COLUMN: The Lake House blends historic Adirondack charm with … – Rome Sentinel

RICHFIELD SPRINGS — As the warm winds of summer settle into the Mohawk Valley, local road trips are a treasured pastime, and the roll through a lush, lilting greenscape to an authentic Adirondack-esque 1800s lodge, restaurant, and tavern on the shores of Canadarago Lake in Richfield Springs, famed for its healing waters, is a worthy one.

The Lake House has served residents and resorters since 1843, just shy of 200 years. You know at first sight it’s someplace special; when you cross the threshold into a bygone era, you know why. Period furnishings, vintage photographs, stately stone hearths, and antique accouterments fill spaces framed by post and beam architecture.

Every curio corner smacks classic, including a tavern where you’d expect to find a bartender in a starched white button-up and black bow tie wiping the rim of a bump class with a linen napkin. Belly up! Or settle into a Windsor-backed chair along a wall of picture windows revealing vistas of spring-fed, crystal-clear Canadarago in the soft-lit dining room, warmed by a crackling fire.

But the only fires crackling this season are in the outdoor firepits. Summers at the Lake House are famed for Saturday night concerts. Acclaimed local bands take the tented stage with the lake as their backdrop as folks fan out on the lapping lawn, laying on blankets or lounging in Adirondack chairs, tapping toes to familiar tunes on a summer night.

The lodging curates a culture of comfort and good company. Rooms are cozy, boast lake views, simple yet thoughtful decor, and inviting common spaces, including a living room/library, reading nooks, and an outdoor deck for sipping coffee as the valence of upstate sunrises sparks off the water.

Remember, old houses don’t belong to people; people belong to them. A speakeasy during the 1920s, this old house once belonged to gangster and bootlegger Jack “Legs” Diamond, who made it his summer home. 

While current proprietors Chris and Gene Corrigan, retired school teachers, and their four children have owned the property for 27 years, their family has “belonged” to The Lake House far longer.

Enjoying a tradition of Friday night suppers at the historic local haunt, when the opportunity to be the next people to belong to it went up for sale, the Corrigans just knew it should be them.

When asked about the best part of being proprietors of such a place, Chris Corrigan replied without pause, “My kids loved it … they just loved being here.” 

A wet Saturday afternoon let up long enough for a stroll to the shore, then a sip on the patio before rain shepherded us inside. A ½-lb burger was piled high and perfectly cooked.

The fish fry — beer-battered, fresh haddock set off by creamy house-made slaw — came as close as any claiming to be “the best around.”

The menu offers customary fried fare, a slate of salads and sandwiches, and house specialties like French Onion Au Gratin soup, Chimichangas, and Lake House Crab Cakes. Summer starters include fresh steamers, and entrees cover surfs, turfs, lamb, pork, and pasta. 

For dessert, Profiterole, a puff pastry filled with vanilla ice cream, latticed with hot fudge and warm caramel, and dolloped with fresh whipped cream, was a shareable confection!

The Lake House boasts “creating memories since 1843.” A memory … is an experience worth recalling. It’s one of those places that you’re just glad still exists somewhere in this world. On the shores of Canadarago, at the end of a lazy drive from the cityscapes of Utica-Rome, an experience worth recalling … waits for you.