A Bloody Mary: Enjoy dinner and drinks at the Mirror Lake Inn.
Here’s the quandary: You’re in Lake Placid, all settled in for the two weeks of Lake Placid and I Love New York horse shows, and it’s dinner time.
You’ve heard about the village’s depth of excellent eateries, on par with its reputation as an Olympic host. Understanding this, restaurant selections can be exciting, yet at the same time daunting.
But luckily, your party has come upon the AAA Four Diamond Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa, which means your dining dilemma is over, with three distinct options to satisfy all palates.
In any of those choices, if you prefer a table overlooking Mirror Lake, please step right this way.
The View Restaurant, Lake Placid’s only Four Diamond choice and the top-rated restaurant in town on Trip Advisor, is literally next to the inn’s front desk. It’s as resplendent and bright as the hotel itself.
With seven area farms supplying locally-raised beef, produce, fruits, artisan cheeses and more, The View’s farm-to-table seasonal concept comes to life under the discerning eye of Executive Chef Jarrad Lang.
In his words, Chef Lang’s menu is “elegant comfort food.” It comes in the form of prosciutto-wrapped and pan-roasted Atlantic Cod Fillet to Prime Beef Fillet in a Zinfandel glacé.
But the presentation by Chef Lang and his staff doesn’t stop there. Adjacent to The View Restaurant is the trendy Taste Bistro and Bar, whose purveyors and servers offer different selections than The View. But it’s those same kitchen pros under Chef Lang that provide Taste Bistro’s unique culinary experience, be it at the bar or a window table.
The house favorite, Kilcoyne Farms Pot Roast, is exactly that — the house favorite. The beef is pasture-raised nearby; local root vegetables are caramelized; and accompanying potatoes grow about 20 minutes from the bistro. While this plate is recommended, Taste Bistro was recently told by a visitor from New Jersey that its half-pound, locally raised burger was the best he’d ever experienced.
The view of Mirror Lake from a room at the Inn
Guests who stop by the bistro on Friday or Saturday nights will be entertained by the likes of local artist Ryan Grant on acoustic guitar or George Collichio’s cool jazz riffs while sipping one of the numerous regional draughts or imbibing in a theme-oriented seasonal beverage.
The horse show crowd, which has visited Lake Placid since the start of the 1970s, discovered The Cottage Café at about that time. The Cottage’s hip vibe combines local movers and shakers, weekend social thoroughbreds and world-class athletes, including riders from the equine world, over the shows’ two weeks of activity. The eclectic mix gathers in a lakeside setting. Dine inside, on the outdoor deck or on a lower patio-style perch that almost allows you to soak your feet.
Pub fare includes flatbread pizzas; hummus; The Cobble Hill, piled high in deli turkey, sliced apple and New York cheddar; the apricot chicken salad sandwich; veggie burger and more.
Again, the bar theme is Adirondack, typically with a robust head on it. Of interest to those in the know is the War Horse (how appropriate), duly named after Olympic silver and bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht. Andrew, known as the War Horse on the international alpine skiing circuit, is the son of resort owners Ed and Lisa Weibrecht.
Andrew’s Super G medals from Vancouver and Sochi are on display at the hotel’s front desk, while his specially-crafted War Horse beverage, a blend of Guinness Ale and Sierra Nevada, is regularly requested at The Cottage Café.
After all of this, it’s now conceivable these selections may have actually hindered the quandary. But if it’s a problem, it’s certainly a good one to have.
Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa
518-523-2544
Photos courtesy of the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa
