DINING OUT:
THE BREWSTER INN (6/04)

by Sue Brode

The Brewster Inn
Cazenovia, New York
(315) 655-9232

Imagine, in the moviola of your own mind, that you’re watching late night television . . . one of those marginal cable channels that broadcast films everyone has pretty much forgotten over the years. And, to your surprise, here’s one you caught ages ago and enjoyed more than you dared tell your friends, for fear they’d say you have no taste whatsoever – even though they probably loved it just as much as you did. Which of course makes the film a ‘guilty pleasure,’ one of those movies that go for your gut and grab hold of your heart, even though you know that, objectively speaking, the critics were completely correct when they dismissed it as sentimental and overdone.

The film we’re talking about here is IF EVER I SEE YOU AGAIN, directed and written by Joseph Brooks, up until then best known for another schmaltzy hit song/movie, YOU LIGHT UP MY LiFE. (Whatever did happen to Didi Conn, by the way?) In IF EVER I SEE YOU AGAIN, he went himself
one better by playing the male lead as well – a New York Yuppie, involved in the advertising business, who inadvertently bumps into a onetime college frat brother. This immediately sets him to thinking (then obsessing) about ‘the one that got away’ – the girl he loved and lost while at school. Ever since, no relationship has quite worked out, perhaps because on some level he’s always had her locked in his mind. And always measured every girl against her.

So what does he do now? Look her up again, and maybe be disappointed to find that she’s lost her once devastating great looks and concurrent charms, in which case his romantic daydream is forever destroyed? Or, worse still, discover that she’s as gorgeous and appealing as ever, in which case he’ll want to try for a second chance at happiness?

Not surprisingly, this being a (let’s be honest and use the factually if not politically correct term) chick flick, he goes the latter route. She turns out to be the offbeat beauty Shelley Hack, who also showed up at around the same time as the last of Charley’s small-screen angels. Hack replaced Kate Jackson as the one who wore glasses and, thus, was supposedly had some brains as well as a killer bod. The movie then followed their attempt torekindle the deep love that had been born while both were at college, which is vividly portrayed in flashbacks that offer a romantic vision of an Ivy-ish educational facility.

Brooks needed to find a delightful little campus for those brief scenes and, as central New Yorkers of the time recall, he chose Cazenovia College as a perfect place to shoot the exteriors.

But it didn’t end there. The script required that a sequence be shot in an absolutely gorgeous inn -- the kind that people everywhere in the world associate with their most idealized mental images of what a small college town inn ought to look like. And which, when viewed on screen, would live up to that legend. Old-fashioned yet up to date; warm but classy; extensive yet intimate.Very often, film makers have to rely on what they call ‘creative geography’ – that is, shooting sequences which in good time will be viewed back to back in the finished film, but shooting them on far-flung locations -- for the simple reason that, in a case such as this, it often turns out that you may find the perfect place to film the college exteriors but have to go to another part of thecountry entirely to find an inn that is charming enough to fit in with what ought to have been right there.

Not this time, though. For to Brooks’ happy surprise, there – right around the
corner from the college – was an inn that offered everything he could possibly
want, outside and (no pun intended) in. It was, of course, THE BREWSTER INN,
on the lake in Cazenovia. And, as we discovered on a recent week night visit
(the popular spot was booked solid throughout the weekend), it remains
precisely what Brooks wanted, needed, and found right here: the getaway inn
of everyone’s dreams.

Perhaps that explains why THE BREWSTER INN is listed in the current edition
of THE 2004 GUIDE TO DISTINGUISHED RESTAURANTS OF NORTH AMERICA
(Lebhar-Friedman Books), and thus an automatic winner of the coveted DiRona
award for excellence in gourmet food preparation. (In all of Central New York,
only one other restaurant merited inclusion in the upscale volume).

We’d visited the BREWSTER several times over the years, and always enjoyed it.
One particularly warm memory was of a fourth of July dinner, with two of our sons
along as well. The staff had wisely thought everything through in advance (in a
way that the guests, ourselves included, hadn’t bothered to do). So the waiting
staff timed the arrival of courses around the fireworks that the village would set
off at an appointed time. This allowed us, and everyone dining there that night,
to step outside onto the large patio just in time to enjoy what had to be the best
view of the fireworks anywhere around, right over the lake itself, without worrying
that our dinners might get cold.

We’d just finished one course when the announcement was quietly and politely
made that the show was about to start, and anyone who wanted to could slip
outside and enjoy it. Even as the display ended, and we stepped back and inside
and approached our table, a smiling waitress arrived with our next course, hot
from the kitchen.

We’d never forgotten the insight and planning that went into that. On the other
hand, we’d completely forgotten about IF EVER I SEE YOU AGAIN, and the scene
that was shot here, until Innkeeper Richard A. Hubbard mentioned it in casual
conversation when he stopped by our table to say hello. (The youngest of our
sons,now college age himself and just a little kid on that long ago fourth of July,
was withus -- and recalled the fireworks display vividly, as well as the exceptional
meal he’d had that night.) As IF EVER I SEE YOU AGAIN dramatized, things change
but not everything changes. And if Shelley Hack turned out to be as beautiful as
Joe Brooks remembered her from college, then THE BREWSTER INN proved as
delightful a dining choice as it had been when we visited and fell in love with the
place several years ago.

THE BREWSTER INN, as its brochure proudly announces, offers gourmet dining in
three rooms (each unique in its appeal), illuminated by candlelight and adorned with
the silver and crystal of the finest quality. The wine list is award winning as well as
extensive, enough to satisfy the most sophisticated tastes in this beverage, which we
don’t for one moment claim to be. Recently added to the possibilities for an afternoon
or evening here is the “Terrace Bar,” featuring a panoramic view of Cazenovia Lake.
In this subdivision of the BREWSTER, guests can enjoy “casually elegant dining in a
room richly appointed with handmade cherry wine racks and furniture,” and which
opens onto a large terrace for al fresco dining.

Appetizers run between $6.50 (French Onion Gratine, smothered with jarlsburg cheese
and broiled golden brown) and $8.95 (for the Jonah Crab Cake, garnished with a
medley of fire roasted pepper purees; the Tuna Ceviche, tossed with sweet herbs,
garlic and tomatoes, with fresh lemon juice and olive oil; Beef Carpaccio, quick
seared beef tenderloin with shaved pecorino cheese, kalamata olives, crème fraiche,
and lava bread; and Ocean Garden Shrimp Cocktail, served with house sauce).
Other items, ranging for various prices in-between those extremes, include Thai
Calamari, with diced golden pineapple and toasted peanuts; escargot, broiled with
garlic butter and served with roasted peppers and capers; and fresh tomatoes and
buffalo mozzarella, layered with basil and aged balsamic. We tried various appetizers
and found them all scrumptious, each a unique variation by the Brewster’s culinary
experts on some dish we’d had before but never found to be offered in quite the
appealing way that they are here.

Also on the night we visited, lobster bisque was available as a choice for soup. This
is one item that no one in our family can ever resist, at least when done right. At
the BREWSTER INN, it’s done right. Creamy and colored that perfect winning
combination of hot pink and soft orange, the taste was sweet but not too sweet,
rich and lobstery but not so filling that it took the edge of our appetite for the main
course.

For the main course, I tried the Brewster Inn Veal Atlantis ($25.95), which features
lightly sautéed veal, topped with lobster and served on a bed of tender greens and
then finished with a tarragon beurre blanc. A handsome presentation augmented the
elegant taste; the veal was clearly of the highest quality, melt in your mouth tender,
while the lobster tasted fresh and succulent. My husband opted for the Grilled Chilean
Sea Bass ($25.95), marinated in ponzu sauce and topped with a tomatillo mojo and
chimichurri, baby spinach, and island rice. He’s always loved and often ordered sea
bass, long before it recently became trendy to do so, and felt that this particular
serving was as fresh, tender, and tasty as any he’d had.

In fact, when the item arrived, Doug was convinced that he would have to take at least
half of it home and enjoy it the following day for lunch or dinner, as he’d had both an
appetizer and soup and was looking forward to desert. But the lovely presentation and
delightful taste proved to be so appealing that he finished almost all of it. No matter how
much he wanted to ‘retreat’ a bit and wait for the next course, Doug’s hand instinctively
reached for the fork and he continued to eat.
Our son had the Truffle Encrusted Big Eye Tuna ($25.95), glazed with balsamic teriyaki
and shicimi aioli, served over fresh pasta and spinach. Like all the other seafood items
that we tried, this was as fresh as could be. Richard Hubbard, when asked, did tell us
about his unique arrangements to insure that the freshest seafood is shipped in several
times a week. This of course adds to the expense of keeping the inn in business, yet it
provides the consistent quality visitors to the BREWSTER have come to expect . . .
and receive.

Other house specialties and varied entrees include Broiled Atlantic Salmon, Horseradish
Encrusted Scrod, Shrimp Scampi, Maryland Soft Shell Crabs, New Zealand Rack of
Zeal, Tournedos of Beef, Chicken Francaise, and Filet Mignon. Each item is priced
between $19.95 and $26.95.

We were glad that we saved room for the desserts. Several chocolate items were
certainly winning, while my husband enjoyed a huge soufflé that was every bit as
light and airy as one could hope for.

And while we finished our dinners off with tea, it’s worth noting that the well-regarded
CONDE NAST TRAVELER stated outright that THE BREWSTER INN features the “best
cup of coffee in the world.”

Not CNY. Not New York State. Not the U.S. The world!

Before leaving, we were privileged to visit the wine cellar, kept at a perfect
temperature year round and featuring a remarkable assortment of fine yet
affordable wines from around the world. And the outdoor garden, kept meticulously
well groomed. We also had a chance to visit one of the upstairs rooms. For while
THE BREWSTER INN is well known to CNY residents for its fine food, one of the best
kept secrets of the area is that the overnight rooms as absolutely charming, furnished
with everything from authentic antiques to state of the art spas -- quite perfect, mind
you, for a weekend getaway that’s only a stone’s throw from home but would allow
one to feel a million miles away from Syracuse.

THE BREWSTER INN is situated directly on the southern shore of Cazenovia Lake on
U.S. Route 20. For information and/or reservations, call 315 655 9232. Please mention
that you read about THE BREWSTER INN in the “Dining Out” column of
TABLE HOPPING magazine.