THE PEEKAMOOSE RESTAURANT AND TAP ROOM

By Michael Koegel

Back in my highfalutin, expense-account days living in Manhattan, I had a favorite go-to restaurant: The Gramercy Tavern. It’s a cheerful, welcoming space; great vibe, hip, but not pretentious, with consistently excellent food. Every time I ate there I felt like I was treating myself, so I went as often as I could. Entering the front room of that restaurant, with its bustling bar against one wall, giant windows looking out onto 20th Street, and the colorful handwritten chalkboard signs, you just felt the celebration in the air. Colorful murals of Warhol-esque fruits and vegetables acted as banners announcing the meal you were about to enjoy; you were guided past side-tables heavy with towers of cheese and mind-blowing flower arrangements. The servers, clad in white shirts and aprons, were gregarious, knowledgable and efficient. The food was seasonal and fresh. The place always felt like it was harvest time, regardless of the season.

Danny Meyer, the preeminent New York restaurateur whose innovation and philosophies have been a major influence to a generation of restaurant owners, produced this room. Meyer set out to create an entire experience for the diner which he felt was made up of three equal and essential components: food, service and atmosphere. To this day, the front room of the Gramercy Tavern hits all the right notes every time.

Sure, you could sit in the more formal dining room in the back with its white tablecloths, dim lighting, and slightly elevated menu, but you always felt a little bit like you were missing out on the party; the festivities were happening up front. It was my favorite room in Manhattan, and where I had my farewell dinner before moving to The Catskills.

Incredibly, the first night we dined out after moving to Big Indian in the Catskills, we stumbled into The Peekamoose. The front room of The Peekamoose, which is also the bar, has a very rustic, authentic vibe. A translucent mural of a light green forest scene behind the bar sets the tone, solid wooden banquettes line the walls, intimate high tops fill the center the room, and there is a even little cubby off to one side with only a few tables that feels like a private party room. People are always eating at the bar. Cocktails are shaken, meals are being shared, everyone seems very content. The service is gracious and friendly without ever being intrusive. The food is hearty rustic fare, made with seasonal ingredients sourced from small local farms.

The main dining room serves a different menu, but you can order from either if you ask. This room is more spacious, with eclectic art, some of it very architectural. In fact, the entire restaurant has a very tactile feel to it; you want to touch everything. The dining room might be slightly quieter than the bar, but it’s not stuffy, there’s not a single white table cloth in sight.

I like to think of The Peekamoose as The Gramercy Tavern of the Catskills.

And that’s no coincidence.

Devin and Marybeth Mills, the owners, were both restaurant professionals in Manhattan when they met. Devin, the Chef, has worked in the kitchens of Eric Ripert’s Le Bernadine, The Hudson River Club, and yes, the Gramercy Tavern, where he worked in all stations of the kitchen but was primarily known as the restaurant’s saucier. Marybeth, who serves as the face of the restaurant and runs front of house operations, has worked as either manager or operations manager at a variety of fine dining establishments known for their hospitality and service such as Picholine and Remi.

That first night we ate at The Peekamoose back in, what, 2005?, Marybeth greeted us at our table and walked us through the menu. We introduced ourselves as her new neighbors (we lived within walking distance), and she immediately sat down to chat with us. Every time we ate there after that, she sat with us for a few moments and chatted about who-knows-what. We always left feeling seen, like we had received special treatment and we were, just by being us, VIPs. I’m sure that every diner who has walked into the Peekamoose at one time or another has a similar story to tell.

Marybeth attributes both her and Devin’s proclivity for restaurants and hospitality to their childhoods. Each of them coming from large families, she explained, they were rarely afforded to opportunity to go out to dinner, but when they did it was always a special occasion, “That feeling of how special it was to go out to dinner has remained with both of us,” she said, “and we want our guests to have that experience.” It might also be that since Devin was born on Christmas Day and Marybeth’s birthday is New Year’s Eve, they’ve got celebrating in their blood.

Marybeth and Devin always knew that they wanted to open their own restaurant back in the days when they were working in other people’s restaurants. They looked in Brooklyn and Jersey City but the rents were prohibitive. Then, visiting relatives in the Catskills one day—Devin went to high school in Haines Falls—they drove by a vacant, rundown restaurant on Route 28 and saw the “For Sale” sign out front. “The place had been empty for years,” says Marybeth, “it was full of raccoons and bugs. But it had this really good energy, you know? The space had been a successful restaurant before and you could feel that.”

They scrounged up the money to buy the place and moved into the ramshackle apartment above the restaurant and got to work. “We lived on tuna fish sandwiches,” she said. “There were days when we either had money to eat or to buy a can of paint, and we always bought the paint. We were never that broke, but we were never that happy.” They raised walls and ceilings, and repurposed any salvageable objects they found. One of Marybeth’s proudest decorating inspirations is what she calls her Louise Nevelson wall. While staring at a blank wall in the back of the restaurant, Marybeth nailed every found objects she could find to the wall: tools, pieces of broken furniture, then she painted the entire wall a monochromatic grey. It’s still there.

It might be hard to remember, but back in January of 2005, when the Peekamoose opened, dining out looked a lot different than it does today, from the cellophane-wrapped miniature breadsticks, to the iceberg lettuce salads with a single cherry tomato, to a bowl of corn that had spent the past few months in the deep freeze. The Peekamoose changed all that in the Catskills. They were culinary pioneers; the OG farm-to-table restaurant back in the day when farm-to-table actually meant farm to table.

Devin’s philosophy in the kitchen is a simple one: let the ingredients speak for themselves, and never serve precious or pretentious food. He calls it “Farmhouse Cuisine.”

Since everything is fresh it has to be local, and the Peekamoose is committed to not only using small farms, but to work- ing with farms that might not otherwise compete with larger operations. They get their micro-greens from RSK Farms in Prattsville, which refers to itself as a “boutique farm stand,” and their poultry and some of their meats come from Snowdance Farm, an environmentally friendly, socially responsible farm in Sullivan County. They are also quite proud of their selection of local draft beer from local breweries like West Kill Brewing, Arrowood Farms, and Catskill Brewery.

On the Monday night we ate in the front bar, the place was mobbed. Still, in all of the chaos, we still had our cocktails ive minutes after we sat down. I had a cocktail named “Tattooed Genius” because I liked the name, and because it’s main ingredient was bourbon. For starters Andrew had the grilled cucumber, I think because neither of us had ever seen it on a menu before. The cucumbers were sliced vertically which showed off the char marks, and were served with feta cheese, lime and fresh mint, a very refreshing salad. I got what I always get as a starter there, the 12 Ingredient Chopped Salad; I don’t know what the 12 ingredients are and I don’t know what it dressed with, but I think it’s the perfect salad.

I had a perfectly cooked piece of Arctic Char, which is a light fish somewhere between salmon and trout. Andrew had the Housemade Gnudi with a fresh tomato puree, pine nuts and pecorino/romano. The gnudi were light and soft, an the tomato puree was mild but flavorful, a very light pasta dish.

For dessert, Andrew had the Steamed Carrot Cake. It was shaped like a tall Christmas pudding, and was somehow steamed before it arrived at the table so that the entire cake was warm and moist. He was still talking about that dessert the next day. I had the Brioche Donut which came covered in a warm chocolate glaze and the center was filled with ice cream, so that you had to eat it with a spoon. A donut you have to eat with a spoon? I’m all in.

And finally, what kind of a name is “Peekamoose?”

“Everyone told me that it was a terrible name and we should change it,” said Marybeth. “But we wanted a name that was playful and didn’t take itself too seriously. I looked at all the names of the mountains and thought, ‘I’m not calling it Thomas Cole.’ ‘Peekamoose’ means ‘talking water’ and I liked that.”

Any downside to the name? “Yeah,” she said, “people keep giving me moose-themed presents. I’ve got tons.”

The Peekamoose Restaurant and Tap Room is located at 8373 NY-28 in Big Indian. They are open Thursday, Sunday and Monday from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays until 10:00 pm. They take reservations for the main dining room, but the bar and outdoor seating area first come, first served. For reservations go to PeekamooseRestaurant.com. Note, Marybeth and Devin give their staff time off before the holidays, so they will be closed December 9 through December 18.

Michael Koegel is a writer, director and producer. He owns Mama’s Boy Burgers in Tannersville.