Elixxr Cafe
304 Main Street, Beacon
First opened a year ago in the Hudson Valley Food Hall, Elixxr Cafe recently moved to its own storefront on Beacon’s Main Street. Pink and white dominate the clean, minimalist room containing five tables, comfy chairs with armrests, and a row of seats along the wall. The wellness cafe serves up adaptogenic lattes, matcha, and espresso drinks featuring close to half a dozen health-supportive ingredients from herbs to plant powders and mushroom tinctures, in a kaleidoscope of colors and flavor profiles. The drinks with ingredients feature natural plant remedies adapted from Ayurvedic practices and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Along one wall, shelves display items for sale, including herbs, plant tinctures, and cacao.
Gymkhana Cuisine of India
18 Westage Drive #12, Fishkill
Located in a sprawling asphalt wasteland in the shadow of a Walmart Supercenter off bustling Route 9, Gymkhana is perhaps not winning any beauty contests. But what it lacks in curb appeal it more than makes up for in quality and value with its a la carte and buffet offerings of Indian food, with a special focus on dishes from Kerala. Spices are imported from India, and the kitchen, headed by two co-owners and CIA grads, uses fresh vegetables and aromatics like curry leaves and chilies. You could stick to the familiar classics (tikka, vindaloo) or branch out and try something new like the salli boti, a lamb curry sweetened with apricots and topped with crunchy straw potatoes. The buffet ($15.95 weekdays, $21.95 on weekends) offers the most bang for your buck and a road map to finding your favorites.
The Elm
20 Railroad Street, Great Barrington
Refined but not fussy, new addition to the Great Barrington dining scene the Elm provides a convivial and comfortable dining experience. Uplit, exposed brick and white table cloths pair with the century-old, meticulously restored mahogany bar to give the joint a definitive upscale vibe. The menu centers New England classics, including a range of seafood dishes from the hake crudo appetizer ($18) to the seared scallops main, served with polenta, shaved Brussels sprouts, pancetta, and truffle. With cognac mushroom glace, house riccotta, local maitakes, and crispy capers the housemade pasta packs an umami punch. There’s also duck and rib eye for the meat-eaters. The food menu is brief and tight and is accompanied by a wine-by-the-glass list as well as classic cocktails.
Cooper’s
47 E Main Street, Beacon
After Beacon’s beloved watering hole Dogwood abruptly closed last summer, months of speculation followed. In mid-January, the spot reopened with a bang as Cooper’s under new owners Brendan McAlpine and Marjorie Tarter. The couple are no strangers to the region’s hospitality scene, other current projects include the Beacon Movie Theater and the Wonderbar Cocktail Lounge contained within, and the Bird & Bottle Inn in Garrison. The squat brick building touts more than a century of history as a bar, and in its latest incarnation things haven’t changed that much from Dogwood—some seating upgrades, a kitchen remodel, and uncluttered walls that await time’s natural accumulation. The menu offers the classic American bar fare mash-up, with selections ranging from fish & chips to a kimchi rice bowl to tuna nachos and a wedge salad. The drink options are many, with PBR holding down the affordable end of the spectrum at a sunny $5. Cocktails are in the $12 to $16 range and the dozen wine options come by the glass or bottle.
District Ramen
47 Lander Street, Newburgh
District Ramen joins Downstate on Lander Street, hinting at an emergent and unlikely culinary corridor on a residential street off Broadway. A rad, red-and-yellow sun mural lights up the brick wall behind the bar at the new shoebox Japanese spot, which peddles all your favorites from Ichimi cucumber salad and gyoza (both $6) to steamed buns ($9). If you don’t know takoyaki— octopus-stuffed fried dough balls drizzled with sauce, mayo, and bonito flakes—this is your chance ($9). But it’s still winter folks, and we’re all really here for the ramen. There are four options ($16-$19), each with a different broth base, including one veggie option. Spice lovers, make a beeline for the Edison bowl with tan tan broth and wavy noodles, topped with bean sprouts, bok choy, scallions, chili oil, ground pork, chili paste, and ground sesame ($17). District Ramen also offers sake by the cup ($6-$9) and rotating craft beer on tap.
