I wasn't expecting the mackerel. Well, let me clarify that slightly: I was expecting the mackerel—we had ordered it, after all. Here's what I didn't anticipate: The fish being served head on, with all its little teeth grinning at me like a miniature demented caiman. It was a bit of a shock.
What was unsurprising, however, was that the grilled mackerel—spiced al pastor-style and served with caramelized fennel, guajillo salsa, and fennel sauerkraut—was an inspired creation. It was one of the final dishes served to us that night at Casa Susanna, the last in a string of inventive modern takes on Mexican food from the kitchen of chef Efren Hernandez.
Casa Susanna is located just north of the Catskill Thruway exit in the hamlet of Leeds, just down the road from diner fetishist catnip Gracie's Luncheonette. The restaurant is part of Camptown, a renovated motor lodge reimagined by Ray Pirkle and Kim Bucci, owners and creators of Rivertown Lodge in Hudson. (Hernandez also helms the kitchen at Rivertown Lodge's tavern—the food was very tasty the couple of times I've eaten there—as well as Casa Susanna.
He's also worked in Michelin-starred kitchens like Brooklyn's now-shuttered Faro.) Camptown has 24 guest rooms and another 26 standalone cabins. The aesthetic is rustic hipster, which carries over into Casa Susanna.
You enter through the barroom, a cozy space with 16 seats around a horseshoe-shaped bar with a cognac leather top. It's a relaxing spot to have a pre-dinner drink. The Cel-Raicilla ($16), made with Tequila and guanabana, fresh lime, and celery juice, is as refreshing a Tequila cocktail as you're likely to have.
There's also a draft Negroni with mezcal, and a few other cocktails tweaked with Mexican ingredients—tamarind liqueur, Oaxacan rum—all $16. Natasha David crafted the cocktail program, which makes use of house-made tinctures, seasonal jarred ingredients, and garnishes from the on-site greenhouse.
The wine list is large and thoughtfully curated by Byron Bates who's chosen an eclectic mix of natural wines, mostly from Europe and South America, including some things you don't see every day, like a handful of Chilean whites. Bottles range in price from $48 to $188, with almost all the bottles under $100. There are 10 selections by the glass, which range in price from $14.50 to $19.75. We tried the Quarticello "Cioke" Lambrusco ($54), which prickled the tongue ever so slightly and played well with the spice that accompanied some of the dishes. Making my way through the list will be an ongoing adventure.
We started with a couple of botanas—bar snacks. The pear flavored with Meyer lemon, gochujang, and Calabrian chile ($7) is the way to go here. The sweetness of the fruit with the fermenty-spiciness of the other ingredients is an inspired meeting of flavors. Then we tried one of the masas—all the tortillas are made in-house. Get a side order for the table. Our masa was stuffed with blood sausage ($12). If you love the metallic umami bomb that is blood sausage, you'll love this hot corn pocket topped with pickled vegetables and cilantro.
Now sea urchin is just about the fishiest fish there is, with its strong scent of low tide. But it is naturally rich and buttery as well as being briny—a combination not found in a lot seafood—and Hernandez's tostada was the star of the meal for me. Served atop thinly sliced cabbage and ribbons of cucumber dressed with epazote crema and guajillo chile, the uni, paired with trout roe, was ethereal in the funkiest way. I hereby nominate the sea urchin as the official fish—they're not actually fish are they?—of Mexico. Or at least Leeds.
For mains, we shared three dishes: wood-fired veal sweetbreads ($28), the aforementioned whole grilled mackerel al pastor ($35), and smoked goat birria tatemada ($35). The mackerel was second-favorite dish, with the chile-roasted goat very close behind. (The sweetbreads were also tasty and carried a whiff of wood smoke.) The food at Casa Susanna is bonkers good—rating it against itself is a mug's game. It's one of a handful of amazingly tasty and creative restaurants to open up in the past year and I'll be back for more. I plan on eating my way through the rest of the menu as soon as possible.
Casa Susanna serves dinner Thursday through Monday from 5 to 10pm. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 2pm.
Casa Susanna
800 County Road 23B, Leeds