Crabtree's Kittle House Restaurant And Inn In Chappaqua New York And Kittle House Chef Bradford McDonald

Many Manhattan restaurants have been stripped of their linens as we've embraced a pared-down aesthetic that leans heavily on "country" rusticity.

As such, a meal at Crabtree's Kittle House had us appreciating the irony: In an old carriage house nearly an hour outside of Manhattan, a Mississippi chef is resurrecting the refined city cuisine from which we've strayed.

But this isn't a sign of being out of touch. On the contrary, Bradford McDonald's playful tasting menus are seeped in the city's comfort gestalt; combinations as classic as peanut-butter-and-jelly take shape in a beetroot salad with slender strips of peanut meringue, delicate mâche and sour cherries.

In another jocular dish, McDonald buries rounds of fresh ricotta in sorghum flour, letting them rest overnight so that the cheese draws in the flavor. He then sets out on a mini truffle hunt to dig these self-formed ricotta gnudi (pictured) up from their flour bed, and dirties them in crumbled olives before they're plated with sweet 100 tomatoes and herbs foraged from the Kittle House garden.

Though the food alone warrants a trip to Chappaqua, the Kittle House makes you want to hang around long past your meal. Luckily, you can.

The recently renovated inn offers 12 guest rooms (some with fireplaces), and you can be sure that the lodgings receive the same careful attention as the dining room.

Rooms start at $183 per night, Crabtree's Kittle House, 11 Kittle Rd., Chappaqua; 914-666-8044 or kittlehouse.com