May 2, 2016 Breakfast at Washington Park Inn, lunch at Glenwood Pines Tavern, Dinner at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg

' May 2, 2016 Breakfast at Washington Park Inn, lunch at Glenwood Pines Tavern, Dinner at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg

Suzette made us a lovely breakfast at the bed and breakfast in Albany of a toasted English muffin with a fried egg, a sauteed slice of ham and cheese slices with orange Marmelade, orange juice, tea, and yogurt.

We then drove to Ithaca and got on U.S.89 to drive up Lake Cayuga.  We stopped at Glenwood Pines Tavern at 1:30 and ordered a fresh fried Haddock filet with fried potatoes and 1 Dozen steamed little neck clams. We each drank a glass of local Riesling wine, which was quite good.

  Looking at Lake Cayuga

After lunch we drove up Hwy. 89 that clung to the cliff between Lake Cayuga and the higher ground that spread out in a plateau to Tauhhanaugh Falls, which are the highest East of the Mississippi River. 

We then drove to Bellwhether Winery and Cider maker where we tasted five ciders and five Rieslings, several of which were quite good.  I liked the Liberty and Skye cider and seven sisters Riesling. 

I asked the cider maker if he ever distilled any of the apple cider into calvados.  He said “Yes.” And brought two bottles of what he called eau d vie, but which was actually two distilled ciders.  The one I liked best was made with a cider of the golden russet Apple.  The other Brandy was infected with a spoilage bacteria and had a musty flavor but a higher octane taste.

It was great to see the next phase of cider in the U.S..

We then drove south to Trumansburg to the Juniper Hill Inn, which was a huge mansion on a pretty large property jus south of the Main Street center of Trumansburg.  It has a large collection of American Impressionist art hung two and three high on every wall.

Our room is large in which we have a high four poster and a triangular jacuzzi tub that fits two comfortably.  We settled in around 5:15 and i knapped until 6:30, when we dressed and drove the one block to the restaurant, hazelnut kitchen.  

We decided to share one four course Chef’s Tasting Menu for $40.00 with the three 1/2 glass wine supplement for $10.00 and a Hake with ramps and frIed potatoes. 

The first course was a very interesting squash soup made from a new hybrid squash that had a creamy texture garnished with fried Pepitas, a ramp pesto and a generous drizzle of brown drawn butter.  I loved the combination of flavors, a real success. 

The second course in the chef’s menu turned out to be even more interesting, a house made casarecce pasta tossed with shaved cabbage and lemon horseradish and a thick cream sauce. I ordered a local dry cider that went well with everything.

It was served with the hake so we could have our Primo and fish course together.  The hake was served with fried potatoes, caramelized onions and a heavy cream sauce and supposed to be garnished with ramps, but they were almost non-existent, which was very disturbing.

Our third course on the chef’s menu was a combination of several dishes a roulade of chicken served on a pile of carrot grits with chili roasted peanuts.

Finally, the dessert, a wedge of dark chocolate flourless torte with chantilly cream on a puddle of raspberry juice, was served with a local merlot.

We enjoyed our first meal in the Finger Lakes.

Bon Appetit