GOURMET GETAWAYS
Roycroft Inn, East Aurora, NY
By Donna Evans
The Roycroft is a great place to enjoy imaginative cuisine as well as visionary architecture and design. If you are game for game, if your tastes are more to exceptionally well-prepared farm-raised fare, or if you are seeking something unique in seafood—the Roycroft Inn is the place to spend a weekend. Executive Chef Andrew Nuernberger specializes in preparing game and using as many ingredients from local farms as possible.
 |
|
Photographs provided by The Roycroft Inn.
|
“The serving of game started with an elk dish we served as a special,” says Martha B. Augat, innkeeper, “and thatwas so popular we made it a part of the regular menu.”
One could begin a gourmet weekend by arriving Friday night around 7:30 to partake of the Lighter Fare menu accompanied by music played by some of the best jazz musicians in the area.
Along with a wide range of top local talent, Tony Scazarro and Natural Elements often come to town to provide the entertainment in the lounge area, where you can order a drink and choose a serving of the Artisan Cheese Board, Seasoned Chips and Salsa, the Pizza of the Day, Scallops in Bacon, Tuna Carpaccio, or Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta from the light menu.
Or get there a little early and choose from Rack of Lamb, Tournedos of Elk, Sesame Encrusted Tuna, and much, much more on the dinner menu. Chef Andrew started with the Roycroft as a line cook when it re-opened after its restoration. At the time, he was studying at culinary school. Through the years, he worked his way up to Executive Chef, learning all aspects of his trade. He is also a resident of East Aurora, so he knows the palate of Western New York very well.
“We feel very lucky to have Chef Andrew,” says Augat. “He could easily be cooking for a five-star restaurant in New York City.”
Undoubtedly the best offer at the Inn is the Preservation Package Escape for Two, which includes overnight accommodations in a luxurious suite, dinner for two, and a light breakfast for $199.00 plus tax and gratuities.
“It’s a very popular package—people use it as an anniversary getaway or as a gift,” Augat says. “We get a lot of arts and crafts enthusiasts and it’s a really good promotion for them.”
If you choose to spend Friday night at the Inn, you’ll be served a light breakfast in the morning as part of the package, but if you choose a Saturday night, although it will be extra, you can opt for the wonderful brunch on Sunday morning.
 |
|
Photographs provided by The Roycroft Inn.
|
“Every week the menu is new and exciting,” Augat says. “But generally speaking you can count on Norwegian salmon, at least six hot entrées, two carving stations, and a wide assortment of cheeses, crackers, and bagels and then the dessert table.”
Connie Hanel, a chocolatier, and Amy Bus, the baker, provide the Inn’s sweets, baking them on location.
Lunches are also exciting culinary events, with a broad selection of sandwiches from the exotic New Orleans favorite, “Muffuletta,” to the “Roycrofter” (roast turkey, apple smoked bacon, swiss cheese, and herbed mayonnaise on a soft roll) and the more conservative “Steak Burger.”
Using the Roycroft as your home base, it’s easy to do a fairly comprehensive heritage tour of the Southern Tier, visiting Chautauqua, Graycliff, and Ellicottville, Augat points out. And if you don’t want to travel too far, East Aurora offers a museum at the Roycroft itself and the Toy Museum and of course, Vidler’s. No one misses Vidler’s she says.
“It’s amazing the number of people who come for the weekend and have some special connection to the Inn,” she says. “I talk to at least twenty people a week who have a relative who worked here, or some artifact from the Inn itself.”
The nice thing about it, she says, is that all the stories are happy. Even the people who held weddings at the Inn when it was falling into disrepair prior to the completion of its restoration in 1995— who may have had their first dance as a married couple under a leaking roof— have fond memories of the place.
 |
|
Photographs provided by The Roycroft Inn.
|
There are also a number of special events such as the Hometown Harvest dinner in October, the Beaujolais Nouveau party (attend just the cocktail party or the wine tasting and dinner) in November, a musical dinner theater in April (last year the feature was produced by Mary Kate O’Connell), summer charcoal grill-outs on the Peristyle courtyard, and a speaker series and fashion shows during lunch.
“We also have very popular cooking classes in the winter in the Hubbard Room. Our chefs give demonstrations and we bring in guest chefs,” Augat says.
Donna Evans is a writer and public relations specialist based in Western New York.
GOURMET GETAWAYS
Wined-ing Down in the Finger Lakes
By Elizabeth Licata
One of the most welcome trends in the hospitality industry has been the creative transformation of old family mansions—buildings too large and financially impractical to maintain as private homes—into bed and breakfasts or full-service hotels. A great example here in Buffalo is the Mansion on Delaware, but you can find these remnants of nineteenth century opulence throughout Western and Central New York, particularly in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, where wealthy industrialists sought the same relaxation and respite that we seek today when we visit these peaceful, scenic spots.
 |
|
Photographs provided by Esperanza Mansion.
|
Sited on a bluff over Lake Keuka, the Esperanza Mansion was built in 1838 by John Nicholas Rose, a farmer from Virginia who became one of the area’s wealthiest citizens. He and his family lived on the estate until 1870. It remained in private ownership until 1922, when it became the Yates County Poorhouse until 1948. After short-lived incarnations as an art gallery, winery, and bed and breakfast, the mansion—listed as a National Landmark—deteriorated to the point where new owners Danny and Lisa Wegman had to initiate a complete renovation when they purchased it in 2002 (Manager Renée Bloom and her husband Sandy Bloom are also co-owners). After replacing all mechanical systems, installing a new roof, replastering, installing private bathrooms, and building a banquet facility and a twenty-two room Inn, Esperanza Mansion opened in September, 2003 as a full-service country inn, where guests can choose to stay in one of nine suites in the original Mansion as well as the twenty-two rooms in the new Inn.
It’s easy to see where the original Neo-classic structure ends and the additions begin. The owners have wisely maintained a simple, country-farmhouse look to the additions, so that the original masonry, stone, and brick Neo-classic Mansion is the most prominent feature of the complex. Of its many striking features, perhaps the most remarkable are the four entrance columns, which were built around huge tree trunks, encased in brick and then stuccoed.
Inside, the original floors and moldings remain, as well as some of the original fireplaces. The nine Mansion suites are beautifully appointed with reproduction furniture in various popular Victorian styles. The rooms are named after grape varieties, and, in some cases, individual rooms have been adopted by nearby wineries—so if you book a weekend in the Chardonnay suite, you will receive a complimentary bottle of wine from Heron Hill Winery. The downstairs public rooms are used mainly as dining areas, but they still have the look of nineteenth century parlors, with portraits, ornate fireplaces, and lush hangings. Artist Linda Lefko has painted some traditional murals throughout the Mansion, including a spectacular countryside scene in the new banquet facility. The twenty-two Inn guest rooms all have views of Lake Keuka and are outfitted by charmingly distressed white farmhouse-style furniture.
 |
|
Photographs provided by Esperanza Mansion.
|
Esperanza has a lot more going for it than just a nice building and a period feel, though. The key word here is location. If you are interested in exploring the Finger Lakes wine region, this is a perfect place to stay. Eight Keuka Lake wineries, including such mainstays as the world-renowned Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, are a stone’s throw away, while the even more viniferous Seneca Lake wine trail is a twenty minute drive away—although you’d need more than a weekend to get to all twenty-five wineries in the Seneca area. While we think of prime winery season as limited to the summer and fall, the Seneca and Keuka wineries are active all-year round. November and December events include Keuka Holidays, a Nouveau celebration at Chateau Lafayette Reneau, a venison and wine event at Arcadian, and a Seneca Santa party at Hazlitt. Later in the winter, there are Valentine’s Day-related events. In the spring, summer, and fall, everything escalates to the point where the wineries can barely accommodate the crowds of visitors coming through at peak times, i.e. September and October.
Whether you are visiting wineries or not, the dining room and verandahs of Esperanza are beautiful places to relax with a glass of wine accompanied by some of Chef Korey Goodman’s cuisine. When I visited, the fall dining menu featured such items as a foie gras mousse and smoked trout appetizer; a salad made of sliced grilled duck, mesclun greens, and sweet potato crisps; roasted pheasant in a balsamic maple and port wine glaze; and roasted garlic crusted pork tenderloin with a Stilton demi-glace.
During my visit, I spoke with Willy Frank, son of Dr. Konstantin Frank, and current proprietor, with his son Fred, of the Frank wineries. Dr. Konstantin Frank is credited as THE pioneer of fine wine-making in the Finger Lakes—the first to dare to break away from concords and catawbas and plant European (vinifera) grapes in the region. Today, the Dr. Frank wines are considered among the best in the region, while Dr. Konstantin Frank’s picture and bio can be found in Wine Spectator’s “Hall of Fame,” right after Georges Deboeuf.
 |
|
Photographs provided by Esperanza Mansion.
|
As we sipped a Dr. Frank Chardonnay (easy-drinking and elegant), Willy Frank spoke of the growth and increasing prominence of the Finger Lakes wineries. Reislings from the Finger Lakes have recently been highly touted by New York Times wine critics, while, in a fascinating development, it turns out that Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs have higher levels of resveratrol, the naturally-occurring chemical that lowers cholesterol levels, than Pinot from other regions. Apparently, the cool, rainy Finger Lakes growing season causes the grapes to produce more resveratrol—they need it to combat fungus.
I can’t guarantee that drinking Finger Lakes Pinots will completely alleviate the effects of eating foie gras or Beef Wellington at Esperanza, but it’s certainly a more pleasant way to lower cholestral than oat bran!
As well as a great destination for intimate getaways, Esperanza is also available for conferences, weddings, and all manner of other occasions.
Call 315-536-4400, or visit www.esperanzamansion.com. Find out more about Finger Lakes wineries by visiting www.newyorkwines.org, www.keukawinetrail.com, or www.senecalakewine.com.
Elizabeth Licata is editor of Buffalo Spree.
Back to the Table of Contents
Back to Top