POUGHKEEPSIE: Po-Town Lowdown

by Anne Pyburn and photographs by David Cunningham, May 28, 2011

When comic Paula Poundstone played the Bardavon Opera House last winter, she enlightened TimesSquare.com about exactly why there have been so many Poughkeepsie jokes: “It’s just so much fun to say.” Beyond that, there has been a tendency among the unenlightened to regard Po-town as a punchline. But should anyone make the mistake of thinking Poughkeepsie is a joke, this Queen City of the Hudson definitely gets the last laugh, because the only thing more fun than saying Poughkeepsie is being in Poughkeepsie.

A Tasty Soup
For straight-up entertainment, the Bardavon Opera House is just the beginning. There’s the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, which magnetizes everything from wrestling to Riverdance; it was hosting Jeff Foxworthy not long after the Bardavon featured Paula Poundstone. There’s the Powerhouse Theatre, a collaboration between Vassar College and New York Stage and Film that brings some roughly 20 productions to the community every summer.

“Poughkeepsie will surprise you,” says Luciano Valdivia, manager of Bull and Buddha, an Asian-fusion restaurant notorious for ambrosial signature drinks. Bull and Buddha is located in the Main Street district, a part of town music lovers have flocked to for decades to partake of the nightlife at The Chance. Valdivia says anyone who hasn’t been down that way lately is missing out.


“Our place, the Artists’ Palate, Karma Lounge, Brasserie 292 are gearing up … I snuck a peek in there and it looks pretty cool,” he reports. “Then there’s Little Italy, the Mount Carmel area, with Rossi’s Italian Deli, Café Bocca, Café Aurora, Delafield’s. There’s a whole scene over on Raymond Avenue near Vassar, too, of course. It’s blending into one extremely tasty soup, from classical to avant-garde.”

Indeed, the culinary scene is encyclopedic. The gluten-free veggie delights and creative hotdog toppings of Zagat-rated Soul Dog, the Indian delicacies at Kismat, and the authentic gyros at Kavos round out a bill of fare that’s also rich in standards like pub grub and Italian family-style. If you’re in a café mood, try Lola’s or the Crafted Kup.