The Falls Restaurant, formerly the Falls Tavern, once a
roadhouse, has made its way up the food chain, serving some of the area’s
heartiest breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, from a menu of comfort foods with a
local touch, and more daring daily specials. At the hands of the
brother-and-sister team of Carol and Fred Van Derzee, the décor is Americana,
the service warm and welcoming, especially with the addition of The Falls’ new
Adirondacks style dining room.
Early weekday mornings find neighborhood regulars --
farmers, businesspeople, and retirees -- kibitzing with one another from their
usual tables and helping themselves to freshly brewed coffee from the double
Bunn, while the Van Derzees, including Carol’s son Cole, or long-time chef
Mindy Cross, speed out orders of bacon, eggs, and home fries, omelets, or
stacks of platter-sized flapjacks for calorie-burning farmers, and homemade
pies and java for the rest of us.
Weekends are another story entirely, especially in the
summer, when “lake people” fill the place to its hand-hewn rafters, and when
the Van Derzees’ 84-year-old mom, Nancy, commands the toaster battery, turning
out raft after raft of just-right toast slabs carved from the restaurant’s own
whole wheat and white bread loaves. The restaurant also produces a grand
selection of flaky-crusted pies, among them custard, blackberry, strawberry
rhubarb, and, of course, apple -- and cakes.
The weekend’s blackboard breakfast menu turns to more daring
fare: poached eggs on smoked salmon
hash, an egg-white omelet stuffed with artichoke, roasted red pepper, and
provolone, a delicious version of huevos rancheros with a base of cornmeal
pancakes in place of tortillas. cream cheese-filled crepes with strawberries or
warm peaches, and a comfort-food favorite, farmhand-sized orders of sausage
gravy over biscuits.
The lunch and dinner menu offer both standard fare --
burgers, fries, sandwiches -- and the likes of smothered chicken (buried in
spinach, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper and mozzarella), or shrimp
Florentine, supplemented with Carol’s latest fresh-and-local creations, along
with the daily blue-plate special, actually served on blue plates: roast turkey
and gravy, chicken and biscuits, and, our favorite, the Falls’ spicy meatloaf
and mashed potatoes (Tuesdays); comfort food heaven!
On a recent Friday night one of us opted for the fried
fish platter -- a good-sized hunk of sweet and fresh beer-battered haddock with
baked potato and coleslaw; and the other downed a hefty hunk of prime rib
(queen-sized) with baked potato and a fresh green salad. Total cost with tax and tip: $34.00. Not bad for a Friday night’s dinner and
entertainment.
The new post and beam Adirondacks-style addition built by
Carol’s husband, Ken Davis, (you’ve seen his even more monumental work if
you’ve visited the tasting-room barn at Americana Vineyards), was built of
lumber harvested and hand-hewn from the family’s property adjoining the
restaurant. Its elegant new front door is adorned with deep-relief oak leaves
and acorns carved by T’burg sculptor Jay Seaman, who is also responsible for
the lively fish sculpture that graces the roof’s peak.
Beloved by T’Burgers for their community participation, the
Van Derzees sponsor a major annual fundraiser for the fight against pediatric
cancer, as well as providing food for many local charities and events, and The
Falls has, over the years, become a weekly meeting place for local groups,
including area clergy who meet there one night a week, and a group of women
friends who meet on another (their husbands occupy a separate table). The
addition’s fifty seats may alleviate the summer weekend breakfast crush. It
also provides larger tables for intergenerational family groups who gravitate
to the place for its something-for-everyone menu and friendly service.
The Falls is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays, and brunch only on Sundays, and the Van Derzees also cater
off-premises events.
Falls Restaurant
214 East Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886
607 387-9761
www.fallsrestaurantandtavern.com
