Tag: newfane

High end

In what is probably the final celebration of my recent birthday, Chuck treated us to dinner at Artisan restaurant in the newly reopened Four Columns Inn in Newfane.

For decor, they’re doing a modernized take on the typical New England Inn theme. The Windsor style chairs are mismatched but elegant, the color scheme is tone on tone, the art still tends to sheep and barns but with a decidedly contemporary flair.

The food focused on local and seasonal… Chuck ran into some people he knew and saw them eating a hamburger. He was surprised: this is more of a “braised rabbit with wild mushrooms and homemade pasta” kind of place. Ah, they replied, but the beef comes from our farm! All in all, the menu was a nice showcase for the chef’s creativity, well prepared and mostly well presented. The wine list was suitably varied, if unremarkable, and the service was pleasant and attentive.

Chuck, who has been a baker, a wine merchant and wine columnist, and for some years an organizer of food-themed tours in Italy and France, knows from fine dining. At one point, he put down his fork and asked us “is this what you’d call ‘high end’?” Lee and I answered yes immediately, but our discussion continued.

It was an interesting question. By price tag, in this area, definitely high end. Based on the length and detail of the descriptions of menu items, again yes. But the menu tended toward comfort food, less high end than one might find in NYC or Paris. There were no tablecloths, nor a sommelier. The staff uniform was jeans and blue plaid shirts straight out of a high school production of Oklahoma. Most patrons were in casual clothes, just a regular Friday night.

So what constitutes “high end” in this day and age? Is that term even meaningful in the world we live in? As we worked our way through the duck, the rabbit, the baby greens, the second bottle, we never really reached a consensus. We had a special meal in good company, and we were able to relax and enjoy it all without the anxiety provoked by too many forks… High end? Exactly high enough.