Palate Travel at Anthony’s

Owner and executive chef Scott Murray serves up New American cuisine at iconic Plattsburgh restaurant celebrating 40th anniversary. Palate Travel at Anthony’s Plattsburgh

Photos by Kayla Breen By Robin Caudell

“A brightly lit sign illuminates the entrance to Anthony’s Restaurant & Bistro. Th ere might be people we are compared with who are more food artists. I don’t consider us that. I consider us just solid cuisine.

- Scott Murray Two jumbo jade plants grace a bay window, circa 1990, with a southern exposure at Anthony’s Restaurant & Bistro in Plattsburgh.

In Feng shui, jade plants are traditional gift s to new business owners to attract wealth and prosperity.

Th e jade mojo is on point 11 years and counting for Anthony’s owner and executive chef Scott Murray, who crossed the threshold of the 19th-century Cosgrove farmhouse in November 1982.

Fresh from a Sahara Tahoe apprenticeship, Scott entered founders Drew and Linda Sabella’s two-yearold dream of establishing a gourmet Italian restaurant, which was named for Drew’s uncle and godfather. EIGHTIES SCENE At the time, local choices included Arnie’s, Roman Gardens, Royal Savage Inn, Th e Stonehelm, Valcour Lodge, and Th e Butcher Block, where Drew was one of the original partners.

Th e Sabellas purchased the Route 3 property from Frank Akey and fused the house and barn into its present confi guration.

Anthony’s opened in January 1980, so this January marks the restaurant’s 40th anniversary.

Its cuisine segued from upscale Italian to Nouvelle cuisine with Italian infl uence to what Scott calls New American.

Th e restaurant’s name is somewhat a misnomer now, but it’s iconic and Scott knows he cannot change it. “But I know there are times when people walk in here thinking this is a solidly Italian restaurant,” he says.

“We know that happens and that’s why the Bistro is designed to be more casual, classic Italian. People call all the time or they meet me, and they can tell by the way I carry myself that I’m the owner, and say, ‘Oh, you’re Anthony.’ No, I’m Scott actually. But, yes I do own it.”

His surname indicates Scottish or Irish origin, but it was Anglicized from the original Morian of FrenchCanadian extraction.

Two nights ago, diners asked him if he was from Europe.

“Normally they assume, if you’re French, you think the chef here has to be French because it’s no way he can do this cuisine,” Scott says.

“If you’re Italian, the chef has to be Italian.”

So, Scott and Anthony’s are chameleons and not what they fi rst appear.

North Country Foodie • February 2020 EPICUREAN EVOLUTION When Drew hired Scott, there were two chefs in front of him creating upscale, northern Italian cuisine.

“The business the way it was then and they way it is now, the staff was much, much smaller,” Scott says.

“Here, I was walking into a place that was going to be a little bit more progressive, that was trying to do something a little more upscale for Plattsburgh. At that point, way more than what Plattsburgh had.”

A friend tipped Scott off to Anthony’s and thought his California cooking was good cred.

“At that point, the parts were in place, but it wasn’t tremendously successful,” Scott says.

“I know when I became the executive chef and after working a couple of years, I remember Drew and Linda discussing with me when we finally hit the stability part. Our costs were in line, and things were starting to come together. We were becoming accepted and successful. That was probably ‘85, ‘86.”

Scott defines Anthony’s cuisine as “metro-quality food in a countryelegant setting.”

“We’re not really food art,” he says. “There might be people we are compared with who are more food artists. I don’t consider us that. I consider us just solid cuisine. We’re completely cooked-to-order. We make everything in house. I know that statement is over used, but we really are. People who come through here are pretty amazed.”

MADE IN-HOUSE On this Friday, links of sausage cure for two days in the kitchen’s walkin.

“I’m the only one who makes our sausage because it is temperature fussy,” Scott says.

“It’s really about the method and consistency. Anybody can grind some meat and season it, but it’s really more about the final product being what it is. There are certain things that I am still the only one that does it.”

Every soup, salad dressing, sauce, and dessert, including ice cream, is made in-house.

Scott lifts a freezer lid to reveal lemon cheesecake ice cream made by sous chef Josh Dilly.

Their dining clientele includes those who like to watch Anthony’s staff in action in the modest kitchen. “Whenever I talk to anybody because they want to see it, I think they expect something spectacular because

North Country Foodie • February 2020

PROPRIETOR PROFILE WHO: Scott Murray, GM/Executive Chef HOME PLACE: Cliff Haven EDUCATION: Peru High School Class of 1979, Clinton Community College, SUNY Plattsburgh and American Culinary Federation PLAN A: Physical Education/Recreation career FATE: Summer break working and landing an apprenticeship at Sahara Tahoe owned by Del Webb Corporation FIRST JOB: Short order/carhop at Nitzi’s on Route 9 BIG BREAK: Anthony’s Restaurant & Bistro at age 21 FAV COMFORT FOOD: Paella or Cassoulet TRENDS: “I feel that the restaurants now, the position that Plattsburgh is in, is a really positive one because I think that as a community everybody does better when there are choices. I would not want to be the only game in town because then your base of folks are going to travel somewhere else because they want choices. “It’s nice to go out for different reasons, and there is room for many different restaurants. Anthony’s owner and executive chef Scott Murray places a crab cake on the counter during a lunch service rush. of our cuisine, but it’s a working kitchen,” Scott says.

“So, it’s messy. It’s really nothing to look at. You can see how little these guys have to work with.”

Veal stock, extracted from 25 pounds of veal bones and 25 pounds of beef bones, simmers under the watchful eye of sous chef Amy Upton.

“This boils overnight,” Scott says. “We’re getting ready to strain this, and then we re-wet it and it will go again overnight tonight because we can’t leave this here during the day. This is all we have.” Scott points to a twin-six burner stove. “There are four people on this line at night,” he says. “There are two people in the pantry over there at night and there’s one dish crew over here.

“If you were to order a steak right now, the guy working in the corner in that oven would take out the loin from the bottom, cut the steak, pass it to the grill chef who works over there.”

For steak au poivre, a sauté chef makes the sauce, and then passes off to the setter to plate together with grilled fare from the line.

“If there’s anything that needs to be sliced out, it goes on a small cutting board and then that needs to be sliced,” Scott says.

“That’s a four-man crew. Lunch is a different story. We’re a little smaller, and it’s a little more stripped down.” WALK-IN FARE A stack of three cases of New York strip steak lean

“Secondly, I happen to be friends with all of them. I work seven days a week, so I don’t go out a lot. I may stop in and have a drink at a friend’s restaurant. My family goes out quite a bit because they have more opportunity than I do.

“We know all our co-restaurants, and we enjoy them and what they’re doing. I like the fact that we can be respected among our peers and be a positive influence in the restaurant culture of Plattsburgh. There is room for all, and we are better when there are choices.”

North Country Foodie • February 2020 against a rear rack straight across from the walk-in’s entry.

“When I buy my meats, there are kill dates on them,” Scott says.

“Th ere is aging dates on them because we buy everything by cases. We know where the stuff came from. You know where your product came from. We do what makes sense.”

On an adjacent rack, beef tenderloins wait to be cleaned and cut to order.

Two cases of prime rib empty every week.

“Th e beef I use, I’ve used for years, so we’re not a local grass-fed beef,” Scott says.

“Mainly, I think because of the expectations of our clients. Th at’s not what they are looking for.”

Whether a customer orders “Tournedos of Beef Gorgonzola” or “Grilled Fillet of Salmon with Warm Lobster Sauce,” the beef tenderloin and fi llet will be hand cut to order. HONEST PRODUCTS Scott stocks a variety of local cheeses including Raclette from an international award-winning raclette maker in Lacolle, Quebec, Toma Celena from the Saratoga area, and Whiteface Cheddar and Smoked Cheddar from Fort Covington.

Desserts — crème brule, pies, cheesecake, tiramisu made by pantry chef Steve Gricoski — rest on an upper rack near the walk-in’s entry.

Th is night, braised local veal is the special.

“We braise overnight,” Scott says. “We leave it in the jus because I won’t cook it until it’s aged a day in here.”

Every day and night, Anthony’s staff twirl around each other instinctively in a compact space that also holds a steamer and smoker for fi sh, tomatoes, or whatever. “Th is is it,” Scott says. “Th is is everything that we have. You have to know how to move.”

Th e growing season brings Anthony’s amazing gardens into the mix.

“It’s all done by crew in-house,” Scott says.

“It’s a labor of love. It’s all of our herbs. It’s a lot of our lettuces, a lot of tomatoes. We don’t do our nightly vegetables because they would take too much land.”

Th e garden’s bounty includes Swiss chard, kale, spring-mix lettuces, and zucchini.

“Th e things that make sense for here,” Scott says.

Pray’s Farmers Market is his total produce supplier.

“Because aft er what they grow, I like their philosophy of buying from their Albany and Montreal markets,” Scott says.

“I know their schedule. We’ve got a great working relationship.”

Honey comes from Peru, and maple syrup from Chazy.

He purchases pigs locally, and his veal is sourced from a Chazy farm. “It’s all nature veal,” he says. “ People know to approach me if they have an honest product. - Scott Murray

Grilled calamari appetizer served with chimichurri.

North Country Foodie • February 2020 “People know to approach me if they have an honest product.” NEW AMERICAN The restaurant, its menu, and award-winning wine list are a living, evolving thing.

“Our influences are basically Italian, French, little bit of Spanish, little bit of Moroccan, little bit of South American,” Scott says.

“When you look at our cuisine, we’re not ethnic to one group or culture. New American, I’ll call it.”

His “Steak Au Poivre-Five Peppercorns” is French inspired, pork saltimbocca is Italian, risotto is Italian by influence, and paella is Spanish.

“I have chimichurri on my menu, which is Argentine,” Scott says. “When we do something, it’s not about finding a recipe somewhere and just making something and calling it that culture.”

What continues to excite him as a chef is preparing a dish for the first time.

“Like the first time I made cassoulet, which is French or paella, which is Spanish; you try to determine what they were going after,” Scott says. “It’s easy to put all of the ingredients they used into something, but what was the texture?”

What was the method? What was the theory behind the dish? What was the reason?

Was it a peasant food at one time that gained such notoriety that it became food for all?” he says.

“That’s kind of pretty cool. As far as cuisine, it’s more about where did it come from and trying to remember what you’re doing.”

He and his staff start with a protein — beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetarian product — and adapt it to their vision.

“Meaning whether it’s with a sauce or vinaigrette or an aioli,” Scott says. “That’s what we do. There are some restaurants that are more simplistic that just want the highest-quality ingredients and leave it to its own. We like to make it something else by our sauces. That’s what we’re really known for.” ARTFUL AMBIANCE From the start, Scott loved the architecture, setting, art, music, and

North Country Foodie • February 2020 décor of Anthony’s.

His upgrades include an upscaled Bistro, installation of access lighting, and sinking wires for existing lighting. “Th e art, I turned over to Jimmy Golovach,” Scott says.

“Some of these prints are his. Since he’s immersed in the art world, he’s the one who rotates the art. He’s responsible for the grounds. I give him carte blanche to keep up our gardens, our exterior, and the way things look. I loved what we had to work with. Loved the karma of the building.”

When Drew and Linda fi rst told him they wanted to retire, they asked him to consider buying the business. “My fi rst thought, and I said it to them, ‘You know, I don’t know if I really want to pay full price for something I helped to create,’” Scott says.

“Th ere’s a sense in me in that I could just do my own thing from the ground level. Th en in thinking about it pretty quickly, it really came down to the karma of the building.”

Scott fell into a good spot here. Th e Sabellas treated him very well. “I’ve been lucky in this building to be where I am,” Scott says.

“So, maybe it’s not me, and maybe I can’t recreate it, and maybe I should just accept the fact that this is just a great place. What I mean about the karma, I’ve had wonderful times here.” At that point, he couldn’t see walking away and embarking on something else.

“I think without Drew and Linda and without me, Anthony’s wouldn’t be,” Scott says.

“It just became something diff erent.”

Since he took the reins, he’s reset the restaurant’s ambiance — light, color, and tone.

“It’s just the right building, and I love taking care of it knowing that this has been here since at least 1880 and I believe longer,” Scott says.

PRIDE IN PLACE Scott works seven days a week, but he plans to trim it back a day or two in the near future.

Anthony’s clientele is heavily local, but destination patrons from New York City and Montreal keep it a yearround enterprise.

Scott doesn’t respond to reviews because he doesn’t like to give them legs.

He doesn’t have a marketing team, and Jimmy steers social media because he’s good at it.

“To be honest with you, part of longevity I think is pride of being part of this establishment,” Scott says.

“I don’t do a ton of advertising. Th e main reason is this is what I instill in the staff when we hire them, if we’re good at what we do that is the best advertising.

“If you’re advertising to get people into the door, and you’re really good at advertising but you’re not good at what you do, they are not going to come back. You’re spending your money on a one-time deal.

“If you’re really good at what you do and you got the business you need, that will sustain itself.” “ If you’re really good at what you do and you got the business you need, that will sustain itself. - Scott Murray

WHAT: Anthony’s Restaurant & Bistro SINCE: 1980 LOCATION: 538 Route 3, Plattsburgh HOURS: Dinner Service, nightly. Seating from 5-9 p.m. Lunch Service, Monday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. PHONE: 518-561-6420 WEBSITE: www.anthonysplattsburgh.com

DICK’S CUSTOMIZING & COLLISION SERVICE

Over 50 Years of Satisfied Customer Service

92 Bridge St., Plattsburgh (518) 324-3355 S & K Campus Corner Restaurant Famous HOME COOKING SINCE 1950

ATM Available Cardinal Cash accepted here Daily Specials • Breakfast all day Homemade soups daily OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY 6AM-2PM SUNDAY 7AM-2PM