No Reservations: The Deerfield Inn
Drive down the main street in Old Deerfield and you pass house after house that has endured since the 17th century. The mustard and robin’s egg blue homes are painted as they would have been before the Greek Revival of the 19th century covered New England in white, yet there are electric lights and indoor plumbing. Stop in front of the Deerfield Inn and the sight of a Prius and an SUV side-by-side highlights this combination of the old and the new.
The Deerfield Inn opened in 1884, just two years before Emily Dickinson died. It is a working inn with 23 rooms and a dining room that hearkens back to the 19th century in style and the 21st in amenities. Asheley St. Claire III, the inn’s newest chef de cuisine, has mixed the menu in much the same way. Meat and potatoes, French onion soup, and Indian pudding are still on the menu, but they have been updated: the filet mignon ($29) is wrapped in bacon and served with a port wine Gorgonzola sauce, the potatoes are Yukon golds, mashed with their skins, and the Indian pudding ($6) is a smooth rendition of the Yankee classic topped with vanilla ice cream.
Chef St. Claire brings an impressive resume to the inn. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, he studied at the L’Ecole Hotelier in Switzerland, then spent eight years in various kitchens in Europe. In addition to the basic chef skills, he developed the passion that top chefs bring to their restaurants, and St. Claire wants everything in the Deerfield Inn to reflect that, from the way guests are greeted to the ingredients he uses.
After eight years abroad, St. Claire moved first to Trinidad and cruise ships, then to the United States where he cooked at various venues in Miami, New York and Connecticut. Wanting a new direction in life, he became an ordained minister, like his father. However, when the position at the Deerfield Inn came available, he jumped back into the kitchen. The style of cooking there suits him: traditional haute cuisine with some updating of the classics.
St. Claire has only been at the inn since June, yet he has begun to make his mark. Stocks are homemade. Potatoes are mashed with the skins, which adds both texture and the reminder that these are not made from a mix. He makes the soups himself, serving a variety of hot and cold creations in the summer. The sauces are rich, well-reduced and intensely flavorful. He says he tries to buy as much as he can locally, and plans his menus to coincide with the seasons.
Each meal begins with an amuse-bouche, a little dish compliments of the chef, to whet the appetite. On our last visit, this was a shiitake mushroom and onion sauté on a crostini. It disappeared quickly and served its purpose: We were all suddenly ravenous. A server doled out slices of bread, sourdough, focaccia or cranberry, accompanied by a small plate containing olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Four piped swirls of butter also sat in the plate, allowing you to select your topping. The bread was refilled upon request, the olive oil wasn’t.
Our appetizers included the French onion soup ($7), redolent of a good beef stock and topped with Gruyere cheese that stretched forever as my companion lifted a spoonful for me to try. We also had a good New England clam chowder ($7), a portobello pizza ($7) and crab cakes ($11). The crab cakes, commendably, contained more crab than breading. The remoulade was more in the French style than its spicy Cajun cousin.
The rack of lamb ($32) is four ribs, served with snow peas, baby carrots and turnips in a smooth sauce sweetened with a touch of Kahlua and Vidalia onions. St. Claire tends to err on the side of under cooking rather than overcooking: Our order of roasted duck breast ($27), which was accompanied by a good apricot brandy sauce, was served rare. We asked that it be cooked a little longer and it came back perfect. If your tastes run to medium or well, it is best to let your server know.
The Indian pudding was one of the best versions I’ve ever had, sweet without being cloying and clove scented without being overwhelming, a scoop of vanilla ice cream adding a creamy touch. The chocolate mousse cake ($6.50) was rich and chocolaty yet light. You can get an espresso or cappuccino or an after-dinner drink as well.
There is a full wine list that ranges from $30 to $90 or more. The bar also makes a range of martinis and provides a full set of spirits.
A night out at the inn is not inexpensive. With appetizers, desserts, a decent bottle of wine and a tip, dinner for two can easily run to $150. But the beautifully set tables, the heavy flatware and the room, papered in a strawberry floral print, all speak to a certain old-style of elegance. We were not rushed through dinner and we lingered over our coffee until we felt it was time to leave.
The Deerfield Inn is next to the Deerfield Academy and it is easy to picture old money and rich foreigners dropping their progeny at the school with a send-off dinner at the inn. It is just as easy to picture diners stopping in on an October night after a leaf tour of Franklin County or on a snowy evening in January. On a warm summer night, guests sit on the porch as they have probably done for 100 years.
The inn’s blend of the old with a touch of the modern is classic New England.
Originally published Daily Hampshire Gazette, August 15, 2008