Finger Lakes fans of Daño Hutnik and Karen Gilman have been eagerly
following this duo since they first decamped in Ithaca from the Big Apple in
1990 to open their restaurant, Daño’s on Cayuga. Fast forward to 2013: the pair have earned
well deserved success in their next venture, an imposing wine trail facility on
the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, Daño’s Heuriger on Seneca, where Daño holds
forth in the kitchen, and Karen sees to the front of the house and serves as
pastry chef. An accomplished artist, her
large canvasses adorn the walls of the restaurant.
What, you might ask, is a heuriger? According to Wikipedia, that bastion of
not-necessarily-well-vetted information, in 1784 Emperor Joseph II issued a
decree permitting Austrians to open establishments to sell and serve
self-produced wine and food. Heurigers (pronounced “HOY-riggers) served fresh
wine, still a little cloudy and not quite ready for bottling, and all kinds of
picnic-y dishes: breads, liptauer and other spreads, and roasted meats. They
were meant to be seasonal, but fortunately for Finger Lakes residents and
visitors, Daño’s is one of the few eateries on Seneca Lake to feed us during
the winter months.
The James Beard Foundation has acknowledged their culinary
prowess, inviting Daño to create dinners at New York City’s James Beard House,
and Daño has generously introduced other talented Finger Lakes chefs to the
James Beard House.
As do many Finger Lakes region chefs, Daño relies on local
farmers and producers to supply an ever-changing panoply of vegetables, fruits,
and meats. What sets this place apart is Daño’s energetic quest to produce,
himself, every prepared food the restaurant needs. Daño makes and smokes his own sausages, makes
his own preserves (go for the quince!), and has begun to produce cheeses from
the milk of local herds.
In warmer weather, a Monet-like kitchen garden of fresh
herbs flavors the dishes and contributes flowers to the salads; in late fall
and winter, pots of bamboo decorate the massive stone patio providing a screen
through which to peer over dormant vineyards to the lake. Indoors, clay-potted live succulents on each
table remind us that spring will come again.
The restaurant is also known for its special events, dinners
produced in concert with other chefs, an evening of gypsy entertainment and Romany-style
food, Turkish cuisine and Middle Eastern entertainment – whatever the season
calls for.
Dano’s is one of the few wine trail restaurants that remains
open during the winter months, and the restaurant’s focus on Viennese food is
perfect for the cold winter days ahead – schnitzel, roasted meats, best-ever
sweet-and-sour red cabbage (the secret ingredient is duck fat), and goulash are
substantial, soul-warming foods.
On a recent visit, we started our meal with mugs of seasonal
“sturm,” or Federweisser, a white wine still in its perky fermentation stage, a
little sweet, a little bubbly, a little cloudy.
This was served with a slice of zwiebelkuchen, a German-style onion
cake, a yeasted dough topped with caramelized onions and cracklings, and
baked. It resembles a bialy on steroids,
and the combination was delicious. We managed to nurse our sturms through
dinner, though we have in past enjoyed selections from their wine list, which
focuses on some excellent local wines, but also includes some Austrian
selections; we often go with a Gruner Veltliner (a.k.a. Gru-Ve), which pairs
well with most of what’s on the menu.
Nearly everything on the extensive menu is a la carte, which
sometimes makes it difficult to choose.
Playing it safe, we ordered the goulash, deeply flavored and intensely colored,
which came with a side of spaetzle, good for getting up every last bit of the
sauce; a side of roasted Brussels sprouts was crunchy and a good counterpoint
to the spicy goulash. We also ordered the bento box, a sort of guided menu tour,
that included a basket of Wide Awake Bakery breads, creamy liptauer spread, a
selection of salads (cucumber, German potato, cole slaw), one of Dano’s
housemade sausages, a roasted pork shank, sweet and sour red cabbage, and
spaetzle – a lot of food. A lot of
really satisfying, well prepared, beautifully and simply presented food. And while we were quite full, for the purpose
of this article we felt obliged to sample a couple of Karen Gilman’s buttery desserts. A Sachertort, a dark, dense chocolate cake
slathered with apricot preserves, was enrobed in a dark chocolate glaze –
chocolate heaven. The marzipan kugel was
dense and almond-y, pleasingly paired with a dollop of schlag. Replete, we rolled out into the chilly
evening, warmed from within, and very happy.
Daño’s, located at 9564 Route 414 just south of Lodi and 13
miles north of Watkins Glen, is open throughout the winter Friday and Saturday
for lunch and dinner, Sunday for dinner as well as a spectacular brunch. It’s a
good idea to make reservations at 607.582.7555.
For a look at their menu, go to www.danosonseneca.com.
