Hudson Hil's

Hudson Hil's sits in a cheerful eyebrow Colonial on Main Street in Cold Spring. In warm weather, there's fierce competition for outdoor seating on the quaint (but petite) flower-lined porch.

The breakfast-brunch-lunch joint is run by Bob and Hilary Hayes. "We wanted to be a larger part of the community that we're in and have the time to raise our kids ourselves," says Hilary, who traded Wall Street for Main Street in 2010.

Bob, a classically trained chef-turned-stay-at-home-dad, returned to the kitchen with a vengeance. He brings creative complexity to familiar comfort foods, making over 90 percent of the products in house, from the sausages to the potato chips to the baked goods, using all local produce and meat.
"There's a focus on fresh ingredients with well-balanced flavors," says Hilary. A customer favorite is the shirred egg—two baked eggs on bed of Swiss chard, roasted mushrooms, leeks, and garlic, topped with fontina cheese. For those with a sweet tooth, the babka French toast is a must-have, which comes topped with chocolate sauce, espresso cream cheese, and fresh strawberries.