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You are here: Home / Dining / Essex Inn Takeout

Essex Inn Takeout

January 6, 2014 By Geo Davis Leave a Comment

Keith Castro's "takeout" diver scallops wrapped in prosciutto over lettuce and cheese.
Keith Castro’s “takeout” diver scallops wrapped in prosciutto over lettuce and cheese.
Delicious "takeout" salad from Keith Castro at the Essex Inn.
Delicious “takeout” salad from Keith Castro at the Essex Inn.
Keith Castro's takeout duck confit with wild boar sausage and fingerling potatoes.
Keith Castro’s takeout duck confit with wild boar sausage and fingerling potatoes.
Helpfully labeled "takeout" dinner from Keith Castro at the Essex Inn.
Helpfully labeled “takeout” dinner from Keith Castro at the Essex Inn.
Every oenophile's favorite "takeout" box! Dinner from Keith Castro at the Essex Inn.
Every oenophile’s favorite “takeout” box! Dinner from Keith Castro at the Essex Inn.
Smoky, grilled fresh vegetables accompanied my Essex Inn "takeout". Delicious!
Smoky, grilled fresh vegetables accompanied my Essex Inn “takeout”. Delicious!

I’ve made no secret of my praise for Keith Castro and Lanai Monahan, the new innkeepers at the Essex Inn.

To date I’ve enjoyed four delicious dinners at Room 12, the new Farm-to-Table restaurant located at the Essex Inn. That’s to say, two delicious dinners in situ and a fifth tasty meal that was prepped, packed and ribboned for me to enjoy at home. A culinary hat trick! (Essex Inn Welcomes New Chef and Innkeeper)

Since my first review two months ago, I’ve at least quadrupled the number of perfect Essex Inn meals I’ve enjoyed. Each is as good (or better) than the last. No kidding! And while the best proof that they’re serving up delicious fare in a warm and inviting atmosphere is a memorable dinner (call 963-4400 to make a reservation any night except for Tuesday or Wednesday, when they take a well deserved break), I simply must share with you my most recent experience in case you didn’t realize that Essex Inn takeout is available and oh-so-good.

Tasty Essex Inn Takeout

Offering takeout is a tricky business for restaurants. It’s challenging to juggle telephone orders and preparation with in-house orders. In a sense, they’re two different beasts. The timing is different (everything needs to be completed simultaneously), the presentation is obviously totally different, temperatures are difficult to ensure, etc. So given the built-in challenges, most fine dining establishments opt for the simpler path.

But Keith Castro is not one to choose the easy way out. Right from the get-go he made a commitment to serve takeout, and he’s consistently impressed me with made-to-order specials, custom tailored to my diet and preferences, again and again.

I’ll let my bride describe for you her decadent creamy tomato and crab bisque and the spinach and cheese stuffed artichoke hearts that she begrudgingly allowed me to sample. Flag her down on Main Street; it’ll be worth the effort.

In the meantime, here’s a quick review of my Essex Inn takeout dinner last night.

Oenophile’s Shabby Chic?

I laughed upon arriving at the Essex Inn to pick up my meal. A repurposed wine crate served as the ultimate “shabby chic” take away box. All of the fuss goes into the food, but each dish had been meticulously annotated so it was easy to tell who’s dishes belonged to whom. This is helpful in a household with diet peculiarities. For example, it prevented my vegetarian bride from accidentally diving into my duck confit, heaven forbid!

It’s also worth acknowledging a couple of downsides to ordering Essex Inn takeout. It means forgoing the enchanting atmosphere, Lanai’s beautiful smile, Keith’s laughter, and “bumping into” neighbors. It also means dining sans Katie Zilch, the smart and articulate server who acts as our culinary tour guide whenever we’re fortunate enough to eat in the Essex Inn dining room. Luckily I arrived just as Katie, Lanai and Keith were converging, so I stalled a minute to enjoy their good humor.

I’ll let the photographs above entice you, but I will admit that I oooh’ed and aaah’ed through the diver scallops wrapped in prosciutto. Keith performs inspired feats of flavor with scallops. Gastronomic alchemy. These were no exception. A bed of delicate shredded lettuce and grated cheese with zesty wine dressing offset the rich protein perfectly.

And what better main course than duck confit on a frosty winter’s ever? Especially when paired with wild boar sausage and fingerling potatoes… Smoky, grilled fresh vegetables (zucchini, asparagus, onions, peppers) rounded out the meal while putting to rest any notion that I was being too decadent. A balanced diet. Delicious!

If your stomach just rumbled, you know what I’m talking about. If it didn’t, hustle down to the Essex Inn before it’s too late!

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Filed Under: Dining Tagged With: Essex Inn, Essex New York, Gastro-tourism, Keith Castro, Lanai Monahan, Take-out

About Geo Davis

Geo Davis (aka virtualDavis) is a writer, storyteller and unabashed flâneur. He taught and coached at Santa Fe Preparatory School and The American School of Paris, co-founded Maison Margaux: "Paris à la parisienne" in Faubourg Saint-Germain, and owns Adobe Oasis in Santa Fe, NM with his bride.

Geo chronicles adventures (and misadventures) of rehabilitating an historic Essex home at Rosslyn Redux: Reawakening a home, a dream and ourselves; blogs about doodling and other esoterica at virtualDavis.com; posts sometimes unnerving, occasionally euphoric, and always pollyanna "midlife mashups" at 40x41.com; waxes nautical at Sailing Errant; and delves into matters of parenting, babylandia, and childfreedom at Why No Kids? He meanders on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube and Flickr.

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