He really did! And so did Philip Schuyler, Benedict Arnold, Alexander Hamilton, Horace Greeley, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others. More recent guests with recognizable names are Bill and Hillary Clinton. They stopped in for lunch.
'Here' is the Beekman Arms, the oldest continuously operating Inn in the United States located in Rhinebeck, New York. With three weeks left to my car lease and 3,000 miles to use up, my husband and I took a road trip downstate on a lovely but hot Saturday afternoon. We got a pretty late start but managed to fit in some neat locations, including Lyndhurst Castle and a picturesque drive up historic Route 9. Parts of Route 9 share the same route the Old Albany Post Road, a mail delivery road that connected New York City and Albany and followed the Hudson River.
My husband suggested dinner at the Beekman Arms, and when I took a look at the menu I was completely on board. They serve French Onion Soup!
The Inn sits on the main street, surrounded by historic buildings, restaurants, and homes. We walked around a bit before and after dinner. Rhinebeck is not far from Hyde Park, home of the best school for the culinary arts in the world, the Culinary Institute of America, otherwise known as the CIA. Yes, it shares those initials with another CIA, but in these parts most of us equate 'CIA' with pies not spies, among other culinary delights. (The culinarily-talented part of the family attended CIA.)
William Traphagen opened Traphagen Inn in the early 1700s, in an area then known as Ryn Beck. In 1766 the inn and tavern was relocated by Arent Traphagen, son of William, to the town's crossroads, then the King's Highway and the Sepasco Trail. The King's Highway is today's Route 9. The Sepasco Trail is now Route 308, an old Indian trail that connected the Hudson River to Lake Sepacso. During the American Revolution the Arms was called Bogardus Tavern. In 1802 Asa Potter bought it and renamed it Potter's Tavern. At some point it became the Beekman Arms, although I have not been able to ascertain when. (For more on the history of the Inn see here.)
Today the crossroads lines the Rhinebeck Village Historic District, a 2.6 square mile area that contains 272 historical structures and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Beekman Arms is charming both inside and out.
We were greeted by a charming gentleman (Okay, I know I already used that descriptor but he really was charming!) who took us around and offered us a choice of seats. We found out later that his son had been our waiter, and he is currently a student at the CIA. We chose to sit in the bar area, which I believe is the oldest part of the building where the original tavern was located.
I started the meal with the French Onion Soup, which was delicious. The soup was topped with Swiss and mozzarella, a perfect amount that enabled me to enjoy without having to chop up hefty chucks of cheese. If you are an FOS lover you know what I mean. It starts all warm and easy to eat but as the cheese cools it gets a bit more challenging. I love cheese just as much as the next gal, but too much of a good thing is, well, too much of a good thing. Hubby had the Wedge, a nicely plated chunk of iceberg lettuce with bacon and gorgonzola bleu cheese dressing. His only nit were the grape tomatoes that accompanied the salad. He does not like raw tomatoes of any kind, so that was no reflection on the salad. (I am not a big fan of raw tomatoes either, but I will eat them on a BLT! Otherwise what's the point of eating a BLT?)
For dinner I ordered the House Potato Gnocchi minus the chicken. It was served with blistered tomatoes and a basil pesto cream sauce. It was so tasty that hubby would not let me finish it because he wanted leftovers the next day. The blistered tomatoes were a pleasant surprise. They were the same grape tomatoes that adorned hubby's salad, but they were cooked. Cooked whole, and appearance-wise they looked as if they were still raw. So when I bit into one it burst and surprised me. Very nice. The basil pesto cream sauce was full of flavor and not too heavy.
Hubby had the Tavern Burger, complete with bacon, pepper jack cheese and horseradish sauce. He shared some of the house-cut fries that came with it. It was under protest but I reminded him that I was saving leftovers for him and that made him a bit more generous.
We also ordered two sides. We had to. First of all, we're both big fans of risotto, and when we saw parmesan reggiano risotto as a side we were forced to order it. My arms still hurt from the twisting. I say 'arms' because the other side we were forced to get was house-smoked bacon mac and cheese. I must say that
Preston Faust came to the Hudson Valley to attend the CIA and got a job working for Larry Forgione at the Beekman Arms 1766 Restaurant while still in school. In 2001, the restaurant was renovated and renamed Traphagen Restaurant—Forgione's no longer involved, but Faust remained the chef. The idea was to honor Willem Traphagen, who founded the town of Rhinebeck and the tavern that became the Beekman Arms in 1766. Despite being the oldest continuously run hotel in the country, its food is contemporary and delicious. Last year, citysearch.com noted that Faust "continues Forgione's tradition of matching contemporary comfort food with rich local ingredients."
Next time I'll share pictures of the inside, complete with orbs! Until then, enjoy anther picture of the gardens in front of the Arms.
And Happy Birthday to my history-loving Mom. I miss you.
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