Page 27 - Valley Table - Fall 2022

TABLA
6033 Main Street, Tannersville
tablacatskills.com
In 2020, Brooklyn-based restaurateur David Schneider and his wife, Patty Wu, bought their dream country home in Lanesville (a hamlet between Phoenicia and Hunter). It was after they closed on the property that Schneider—the founder of the Oaxaca Taqueria mini-chain in New York City—thought he was finally ready to say goodbye to his 35-year career in the restaurant industry. “I thought maybe I’d focus on real estate,” he says.
But when he noticed an empty restaurant space with a creekside patio in nearby Tannersville, he was lured right back. “My wife jokes that everywhere we move, we open a neighborhood restaurant,” says Schneider with a laugh. (In 1993, he opened Harvest in his neighborhood of Cobble Hill, which was dubbed the “first Manhattan-style restaurant in Brooklyn” at the time.)
The Schneiders took over the lease with the idea of transforming it into an upscale Mediterranean-style taverna, hoping to appeal to the growing influx of new residents and the many tourists who come for the hiking and skiing. They refurbished the bar and refreshed the dark wood interior with white walls and softer lighting—a vibe that feels both high-end and lowkey. “Patty calls it ‘Catskills-chic,’” says Schneider.
The duo, along with chef-de-cuisine Zach Shornick (former head chef at Piaule in Catskill), serve up tapas-style dishes— such as chicken liver paté crostini, sardines in piquillo peppers, and mussels in escabeche sauce—and six different shareable
focaccia pizzas with toppings like champiñones y jamón (serrano ham, Manchego, and fig jam), salumi, and ricotta and peas with bacon and marinated artichokes. Main dishes include a lemon-brined rotisserie chicken that’s more than big enough for two (tip: get it with the tzatziki sauce). Tabla also offers seafood dishes like octopus con calde and branzino, and for the meat lovers there’s albondigas, lamb kofte, and a grilled steak that’s amped up with ramp chimichurri. For sides, there are nearly a dozen options such as charred cabbage with orange, olives, and chili tahini, and a mushroom toast with ricotta and pickled onions. Pair your meal with a cocktail from the extensive drink menu. We’re partial to the Jungle Bird (Blackstrap rum, campari, pineapple, lime, demerara), the Fig Whiskey (Taconic Distillery bourbon, Forthave amaro, roasted fig simple syrup, and bitters), and the zero-proof black sesame limeade.
The restaurant, which opened last November, is a family affair: Daughter Molly, 28, is the general manager and son Max, 23, is the bartender. “We just love it here. The community has really embraced us,” says Schneider, who was recently tapped to run the menu at the Colonial Country Club’s new restaurant The Notch (a couple blocks down Main Street), which serves elevated sandwiches and burgers. He hopes
to keep finding ways to invest in his new neighborhood. “It used to be that people who lived in Tannersville would go
to Woodstock for a fancy dinner. But we see the potential in Tannersville to become a dining destination itself.”
—Gillian Telling
PHOTO BY MONTGOMERY SHERIDAN
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