The Hudson Valley is home to many small family farms that produce some of the freshest and most delicious ingredients in the country. Much of this bounty makes its way to local restaurants. From riverfront taverns to family-friendly cafes to bistros pushing the inventive limits, if you’re a foodie, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to experience farm-to-table dining at the latest crop of restaurants to open in the region.
By dining at farm-to-table restaurants, you’re not only supporting local businesses, but you’re also getting a taste of the region’s rich agricultural heritage. Farm-to-table dining in the Hudson Valley is not just about the food, it’s an experience that connects you to the land and the people who cultivate it. Not only is the food fresh and flavorful, but the farm-to-table movement is also environmentally sustainable. By supporting local agriculture, you’re reducing the carbon footprint associated with food transportation and helping to preserve the region’s agricultural landscape. Come to the Hudson Valley and indulge in the region’s bountiful harvests. Taste the difference that comes from locally sourced ingredients and experience the beauty of farm-to-table dining.
Chleo | Kingston
Chleo is like a scaled-down, Kingston version of Montreal’s iconic Joe Beef: casual, well-lubricated, delicious, carefully curated, and with a scrupulous focus on housemade ingredients, from XO sauce to rye soaked in butternut squash scraps to add sweetness to its Old Fashioned ($15), that looks insouciant. The renovated spot (formerly Ecce Terra) sports an elegant, neutral color palette and serves up locally sourced eats. For a teaser, order grilled bread or seed crackers and carrot ‘nduja spread, made with a mix of lacto-fermented and slow-cooked carrots, Calabrian chilis, and roasted garlic ($8). Dishes like the charred cabbage with anchoiade and kraut krispies ($12) and the wild mushrooms with porter vinaigrette, egg yolk, and breadcrumbs ($17) offer an umami-packed vegetarian option. If you want meat, though, go for the grilled short rib with black trumpet duxelle and jus ($32). The natural-leaning wine list ranges from an Oregon Syrah to a Catalonian Malvasia with some 30 selections, almost half of which are available by the glass ($11-16).
North Star at the Alander | Copake
A couple years after opening the Alander, a reimagined boutique lodge in Copake, owners Jason Seiler and Reid Kendall have recently opened an upscale-casual onsite restaurant, North Star, with a focus on New American favorites and New England seafood. The menu features clam chowder ($12), lobster bisque ($14), and an appetizer of PEI mussels with Dijon cream and lager ($15). Entree choices include a pan-seared Atlantic salmon ($32), a 16-ounce New York strip steak served with jumbo tiger shrimp ($45), roasted duck breast with garlic-herb spaetzli ($29), and a vegetarian Moroccan stew with acorn squash, chick peas, sweet potatoes, and jasmine rice ($27). The bar and restaurant are open Thursday through Sunday, with happy hour starting at 4pm and dinner service at 5pm. The drink list includes carefully curated wines, beers, and spirits.
Norma’s | Wappingers Falls
Asking Crystal Williams to choose a favorite menu item at her family-friendly bakery/cafe in Wappingers Falls is like asking her to choose a favorite child—but she does have to mention the biscuits. They’re made from scratch in-house, like all the other baked goods that Norma’s offers, which range from Bundt cakes topped with icing (available in raspberry, mocha, and double chocolate) to garden loafs (a fan favorite) and banana muffins. Offered in seasonal rotations, the baked goods can be paired with oven-baked, grilled, or cold sandwiches that feature homemade spreads. For sandwiches, customers are encouraged to opt for biscuits instead of bread or bagels. Options include classics like the tuna melt, ham and Swiss, and turkey, alongside geographic specialties like the Southerner (eggs, sausage gravy, and honey butter between biscuits) and the Californian (a vegetable-laden meal with microgreens, avocado, and hummus.) An extensive drink menu features all of the usual espresso drink offerings as well as teas and tea lattes, hot chocolate, and freshly squeezed lemonade, with specials like Norma’s Olé (a spicy mocha).
Kip’s Tavern | Rhinecliff
Kip’s Tavern is that increasingly rare breed of eatery that combines cozy-chic digs, professional service, tasty food, and entrees priced under $25. The menu is small—just five entrees: ricotta cavatelli ($21), Atlantic salmon ($23), chicken paillard ($20), chicken pot pie ($22), cheeseburger ($20)—with an emphasis on elevated pub fare. There are also nightly specials. Opened last October by New York City industry vet Christopher Dorsey, Kip’s Tavern is in the former China Rose space on the waterfront in the tiny hamlet of Rhinecliff, just around the corner from the Amtrak station. With a couple dozen patio seats facing the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains beyond, Kip’s Tavern is a prime spot for summer sunset dining.
Cafe Espresso | Woodstock
Entrepreneur Lizzie Vann is on a mission to revamp Woodstock’s historic sites, starting with the Bearsville Theater complex and now with Cafe Espresso. The coffee shop at the corner of Tinker Street and De Vall Road was a favorite haunt of Bob Dylan and other folkies in the early ‘60s and, later, the building housed the Center for Photography at Woodstock. The spot has reclaimed its 1962 name and cafe function, albeit with reduced seating, as Vann works to renovate the rest of the building. Given the name, it’d be a sin not to offer the full range of coffee drinks, which the cafe serves up with organic coffee beans, complemented by pastries from neighboring biz Nancy’s Artisanal Creamery. Sidle up to the small bar or grab a table and enjoy the throwback decor.
Blackbarn Hudson Valley | Saugerties
When Tom Struzzieri wasn’t able to find a suitable buyer for his epic waterfront property Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern, he pivoted, as shrewd businesspeople do, instead lightening his workload by offloading the restaurant’s management to Manhattan-based Blackbarn. The Saugerties spot, with its 150-seat restaurant and stunning waterfall views, will be the first upstate outpost for the NoMad bistro and opened in April. Given their practice of sourcing local and seasonal ingredients from Tristate farms and their barn location (already an anomaly for New York City), the move to the Hudson Valley makes sense, putting Blackbarn closer to the agrarian sensibility already at the heart of their identity. The kitchen is helmed by Executive Chef Marcos Castro and features inventive hotel cuisine. Start with a black mission fig pizza ($18) or Hudson Valley foie gras ($26) before moving on to eight-hour BBQ beef ribs ($42) or roasted Faero Island salmon ($36).
The Lemon Squeeze | New Paltz
The formerly rundown Murphy’s Irish Bar in New Paltz has taken on new life after a thorough renovation as a piano bar and restaurant. On Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:15pm till 8:15pm, house pianist Steve Scholz plays a variety of dinner music. Following Scholz finishes, the piano show revs up with a variety of pianists who play everything from show tunes to Billy Joel and Elton John and modern pop. Singing along is encouraged. Executive chef Jerusalem Marston-Reid, a Newburgh native and former executive chef at the North Plank Tavern, has crafted a New American-inspired menu rooted in fresh, local ingredients and house-made touches. Starters include lobster bisque ($13), wedge salad ($13), and wagyu beef sliders ($18). Day boat scallops ($38), Cava-brined double-cut Berkshire pork chop ($28), and a cauliflower steak ($21) are among the main dishes. There’s also a late-night menu after 9pm on weekends. There’s also an inventive cocktail list ($14-$18) and a selection of wine and beer that pairs locally produced beverages with European and Californian offerings.
Upstate Taco | Stone Ridge
This roadside taqueria in Stone Ridge turns out melt-in-your mouth carne asada, chicken, and pork tacos, mulas, and a variation on burritos. Co-owner Mauricio Miranda single-handedly runs the open kitchen at a dizzying pace, slapping corn tortillas on a sizzling grill. Nearby, his wife Sasha takes orders and hands out restaurant pagers. For an app, start with nopales, grilled cactus paddles that that taste like something between a shishito pepper and a pickled jalapeño ($8); elote, Mexican-style street corn ($5); or a top-loaded tostada, a crispy corn tortilla piled high with chipotle braised chicken, beans, cheese, shredded romaine, crema, and cotija cheese ($6.50). Everything is made in house with local ingredients from the salsas and guac to the aguas frescas (blended fruit drinks). The food comes out hot and fast and the place is cranking during the lunch rush. In the evenings, families file in for a bite after soccer practice and couples cozy up in the corners to sip tajin-rimmed margaritas and craft beer.
The Kitchen at Salt & Fire | Saugerties
The Saugerties restaurant scene tends to have less turnover than the surrounding towns and cities, so openings are notable. Last August, the Kitchen at Salt & Fire opened in the former Bella Luna location. The business is co-owned by Jorge and Rihanna Rodriguez, who are also the proprietors of the beloved Mexican restaurant and bar Main Street Cafe, and chef Joseph Della Chiesa and his wife Kaitlyn. At Salt & Fire, old world techniques like wood-fired cooking infuse a contemporary, locally sourced menu. Global culinary influences range from Spain (oven-roasted chorizo and peach flatbread, $18) to Korea (koji barbecue pork belly meatballs, $13) to France (cod a la grenobloise, $32), plus raw bar offerings like oysters and shrimp. Inside, you could easily be in a European bistro with exposed brick and beams, wood floors, and white tablecloths. There’s also rooftop seating for the warmer days.
This article appears in Spring/Summer 2023.
