About

Welcome to our dream come true.  We are thrilled to have you join us in what we hope will be a very memorable experience. Everyone likes a good love story, don’t they?  Here is ours.  

Phil, now a local resident of Hunter, born and raised in Westchester County, New York began his love affair with our beautiful mountaintop when he was just 3 years old.  Spending many weekends with his 3 older brothers and parents at the family’s “country” home, Phil was able to learn how to love the beautiful scenery and serenity this mountaintop could offer him.

Sarah, the love of Phil’s life has a lifelong history with our mountaintop, starting with her Grandpa Orville Slutzky, one of the founding owners of Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl.  Orville and Izzy (his brother) created a playground that is rich in history, fabulous stories of years past and friendships that will forever be a part of a legacy that Sarah holds very dear to her heart.  

How’d they meet? It’s the same story you hear over and over again on this mountaintop. Once upon a time there was a young guy staring at a friendly girl in a pub on a winter’s eve and the rest is history.   

As for Phil’s culinary story -- his love of all things related to food started at a very young age where he would choose to sit in the kitchen rather than play outside just to roll the special meatballs for his family’s traditional Thanksgiving soup with his beloved Grandma Jessie (giving us the perfect name for our restaurant). As the years went by, you could often find him in the kitchen with his grandma, mom, aunt or anyone else that would show him how to perfect all of the delicious foods his family loved to prepare.  He went away to college to study business and after graduating, he realized his true passion was in cooking and pursued his second degree from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. While completing his studies, he landed an externship at the highly rated Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Westchester County.  Rated as one of the country’s top Farm to Table restaurants, it was here that he observed a master of farm to table cuisine and ingredients which fueled Phil’s dream to open a place of his own offering the finest and freshest ingredients within close proximity to our mountaintop. 

We hope that when you leave you too will have a love story to tell.  We are so glad you are here to share in ours!

Phil DiFalco & Sarah Slutzky