Our Progressions
The DeBruce will be exploring each of our seasons in a new way. In fact, what we have learned during our 7 years is that we simply don’t fit into a classic four-season format. It’s not the way the earth and those that grow in it work well. There are nuances and timing considerations that we need to adapt to, not the other way around. This makes our Culinary approach that much more exciting for guests and plain fun for us.
This year, we will explore four different seasons of food that each are anchored by a guiding and unifying principle within our menus. Heritage, Stream, Farm, and Mountain. Each of these periods will have an entirely unique menu that will celebrate those times as they move from one to another. Living in the Catskills makes us consider and appreciate all the gifts around us in a unique way. One of those is that if you blink, you might miss an entire season without knowing it. We don’t plan on blinking this year…..
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During the Winter of 2026, The DeBruce will be telling the story of the Heritage of our beloved home here in the Catskills. From the original locals, the Leni Lenapes, and into the early Dutch and German immigrant farmers who built the still standing field stone walls to start their farms.
Soon after, American Dry Fly Fishing was birthed (in written form at least) by George LaBranche at the intersection of the Willowemoc and Mongaup Creek just a ½ mile up from us. Then began the Silver Era when the first summer borders escaping the congestion and heat of New York City took rooms in the growing Boarding House business that was burgeoning. After a generation of attempting to tame the rocky ground and farm, those same immigrants started the path to hospitality.
As the number of summer and weekend escapees from New York City exploded it turned the Silver into the Golden Era. The area emerged into the legendary destination that much later captured a generation’s attention in the movie “Dirty Dancing”. Endless buffets, entertainers and comedians cutting their teeth, Simon Says by the pool and the birth of the All-Inclusive model of resorts. The Borsht Belt was a real thing, and the “Catskills” went from a provincial area in New York State to a globally recognized tourist destination. Almost overnight.
The way we like to tell stories at The DeBruce is through food and drink and an immersive dining experience. We love our heritage, and we love the challenge of expressing it to our guests when they sit down to dinner in our jewel box dining room looking out at the valley that helps inspire it all.
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In the Land of Little Rivers we cherish this time of year when we get to put back on our waders and go in pursuit of our legendary trout. The DeBruce kitchen team has been preserving and pickling as fast as we can from those early spring foraging romps. Now we turn our attention to the Rainbow, Brown and Brookies that are starting to come in the back door.
For these weeks of late Spring and early Summer the menu moves not just for our native crowned fish but also for freshwater Eel, Steelhead, and Bass. We begin to see the early season produce of fresh Lettuces, Chard, Radishes, Beans, Asparagus and Beets and incorporate them into the gift of the streams and waters. Spending a cool morning fishing, hiking or exploring in your favorite sweater and then a warm afternoon lounging and resting in short sleeves is a great gift this time of year. Ending it with a meal that embraces both of these notions is our challenge and gift to try to convey.
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During our 9 years at The DeBruce we have been gifted with being able to partner with some of the most passionate farmers and producers. This is their time to shine and ours to benefit from their hard work and skill. The back door opens daily and through it walks more and more bushels of raw material from which we can create. For a Cook, this is the dream time of creation.
The bond between a Farmer, Grower, Producer and the Artist that gets to transform their hard work into a dish for a guest is based on respect and passion. It is undeniable that over time the mutual care for the front side and the end result creates a team-like relationship that is impossible to fake. Cooks and Farmers are in a special class together.
For the Catskills and our Valley we are sleepy sneaky in how much talent there is around us. We let them do their thing and then work our tails off to make into magic for our guests.
Hazy, humid mornings with the Cattle grazing in the pasture below us. Trout at its peak condition. Colorful and endless produce coming in that needs to be cleaned because it was just pulled an hour ago. Summer is what we are built for.
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A classic statement of the Catskills is that if you don't like the weather right now, don't worry, just wait an hour. Or a day or a week. The ever changing complexity of our mountains and river valleys is one of the many things we love about our home.
For Harvest we take a breath and appreciate the fleeting weeks where Summer's bounty is still in our hands and Autumn's root vegetables, fruits, and late season products are brought in by the bushel. It is truly the time of Plenty and we do our best to make good on it with all we have.
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The farmers have put their land to sleep and the time for reflection begins. We turn to the mountains around us, again. We have taken parts of the months behind us and put them into canning and preserves. We are seeing the growers of beef, venison, chicken, duck and turkey more and more. We reach beyond our region for those careful fishes that seem to want the mountain to pair them up. We accept their challenge.
The last leaves drift downward and at any moment may be joined by the first snow. The earth sleeps but damn, the fireplaces lit feel amazing inside. We take our hikes through the woods now with more to see on the horizon. And our warm kitchen is a great place to be.
To inquire about our current menu offerings or to make a reservation, call 845-439-3900, email info@thedebruce.com, or click the button below.
Select images by Sasithon Pooviriyakul and Lawrence Braun