Best Restaurant in New York State

"Grilled Polenta and Portebello? I have't tried that before."

"Then you should try it."

There are excellent seafood restaurants on City Island. The finest Italian eateries in all of New York City can be found on Arthur Avenue. Queens is the new Mecca of international food. Manhattan boasts hundreds of world-famous restaurants of all kinds.

These restaurants have all deserved their reputation. They also have one other thing in common: None of them can lie claim to the being the Best Restaurant in New York State.

Far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, far away from the nearest train stop, airport, helipad or even a major highway, sits the Palmer House in Rennselerville, New York. After having the privilege of patronizing this fine establishment for four years now, Nicole and I can confidently say that the Palmer House is the mighty Crown atop the Empire State.



Why do I rate the Palmer House so highly? There are no throngs of crowds, it is not a hipster heaven, nor a place to spot a celebrity. We call these exhibits A, B, and C, respectively. But the Palmer is much more than just the negation of hype.

No other New York restaurant goes through the incredible lengths to provide the best total dining experience as the Palmer. The dining room offers a full view of the kitchen. No secrets here: no pre-made frozen entrees trucked in from Florida. No suspicious additives or preservatives in the food. Only the best ingredients, made in-house, cooked to perfection, served just for you.

The menu changes seasonally, with summer and fall offering the freshest specials. The Palmer has a blackboard near the bar listing all the specials, along with the name of the nearby farm where the ingredients were harvested. Those and Chicken and Biscuits? Ask the waiter, and he'll tell you where that bird came from. Seriously, who else does that?

Maintaining this level of optimum freshness and quality requires one sacrifice: The Palmer is only open four days a week in order to provide its exceptional menu and cooking methods. This commitment to quality of convenience is nothing short of admirable, and another reason why the Palmer is number 1.

Another fringe benefit: This place is so far off the grid, it's not uncommon to find out you don't have cell phone service. That's great. No texting at the table, please!

So there you have it. In my humble estimation, the Palmer House in Rennselaerville is the best--absolute best--restaurant in all of New York State. Don't believe me? That's okay. I welcome anybody to take me out and try and prove me wrong.

But in the meantime, I'll keep saying it to anyone who asks me: Palmer House, best restaurant, hands down.

Recent trip to Rennselaerville

How can you describe the physicality of natural perfection? Finding the right words can be overwhelming, even when you encounter something so beautiful every day, such as when I wake up every morning next to Nicole. Yet I try to find the words as best I can. She says I manage--sometimes.

And sometimes, when we manage to get away from the city we call home, we get to enjoy some of nature's top-tier beauties. A recent trip to Rennselaerville, New York is one such privilege.

Where the landscape is as pretty as the people.

Rennsearville, a small town of Dutch origin where the Catskills end and Albany county begins, is an important piece in a tiny package. Nicole and I were fortunate enough to stumble upon this village gem merely by chance. We had visited Nicole's Nana at her house in nearby Middleburgh, and on our way back, our GPS routed us through the town's only thoroughfare. We were impressed with town's stately homes and historic grist mill, but the Huyck Natural Preserve truly took our breath away. Hiking trails, waterfalls, and exquisite greenery. Pretty puts it mildly.

In the time since, every time we visit Nana, we have made Rennselaerville a regular stop. Like the everyday beauty of living with the love of your life, it's fresh experience that never grows old.

And even with that said, this visit was different--and not merely because I finally acknowledged surrender in my own private war against coffee.  No, this time I decided to let Nana's little doggies, Angie and Rosie, have their way with me. For some reason, I didn't much share their enthusiasm when they would jump up and down on their internal pogo sticks as they tried to lick my hands, face, and basically climb over me like Edmund Hillary on Mount Everest. Okay, I guess they aren't that bad. And wouldn't you know it? Some of Nana's other four-legged friends saw my newfound magnanimity and decided to be a little more outgoing and little less bashful than normal.

After we said goodbye to Nana, we headed back towards the Rennselaerville Huyck Preserve.  Once there, we were relieved to discover that Huyck Preserve had rebuilt one of the bridges that was wiped out by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Nicole took some photos of me posing with the landscape. As usual, she took some very good shots, but I couldn't help but mention that the only way to make them look better would be to place the photographer in with the rest of the subject matter.

After hiking, we stopped by in the town's only restaurant: The Palmer House. Unlike most restaurants, all the food is locally sourced, and everything on the menu is actually made in the kitchen. As you can imagine, the menu changes constantly, and never disappoints. How unexpected that one could find a plate of oven-roasted chicken quesadillas and pesto portobello sandwich with fresh salad greens in such a remote locale as this.

A nice respite from the big city . . . 

Afterwards, we shared a strawberry rhubarb cobbler, and yes, I admitted that I had finally succumbed to drinking coffee.

"It's not all bad!" Said Nicole. "And besides, I like being able to drink coffee with you." Then she pointed at me as her face broke into a grin. "You see, you're just like Larry David! Just because the tea is hot doesn't make it a shared experience."

"Hmm." I said. Nicole noticed I wasn't exactly clued in to what I was saying. Apparently, I haven't been watching enough of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I suppose coffe isn't all bad. In fact, it is actually quite good, when it is  fresh coffee with a plate of cobbler. And when one is about to drive three hours into New York City. Then it is also good. That's what Hemingway would say.

We had a good time, but as always, we were happy and grateful for the one person who helped us discover this slice of heaven in the first place. And as usual, we can't wait to make the trip up again soon . . .