The Old Dark House

From the Food Vault Dept.: Thirty years ago I wrote the piece below, a far-too-cursory review of the food at Beardslee Castle. This is an honest-to-goodness castle in a remote stretch of the Mohawk Valley, but not terribly far from where I live. And my experience with the place went beyond merely dining there, for I also spent some years working with a murder-mystery event troupe, and Beardslee Castle was one of our performance venues. I’m impressed to note that Randall Brown still owns the place and still runs the kitchen – and that the place still hosts murder-mystery events, with upcoming shows December 4, 13, 18, and 26, 2026. (See the Castle’s events page.) Now let’s turn the clock back three decades.

                                                                                                  

DRIVE THIS STRETCH of Route 5 late on a stormy night and the building could scare the hell out of you. I mean, there it is, a castle, imposing stone battlements protecting the hillside just west of East Canada Creek. You’ve just entered Herkimer County, passing through farmland and the mix of white trash trailers and well-kept Amish houses that characterizes this part of the Mohawk Valley. Technically you’re in Little Falls, but when Beardslee Castle was built, in 1860, it was surrounded by the town of East Creek.

A remarkable history is attached. Augustus Beardslee was a member of the state legislature and a wealthy stockholder in the New York Central Railroad. When his castle was built, it included a covered walkway to the nearby railroad tracks, where the train would make a special stop for Beardslee. His son Guy owned the castle when it burned in 1919; it was rebuilt to a smaller plan, and stayed in the family until 1941, when it soon was turned into a restaurant.

And that’s how it was run, under a succession of owners, until another fire hit in 1989. Although not as drastic as the earlier blaze, it was enough to close the place, which lay abandoned for the next three years.

Two couples now own the place: Tim and Francine Baumeister, and Randall and Robyn Brown, who spent a year and half refurbishing the castle and installing a new kitchen before reopening in 1993. 

The ambiance couldn’t have been more pleasant when we stopped by for dinner on a recent Sunday. Within the castle are smaller rooms, nicely decorated. We sat near a west window and watched the sun go down as we dined, enjoying the early intimations of spring. 

Hard to judge the service on a slow day like this. Jennifer, who took care of us, was excellent – but she was the only one working the floor. It’s always difficult for management to predict how many servers will be needed, all the more reason for you to make a reservation before venturing out there. I suspect you’ll be well looked after.

Your hosts are the Browns, and it’s Randy, typically, who greets you, while chef Robyn prepares a new menu each day to showcase her innovative preparations of whatever’s fresh and in season.

She studied at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park (see last week’s column), and her menu reflects the new emphasis on American cookery. Wild mushroom and crab strudel was an appetizer the day we were there; among the entrées we didn’t choose were duck breast with an apple onion stuffing and blackberry glaze and peppercorn and cumin coated rack of lamb.

We started by ordering a bottle of New York-made champagne from Glenora ($25) and sipped it while sampling the wonderful hot rolls that came from the kitchen – among them tomato-basil muffins and pepper-laced rolls.

Tomato and basil also figured into the sauce that accompanied Susan’s smoked gouda cheese fritters. The cheese has an easygoing flavor that went well with the crunch of the coating, with no intrusion of the grease that sogs down something that’s badly fried.

I’m a big fan of cumin, the seed that (with cilantro) gives Mexican food its characteristic flavor. So it was an easy choice for me to start with salmon cakes with cumin remoulade dipping sauce. Nice combination! Like the cheese fritters, these were nicely fried, with a golden bread crumb coating. The remoulade had a subtle mix of flavors with cumin eased into the blend. My only complaint was with the garnish of lettuce – the leaves had spent too long in the cooler.

Salad leaves, on the other hand, were crisp and fresh, and the house salad – which comes with the entrée – was a very good mixture of greens. 

Hudson Valley goat cheese caught my eye as an ingredient in the sautéed chicken breast entrée, and I was delighted with a dinner that featured tender meat served with lemon-flavored pasta and fresh-cooked spinach. Goat cheese and pine nuts added sweet flavor and a variety of textures to the dish, which – instead of a too-rich sauce – was finished with a flavorful broth.

The star of the meal, though, was Susan’s entrée, a wild mushroom ragout. A big portabello mushroom was perched at the bottom, capping a serving of fresh-made whipped potatoes. Around was a stew of chopped mushrooms flavored with onion, and on top of that a big piece of puff pastry. This is vegetarian cooking at its finest.

Sensing an irresistible challenge with the dessert menu, we had the unfinished portions of our entrées wrapped. Sure enough, there was a red velvet cake that Susan couldn’t resist – I don’t remember if it was called red velvet cake, but that’s the name associated with the apocryphal Waldorf Astoria dessert, subject of an urban legend – and I finished with a lovely chocolate mousse cake.

Beardslee Castle will probably be a destination for you, but make the drive. It’s well worth it. Dinner for two, with tax and tip, dessert and the aforementioned wine, was $97. 

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Current info: Beardslee Castle, 123 Old State Road (Route 5 at East Creek), Little Falls, 315-823-2000, beardsleecastle.com. Serving dinner Fri-Sat 5-9, Sun 4-8. Also available for weddings and banquets. All major credit cards.

– Metroland Magazine, 4 April 1996