Peekamoose Restaurant - Big Indian, NY

One of my favorite meals on our recent trip to New York took place in the heart of the Catskill Mountains in a hamlet with the politically incorrect name Big Indian which is part of a town called Shandaken. The restaurant is named Peekamoose, perhaps after Peekamoose Mountain, which is in the Catskills and may be an anglicization of an Alonquin word meaning "broken off smooth."  

Peekamoose Restaurant is touted as a farm to table restaurant with lots of vegetarian offerings and it fills up fast. I made reservations a week before for dinner and was only able to get 5:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m., nothing in between. The restaurant texted us the day before to verify we were still coming - they obviously had people who wanted to take our place if we couldn't make it. According to their website, the owners have developed strong relationships with local farmers and vendors with a menu that changes daily based on what is available in season. 

The building appears to have been added upon a number of times. 

We entered from the bottom back and sat close to the patio at the back. 

I opted for several small plates and the others were drawn to main course items. 

A big chunk of bread with very soft whipped butter and chives. We asked and got more bread and double the butter. It was marvelous. 

Housemade gnudi with fresh tomato puree, toasted pignoli and parmesan cheese. Gnudi is a gnocchi like dumpling made with ricotta cheese instead of potato and semolina. It is less dense and chewy than gnocchi. Pignoli is another name for pine nuts. I love menus that I have to look up the words to understand. Andrew loved it. I thought it was pretty good. 

12 ingredient chopped salad, including three kinds of lettuce, kalamata olives, red onion, feta cheese, tomato and a vinaigrette. I had them leave out bacon which would have been included. This was light and wonderful. 

Elote with wood grilled corn, chipotle aioli, queso fresco, cilantro and lime. Having recently been to New Mexico where we tried it several times, and loved it, this did not disappoint.

Cucumber and Almond Gazpacho, which included peaches, grapes and red onion. Shared by Judy and Michaela, it was mild and light. 

Pine smoked green lip mussels in a tarragon and mustard creme. These were very rich and some of the best mussels I've ever eaten. The creme was thick and I used what was left over to dip my roasted carrots (below) in. If I came back I would have a tough time passing these up. 

Housemade chitarra with kale and basil pesto, pecorino romano cheese and pine nuts. Chitarra is a variety of egg pasta from the Abruzzo region of Italy and has a square cross section. 

Judy and Michaela each got the Catskill farmers vegetable plate, which included spaghetti squash, asparagus, french lentils, quinoa, kale, pearl onions and beets. It also appears to have carrots. 

I got a side-dish of roasted carrots and peas. The carrots were gigantic in circumference, but were tender and nice flavor. However, I admit that I swished them around the creme sauce in the mussels and it made them much better!

I loved the meal and would love to go back and try other dishes on their changing menu. There is a reason it fills up.