Hospitality au poivre

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

	TRR photo by Charlie Buterbaugh Matthew Lanes, left, and Dominique Jenkins spent a few relaxed minutes in the dining room of Matthew’s on Main, the restaurant they opened in June 2003. (Click for larger image)

CALLICOON, NY — The spirits of hospitality and gusto have found another place to rendezvous in the river valley.

After a sprightly summer on Callicoon’s Lower Main Street, the owners of Matthew’s on Main are poised for winter inside their cozy red restaurant and bar, where guests can dine six days and nights of the week even as the snow flies over Callicoon Creek Park, visible through an expanse of windows in the renovated dining room.

General Manager Dominique Jenkins and Chef Matthew Lanes bought a house in Sullivan County in 1994. They took three years to find the best location for their restaurant, which Lanes said presented itself “by accident,” and opened in June 2003.

“This is exactly where we want to be,” he said.

In addition to the dining room, Jenkins and Lanes redesigned the entrance at 19 Lower Main Street, built a new deck on the back of the building, doubled the size of the kitchen and renovated the second floor to accommodate private parties.

But just inside the Lower Main street entrance, the bar room appears untouched by reconditioning. The tin walls and ceiling, crafted by the building’s original occupant, the business Percivals’ Tinning, and the original cherry floors give the room a relaxed mood. “In the bar room, we wanted to give people the sense that everything has always been here,” Jenkins said.

Achieving a sense of familiarity in the restaurant was perhaps Jenkins’ primary objective. She strives to make everyone feel welcome, no arduous task for the Cornell University Business School graduate. Charm could be her middle name.

The second floor, available for private party and reception reservation, contrasts with the bar room below. Soft yellow wainscoting over a hardwood stairway leads to an intimate room with a formal, but not pretentious feel.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Chef Lanes makes all of the food, including soups, sauces and sorbets. His menu changes each week according to his freshest acquisitions. Featured menu selections this weekend will include smoked roasted duck, braised lamb shank, prime rib, sesame crusted salmon, grilled tuna au poivre and vegetarian stuffed squash. Homemade vanilla, chocolate and coffee ice cream and raspberry black forest cake will also be available.

“While we serve the highest quality of food, we want to please everybody in the community with reasonable prices. Our restaurant is not about exclusivity,” Jenkins said.

During Lanes’ art studies at Cornell, he worked in numerous restaurants in Ithaca, NY, a city known for its culinary verve. Afterwards, he spent a year in France, mostly on a small farm in Mouzieys-Panens, a village in the southwest of France smaller than Callicoon. He worked in local restaurants and learned the nuances of pates and fresh meat preparation.

Early this fall, Matthew’s on Main hosted a series of jazz performances in the dining room, and on Saturday, November 22 at 9:30 p.m., Little Sammy Davis, Jr. will bring his blues act to the restaurant.

Listeners can enjoy a selection of wines and draught beers, such as Brooklyn and Yuengling lagers and Spaten Munich. Bottled imports including Franziskaner heffe weizen are also available.

For more information call 845/887-5636.