“Psst.”
“A speakeasy just opened up at the Duke place. It”™s down in the cellar. The password is ”¦”
Well, that”™s how the word could have been spread if this was during Prohibition.
Today, tucked away in the rolling hills of Tarrytown, restaurant and bar Cellar 49 is below the Biddle Mansion of the Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center. The compound that speaks of community, relaxation and history, was originally the cellar of Mary Duke Biddle the owner of the mansion in 1922. A lover of sports, the cellar was home to Biddle”™s bowling alley. Today, it”™s a place for business executives, wedding parties or any other guests wanting an alternative dining experience with some historical flavor.
“We wanted to restore the cellar to what we believe Mary Duke would have liked or what it would have been in her day,” said Joe Santore, general manager of the estate. “We desperately needed a restaurant for our guests, our conference guests that maybe wanted to break away from a meeting, to our wedding guests that might want to gather before or after the event, or even our weekend guests that might want a table for two. For many, many years Tarrytown House was only able to offer group dining upstairs. It”™s an alternative to all of the guests that come here.”
The nearly $1 million in renovations on the cellar began around Thanksgiving 2006. The stripping of the wood panels and 30 coats of paint was an arduous task that took about two months to finish. The result was a rustic, somewhat weathered and worn tavern, with brick archways and granite pillars, which were found and restored after the sheetrock was removed.
Adorned with old photos of the Tarrytown and Irvington communities from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, the Tarrytown Historical Society donated pictures to the restaurant that were then enlarged and framed. Preserving the history of the mansion is one of the top priorities of the estate and Santore said the historical touch not only reflects the era they wanted the restaurant to represent, but is a “big hit” with the customers.
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Another aspect that was preserved was Biddle”™s love of games. In a back portion of the restaurant guests can entertain themselves with a rousing game of foosball or pool.
In addition to its laid back atmosphere, Cellar 49 has something else to brag about: its chef.
Brian Wieler, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry, has an impressive resume including holding the executive chef position at the W Hotel”™s Icon Restaurant and at the Ardsley Country Club. This April, he was named the executive chef at the estate and is the mastermind behind the unique menu items.
“Cellar 49 was a concept that was (developed) here at Tarrytown House to gather people together to share ideas, share food,” Wieler said. “A lot of the items on the menu are (meant for) sharing.”
“The tavern concept is very indicative of what the mansion is: it”™s high quality, low formality cooking,” Santore said. “It”™s nice prime aged steak. Good grilled fish items. Kobe burgers, angus burgers, steak sandwiches. A lot of sample platter, munchy desserts.”
One such item that is great for sharing and one of the chef”™s favorites is the manchego and chorizo dip, which comes in an edible bread bowl with crispy tortillas. Another unique item served is cheesecake lollipops.
“Essentially keeping with the theme of what the estate is, hence the nation”™s first conference center and what our customers are doing here, is team building, executive leadership development where they want an exchange of ideas,” said Steve Sackman, regional director of marketing and sales. “The menu items, there are so many of them that are intended to share, you”™re not just having a formal dinner, there”™s more interaction. The whole idea is that it”™s really an extension of the estate”™s learning, sharing experience. Groups come here to learn communicate, synergize; this supports that.”
Cellar 49”™s menu is also from the area.
“A lot fruits and vegetables come from local farmers, it”™s kind of ironic and you see so many apples from Washington state when the Hudson Valley is loaded with apples,” Wieler said. “We have apple trees on the estate (and) we have an herb garden.”
Guests will soon be able to enjoy an heirloom tomato garden that Sackman said they will be planting in the center between all the guest rooms.
While you don”™t need reservations to dine at Cellar 49, you do need to be a guest at the estate. But Santore said they eventually hope to be open to the public.
For more information on Cellar 49 and the Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center, log on to: www.tarrytownhouseestate.com.
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