Hollow

"There’s not a ton going on in Delhi in the Western Catskills. But it does have Hollow, a combination cafe and back bar where you could start your day with excellent pastries and end it with a plate of incredible trout dip and a Manhattan. During the day, the cafe feels like a fishbowl of bright natural light, filled with glistening pastries and a few cafe tables instead of rocks and plastic plants. Baked goods, like moist springy carrot cakes topped with labne and gochugaru cheddar biscuits smothered in gravy, are so perfect that you’ll savor every last crumb. It’s the type of meal that will inspire you to make the most out of your day, even if your plan is to just to pop into a few shoppy shops and touch some grass. Once the sun sets, come back and walk past the cafe to find a side door to their bar that feels like it was teleported from Greenpoint. The menu is loaded with whatever in-season vegetables are grown within a 50-mile radius, like roasted calçots or baked sweet potatoes with pickled ginger miso. The end results are simple small plates that show off the quality of the produce while inspiring your own delusions of owning land and homesteading on a farm. There are also excellent duck fat potatoes in herby dressing and hefty bowls of Japanese curry that will restore your morale after struggling up Bramley Mountain trail. It’s only a matter of time before places like Delhi and other quiet Western Catskills towns get busier. So take advantage of Hollow while you can still feel like a regular. Food Rundown photo credit: Anne Cruz Pastries The cafe selection rotates daily. Sometimes, it will even change in the time it takes for you to order, inspiring you to hop right back in line. There are typically a few sweet cookies and moist, springy carrot cakes, and almost always slices of focaccia topped with savory things like golden potatoes and roasted onions. There are no bad choices here, and you should try as much as possible. Gochugaru Cheddar Biscuit With Gravy All of the baked goods at Hollow are winners, but we especially like getting this biscuit to fuel up for outdoor exploring and antique hunting (and it’s one of the few regulars in their pastry rotation). The biscuit is soft and crumbly, with little salty nuggets of cheese and a hint of spice. Ordering the gravy is mandatory, and we always find ourselves swiping other pastries we got through the rich pool on the plate. photo credit: Anne Cruz Trout Dip Look, we’ve eaten a lot of trout dip over the years and throughout the Catskills. (Our bodies are probably 70% river fish at this point.) But the one at Hollow easily outclasses most versions. The dip is creamy with lots of fresh dill, and the pickled red onions and crunchy endive add some welcome salinity and texture. There’s a lot of stuff in this dish, yet the fish still shines. And makes us daydream about spending $600 on fly fishing gear. photo credit: Anne Cruz Duck Fat Potatoes These little potatoes are smashed, fried, and then drizzled with lots of aioli, herb sauce, and scallions. The plate ends up looking like a tide pool filled with pearls, seafoam, and kelp, but still has a very landlocked flavor profile from the duck fat and chicken salt. Each bite has the perfect amount of all of the different elements, and the smashed baby potatoes have crisp craggly edges and a soft interior to pick up lots of sauce. Rice Bowl Hollow’s dinner menu mostly consists of seasonal small plates using local produce with minimal intervention. The exceptions are the rice bowls, which can be loaded with sweet, tomatoey curry or feature chicken and rice with a crispy sprinkle of shallots depending on the day. Get one if you need something bigger than the little snacking plates." - Anne Cruz