Stissing House: A Historic Hudson Valley Tavern Reimagined with Wood-Fired Classics

Historic Stissing House Revival

• 🕰️ The Stissing House, an 18th-century tavern in New York's Hudson Valley, has been revitalized by Chef and owner Claire Dbor.
• 📜 Established in 1782, the building has served many lives, including as a schoolhouse, boarding house, and French restaurant, before Dbor took over three years ago.
• ✨ Dbor aims to restore the establishment to its revolutionary-era charm, focusing on comfort and entertainment.

Wood-Fired Culinary Delights

• 🔥 Everything is cooked using wood-fired methods: roasted in the oven, cooked in coals, grilled over wood fire, or spit-roasted in the hearth.
• 💡 The original beehive oven is still used for roasting s'mores and char-grilling sausages.
• 🍽️ Dbor's goal is to create dishes that evoke nostalgia and memory, similar to her own childhood experiences with her grandmother.

Signature Dishes and Flavors

• 🍖 The smoked ham and cheese features house-brined and smoked ham, thinly sliced.
• 🍄 An art coal-roasted artichoke is prepared with minimal intervention to highlight its natural flavor, enhanced by wood-fire smokiness.
• 🐟 A roasted halibut is served atop white beans and wild mushrooms, praised for its crisp texture.
• 🌽 Corn bathed in basil butter is noted for its ability to transport diners back to memories of grandmother's cornbread.
• 🍗 The star spit-roasted chicken is celebrated for its crisp skin and juicy meat.
• 🍰 Desserts include a coconut cake and strawberry cobbler with chamomile ice cream, featuring reduced strawberry juices for intense flavor.

Chef Claire Dbor's Journey

• 🎓 Dbor's culinary path includes studying at the Balamaloo cookery school in Ireland and co-founding King in New York, earning a James Beard rising star chef nomination.
• 💼 She previously worked briefly at Goldman Sachs but found her true passion in the culinary world.
• 🤰 Discovering she was pregnant the day she saw the Stissing House felt like a beautiful omen, leading her to pursue the venture.

A Sought-After Destination

• 📈 Dbor has transformed the Stissing House from a resting spot into a sought-after destination, exceeding initial customer projections.
• 🎉 The restaurant now hosts a variety of events, from weddings to dance parties and shrimp boils, with up to 140 people on a Saturday night.
• 🌟 The Stissing House has received recognition from the James Beard Foundation and a spot on Food & Wine's Best Restaurant List.