The Hudson Valley’s food & drink scene is rapidly heating up as we head into spring. From a restaurant/provisions market on the ouskirts of Hudson to authentic Southern-style barbecue in Great Barrington, and a reimagined concept for an old favorite in Beacon, here are 5 spots to eat in the Hudson Valley in May.
Kitchen Sink Supper Club
157 Main Street, Beacon | Kitchensinkny.com
After a long dining room closure for COVID, Kitchen Sink Food & Drink in Beacon reopened in January as an exclusive supper club. In this iteration of the restaurant, chef Brian Arnoff seeks to recreate the experience of going to a friend’s house for dinner, with a rotating, seasonal menu and communal seating. Guests can make a reservation and join in the communal dining experience, in which they’re seated with other parties, not just the people they came with. The prix-fixe menu switches every four to six weeks, according to what’s in season and what regional cuisines are inspiring the chefs. There’s no substitutions or long menu. It’s simply what Arnoff and his co chefs have chosen to serve you. Meals are five to six courses, with an optional beverage pairing.
Tony and Nick’s
298 Wall Street, Kingston | Tony-nicks.com
The iconic building at the corner of Wall and John streets in Uptown Kingston has been home to many restaurants over the years, including Alebrijes and the Kingston Tea Garden. Since 2018, it’s been Palizzata, a white-tabelcoth restaurant serving up Northern Italian fare like vitello tonnato and porchetta. But owners Eric and Joseph Cafaro noticed that when the pandemic began, their Ellenville restaurant, the more casual eatery Tony and Nick’s, was thriving while Palizzata, with its sit-down service, was struggling. So they pivoted, reopening the spot in March as a second Tony & Nicks location with a menu of classic Italian-American favorites, like chicken parm, meatballs, burgers, and brick-oven pizza. The Kingston location also offers up housemade pasta dishes like garlic cream alfredo ($16.99), shrimp scampi ($21.99), and stuffed rigatoni ($19.99) alongside a small provisions market of imported food, which they launched mid-pandemic.
Related
Palizzata in Kingston Reopens as Tony & Nick’s
Quinnie’s
834 Route 66, Hudson | Quinniesnewyork.com
When the pandemic hit and most of her gigs went up in the air, New York City event planner Quinn Levine decided to dive headfirst into a long-time dream. She and her husband, who had moved upstate together in 2018 to start their family, bought a run-down, 250-year-old farmhouse, six minutes from the center of Hudson on the side of Route 66, and set about restoring it. With a fresh coat of lemon-yellow paint the old building catches your eye as you drive by. Inside, you’ll find Quinnie’s—part breakfast and lunch spot, part provisions market, part community gathering place. When conceptualizing the menu, Levine and her co-chef Amy Hess wanted approachable food that would still push diners a little out of their comfort zones. Think a meatball sub with chermoula and harissa ($16) or an egg sandwich with parsley butter and anchovies on a milk bun ($12). Sourcing from the surrounding farms, Quinnie’s offers a fresh, innovative shake-up on roadside breakfast and lunch fare.
Momma Lo’s BBQ
284 South Main Street #9, Great Barrington, MA | Mommalosbbq.com
You’ve got to love the story of Momma Lo McClendon and her barbecue, going from a tent in a parking lot in Craryville to a coveted spot in Great Barrington, in the midst of a pandemic. Tucked into the back of the well-trafficked Great Barrington House Atrium, Momma Lo’s may be humble in size and appearance but is serving up the authentic Southern-style barbecue that South County has been missing. The menu is simple and classic: combos ($17.50-$35.50), like pulled pork, brisket, jerk or barbecue chicken, and ribs, served with two sides; or family dinners that range from a whole rack of ribs ($45) to the Stanley Platter, which offers a taste of everything ($69.50). The sides are what you’d expect, with a level of execution you probably wouldn’t expect in the Northeast: collard greens, baked beans, corn muffins, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and a house salad. Open Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and early dinner, Momma Lo’s has had lines out the door since the doors of its brick-and-mortar opened in March.
Alimentari Rossi & Sons
27 Eastdale Ave N, Poughkeepsie | Rossideli.com
Since 1979, Rossi & Sons has been serving up classic Italian deli fare in a shoebox location on South Clover Street. It’s a Poughkeepsie institution and the sandwich gold standard in the region. After long COVID delays, the four Rossi brothers have finally opened its second location at Eastdale Village Town Center, a self-billed “live-work-dine-shop-play experience” on 60 acres outside Arlington. Alimentari Rossi & Sons is the family’s take on a traditional Italian food hall, with multiple stations announced by neon signs where you can order meat and cold cuts (prosciutto, anyone?), wild-fermented loaves and pastries, antipasti, cheese by the pound, and, of course, sandwiches. As the brothers iron out the kinks, they’ll add paninis, salads, and a pasta bar, among other offerings.
This article appears in May 2022.
