Happy Saturday! It’s the weekend, enjoy. To begin, we’ll back track to Friday evening at a very old restaurant I last went to the night of my Senior Ball, over 20 years ago. At the end of the post, a wonderful twist on a Saturday morning pancake.
Friday Night Restaurant Review.
The Horned Dorset. This is a very elegant, very old establishment. It was a market back in the 1800’s. The roof collapsed in a wind storm and when it was rebuilt in the 1970’s, the restoration made use of wood and other parts from various mansions around Utica and Syracuse.
The dining is formal, although dress code is not enforced. A waiter waits patiently while you sit, fiddle with your coat and your purse, find your camera, suddenly you realize he’s glaring at you, you shift to pull your chair in and whoops!..he beats you to it. He pushes your chair in.
Another waiter approaches with the wine order. Yet a different waiter approaches to list the menu items, no print menu here. This is when we asked if there was something we could read about the history of The Horned Dorset. The waiter said no, but he would be pleased to tell all. After ordering, another waiter (yes, a DIFFERENT waiter) brings the bread. How many waiters is that?!!!
The room is old and adorned with very old books…
There are two rooms actually, we sat in the second seating area.
There were crackers on the table and in no time a complimentary hot cheese dip was presented. It tasted like french onion soup. Wonderfully rich and smooth. Perfect with the “nothing fancy” crackers.
A basket of hot bread was brought to the table which we also enjoyed with the cheese dip.
Our appetizers of choice were as follows:
Ted ordered the Sweet Breads. Now he initially asked if I wanted them because he didn’t know what sweet breads were. He thought it meant “sweet BREAD”. After the waiter explained, I said, “try them. I never have but they are a delicacy”. He did try them and said they tasted like chicken…
Unfortunately I can’t offer anything more because, as I said, I have never tried sweet breads.
As for me, I ordered the black bean, portobella crepe in a delicate white leek sauce. So light with very mild flavors…the perfect app.
The salads were then presented which were baby spinach leaves, thin onion slices, sliced mushrooms, kalamata olives, 1/4 of an egg, topped with feta cheese in a house vinaigrette.
The Entrees…
The waiter reeled off the main courses and I heard nothing of fish. There was a scallop dish but I wasn’t in a scallop mood. When asked “you don’t have any fish on the menu?” The waiter said they would be happy to offer salmon. I had the salmon with asparagus and glazed carrots. It was so fresh, so moist, and couldn’t have been a better piece of fish.
Ted had a veal dish served on a bed of sauteed spinach and topped with a very healthy slab of Camembert cheese. He was going to remove the cheese but I said that I thought, since it was placed on the top that it must pair perfectly with the main feature. So he tried it and sure enough, the Chef knew what he was doing. Ted said it was delicious.
If you live in the Utica area, you should treat yourself to a visit to the Horned Dorset Inn, Leonardsville, NY. It is right on Route 8 and offers the elegance, the relaxation, the finest service of any of the best restaurants I’ve been to.
Saturday Morning APPLE PANCAKE recipe…
Following my return home from a 6+ mile run with Shane (he is FINALLY willing to run again), Ted was still home and didn’t have to leave to play golf for another hour and a half. I said I was going to make apple pancakes and if he could wait while I hopped in the shower, then breakfast would be served in no time. Ted was up for it.
Apple Pancakes, makes 6
- 1 egg plus 2 egg whites
- 1 1/2 TBS Heavy Cream
- 1/2 a peeled and finely chopped apple.
- 1 1/2 TBS flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Combine the egg (not the whites and NOT the 1/4 cup Heavy cream) and the rest of the ingredients. Stir well. Beat the egg whites until they form peaks and then fold into apple mixture. NOTE: Gently FOLD the whites in …do NOT beat!
Cook in a lightly oiled pan until golden.
Whip the 1/4 cup of heavy cream until it forms peaks and serve on top of pancake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup. Light and delicious!
Enjoy your day!
Apple C 
that place looks adorable!! i love old places with history like that. and your apple pancakes look amazing. apples are easily my favorite thing to put in pancakes… although blueberries are a close second 😀
Heather: I with you on the blueberries. Love ’em.