Free-Range Chicken Roulade

by Mort Hochstein
November 17, 2008

RED NEWT BISTRO
Red Newt Cellars
3675 Tichenor Rd
Hector, NY 14841
607-546-4100

“Mort, the competition gets tougher every day and we aren’t alone at the top anymore. There are too many good restaurants up and down the lakes, Keuka, Seneca, or Cayuga.” This is what the proprietor of the oldest fine dining establishment in the Finger Lakes recently said to me. I won’t tell you what restaurant he represents, but this is a place that put its first steak on the table before the turn of the century, the 19th century, that is.

From the turn of the 19th century till, well, very recently, there has been a scarcity of fine dining in the Finger Lakes. Once the wineries had a hard time winning a place on local lists, but those days are history. Recently at a dinner following a Riesling tasting on the eve of the Finger Lakes Wine Festival in Watkins Glen, New York, I enjoyed several dishes from four of that turn-of-century establishment’s new competitors, all from wineries with allied restaurants.

Debra Whiting, chef-proprietor of the Red Newt Cellars Winery and Bistro, is the most senior member of the quartet. Her free-range chicken roulade, packed with cherries, walnuts, arugula and Parmesan cheese, and topped with a cherry relish brought me back to her counter more than once. Deb’s other offering was an unusual ravioli of light, almost translucent pasta loaded with blueberries, garlic Chevré and spinach topped with garlic scapes in a rich and savory roasted garlic cream sauce. Suggested wine pairings: 2005 Red Newt Cellars Cabernet Franc and 2005 Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars Gewurztraminer.

Orlando Rodriguez, chef of the largest restaurant in the group, Veraisons at the Inn at Glenora Wine Cellar, gave us a vegetarian terrine of grilled asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash and red peppers in a balsamic reduction, topped with Lively Run Cayuga Blue Cheese. He also served locally grown barbecued pulled pork braised and smoked on artisan sourdough bread. There was a run on this one; one serving was hardly enough to satisfy the ‘cue’ fans among us. 2006 Glenora Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauivignon and 2007 Lucas Vineyards Dry Riesling.

Samantha “Sam” Izzo of Simply Red Lakeside Bistro, part of Sheldrake Point Vineyard, takes culinary inspiration from South Africa, and, though we didn’t taste her famed roasted Moroccan chicken and traditional South African Babootie, the simple, frugal curry-flavored stew that is a staple of the region, she did treat us to a power-loaded smoked gazpacho in a crème fraîche finish with a single poached shrimp and topped with avocado. It was a tangy mix of intense spice and citrus flavors, a great dish for a hot summer night. I preferred, however, Sam’s second offering: flavorful sweet pea tortellini tossed in brown butter, Parmesan cheese and cinnamon. These were paired with 2007 Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards Pinot Gris and 2006 Sheldrake Point Vineyard Bunch Select Riesling.

Frank Caravita, Executive Chef at Fox Run Vineyards near the northern tip of Seneca, served grilled flat iron steak topped by a tomato salad and pan-seared chicken breast embellished with an apricot cream. Like every chef that night, and like most chefs in the Finger Lakes, his dishes were prepared with home grown vegetables, meat, and other accompaniments. 2005 Fox Run Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Franc and 2007 Swedish Hill Vineyard Dry Riesling.

While in the area, I visited two restaurants not represented at the event. High atop Keuka Lake, with a view stretching for miles up and down the lake and across to the west side, is the restaurant at Bully Hill Vineyards, run by winery owner Lilian Taylor. She presents a broad menu of cosmopolitan and local dishes, which draw even the locals to climb the hill to compete with tourists for seats at her table. Two lakes away, just off the Western shore of Cayuga, I can’t say enough good things about The Crystal Lake Café, part of Americana Vineyards. This is a small, unimposing spot with the kind of simple décor you expect on a lightly traveled back road, but with a surprisingly sophisticated menu. The people at the Café make their own bread and for a place so far from the sea, Chef Lindsay Freeman serves the best crab cake I ever tasted.

While my friend at the oldest dining establishment in the Finger Lakes may miss his lonely spot at the top, the visitor to this region now has a wealth of choices, most of them showcasing local produce and wines. Today, whether in white tablecloth format, or simple adjuncts to wineries, these new restaurants are attracting a new market, and the burgeoning wine region is thriving on it.

Also in American, Chicken, Drinks, Finger Lakes