90th Birthday Get Together 2015: Dining Out near White Pine Camp

When we take our "big vacation" each year, we don't want to be compelled to eat out for the duration of our journey. That is another thing that we particularly like about White Pine Camp: a fully equipped kitchen which makes it possible for us to cook our own meals. To paraphrase one staffer: all you need to bring is your own food, and you are ready to go.

The typical White Pine Camp kitchen has everything you will need.

Accordingly, we are no experts on the finer points of the culinary establishments in the Adirondacks, as we only go out to dine in a few exceptional circumstances. These are typically one of three cases: on arrival or departure day, when we have expended all of our energy in the wilderness and want someone else to feed us, or if I am on a Holy-Grail-Pilgrimage to experience a part of American dining culture that I have been missing in Germany. My first recommended dining establishment falls into this third category.

Red Fox Restaurant, Photo from Red Fox Restaurant Facebook page

Red Fox Restaurant

5034 State Route 3
Saranac Lake, New York
Telephone 518-891-2127

on Facebook

Menu in PDF format

Over the years, I have found evolving options to find steak entrées and even dedicated steakhouse restaurants in Germany, but I continue to lament the fact that you can't get prime rib here the way it is classically done in the USA, oven roasted and served sliced, like this:

The American Classic: Prime Rib. Photo Credit: tasty days.com

So, invariably, when traveling in the States, I am on a mission to find my next prime rib dinner. On our last visit to White Pine Camp, we paged through their collection of restaurant information and stumbled on to the Red Fox Restaurant, just outside the village of Saranac Lake. When we asked the management at White Pine Camp about this restaurant, they gave it a lackluster endorsement. They did however mention that it had been a long time since they had been there. The restaurant was destroyed by fire in 2003, and it appears that they really took the opportunity to start out fresh. We were quite pleased by our experience.

Particularly those coming from Europe will want to experience this restaurant as a classic example of old-school American family-style dining. The restaurant includes a full bar and several different dining areas. American-style service includes someone "bussing tables," making sure your (ice)water glass is kept full, and tempting you to fill up on freshly baked bread before your appetizer is served. These may all seem like mundane details, but it is a different style of service than what is common in Europe. Also, these individually owned and operated restaurants, where "family-style" reflects both on the clientele and the management, have become somewhat of a relic in the American dining experience as well. Chain restaurants have taken an increasingly large portion of the market share. It was refreshing to dine in this one-of-a-kind establishment that has a pleasant atmosphere, professional and friendly service, and attention to detail. Oh, and the prime rib was to die for. My wife rated her lobster dinner as "very delicious." The only caveat I would put on this restaurant is that it might be a tiny bit too "adult-like" to be appealing to the youngest in our 2015 group. I believe that my next recommendation is ideal for that group.

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Tail O' The Pup BBQ, Photo from J.M. Greizis flickr stream

Tail O' The Pup BBQ
1152 New York 86

Ray Brook

Telephone +1 518-891-0777

www.tailofthepupbbq.com

In contrast to my recommendation above, this establishment merits mention not as a culinary highlight, but much more as a piece of Americana. As you drive through Ray Brook on Route 86, you can't miss this place, decked out in Red, White and Blue with large signs advertising the location's attractions and a huge statue of a lobster with its claws reaching out as if to flag you into the next empty parking space. In addition to traditional barbecue entries and pulled pork with barbecue sauce, you can also get lobster, clams, Fish N' Chips and everything you would expect to find on the menu of a "greasy spoon" diner. There is an indoor dining area which doesn't come highly recommended, but those who eat here typically sit outside at one of the many red picnic tables, many of which are covered by a tent-like canopy, vaguely reminiscent of Oktoberfest. Live music is regularly featured. The reviews posted online run the gauntlet ranging from heartfelt endorsements to dire warnings.

I have passed this place countless times during and since my childhood as it lies between the Paul Smiths area where ASTC and White Pine Camp are located, and the hiking trails in the high peaks. Ray Brook is almost exactly half way between the villages of Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. With its bright colors and carnival like atmosphere, it is a sight that you remember, particularly because immediately before and after, you were enjoying the serenity of the wilderness. I have never actually stopped to eat here until our 2013 trip to the Adirondacks.

We had a long, wet day on the trail and were covered beyond our knees in mud. We knew that our grime factor vastly exceeded the limits for admittance into any respectable dining establishment, even among the less fussy locations that abound in this region. Too spent to cook a decent meal, we pondered what our alternatives might be. As we began to near the village of Saranac Lake, The Tail O' The Pup beckoned out to us to stop for dinner, and we complied. Dinner consisted of a burger each, one order of fries and one of onion rings. The service was friendly and everything was passable in quality, with one unpleasant surprise. Apparently this place is very proud of their BBQ sauce, not only is it omnipresent, with a bottle of the stuff on every table, but is a standard ingredient on pretty much all of their grilled foods ... including to our surprise, even the cheeseburgers. Still, it is possible to make a judicious selection from the many offerings to find something tasty for most, even if it is not one of the most healthful dining options (grease is a central attraction).

In spite of my limited endorsement of the menu items, I recommend this place for a certain entertainment factor that it has, for the fact that you will never be too grimy to eat here, and I believe that it is a good place to bring kids. Tail O' The Pup gives you the feeling that you have just walked into a cartoon, you won't have to worry about children being on their best behavior or if something gets spilled, and the service is relatively prompt.

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Paul Smith's Campus, Photo from paulsmiths.edu

My last two recommendations are for two dining establishments that I have never actually been to. They are both on the campus and part of the curriculum of Paul Smith's College, just across Osgood Pond from White Pine Camp. So, why I am I recommending TWO dining establishments that I have never actually been to? Well, for one thing, they are very enthusiastically recommended by the staff of White Pine Camp. Also, it is very much an expression of the tradition that Paul Smith himself started on this very site back in 1858, when he built a hotel here. The hotel burned down in 1930, but his son Phelps provided for the creation of this college which was established through the funds left in his will. I discuss the history of Paul Smiths in detail in an earlier blog entry. I believe that eating at a teaching facility such as this is a good way to support future chefs and get good value for money. Finally, there is no place closer to White Pine Camp to go out for a fine dinner.

Dining at Paul Smith's College, Photo from paulsmiths.edu

Since I don't have any personal experience with either of the two restaurants, I'll just insert the basic data here, and I encourage you to visit the website of each, which does an excellent job of presenting their offerings, and includes the current menus.

St. Regis Cafe at Paul Smith's College, Photo from paulsmiths.edu

St. Regis Cafe

Paul Smith's College
7833 New York 30

Paul Smiths, NY 12970

http://www.paulsmiths.edu/stregis

Lunch: Monday-Friday. Seatings at 11:30 a.m., noon and 12:30 p.m.
Dinner: Wednesday. Seatings at 5:30, 6 and 6:30 p.m.

Reservations are required.
(518) 327-6355
Reservations taken Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.