Page 36 - The Valley Table - Winter 2022

Gracie’s Luncheonette
After starting a successful food truck in 2014, Ally Merritt and Andrew Spielberg—who met when they were students at the Culinary Institute of America—were ready for a brick-and-mortar space to serve up their homemade American comfort food. That dream came to fruition in 2016 when they took over the building that housed Koch’s Drive-In, an area favorite since the 1950s. “Koch’s diner inspired our menu;
we wanted to keep our food familiar while making everything the best we can,” says Merritt.
For the duo that means baking all the bread, grinding all of the meat, and even making
their own American cheese. Merritt credits the Farms2Tables app, which connects farmers and wholesalers, with their ability to source locally. “When we first started out, we weren’t ordering enough for most vendors, so we spent a lot of time going to different farms to pick up products,” says Merritt, who purchases dairy items from Ronnybrook Farm in Pine Plains and eggs from Yellow Bell Farm in Red Hook—both of which are used to craft Gracie’s delicious homemade ice cream.
Getting hungry? We highly recommend ordering the Gracie Burger, which has house- cured bacon ground right into the beef or the signature fried chicken sandwich. And along with that farm-fresh ice cream, grab a donut—the flavors change seasonally.
Leeds; 518.943.9363; graciestruckny.com
34 the valley table
dec 2021 – feb 2022
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GRACIE'S LUNCHEONETTE