|
|
|
|
Dear Friends,
As we emerge from the springtime wedding and graduation
season, we want to thank everyone who chose to celebrate these momentous
occasions with us. It is a wonderful honor and pleasure to be the choice of so
many for such special milestones and we truly appreciate you including us as a
part of these memorable times of your life. Congratulations and best wishes to
all.
After 27 years of operation, we have learned that the one
consistent element of the restaurant business is change. New menus, new
customers, new employees, new wines (of course!) - its one of the things that
keeps this business so interesting and exciting. As the season changes from
spring to summer, we are very pleased to announce several important changes of
our own and some new upcoming special events that you will want to mark on your
calendar.
For those of you who have been on our emailing list for awhile, it may have occurred to you that it's been several months since
our last communication, and it has been an eventful time both professionally and personally. These past few months have been a time of reflection and reassessment
for Amy and I. As happens with so many lives we have encountered over the
years, ours was interrupted by a sudden and difficult health setback, and we would
like to take this moment to thank everyone for the overwhelming outpouring of
support and well-wishes throughout this trying moment.
And so now we are energized and reinvigorated, ready for
a new and wonderful season at The Kittle House.
First, and most importantly, I am pleased to announce the
return to The Kittle House of my very close friend and business associate Glenn
Vogt, who, many may remember, as General Manager and Wine Director here from
1990 through 1996, played a major role in establishing our reputation as one of
the finest dining establishments in the area. He left in 1996 to open several restaurants in NYC and his career path led him to Windows on the World, where in 1998 he became the General Manager of that famous landmark restaurant operation. After the tragedy of 9/11 and the destruction of the World Trade Center, Glenn stepped away from the restaurant business for a few years to run a small wine importing and distribution company. Missing the hospitality business, he decided to return to it in 2007 and since then he has been involved in a number of interesting and diverse restaurant projects in both NYC and Westchester. Glenn has agreed to come on board
as my partner, which will allow me the opportunity to take a little time
off here and there. As one of the foremost authorities on food, wine, service and the hospitality industry, and, with his keen eye for detail and his
well tuned sensibilities to the Kittle House spirit of hospitality and service, Glenn will supply a much appreciated breath of fresh air. I am very happy to welcome him back to The Kittle House.
Also, I am proud to announce that Executive Chef Kevin Bertrand has taken over the sole helm of the kitchen, and in his very capable hands, our
seasonally inspired cuisine is poised to rise to a new level of
sophistication and taste. As you may recall, when Kevin graduated from the CIA in Hyde Park (many years ago!), he worked at The Kittle House as a line cook and sous chef before leaving to become the Chef De Cuisine at Xaviar's in Piermont, a position he held for 10 years! We welcomed Kevin back as a co Executive Chef last year and now he is assuming full control of the kitchen operations.
After 27 years, there is change in the air and it's all good, as the evolution continues.
We hope to see you here very soon,
John and Amy Crabtree
|
Dinner and Fireworks on the 4th of July
On Friday July 4th, we invite you to join us for dinner and then outside to the gardens to watch the beautiful fireworks display courtesy of our friends and good neighbors, the Mount Kisco Country Club. We open for dinner on the 4th at 5:30, the fireworks start at 9:15. Reservations are suggested. (914) 666-8044
|
'A Shot and a Beer'
A Very Best of The Hudson Valley Tasting Dinner
Friday July 11, 2008
We have invited Tuthilltown Spirits, located in Gardiner NY in Ulster County, artisan distillers of some of the finest small batch spirits in the world, to join us for an evening that will celebrate the best in local food and drink. If you haven't tried their Hudson River Rum, Four Grain Bourbon or the amazing Manhattan Rye you are in for a treat. There is also delicious Vodka and of course - good ol' Corn Whiskey. They are all made in small lots from locally grown Hudson Valley ingredients. The production is small and the availability is limited and they are constantly 'sold out' at the distillery. In fact, there is a waiting list to purchase their products. Chase it with a micro brew from our neighbor Captain Lawrence and you've got the best shot - (maybe sip would be more appropriate) - and a beer you can imagine. Chef Kevin Bertrand will cook a five course menu featuring the best local Hudson Valley farm products available. This will be a lot of fun and an extremely entertaining night of eating and drinking The Very Best of The Hudson Valley.
$125 per person. Seating is limited.
  |
'From Our Cellar and Our Kitchen'
A Wine Tasting, Cooking Demonstration and Dinner Series
Thursday Nights 7PM - 9PM
July 10, July 17, July 24, July 31.
The weekend starts on Thursday nights in July. Join Glenn Vogt as he leads a informative and fun tasting and discussion with four wines that he will pull from the cellar - and Executive Chef Kevin Bertrand as he shows the cooking technique for the food theme of the evening. Then sit back and enjoy the wines and the food. This will be a 4 course dinner that starts at 7PM.
The cost is $85 per person. Seating is limited.
July 10 - Fresh Seafood on the Grill - Refreshing Whites & Reds
July 17 - The New 'Surf & Turf' - Whites for the Surf, Reds for the Turf
July 24 - Interesting Burgers - Interesting Wines
July 31 - Fancy BBQ - Fancy BBQ Wines
|
 In the cellar, bottles are lined up just waiting to be poured by the glass.
Having Fun with
Wines By The Glass
Over the past 27 years of wine collecting, we have amassed an inventory of nearly 80,000 bottles in our cellar and a wine list with over 7000 selections. As many of you know, we also will, on occasion, try to sell some wine (and we greatly appreciate all of you who have participated in helping us reduce our inventory!) and have always had a very progressive by the glass program to compliment our wine list. We have found literally hundreds of wines in the cellar with inventories of only 1 or 2 bottles remaining and we have decided to 'clean out the cellar' by offering these wines by the glass. Many have been aging gracefully in the cold and dark for years. Because we keep the temperature at a minimum 50 degrees, with it often dipping below that during the cold winter months, the evolution and maturation process of the wines that rest there is very slow. We have been quite pleased and sometimes even surprised by the perfect condition of many of the older wines that we have recently pulled out to pour by the glass, expecting them to taste and smell more advanced and mature than they do and in fact, often finding them amazingly youthful and full of life. A couple of examples - we recently poured a California cabernet sauvignon from Robert Pepi, the Vine Hill Ranch Cuvee from 1981. For a 27 year old wine it still had fine red currant fruit on the nose and palate and soft but still present acidity and tannin. It was an epiphany for those drank it, particularly for those who drink a lot of young cabernet. What may have once been a rich and tannic glass of wine was now a mellow, elegant one that went perfectly with the Tea Smoked Loin of Lamb. Another was the Coppo Pomorosso Cuvee of Barbera D'Asti from 1987. This was a big wine in its youth - dark, tannic and in need of a steak. Now, it was the perfect accompaniment to the Rare Breast of Duck with Mushrooms and Caramelized Cippolini, showing off the earthy, savory ingredients and marrying nicely with the subtle gaminess of the duck. I am not sure if winemakers Pepi or Coppo intended for their wines to reach the ripe old ages that they achieved in our cellar but I think they would approve if they could have tasted them here and now. The next time you join us for dinner be sure to ask us what we are pouring by the glass. You, too, might be pleasantly surprised by what you will be drinking. GV
|
Guitar God In The House!
It was a real treat for us (older) rock and rollers to have legendary Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule guitar player extraordinaire Warren Haynes at The Kittle House for dinner. We are big fans of both bands and his amazing guitar work and were truly honored to have the opportunity to say hello and cook for him and we look forward to having him back again soon.
|
Giacomo Neri visits The Kittle House
We had a surprise lunch visit from Giacomo Neri, owner of the famous Brunello di Montalcino estate Casanova Di Neri. We tasted through all of the winery's current releases including the amazing 2003 Ceretalto and Tenuta Nuova bottlings. You may recall, the 2001 Tenuta Nuova was The Wine Spectator's #1 Wine Of The Year in their Top 100 Wines of 2006. Both of these wines, as do all of the wines from Casanova Di Neri, represent impeccable winemaking, from the finest selection of special vineyard sites, the careful harvesting of the best Sangiovese grapes and the patient aging in barrel and bottle, these are very special wines that should not be missed by anyone who loves great Brunello Di Montalcino. It is clear that Casnova Di Neri is a benchmark producer for the region. After lunch, it was an honor to show him through the Kittle House wine cellar. We spent quite sometime looking at bottles and talking about the many regions from around the world that are represented. He was particularly interested in the red Burgundys, a passion of ours as well. I saw Giacomo later that evening at a wine event in NYC and he came over to me and in perfect broken english and in a way only a passionate Italian winemaker can do, said that the tour through our wine cellar was...(pause, and with his hand over his heart) "emotional". High praise. Thank you, Giacomo.
Casanova Di Neri
2006 Wine Spectator Top 100
|
High Praise From Alan Richman
For those of you that did not see the kind words written by Alan Richman about the wine list at Crabtree's Kittle House, I am attaching the link below to his GQ magazine blog called Forked. What high praise coming from someone who has spent a lifetime eating and drinking at all of the great restaurants around the world, getting to know all of the great chefs and sommeliers, famously scouring their wine lists for great deals whether at $30 or $300. There is no one more knowledgable about the subject than Alan and needless to say, we are truly honored by his kind recognition. Thanks, Alan.
My Kind Of Wine List - Alan Richman
|
|
|
Coming in August -
Crabbie's Famous Kittle House Clam & Lobster Bake
and
The 8th Annual Spit Roast and Barbeque.
Look for details coming next month in the August newsletter.
Have a very happy 4th of July. We hope to see you soon.
|
|
|
|
