Hungry for a new local places to eat out? This month brings an infusion of Spanish food and wine to the Hudson Valley with two new tapas restaurants. A fan-favorite food pop-up gets a brick-and-mortar restaurant, and an acclaimed baker sets up shop in Hudson.
Misto
7466 S Broadway, Red Hook
Wilson and Nadia Costa, owners of Misto, have received accolades in the Hudson Valley for their pop-up and catering businesses. The Brazilian-Ukrainian husband-and-wife duo have taken the natural next step, opening a cafe and market on Broadway in Red Hook. Bringing to bear the foodways of their respective cultures with hyperlocal ingredients, Misto is beloved for its inventive yet accessible, affordable, and hearty food. The cafe serves up sandwiches, salads, and hot menu items like housemade calabrese sausage and vegan chickpea curry, plus a rotating list of daily specials, which can range from braised beef shank to creamy polenta.
Bar Brava
96 Broadway, Newburgh
Under owner Philippe Pierre and chef Mike McCree, the spot at the corner of Liberty and Broadway in Newburgh once occupied by Mama Roux is now Bar Brava. With tapas, curated wine, cocktails, and live music, the new restaurant seeks to bring a taste of modern Spain to Newburgh with a small-plates approach that allows you to pick your own price point. There’s no mold-breaking here: Expect classic tapas like albondigas (meatballs, $12), camarones al ajillo (garlic shrimp), croquetas de jamon (ham croquettes, $14), and pulpo a la parilla (grilled octopus, $16). Filling entrees include paella ($32/$38) and pan-roasted branzino ($33). Wash it all down with a sherry, vermouth, or a glass of Spanish wine.
Mel the Bakery
324 Warren Street, Hudson
Mid-pandemic, acclaimed baker Nora Allen launched Mel the Bakery on the Lower East Side. The accolades racked up quickly, but when the building went up for sale, Allen decided to move Mel upstate. Opened in December in the former Breadfolks space in Hudson, Mel dolls out artisanal bread and gleaming pastries made with freshly milled flour and heirloom grains. Plans to unroll a full menu are in the works, but for now choose from loaves like olive sunflower ($12) and Danish rugbrod ($14). Pastries include their lauded sourdough chocolate croissant ($5.75) and French favorite kouign-amann ($6) a caramelized pastry that’s both crispy and fluffy. Savory ham and cheese croissants are an irresistible savory option ($6.50).
Spettro
44 Lagrange Avenue, Poughkeepsie
With a gleaming, tiled interior (including the impressive pizza oven), Spettro brings the concept of Italian gastropub to Poughkeepsie with Sunday brunch, lunch, and dinner. Mid-day options range from sandwiches like the PLT (p for pancetta, $17) to panzanella salad, pizzas, and, for starters, tasty morsels like shrimp in white wine sauce ($18) and grape and ricotta crostini ($16). Dinner is a hefty affair with mains ranging from scallops to pork chop and steak frites ($35-$37). The oven pumps out panouzzos (i.e. pizza sandwich) and mouthwatering pies like the Santa Rosalia with tomato cream, Calabrian chili oil, Sicilian oregano, stracciatella, basil, and EVOO ($19). A few pizzas, like the Florina, topped with hot Italian sausage, roasted fennel, fior di latte, San Marzano tomatoes, and parmesan, come with sesame seed crust ($20).
Mirador
636 Broadway, Kingston
Where Lunch Nightly once created a gravitational center for Kingston’s hip and artistic, serving natural wine and inventive small plates in a punk-chic, red-tinged interior, you’ll now find a portal to Southern Spain. Musician cum restaurateur Nick Africano fell in love with Andalusia years ago, and since has done his part to bring the culture and libations of the region stateside with his bottling project En Rama Sherry Co. and the accompanying Enramistas Sherry Club. With Mirador, he recreates the Spanish taberna dishing up Andalusian tapas alongside imported sherries ranging from Fino to Manzanilla, wines, and conservas on Broadway. The cafe is open for lunch and dinner, with options like Spanish tortilla served with smoked mussels and tart apple ($15), plates of acorn-fed Iberian ham ($16), and patatas bravas ($10).
