On paper, the two themes of Camptown’s Casa Susanna don’t match. The hotel in Leeds looks like a set for a forgotten Mad Men episode with its vintage roadside sign and relatively nondescript location. But the menu dials in on modern Mexican dishes and heirloom masa, rather than mountain-side americana. 

The result is a shockingly good combo. It’s the only place where you can eat incredible regional Mexican cuisine in a mid-century Catskills time capsule. So if you’re looking to celebrate something special Upstate, you can’t do much better.

photo credit: David A. Lee

photo credit: David A. Lee

photo credit: David A. Lee

photo credit: David A. Lee

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If there were corn-based award shows, Casa Susanna would win the (very real) Golden Cob for its cast of tetelas, tlacoyos, and tortillas filled with rich mushrooms, blood sausage, and squeaky alpine cheese. And somehow, the meat courses are just as good. There’s tender mackerel with zesty nettle salsa, dripping shreds of goat birria, and glistening strips of dry-aged steak served with rich bits of jammy bone marrow. Almost everything is topped with fresh herbs or vibrant flowers, which not only lend color to the moody, earth-toned dining room, but also balance the fattiness in slices of grilled beef.

photo credit: David A. Lee

photo credit: David A. Lee

photo credit: David A. Lee

photo credit: David A. Lee

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The service is attentive in a way that’s almost hard to notice. Waiters will magically appear the second you realize you need more tortillas, or let you linger like you’re at your dining room table at home and don’t wanna go to bed yet. That makes it easy to lose track of time here, even as the sunlight fades from the wide low windows and you go for another round of strawberry jalapeño elote sours or boozy celery sodas. 

By the time your chocolate tamal comes around for dessert, you’ll either be booking your next trip to Camptown, looking up flights to Jalisco, or, most realistically, both.                   

Food Rundown

Masa

Consider it your number one priority to order everything on the masa menu. The triangular-shaped tetela resembles a folded paper hat, made with firm blue corn that melts together with the alpine cheese, tender pink beans, and salsa verde in each bite. Funky savory notes in the blood sausage tamal are softened out by the subtle sweetness of yellow heirloom corn and zingy julienned vegetables. All the nixtamalized items—tortillas, tamales, and tostadas—are made in house and have the perfect springy texture with a hint of grain.

photo credit: David A. Lee

Smoked Goat Birria

The Great New York Birria Frenzy of the early ‘20s has died down a bit, but our excitement over Casa Susanna’s platter full of goat won’t fade anytime soon. It’s hard to tell where the red-tinted consomme ends and the orange-tinted ceramic bowl begins. Either way, the liquid imbues the shreds of meat with moisture and tomatoey juiciness. The platter of crunchy radish slices, smokey cactus slices, and silky salsa make it easy to assemble the perfect taco with scientific precision. Our only complaint is that the accompanying basket of tortillas isn’t a Mary Poppins bag filled with endless layers of pliable corn. Get an extra order for the table (or three).

photo credit: David A. Lee

40-Ounce Dry-aged Ribeye Steak

This large format steak is great if you’re coming with a big group or someone who’s down to go all-in on beef, no matter the cholesterol consequences. Slices of thick-cut, bone-in ribeye have a gorgeous char and an interior that’s pinker than a baby’s pinched cheeks. Between that, the soft bits of fire-roasted bone marrow, smoky grilled asparagus, and rich, spicy salsa, you have all the makings of a heavenly taco. There are also a few more ultra-rich pieces that can be carved right off the bone.

photo credit: David A. Lee

Chocolate Tamal

Everything on Casa Susanna’s menu is worth bragging about, but the chocolate tamal is the dish we continue to evangelize to our friends, family, and dog walkers. Rich creamy chocolate infuses every bite of velvety yellow corn masa, and tiny cocoa nibs add a bit of crunch. Still, what elevates this from a standard chocolate cake-adjacent dessert is the fluffy corn husk cream, which lends a bit of milky moisture to the tamal and an almost mushroom-like earthiness to the dish.

photo credit: David A. Lee