On September 1, 2013 a cherished personal restaurant, whose owner and chef Ralph Buess retired, closed its doors. Following are photo momentos of the years we were privileged to enjoy dinners prepared by Chef Buess. His cordial staff, Richard (Rich) and Barbara served us with distinction and genuine warmth. A running joke by Ron concerned the location of our usual bottle of wine - originally a "bin" number. Well, the bin number was eliminated but Ron would count down the menu, calculate the number, and order it from Rich, which led to jovial interchanges to verify the order.

The menu could be ordered a-la-carte or price fixe for all the courses. In recent times the price was $45.00 which included appetizer, soup, salad and entree. Also included was a scoop of sorbet before the entree to "cleanse the palate". The choices were fabulous, such as such as "Country Sausage" appetizer: Home made and smoked country sausage, grilled and served with glazed onions and Port wine. Bon Apetit! The Tory Tavern will be missed!

Tory Tavern

A History of the George Mann Tory Tavern

This interesting background history was taken from the last day complementary dinner menu.


Tory Tavern

August 14, 2006

Ron and myself at the front entrance of the Tory Tavern in Schoharie, New York on a fine Sunday in August.


Tory Tavern

June 16, 2013

Shirley in front of the flower garden leading to the Tory Tavern entrance.


Tory Tavern

September 23, 2007

Ron and Shirley admiring the fountain and goldfish pool garden in front of the tavern.


Tory Tavern

December 19, 2004

Ron in the side dining room, mostly used for large dinner parties.


Tory Tavern

December 19, 2004

Bill and Debbie Lucarelli joined us for a festive dinner at the tavern. Bill drove us to the restaurant in his Chrysler Pacifica. Lucky for us since it started to snow before we left the restaurant and I-88 became very slippery. We saw a car off the road but got home safely in his sturdy SUV despite the inclement weather.


Tory Tavern

December 19, 2004

Waiting for our appetizing choices to appear.


Tory Tavern

December 19, 2004

The bartender in the downstairs bar preparing our drinks.


Tory Tavern

December 19, 2004

The dining room in the front of the house. Note the replica furnishings and authentic color of the room. The sconces on the wall were hand-made to colonial specifications.


Tory Tavern

June 16, 2013

Picture of our happy group with the beginning appetizers on our plates and the uncorked bottle of wine on the table.


Tory Tavern

September 1, 2013

Chef Ralph Buess with his sous-chef in the kitchen on the final day before his and wife Irma's retirement. (Photo by Shirley)

Wikipedia reference: "The Sous-Chef de Cuisine (under-chef of the kitchen) is the second-in-command and direct assistant of the Chef de Cuisine."


Tory Tavern

September 1, 2013

Yes, those are three swans (a Tory Tavern trademark) with leftovers on the trunk of my Camry in the tavern parking lot. In my hand is my copy of the complementary farewell dinner menu.


Go to Home Page.

Original: September 13, 2013.