the eggs and serrano ham for the bacon. It was a fantastic dish.

[milla]

docsconz, do they have a website? this restaurant looks and sounds fascinating...

[docsconz]

docsconz, do they have a website?  this restaurant looks and sounds fascinating...

←

theinnaterlowest.com is the website, which doesn't do justice to the food. By the sound of the discourse on your restaurant and cooking, and having gotten to know Chef Secich a little secondary to my frequent visits, I would venture that the interest would certainly be mutual.

On a separate note, I will be dining in Manresa on Saturday - the city in Catalunya (unless I get in off the wait list to El Bulli). Someday, when I get out to California again, Manresa, the restaurant will be high on my list to visit.

[milla]

thanks for the website. Much appreciated...

[tanabutler]

docsconz, do they have a website?  this restaurant looks and sounds fascinating...

←

The Inn at Erlowest web site

Whoops, cross-post.

Edited September 22, 2004 by tanabutler (log)

[fatcatbrew]

A group of us are week-ending at The Friends Lake Inn next weekend. Six of us are dining at The Inn at Erlowest on Friday evening. From the posts, it seems we are in for a wonderful dining experience.

[docsconz]

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights next weekend, they are doing his and hers aphrodisiac tasting menus for Valentine's day. We'll be there Saturday night. It should be interesting. I know it will be delicious.

[fatcatbrew]

Could you tell me what the preferred dress code is at The Inn at Erlowest?

Edited February 5, 2005 by fatcatbrew (log)

[docsconz]

Nice casual and better is fine.