It started with a fire. About a year and a half ago, during wildfire season, one of the buildings on Eastwind Hotel and Bar’s Windham property sustained extensive damage. Rather than leave it, co-founder, chef, and food and beverage director Daniel Cipriani decided to build something new in its place.
The result is Dandies, a new restaurant at Eastwind Hotel and Bar in Windham that takes the familiarity of backyard barbecue and refines it with influences from Cipriani’s travels and his work at Dandelion, the group’s more formal sister restaurant near Big Indian. Cipriani describes it as a whimsical version of Dandelion—looser, more casual.
Coming out of Covid, “when everything felt so serious, we wanted to create a space centered around the classic backyard barbecue memories most people share,” Cipriani says.
Their approach to barbecue follows that same logic. It’s not tied to one region or tradition. “We aren’t purists focused on one specific style; we do a global spin on barbecue,” Cipriani says. A porchetta made from Berkshire pork belly is cooked in a vertical wood smoker before finishing on a hot grill for crisp skin. Short ribs go into a gravity-fed smoker with oak and a touch of applewood, held at 225 degrees for several hours until tender but not overly smoky. Chicken thighs are cooked over a more classic wood-fired grill.
The rest of the menu moves between barbecue staples and more unexpected additions. Plates include a colossal bone-in short rib ($39), porchetta ($16), smoked half chicken ($17), and cedar-grilled steelhead trout ($21), each served with a choice of two sides. On the unexpected end: masa-dusted shrimp ($27 as a plate, $19 as a sandwich) with tamarind tartar sauce; Norwegian pancakes in the morning; a beer float pairing Evil Twin’s fruited kettle sour with housemade gelato; and Belgian fries ($8), thick-cut and house-made, with a choice of two sauces from a roster that includes garlic aioli, Dutch war sauce (a satay peanut sauce with mayonnaise and raw onions), and sauce gribiche.
Breakfast, served Saturday and Sunday until 11am, has its own section: bacon and sausage breakfast sandwiches ($11 each), a short rib hash with shredded potatoes, caramelized onions, and two eggs ($14), and the Dandies Handie ($13), with fried eggs, pepperjack, pepper tomato jam, and avocado.
On tap are three Evil Twin beers, including the custom pilsner “A Little Bit Fancy,” a fruited sour, and a stout. Cocktails include the Campfire Mule ($16), made with Hudson rye, maple syrup, ginger beer, and a toasted marshmallow, and the Orchard Spritz ($16), with Aperol, spiced cider, and prosecco. Dandies serves four wines by the glass. Milea Estate in Staatsburgh’s red blend ($15), Infamous Goose’s sauvignon blanc from New Zealand ($12), Dr. Konstantin Frank’s gruner veltliner from the Finger Lakes ($10), and a Tensley syrah from Santa Barbara ($14).
Dandies is part of a larger refresh at the Windham property, which recently expanded with the Mountain House, 12 new guest rooms with views of the surrounding peaks and forest. The restaurant itself sits within a glass-walled space with vintage brick floors, natural wood, warm lighting, and a central carousel fireplace. Outside is a seasonal biergarten with communal tables.
As the seasons shift, the menu will too. Spring is bringing in foraged ingredients from the Eastwind Oliverea Valley property—ramps, fiddleheads, and dandelion greens worked into salads, pickles, and drinks. The menu and hours will expand significantly around Memorial Day.
Dandies is open Thursday and Friday from noon to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 9pm, with breakfast served until 11am on weekends. It is open to both hotel guests and the public.
Dandies is located at Eastwind Hotel and Bar in Windham. Follow @dandiescatskills for updates.
