90 PARTITION STREET
SAUGERTIES, NY 12477
(845) 246-9240
OWNERS: MARC PROPPER AND MICHELLE SILVER;
PASTRY CHEF: MICHELLE SILVER
In the sophisticated caste system that ranks towns of the Hudson Valley, Saugerties has traditionally held a position somewhere below the nearby town of Woodstock. It’s a shame because Saugerties has it all: stunning nineteenth-century architecture, high-end antiques stores, and a bourgeoning food scene. And, though Woodstock usually snags the credit, The Band’s landmark album, Music from Big Pink, was actually composed in a Pepto-Bismol–colored house in West Saugerties that Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson shared.
Take that, Woodstock.
In fact, Saugerties is so attractive that chefs Michelle Silver and Marc Propper bought a second house in town while they were still running their primary business, the restaurant Grove in Manhattan’s West Village. Says Silver, “We had a weekend house, which is now our regular house. We gave up our apartment in the city when we realized that we really wanted to open up a restaurant in town.
“For us, we have two kids—my daughter Lucy and my son Eli—and when we first opened [in 2003], they were young. We wanted a place where families could come, and the parents could have a nice bottle of wine and the kids could get a milkshake and mac and cheese and everyone could be happy. We were having a hard time finding that in Saugerties.”
The space that Silver and Propper settled on couldn’t have been more inauspicious. Says Silver, “It was a burnt-out shell. We’d be driving by looking at buildings, and we saw it and said, ‘You know—we should find out about that space.’ It has a great location, it was in our town, and the price was right.” The two chefs built a restaurant whose vintage-seeming quirks are deceptively new, an effect that is aided by their repurposing of the building’s original bricks, which are still charred from the fire.
All around Miss Lucy’s Kitchen you’ll see aprons that hearken to the (perhaps wholly fictional) days when women cooked in dresses and stiletto shoes. Says Silver, “The aprons were just an idea that I had; I had a little apron that my grandma made me, and I hung it up in the restaurant on one of the racks. And then, on a whim, when I took down the curtains to be cleaned, I decided, ‘Oh, let me just put some more aprons up in the window.’” She laughs at what would ultimately become the crowd-sourced decor of Miss Lucy’s. “People just started bringing me aprons. It’s like every old lady in town has a bag of aprons. A customer just came in and saw the apron that I was wearing. She said it was the apron that they sewed in the Saugerties Home Ec class—and she was like eighty!”
Silver and Propper have always been inspired by the food that grows around Saugerties. “The most fun part is being really seasonal—and not even just the four seasons, but hyper-seasonal. We’re talking about the beginning of spring, then mid-spring—it really changes. In the city it’s all kinda clumped together into spring, summer, fall, and winter. Here, as soon as the rhubarb pops up, then you know what’s coming. It’s ramps, then fiddleheads, asparagus, and peas. And then, following that, it’s the next round of things. That’s what we really like to do on our menu.”
When asked whether her customers are mainly vacationers or live in town, Silver notes, “First of all, there are tons of New Yorkers. We rent apartments upstairs, and most of the people that rent the apartments are New Yorkers. And we can even tell from the zip codes on the restaurant’s Amex reports that most of the people who dine with us are either local or from the Upper West Side or Brooklyn.” She laughs, “Those are our people.”
(SERVES 7–8)
For the strawberry-rhubarb compote:
10 stalks rhubarb, coarsely chopped
2½ cups orange juice
½ cup granulated sugar
6 star anise pods
6 chopped strawberries, plus extra for garnish
For the rhubarb caramel:
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 cup reserved juice from strawberry-rhubarb compote
For the pistachio brittle:
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup shelled pistachios
For the strawberry parfait:
1¼ cups cream
4 egg yolks
6 tablespoons plus 2¼ teaspoons granulated sugar
⅓ cup water
⅛ teaspoon salt
¾ cup strawberry-rhubarb compote
½ cup chopped pistachio brittle
For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
To make the compote: In a medium-size saucepan place the rhubarb, orange juice, sugar, and star anise. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is soft. When the rhubarb is tender, add the strawberries and cook until the strawberries have broken down. Remove the pan from heat and discard the star anise pods. Strain the compote, reserving the juice to make rhubarb caramel.
To make the caramel: In a saucepan stir the sugar with the lemon juice and water and bring this mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and continue to cook the mixture until it is golden brown. Remove the caramel from the heat and whisk in the strawberry-rhubarb juice. Return the saucepan to the burner and boil the mixture for about another minute. Remove the sauce from the heat and transfer to another container to cool. Reserve.
To make the brittle: Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and spray the paper with nonstick spray. In a saucepan heat the sugar and water over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the mixture to a boil. Cook the mixture until it is a deep amber color. Stir in the nuts and, working quickly, pour the mixture onto the prepared parchment paper. Quickly spread into a thin layer. Let cool. Reserve.
To make the parfait: In a large bowl whip the cream until it reaches soft peaks. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks on high speed until they are pale. Prepare an ice bath large enough to accommodate the mixer bowl.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the sugar, water, and salt. Place over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook the sugar mixture until a digital thermometer reads 230°F. Turn the stand mixer back on low speed. In a slow, steady stream, pour the sugar syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into the egg yolks. When all the syrup has been poured in, increase the mixer’s speed to high and continue to beat the eggs until they are thick and cool. Place the mixer bowl into the ice bath to cool the yolk mixture completely. When cool, fold the yolk mixture into the whipped cream. Fold in the strawberry-rhubarb compote and chopped pistachio brittle. Reserve.
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Place eight stainless 3 × 2-inch ring molds on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each ring mold. Press down into an even layer to form tart crusts. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the graham cracker crusts to cool.
To finish the dish: Fill the cool tart crusts with strawberry-rhubarb parfait. Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, use a blowtorch to lightly heat the sides of the rings to loosen the cakes from the molds. Garnish with fresh strawberries, rhubarb caramel, and pistachio brittle. Serve.