Cora, Hay?
Article By: Vice Chargée de Presse Ilona Weisman
Photos By: Bailli William Harris and Vice Chargée de Médias Sociaux Christina Richards
Delmar, New York
Coray Kitchen welcomed the Albany bailliage for the chapter’s start to 2025. That’s Coray—long ‘o,’ roll the ‘r’ (if you can) and end with ‘ai’ (rhymes with eye.) So explained Casey Carroll, one half of the team that opened the restaurant little more than a year ago with husband and Executive Chef Javier Villatoro. The restaurant takes its name from Chef Villatoro’s hometown in central Honduras, where legend has it a local woman Cora welcomed her hungry spouse home from the fields each day. He would ask “Cora, hay?”—the translation “Cora, is there food?” To which she would reply “Hay!” Thus, with a portmanteau the village got its name, and the restaurant found its mantra: “When our guests stop in for a delicious meal, we always say “Hay!”
Casey and Javier met in San Francisco in 2014 when both worked at Bi-Rite Market in the Mission District. Javier rose from dishwasher to Executive Chef to lead catering operations and a staff of 75. Casey’s front-of-the-house experience and background in food marketing complement the culinary skills inspired by Javier’s childhood in Coray. He learned to cook at home over an open fire; his family still lives in Coray where they fish in the river and tend hundreds of acres of farmland. That early link between growing and cooking influences the process at Coray Kitchen today. Gardens behind the restaurant and another at their nearby home supply herbs and vegetables for the restaurant kitchen, a launching pad for Chef Villatoro’s no holds barred approach to incorporating flavors from cuisines the world over.
Coray Kitchen is an intimate spot, the setting warmed by light woods and mixed-media art created by the owners’ seven-year-old daughter Magdalena. Guitarist John McIntosh played jazz favorites, as members and guests shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar sampled passed hors d’oeuvres: seared ahi tuna and ponzu in sesame crust, lamb meatballs bathed in roasted pepper sauce and queso fresco, and a delightfully crumbly disc sporting melted goat cheese and wild mushrooms.
Oysters are always on the menu at Coray, and on this night they arrived in scallop shells with Champagne sorbet and a dollop of caviar. Maître Rôtissseur Paul Dimm, chef/owner of the Scarlet Knife in Latham, dubbed the sorbet and roe ‘fruit component’ and ‘salt component’ in remarks on how the oyster course worked with Domaine du Haut Bourg Côtes de Grandlieu Muscadet Loire Valley 2023.
Chef Villatoro’s international take on food was on display in the next course: a merger of the French classic duck confit with staples of Mexican cuisine—an ultra-thin blue corn tostada, avocado mousse, cotija and cilantro slaw—ending in a dab of crème fraîche. The balancing act to redolent poultry and creamy avocado and cheese, Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé 2022 offered fruity florals of peach, tangerine, grapefruit and great minerality.
Next up, house made squid ink angel hair served as foundation for plump scallops seared just to an auburn crust. A spirited puttanesca united pasta, shellfish and Résonance Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2021, the wine a confab of cherry and berry and earthy spice from what Vice Echanson Rob Brass noted is the salinity of the Oregon coast.
Filet mignon rubbed with porcini imparted fresh interest to the menu stalwart plated with butternut squash risotto. The squash and rice made for a triumph of texture and flavor, a worthy foil to beef well-paired with Produtti del Barbaresco, Piemonte 2015.
Little gem salad was dotted with lardon and toasted walnuts beside squiggles of ardent balsamic reduction and Point Reyes Blue Cheese, the velvety cheese a fine ally to Acinum Prosecco Extra Dry, Italy NV. Calling up his Central American roots, Chef Villatoro adapted the popular Mexican drink horchata to sauce his vanilla butter cake with ice cream and a drizzle of salted caramel, a glass of the extraordinary Chateau Guiraud 1er Cru Classé Sauternes 2010 alongside.
As part of Coray Kitchen’s commitment to zero waste operations, the restaurant created a line of unique table décor made from its used oyster shells. That evening every diner went home with a wine stopper from the collection, featuring Coray art on an upcycled oyster shell, cleaned and processed with food safe epoxy resin.
Chef Villatoro is remarkable in that his food manages to be unfussy yet extraordinary all at once. To quote Casey Carroll, “For Javier, it’s a matter of the heart.” No one who dines at Coray Kitchen would disagree.
Notes on the Cast
Two couples came to dinner with the Chaîne for the first time: Katarina and Eddie Spitzer, and Kim and Robert Swidler, as well as repeat guests Cynthia LaFave and Paul Ripoli.
Following the introduction of the kitchen and service staff and the presentation of a Chaîne plaque to the co-owners, Bailli William Harris reminded the room that the Albany chapter meets again on March 1st at 677 Prime to celebrate that time-honored Louisiana custom – Mardi Gras!
