Brandywine Restaurant

Old School Italian with Contemporary Specialties

By Michael Koegel

Joe Caracciolo, the chef at Brandywine, hears his father’s voice in his head when he’s cooking … whether it’s making a sauce, following a recipe or pretty much anytime he’s working in the kitchen. His father is always there; guiding him, instructing him, and scolding him should Joe—God Forbid—be tempted to cut a corner. He hears his father say things like “Slice the veal at the proper angle” or “Short cuts lead to long delays!” Sometimes Joe replies out loud “Alright, Alright! I hear you!” Then he always does as he’s told, even though his father isn’t looking over his shoulder these days. Joe never cuts corners.

Joe’s father, Louis, emigrated from Calabria, Italy, opened a pizza parlor on Long Island with his brother, and and eventually opened Brandywine in 1984 after he and his wife fell in love with the area. The couple bought the building that houses Brandywine, and the living quarters beneath it—which was once a bar called Night Pasture—and set about renovating it. Louis spent his days cutting and sanding enormous salvaged structural beams that supported the gut renovation, from the scraps of those beams he built tables that are still used in the dining room. Little by little, he added dining rooms, expanded the kitchen, built an enormous bar, and built out the family’s home downstairs. At night he cooked in the restaurant.

Joe is the youngest of three siblings. He has two older sisters: Christy, who is an architectural lighting designer in the city, and Sara, who runs the business side of Brandywine. All three are partners in the restaurant. Joe was born into the business two years after Brandywine opened; living below the restaurant, hearing the commotion upstairs, smelling the aromas of Italian food, was the only life he knew growing up. “I was birthed into a pot of marinara,” he joked. At 5 years old Joe’s father put him to work slicing mushrooms.

“I had to stand on a milk crate and my father gave me a clam knife so I wouldn’t cut myself,” he said.

From there he worked in the cloakroom, then as a dishwasher, busboy, waiter, bartender, and eventually, chef. “I learned how to cook by watching my father, he was an intense teacher, I was scrutinized constantly.” Louis sent his son Joe back to his home in Calabria every summer so that he could spend time with family and learn about his culture and family traditions, the local agriculture and the food, which gave Joe an invaluable culinary education and perspective

For years father and son worked side by side. Joe always assumed he’d one day take the reins of the restaurant but that day came sooner than he thought when his father became ill and received a heart transplant. Louis could no longer handle the intensity of running the kitchen, but he remained a strong presence. During that period Joe would run downstairs to the family’s home below the restaurant and seek his father’s guidance should a minor crisis occur or he forgot a nuance in a recipe. At that point he wasn’t confident that he could run the place without his father’s guidance and would often implore him “I’m not ready, stay here!”

If Joe had any insecurities as a chef back in those days, there are no signs of it now. Greeting me in his immaculate kitchen in his chef’s whites and toque, Joe proudly gave me a tour of the entire restaurant, pointing out all of the improvements he’s made, as well as the features that his father installed in years’ past; from the new walk-in refrigerator, to his outdoor kitchen garden where he grows zucchini, eggplant, and sage, and which boasts peach and apple trees and grape vines, a nod to his relative’s gardens in Calabria.

The restaurant itself is a series of rooms and warrens and cubbies, that are somehow intimate and spacious at the same time. When you first enter the lobby there are scores of things to look at, from the kitschy yet pitch-perfect grapevines hanging from the ceiling, to shelves lined with bric-a-brac and flourishes that have obviously been collected over the decades. You can tell everything on display has a story behind it. The spacious lounge area boasts a huge circular wooden bar and a juke box that’s loaded with Elvis Presley and Billy Joel.

The authentic vibe of the place is in compete harmony with the food. Joe refers to his cuisine as “Old School Italian with Contemporary Specialties,” and the menu is filled with seafood, chicken, veal, and pasta dishes in classic preparation, Rollatini, Milanese, Piccata, Carbonara—over 40 entrees in all, not including appetizers, soups, salads, and side dishes. On the weeknight we dined there the place was lively, with what you could tell were a mix of regulars and locals, and the servers were experienced, warm, and professional. Dana, our waitress, has been with the restaurant for over 13 years and sheepishly admitted that she sort of thinks of Joe as her son. She was ready with recommendations if we wanted, and you could tell she knew her way around the menu and the restaurant.

My husband Andrew and I had the Hot Antipasto for Two, which had Eggplant Rollatini, Stuffed Zucchini and a variety of other Italian specialties; the dish is normally is served with Clams Casino but we asked them to be omitted as neither of us eats shellfish. The first thing that each of us commented on was the quality of the marinara sauce. We were both blown away by its flavor and consistency. Many traditional marinara sauces feel cooked down to the point where there’s no real sense that there is a tomato in there at all. Brandywine’s marinara had all of the savory richness and flavor that one expects from a traditional Italian red sauce, but it also had chunks of tomatoes, so that the sauce tasted fresh and not reduced into oblivion. I actually caught myself dragging my finger across my empty plate to get the last drops.

Andrew also ordered one of the evening’s specials as an appetizer, the Caprese salad, which featured fresh sliced tomatoes and soft home-made mozzarella cheese. It’s the perfect summer salad, and here it was seasoned perfectly with a light and delicious oil and vinegar and roasted peppers.

I had the Veal Sorrentino for an entree, which is veal topped with prosciutto, eggplant and mozzarella cheese, served with a perfectly cooked side of spaghetti, and again with that delicious red sauce. Andrew chose the Shrimp Scampi. It was described as being served in a garlic and herb sauce, I immediately recognized the herb as tarragon, which was such a surprise. The tarragon was almost sweet as compared to the savory marinara sauce I had been enjoying. The experience was miles away and it was a such a surprising flavor that I kept snagging fork-fulls of Andrew’s pasta. Joe Caracciolo has got his sauces down.

Joe takes his role as chef seriously, “Think about it,” he says, “you’re making something that people are going to put inside their body, that’s an insane responsibility!” Then he added, “My father used to always say ‘How do you show love to a human being? You feed them.’”

You’re in good hands when Chef Joe is in the kitchen at Brandywine; you’re actually in the hands of both he and his father Louis every time you dine there.

Brandywine Restaurant is located at 11157 Route 23, Windham, NY, 12496. They are open every day except Mondays, weekdays from 4:00 pm and weekends from 1:00 pm, and close at 9:00 pm except for Saturdays and Sundays when they close at 9:30 pm. For reservations call 518 734 3838. Reservations are not available online: the old school tradition continues.

Wednesdays are pasta nights: five courses of pasta (menu changes monthly) for only $15.

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