The Catskills come to Tribeca

Jews love a good summer retreat, unless it's by the French. Seriously, didn't you guys have guns, or rapiers, or broken wine bottles, or anything? Land some tasty noshes from a retreat even more hilarious than that last sentence, at Kutsher's Tribeca.

Owned by the same family that managed the creme de la creme of Catskills getaways, Kutsher's Country Club, KT's bringing Manhattan the timeless style of that venerable 100-plus-year-old institution, which is said to have inspired Dirty Dancing, had its stage graced by everyone from Dangerfield to Seinfeld, and employed the likes of Red Auerbach and Wilt Chamberlain, so you know their plans are the best laid. The decor captures the club's mid-century heyday, especially in the pointillist-meets-pop-art posters of poolside scenes; an airy front lounge sports orb fixtures, white marble communal tables, and a copper bar, while the retro-kitsch dining room's "communal spirit" is complemented by green leather banquettes & booths, and slatted wood walls with recessed triangular designs, making it the perfect place to show off acute dates. The food's a blend of New American plates and updated Kutsher's classics, which means potato & leek knishes with house-cured pastrami & Emmentaler, matzo-crusted fried chicken, Friday night roast chicken with wild mushrooms & pretzel stuffing, and Catskill trout that's pan-roasted, which was mostly just Don Rickles slamming the crap out of him for constantly "playing the flute"

They've also given their original 'tails homage-rific names, from the Bug Juice w/ vodka, housemade fruit punch, grapefruit bitters, and soda, to a mix of gin, blueberry-lime cordial, mint, and smoked bitters called the Bungalow Bunny, which sounds like a cartoon starring a rascally rabbit who did more to fight Hitler than the French.