I KNOW THIS PLACE

GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN

GRACIE’S LUNCHEONETTE 969 MAIN STREET, LEEDS, NY 12451 (518) 943-9363 • www.graciesny.com Hours: Thursday-Monday, 10AM-7PM

Closed Tuesday and Wednesday

Right outside Catskill, NY, not far from the Rip van Winkle Bridge and where 23 crosses I-87, is the tiny town of Leeds, NY and the home of one of the most unique and tasty locations at which we’ve eaten: Gracie’s Luncheonette. In 2014, Allyson Merritt and Andrew Steenburn, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, started their food careers with Gracie’s Food Truck and two years later, reopened an old 1950’s Koch’s drive-in. If the food we had is any indication, they haven’t wasted any time in the last seven years! Gracie’s almost exclusively features farm-to-table, onsite-made food and it shows. I had the Gracie’s Burger, a beef patty with the bacon mixed in, along with a slice of American cheese, fried onion, and topped with their “Truck Sauce,” a mixture of pickles, ketchup, mayo, and mustard, and it was outstanding. Betsy had their fried green tomato BLT on house-made white toast (all the breads are house-made) and she reported it to be excellent too. We both had their brilliant seasoned fries made from locally-sourced potatoes and I liked the Truck Sauce enough to ask for extra in which to dip them. I washed mine down with their house-made root beer and Betsy with their equally-fresh ginger ale. It was all I could do to keep from trying the donut burger, an all-beef patty with bacon and cheese served on a glazed donut. I was also sorely tempted by their milkshakes from homemade ice cream and the selection of delectable pastries in the counter display. We also could have had any one of several breakfasts, as Gracie’s is a breakfast-all-day kind of place, which automatically moves it higher on my list. I’m told their biscuits and gravy are amazing as much due to the homemade sausage gravy as it is to the aky biscuits.

While the outside preserves the 1950’s diner look, the inside has been completely redone and is spotless and modern. The restrooms are scrupulously clean and there is ample parking, along with some outdoor picnic tables if you want to eat alfresco. The server, Jessica, was cheerful and ef cient, even when confronted with two out-of-towners on a motorcycle asking all kinds of questions. The prices are moderate for a diner, but not out of line for a place that makes everything in-house with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. It might be a diner that grew from a food truck, but the in uence of Allie and Andrew’s culinary institute training and dedication to freshness are evident in this gem near the Catskills. Betsy and I highly recommend Gracie’s Luncheonette as a stop on your motorcycle adventures and I suspect our future travels to the Catskills will have to detour through Leeds, NY. If Rip van Winkle awoke from a 20-year nap today, he’d want to go to Gracie’s for breakfast. , ~ Mark Byers