Those in the know have been anticipating this opening. Cinnamon, located on Rhinebeck’s bustling East Market Street, consistently ranks high in readers’ choice awards (first-place winner in the Chronogrammies four years in a row) and Widyarathna says the restaurant has been popular enough that they hadn’t even considered a second location since opening in 2010. But, they were approached by the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce when the owners of Mountain Gate Indian Restaurant announced they were planning to retire after 30 years. “The Chamber said they would love to have a restaurant like Cinnamon in Woodstock,” she says. “At first, I said no, but one crazy day I changed my mind. You can say I love a challenge.”
Something New
The challenge she’s chosen is to break through preconceptions about Indian food and show diners the magic that results when a competent and creative chef from Sri Lanka, the island nation in the Indian Ocean just south of India, uses seasonal Hudson Valley ingredients to inspire a fresh take on dishes from across the Indian subcontinent, without sacrificing fragrant aromas, a bold array of colors, flashes of heat, a multitude of spices, and the balancing sweetness that come together in the complex, regionally influenced cuisine that is traditional Indian food.
Prior to opening Cinnamon, Chaminda trained under a South Indian chef who focused on home-style cooking, before working at Coromandel Indian Cuisine, a popular restaurant in Connecticut that won accolades for authentic cuisine. With the opportunity to start a second new business more than a decade later, the pair is finally able to explore their vision for a smaller, more modern menu focusing the chef’s talent on creative renditions of traditional dishes, and allowing him to be inspired by local farms.
Some fans of chef Widyarathana have been confused that the menus in the two restaurants are not the same, despite some dish names sounding similar to the unfamiliar ear. An example is the eggplant dishes bagara baingan, a specialty of the Hyderabad region, popular at Cinnamon, and baingan bharta, on the Nirvana menu. Why do they sound similar yet taste different? “Cinnamon’s traditional South Indian eggplant [bagara baingan] is made with tamarind and about eight or nine different spices. However, this version [baingan bharta] is a North Indian recipe with mashed eggplant, masala [spices], and green peas,” Shiwanti explains.
Malai kofta, a Punjabi dish of vegetable dumplings simmered in a creamy cashew and almond sauce with turmeric and fenugreek leaves is a staple at the Rhinebeck restaurant. At Nirvana, the dumplings have been given a crisp-textured quinoa crust, and the sauce features shishito peppers and a little added heat.
Diners will be surprised, yet pleased, in many small ways by the carefully curated menu at Nirvana. Currently on the starter menu are six dishes ($10 to $15), and a sharable dish, “Chaat for the Table” ($25), an assortment of beloved street-food dishes, that includes pani puri—fried, hollow, crispy pockets stuffed with chickpeas, potatoes, and spices—that comes in three flavors: traditional, with tamarind mint-water; dahi-style with sweet and tart yogurt; and with black caviar, the restaurant’s own version, as well as samosa chaat, adapted for fine dining.
In addition to the already mentioned main dishes, baingan bharta and malai kofta, are three other vegetable dishes, each $18 and vegetable-forward, perfectly cooked, and well presented. There are four chicken dishes ($22), including tandoori chicken, a biryani, and additionally a duck vindaloo ($30). In fact, the dishes and breads grilled in the tandoori oven are some of the surest dishes in the chef’s kitchen, and he blesses lamb chops ($34), jumbo prawns ($28), and sea bass ($30) with its powerful heat. The tandoori oven-baked flatbreads (naan and roti) are everything they should be: steaming, yet light and chewy, and crisp at the tops of the bubbled dough. Truffled onion kulcha is one of the chef’s innovations—a naan topped with fresh chilies and cilantro, drizzled with truffle oil.
Sea bass tandoori is rubbed with mint, cilantro, peppers, garlic, and ginger, then grilled in a tandoor and plated atop a coconut cream sauce, adding a rich base that contrasts the crisp grilled fish. A Keralan simmered coconut milk fish curry (Malabar meen curry $25) is a counterpoint to the other two grilled seafood offerings.
“In our short time open, I’ve had many people ask, ‘Cinnamon has such a great reputation, why not keep the same menu and the same name?’ But I say, ‘Why not do something totally different?’” —Shiwanti Widyarathna
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The menu includes three lamb dishes. Laal maas ($22) is a traditional Rajasthani preparation for goat or lamb originally developed for royal hunting parties, and the spiciest dish on the menu. The lamb is tender with a smoky, deep red sauce of low-heat Mathania chilies subdued further by yogurt and garlic, and finished with a smoky, clove-infused ghee. There is also a delicate lamb korma with fresh curry leaves.
The menu doesn’t neglect the important side dishes. There are two dals ($8), a cucumber raita ($4), and a mango chutney ($4) to complement the main dishes, which can be shared in the traditional Indian style of eating, but could also be eaten on their own, western style.
Small is Beautiful
Explaining the smaller menu, Widyarathna is sorry to disappoint regulars missing their Cinnamon favorites. “The smaller menu is intentional both because the kitchen space in Woodstock is a little smaller, but also because we wanted to do something innovative. At Nirvana, it’s more about making a few things really well,” and taking cues from the seasons.
The same concept applies to their beverage menu, with a few carefully designed cocktails like Trip to Goa ($17), a Goan triple-distilled cashew feni spirit, chili, and lime juice; or a Lychee Martini ($16) made with vodka, lychee juice, lime juice, and lychee fruit. The English Rose ($16) offers a sour approach to Hendricks gin with lemon and grapefruit juice and cardamom bitters, tempered with rose water. A well-rounded selection of red, white, rose, and sparkling wines is available by the glass ($13 to $15) with bottles around $40 to $60, topping out with a 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape ($112).
Nirvana is currently open for lunch and dinner daily except Tuesday. Widyarathna mentions that they’re rolling out a brunch menu as well. “We’ll offer some traditional egg brunch dishes and some savory options like tandoori chicken and lamb sliders with crispy onion relish on naan,” she says.
Although the menu is inventive and complex, the atmosphere offers a mellow dining experience with softly lit seating for 50 among three rooms. Gone are reminders of the former Mountain Gate restaurant at 4 Demming Street. Nirvana’s design is sleek and contemporary, with seating at delicate-looking wooden bistro tables placed near earth-hued walls. As a nod to India’s tropical climes, an accent wall at the far end of a family-style table features a bold palm tree wallpaper; the motif is replicated throughout the dining areas as hand-painted murals by local artist Richard Prouse, who also painted the stunning Ganesh mural at Cinnamon.
“The dining space in Woodstock is a little larger than Rhinebeck, with a few rooms and a beautiful bar, but truly the menu itself is a new experience,” Widyarathna says. “In our short time open, I’ve had many people ask, ‘Cinnamon has such a great reputation, why not keep the same menu and the same name?’ But I say, ‘Why not do something totally different?’ Even going into opening our first restaurant—I was working in fashion at the time, but my husband always wanted his own place, and so his dream became my dream. I always like to try new things—it makes me happy. Even if others think it’s maybe a little crazy.”
Nirvana serves lunch from 11:30am to 2:30pm weekdays; until 3pm on weekends. Dinner is served from 5pm to 9:30pm Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; until 10:30pm Friday and Saturday; and from 4:30pm to 9pm on Sunday. Closed Tuesday.
