Lake Como in the Catskills??

Lake Como is one of Italy's most popular and romantic destinations. Discovered by the Romans thousands of years ago this gem of zen tranquility has been attracting crowds for centuries. Now, I haven't had the opportunity to travel to Italy but this past autumn I was able to experience a taste of it in the Catskills. [Can you say, "Delusional"?]... Ok, maybe it was a stretch, but given the way the economy is, we gotta take what we can get. Parla Italiano anyone??

It was the perfect day....temperature in the 60's and the sun was simply beaming. We were up from the city on a house-seeking trip. We had envisioned finding our home in Sullivan county but thought keeping our options open would be the smart thing to do. There had been this grand Greek Revival home in Deposit, NY that I simply wanted to see. Deposit is about 35 minutes north of Roscoe in Delaware county. Manhattanites are starting to buy there as homes can be purchased at a very low price and taxes tend to be lower. Greek Revival seemed to be the dominant architecture of the town and there was a cute sense of community there. It is far from developed and lacks the conveniences of some of the dreamy hamlets of Sullivan county but we figured it would be worth the discovery. The house was beautiful and quite big.....but it didn't really speak to us. After the viewing, it was close to lunch and our patient but starving four year old was starting to unravel. In retrospect, he was simply amazing during the whole house-hunting process...we would call him our little bathroom inspector. For some reason, he felt the need to give us the thumbs up or down on the bathrooms of every home we went to see :>)....

Back to Italy in NY, our agent, D., told us about this amazing inn we could have lunch at and raved about the scenery. So we drove up a winding road, under a rustic train bridge and after ten minutes arrived at our destination.

The Chestnut Inn is an oasis located on Lake Oquaga....built in the late 1920's it was a very popular vacation destination back in the 50's and 60's. Stepping into the inn was like stepping back in time......


There was jazz music playing in the background....a grand fireplace in the lobby and plenty of lakeside seating.
We opted to sit outdoors....the vistas were just breathtaking and many of the guests were lounging on the dock reading their favorite book.




Our biggest surprise was the meal...it was an amazing slice of gourmet at an affordable price. Even the snobbiest of foodies would have to buckle at the quality of service and presentation.

The Chestnut Inn serves lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. This is the perfect venue for a wedding, corporate meeting or a lunch getaway. The rooms are all updated with luxurious amenities. We actually went back for Thanksgiving and the scene was out of a story book. So while it isn't exactly Italy.....it's certainly worth the trip!

Godere (Enjoy)!!

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