Buttercup
Mixologist Kat Dunn was primed to open her own fast casual cocktail bar in Hudson this summer, but...COVID. Dunn's pivot: Buttercup, providing the guilty pleasures of summer like lobster rolls and hot dogs, soft-serve ice cream and cocktails in juice pouches. Starting this month, they'll switch their primary focus to delivery and take-out, though they'll remain open to diners on weekends with heat lamps on the patio. Signature lobster rolls are fading out to be replaced by a warm "crabster" cake served with tartar sauce and pickled veg on a bun ($12) and a deviled shrimp roll ($18) served with hot sauce aioli, B&G peppers, togarashi, and chives, with a side of slaw and chips. Dunn's also ladling out cool-weather classics like black bean chili ($9) and a chicken and shrimp gumbo ($13) over rice.
Abandoned Hard Cider Outpost
1802 Route 28, Woodstock
In mid-August, the Hudson Valley-based micro-cidery Abandoned Hard Cider took over the one-time cafe, one-time souvenir shop in the lower parking lot of Hotel Dylan, rubbing shoulders with Santa Fe restaurant on Route 28 outside Woodstock. A charming shoebox garage space, is the first brick-and-mortar shop where people can visit the makers, Eric Childs and Martin Bernstein.There are four ciders on tap plus a rotating local beer and a craft kombucha (usually made by Childs, who founded Kombucha Brooklyn), all of which can be served in a flight, a four-ounce pour ($2-$5), or a 19.3-ounce growler ($8). You can also pick up four-packs to go for $15-$20. Despite the syrupy-sweet nose, the Classic is a super light, bright, crisp dry cider that recalls champagne. The Abandoned Hard Cider Outpost is open Wednesday to Sunday. Check website for times.
Arrowood Farms Brewery & Distillery
Despite this roller coaster of a year, big things are happening at Arrowood Farms in Accord. July 1 marked the opening of onsite restaurant the Apiary. The menu ranges from snacks like the Bavarian pretzels ($6) to heartier bites like the Goose sandwich ($11) and burgers ($11-$12). They also dish up an all-day brunch menu on Sundays, including papas bravas, served with a fried egg ($8); a bacon, egg, and cheese ($8), and a fried chicken sandwich on a locally made milk bun ($11). Food isn't the only new thing. On October 3, the distillery released its first small-batch, unrefined New York State spirits for sale on-farm. They launched with vodka and gin, distilled onsite on the grain with local ingredients and no added enzymes.
Harana Market
The former Wittenberg Store space in Mount Tremper is set to reopen in mid-November as Harana Market, an Asian market and Filipino deli. Harana is the Tagalog word for serenade, and wooing the small Catskills community in need of more diverse Asian culinary options is exactly what owners Christina Mauricio and Eva Tringali have set out to do. Alongside a suite of staples like tofu, soy sauce, and kimchi, the couple will also be serving up a seasonally rotating menu of Filipino classics handed down to Mauricio from their grandmother. Daily offerings will include dishes like crispy lumpia Shanghai, chicken adobo, and arroz caldo, a chicken and rice congee topped with boiled egg, fried garlic, crushed chicharron, scallion, and a squeeze of lemon. On weekends, the menu will feature treats like pan de sal, a soft breakfast bread typically eaten warm with butter and a coffee that will be stuffed with ube jam, coconut, and more.
Kitty's
Aside from dive bar Half Moon and upscale bar/restaurant/hotel WM Farmer & Sons, food options have been slim down on the Hudson waterfront—until Kitty's opened in September. Kitty's is a one-stop shop across from the train station: breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, hot lunch dishes, fruit cups, coffee, and a market with pantry staples›› from pasta, milk, and olive oil to fresh fruits and veggies from area farms. The food menu is refreshingly minimal. Served till 12pm, the breakfast menu stars an egg-and-cheese on a sesame seed bun for $5. A side of housemade sauerkraut is free, and you can add bacon for $2. Past noon, chicken is the star of the show. Get a whole bird by itself, a quarter or a half chicken with sides, just the sides, or all of it all together for $10 to $34. The sides are worthwhile and include things like perfectly crispy potatoes cooked in chicken fat and sticky rice with a ginger scallion sauce.
First Capital Poke Bar
Max Glausen was sous chef at Sushi Makio under sushi master Makio Idesao for 10 years before venturing out on his own last month with First Capital on Wall Street in Uptown Kingston in the former Wildebeest/Elephant storefront. (Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish made of fresh fish,seaweed, candlenut, and sea salt.) Poke, once thought of as an appetizer, is now commonly eaten as a meal in the form of a poke bowl—fresh poke on a bed of hot steamed rice or on a fresh crisp salad. Options range from a wagyu beef bowl ($33), vegan bowl ($17), shrimp tempura bowl ($28), and tuna bowl ($15). Take-out only.
