i will wade out
till my thighs are steeped in burning flowers
i will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air…
—ee cummings

How to best take the sun in one’s mouth? A conundrum, perhaps to those who dwell outside the Catskill Mountains, to those souls (and mouths) unfamiliar with the region’s burgeoning agricultural splendor. The sun and the air, the water, the fecundity of the damp hemlock and pine forests—all of these ephemera are assuredly solidified in the plants and produce cultivated in these hills and mountains. The Catskill Rose restaurant in Mt. Tremper personifies thoughtful, inventive cuisine: bright, fresh and bursting with terroir, enfolding in its culinary milieu the essence of the Catskills.

The experience occurs in the instant of turning off Route 212 into the parking lot and seeking a space in between two curbed islands that sally forth into pea gravel—offering welcome and shade of two Gleditsia triancanthos var inermis: thornless honey locust trees. It is a subtle gesture, but one that successfully intimates the bonhomie that awaits. The Catskill Rose provides lodging as well as a full-service restaurant and bar, so in order to reach the dining patio and the indoor dining room, the visitor must meander down a path billowed on either side by gardens of ferns, roses, mallow, butterfly bush, clover, iris, goats beard and sweet woodruff. Proprietors and chefs Rose Marie Dorn and Peter DiSclafani have created a cozy yet exuberant oasis right roadside on Route 212. The colors are all powdery blues, wines, purples and rose pinks with steel gray velour chairs indoors in the dining room. The tables and chairs on the patio—my choice of venue that evening—are wood but coated in a pale powdery blue paint. Strings of light hang crisscross over the patio, bringing a bit of heavenly starlight down to human scale, and ebullient herbaceous borders enclose the space.

After staring, happily perplexed, at all of the intriguing menu choices, I ordered several different appetizers in order to sample as much as I possibly could without invoking gluttony. The menu states that “appetizers and salads can be doubled and dinners can be halved,” so omitting an entrée didn’t seem so out of the ordinary, and I was contemplating doubling the appetizer of Lamb Meatballs with Green Garlic Sauce and Chickpeas to a main meal anyhow. The soups that evening were Tomato and a Roast Onion and Garlic Soup. Expecting a tomato soup of common light consistency, I was pleasantly surprised by the thick, chunked bowl that resembled more of a stew than a soup and was fresh, “not cooked very long,” with some generous spice notes. The bread basket contained a warm baguette with a ramekin of sweet unsalted butter. (The bread was quite useful in sopping up the sauces for the ensuing dishes. Not one drop of sauce remained on any plate.) An amuse bouche consisted of a colorful, refreshing trio of brined red cabbage, carrots with mustard (so tangy and hot I mistook it for wasabi) and cucumbers with tarragon. The Seasonal Garden Salad was a refreshing mix of ubiquitous mesclun and frisée mixed with straightforward radish slices, tomato wedges and grated red pepper and fennel instead of carrots. The tomato was “freshly picked” for my salad and the tarragon mustard dressing was superb—flavorful, light and just the right amount.

The Grilled Seafood Sausage with Red Curry is the first appetizer listing and the one that immediately ensnared me—with excellent reason. The sausages, more resembling Quenelles, sat in a red curry sauce that wafted up sweet and warm the minute the plate was set on the table. Then the aroma of the sausages—distinctly separate—was fresh and pleasantly startling; their pure white color, unexpected. Grilled sausage has, in past experience, proffered nothing other than some variation on beige or brown tubes with conspicuous black grill marks. These sausages were amazingly pure white, with nary a grill mark; the crisp, firm casing revealing utterly smooth and creamy interiors with appropriate saltiness of the sea. It’s a delightful dish and one that will surely be doubled upon the next visit.

The Lamb Meatballs with Green Garlic Sauce and Chickpeas was milder than I had expected and absolutely comforting. The lamb meatballs—tender and moist inside with appropriate crispness on the outside—sat in a shredded pool of the green garlic whose texture recalled creamed spinach. The chickpeas were roasted on the outside and imparted a lovely sweet to the entire dish. Other appetizers include Sautéed Gnocchi with Shallots, Bleu Cheese and Fennel; Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper with Chermoula and Flat Bread, and Smoked Trout over Potato Vinaigrette.

The entrees consisted of Poached Salmon with Mustard Citrus Sauce; Roast Lemon Chicken with Pine Nuts and Olives; Smoked Duckling with Cherry Ginger Sauce; Grilled Lamb Chops with Tomato Saffron Sauce and Mint; Pan-fried New York Steak with Pancetta and Leeks; Shrimp with Caramelized Onions, Garlic and Basil; Smoked Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Mango, and a Vegetarian Medley. Soups and salads include Sautéed Wild Mushrooms on Greens with Goat Cheese, Grilled Endive with Crab Meat Ravigote over Greens and Wilted Spinach and Smoked Duck with Thai Dressing.

The desserts that evening were Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cake, Crème Brulée, Chocolate Hazelnut Pie and Espresso Semi-Freddo. Having recently found a tub of Nutella in my mother’s pantry which immediately sparked rediscovery of my love for creamy chocolate and hazelnuts combinations, I immediately ordered the Chocolate Hazelnut Pie which then arrived with gobs of real whipped cream, sliced (and peeled) pears and fresh blueberries—all garnished with fresh mint leaves. This dessert—a very mature and sophisticated version of Nutella extravagance—demanded full attention. Firm, moist, utterly dense and weighted with chocolate and hazelnut, the pie’s intensity didn’t allowed me to focus on anything other (surely not the book I’d brought along) than bite after slow, savoring bite…. If there weren’t such things as decorum and manners, I would’ve ordered a second slice to consume right then and there. But then again, I consider dessert one of the major joys (perks) of being alive and being a human blessed with a palate and penchant for chocolate and sweet rather than for forbs, fungi or raw entrails.

The Catskill Rose menu states that: “Our food is made from scratch, in-house, using the best ingredients. The meats and poultry are free range, the fish is wild and the produce is organic. We strive to use local produce when available. In order to bring to the table the best possible flavors, our menus change seasonally.” Peter and Rose Marie “opened the Catskill Rose in 1987, about a year after they married. Both trained and worked with master chefs and their experience is palatable in the dishes they create. They prepare, all the food served, from scratch, using the best ingredients. True food.”

The wine list is a compact little picture book—simple and visual—with the bottle labels blown up and inserted next to brief description: such as “lemony apple nose with some mineral notes. Palette rich and full with ripe fruit…” next to the Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuissé. Wines by the glass consist of four red, four white, one white zinfandel and one bubbly: a Freixenet Cordon Negro. Other champagnes on the list are Moët Brut Imperial, Chandon Brut Cuvée and Mumm Brut. The wines—red or white—are mostly from California peppered with a few French reds (Louis Jadot Beaujolais Jadot, Tour des Lautrets Bordeaux, Caves du Papes Côtes du Rhone), an Italian Bella Sera Chianti, an Australian Rosemont Shiraz and a single Spanish Porta del Sole Nero d’Avola. There are several dessert wines: Elysium California Black Muscat and an Essensia with an “aroma reminiscent of orange blossom and apricot, excellent accompaniment to desserts containing almonds, peaches, apples or apricots.”

The Catskill Rose serves dinner Thursday through Sunday starting at 5 pm. For more information or to make a reservation, please call 845 688 7100 or visit www.catskillrose.com.