Boitson's, Kingston NY

Boitson's Bistro
47 North Front Street
Kingston, NY 12401

Reservation: 845-339-2333
www.boitsons.com
Dinner served Wednesday through Monday

It has been a few years since I have written about this Hudson Valley jewel in Kingston's Uptown Stockade District. That is an oversight on my part, since Boiton's is a regular stop on our list of Hudson Valley favorites, especially if we are at UPAC for a show. It was just such an event that occasioned my most recent dinner, which included one of my favorite seasonal dishes. 

April in the Hudson Valley is primarily one of culinary anticipation. We plan our gardens; we plant our early peas; we wait, and watch for the first sign of buds on the grapevines. April also means the arrival of two of my all time favorite dishes - shad roe, and soft shell crab. I have not yet had shad roe this year, but soft shell crab was on the menu at Boitson's on Monday when I stopped in for dinner.   

You may recall from prior posts that Boitson's is one of my favorite bistros. I love everything about the place - the decor, the bar, the crowd, the menu, the kitchen, even the music playlist, which focuses on classic rock and Motown. On arrival I tweeted - Is there a restaurant bar that's more fun than Boitson's? A few restaurant owners tweeted back in agreement. This is a great place. There are twenty odd seats in the dining room, plus outdoor patio seating when the weather permits. I prefer to eat at the bar.  More often than not, you will have a hard time finding a seat there, and there is good reason for that, especially if Coby is working. (She is one of our favorites too.)  From our vantage point at the bar you have a birds eye view of the open kitchen. Doc started with some bluepoints, which the restaurant usually offers as part of a good raw bar selection. The fried oysters are among the best in the area. I spied some chicken livers on the appetizer listing, which were corn meal crusted, fried, and quite tasty. But I was waiting, with bated breath, for my soft-shell crab. 

Soft-shells are usually prepared in one of two ways - sauteed, or deep fried. The deep fried versions are popular lunch offerings, often served on a sandwich with tartar sauce. I prefer a saute with a little lemon and white wine, which seems to better complement this delicate morsel. Some kitchens favor a saute with an almondine sauce or burnt butter. 

Size does matter. Crabs are shipped in five ascending sizes - mediums, hotels, primes, jumbos, and the largest - whales, which are better than five inches across.  My plate arrived with one of the largest crabs I have seen - I assume it was a "whale" - perched on a bed of beautifully sauteed spring ramps and baby fingerling potatoes. This marvelous pile of seasonal treasures was topped with a sunny side up egg. What's better than that?    

The proprietor, Maria Philippis, has a hit on her hands. Last Monday - a Monday! - there was not an open seat in the place. Maria recently expanded her operation to include accommodations  on the upper floors at The Inn at Boitson's. Now you never have to leave.

If you do stop in please let our other readers know about your visit in the comments section.

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The Bullhouse ~ Chestertown, NY

The Bullhouse
6269 Main St.
Chestertown, NY 12817
518.494.8027

Opens 4:30 PM
Closed Tuesday

Restaurant Website
Restaurant Facebook Page

The Bullhouse is a North Country newcomer, located in a renovated storefront in the center of Chestertown on Route 9.  The proprietor is one Lonnie Shenefield, whose bonafides include a stint in the kitchen at Hudson Valley landmark, Ship Lantern Inn.  We found her filling in at the bar when we stopped in for a quick dinner last night. It was our first visit to the Bullhouse, which has the clean look and feel of a brand spanking new venture.  No clutter on the walls and back bar yet, no donated sombreros from a regular's last trip to Cancun.  A side patio is still under construction, which I assume will provide space for some al fresco dining this summer.

Jar'd Wine Pub

Jar'd Wine Pub

Water Street Market
10 Main Street
New Paltz, NY 12561

845 255 8466
Jar'd Website Jar'd Facebook Page


If you actually needed another reason to visit the New Paltz Water Street Market, you now have one. The market is located on the western edge of the village of New Paltz, overlooking the Wallkill River Bridge. The Rail Trail passes alongside the entrance to the market, adding a constantly changing stream of bikers and hikers to this picture perfect setting. It is a setting that I dream will someday spring up along the WalkWay / Rail Trail in the City of Poughkeepsie. The market is an eclectic collection of cafes and shops (think Woodstock), including one of my favorites - The Cheese Plate. There is a tiny space next door to the Cheese Plate that is now occupied by the Jar'd Wine Pub. 

In Praise of the Chicken "Oyster"

A post about chicken oysters is probably something that you would expect to find on Mr. Dave's blog Ridiculous Food Society of Upstate New York. Mr. Dave can always be counted on to focus our attention on some previously unheralded culinary treasure, like Deep Fried Hot Dogs or Stewart's Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream. I have been waiting for him to write a post about chicken oysters, but since nothing has been forthcoming, I decided to tackle this on my own.

You may not be aware of the chicken oyster, which any professional chef, if pressed, would tell you is the most succulent piece of any roast chicken. Each chicken has two, about as big as your thumb, situated athwart the backbone, just forward of the thigh bone connection. They are neither white meat nor dark, but somewhere in between. During the roasting process they sit bubbling in the pan juices, absorbing said juices and chicken fat and whatever herbs and spices you have basted the chicken with. 

This is the Chicken "Oyster"

The two tiny morsels are too small to present as part of a dinner plate, so most chefs will save them to entice whichever dining room waitstaff they are hitting on that month, or pop them in their mouth when no one is looking. I have never seen them offered on a restaurant menu, until last year on a trip to New York and a visit to Daniel Boulud's db Bistro Moderne. The Executive Chef, Laurent Kalkotour, had used them as the supporting player in a dish of escargot, but for me the chicken oysters were the star of the plate. Sauteed with snails and button mushrooms, the dish was served in a puddle of parsley black garlic consomme, and topped with crostini spread with a schmear of roasted beef bone marrow.  

db Bistro Moderne's Escargot with Chicken "Oysters",
Mushrooms and Marrow Spread Crostini

This dish raised all of these bistro "peasant classics" to a collectively inspired dish which I have added to my Top Ten Life List of Best Dishes. I am unable to return to db Bistro without ordering this dish, which is available as an appetizer or as an entree (or both!)  

Sugarbush Farm Potluck Dinner

One of the wonderful things about living in Schroon Lake is experiencing the community coming together to help a neighbor in trouble. Unfortunately now is one of those times. Our neighbors at Sugarbush Farm experienced the nightmare of a barn fire this week, losing not only the structure but many of their animals. We met the owners, Jennifer and John Otruba, only last year when Mary and I joined their new CSA.  Nicer people you will not meet. (These are people that name their animals so I always wonder how they manage to part with the contents of the packages we pick up from Jen every month.)
This coming Tuesday their friends and neighbors are sponsoring a "pot luck" dinner and fundraiser at the Mountainside Bible Chapel gymnasium, to help them through this tragedy. The details of the event can be found on the Potluck Facebook Page. Please come if you can. Alternative sponsorships are also available if you want to help out.

James Beard Foundation recognizes four New York Restaurateurs

Last week the James Beard Foundation recognized four local New York restaurateurs from outside of New York City. Pete Wells, the New York Times restaurant reviewer, and former James Beard selection committee member, took issue in his blog post with New York City's weighting in the award categories - or lack of weighting, given the number of great restaurants in the city. He, and some other observers, think the committee goes out of its way to find a broad geographical cross section of participants, even if the best restaurant in Cleveland may not garner one star in New York. I personally think Mr Wells should get out more (and just follow the compass north). We have some rocking restaurants in upstate New York, serving spectacular dishes, prepared with locally and sustainably grown or foraged products and locally raised livestock. Our local restaurants were sourcing their ingredients from the local neighborhood farms long before "farm to table" became a marketing buzzword. Local produce brokers like Red Barn in New Paltz, with huge support from the Culinary Institute, have been providing locally grown vegetable varieties to many of our favorite eateries for decades (and now New York City restaurants crow about the fact that the arugula on your plate was actually grown in the Hudson Valley.) Our local network of farms is only one component in the local dining story. Our friends at the Culinary Institute of America must also be given credit for "raising the bar" of our local dining scene.  
It also warrants mentioning that our local culinary experience is usually available at a fraction of the cost of a meal in New York City.   

Upstate New York restaurants appeared four times on the list of Semifinalists for the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards. 

Chef Tim Loomis of Liquids and Solids at the Handlebar in Lake Placid is a first time semifinalist in the regional chef award category for "Best Chef - Northeast". 
Francesco Buitoni from Mercato Osteria in Red Hook, a semifinalist for "Best Chef - Northeast" in prior years, was named again this year.  You can read our own praise for Chef Buitoni here. 
Damon Baehrel of Basement Bistro in Earlton is another semifinalist.  Chef Baehrel's tiny Catskill restaurant should be on everyone's bucket list. (and it may take the rest your time on the planet to score a reservation, so start that process as soon as possible.) I have written about my dining experiences at this epicurean temple here and here. 
Yonos in Albany was recognized for their wine program. It is worth noting that Yonos was one of only twenty restaurant wine programs chosen nationally (not regionally). High praise indeed. 
Congratulations to all!  


If you do stop in please let our other readers know about your visit in the comments section.
I hope you'll "Like" Rambler on Facebook  

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Ideas? Recommendations? Email me at NorthCountryJoe@gmail.com

Poughkeepsie Ice House on the Hudson

Ice House
1 Main Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 112601

Phone: 845.232.5783
Serving Lunch & Dinner ~ 7 Days

Restaurant Website
Restaurant Menu

Poughkeepsie's newest waterfront dining destination is located off Water Street, five hundred feet north of Main Street (and River Station). If the place was any closer to the Hudson you would get wet (which actually happened recently during Hurricane Sandy.)  The building that houses the restaurant has been put to good use, after serving as the Waryas Park snack bar for many years.  Local builder, Kevin Lund saw more potential for the location and the results of the renovation efforts are quite extraordinary. Along with sons Michael and Mathew and co-owner Tom Rolston, he opened the new riverfront eatery last fall. The bar and restaurant dining room serve as a river front theater - looking out on the Mid Hudson bridge just south, and the Walkway over the Hudson nee Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge to the north. The tables in the center of the dining room are "hightops", which allow for a view over the window tables, and the booths along the back wall are on a raised platform allowing an unobstructed view over the hightops. There isn't a bad seat in the house. 

The Ice House dining room overlooks the Hudson.

Mountain Brauhaus Restaurant, Gardiner, New York

Mountain Brauhaus Restaurant
3123 US Route 44
Gardiner, NY 12525

845 255 9766
Lunch and Dinner, Wednesday through Sunday
Closed Monday and Tuesday

www.mountainbrauhaus.com

This perennial Hudson Valley favorite has been serving up great food and great times since 1955.  We have been dining here regularly for over thirty years. The proprietor, Mark Ruoff, is the third generation of his family to greet diners at the door, and the Mountain Brauhaus seems to just keep getting better.  

Classic German platters of schnitzels and wursts and rouladen and sauerbraten with spaetzle and sauerkraut are now complemented with daily specials featuring new American variations on traditional themes.
The restaurant's location, nestled under the Shawangunk ridgeline on the Minnewaska Trail / Route 44, only adds to the Brauhaus experience. It is as close to Bavaria as you can get without getting on a plane. The waitstaff dresses in traditional German garb. Local photographs of the surrounding Gunks look like they could gave been taken in Germany.

Tasting Notes: Mint, Kingston NY

1 West Strand
Kingston, NY 12401
845.338.2006

Dinner, Wednesday ~ Sunday 4 - 10 PM
Restaurant Website

Fans of the Kingston Strand's old Downtown Cafe will be happy to hear that Chef Graziano Tecchio is back at that location, now reopened as Mint. The limited menu offers Graziano's housemade pastas and sauces, a terrific facaccia, personal size thin crust pizzas, and a few Italian classics.The website MintLoungeandTapas.com is somewhat misleading (as the menu offers no tapas), but our meals last Wednesday were all very well prepared, generous portions, and we came away most impressed with the kitchen. The place itself has not changed much since its days as Downtown Cafe. It has the look and feel of a 1960's village pizzeria, with 1960's village pizzeria tables and chairs. (The good news is that the prices are from the 60's too.)

Market Street ~ Rhinebeck, NY

Market Street
19 West Market Street
Rhinebeck, NY

Phn: 845-876-7200
Open for Dinner ~ 7 Days
Lunch on Friday
Brunch ~ Saturday & Sunday

www.marketstrhinebeck.com

Fans of Gianni Scappin will be happy to hear that he is back in Rhinebeck. Gianni was one of the original co-owners at Gigi Trattoria, just around the corner from his newest location. He also runs Cucina Woodstock, and my sources tell me that a third location In Arlington - near Vassar College in the old Angelisa's space - will be opening this spring.
19 West Market Street is located just north of the Beekman Arms, and most recently housed the Mill House Panda. Locals with long memories will remember it as the location of Bob's Tavern.

Rock and Rye Tavern ~ New Paltz

Rock and Rye Tavern
215 Huguenot Street
New Paltz, NY 12561

845-245-7888
www.rockandrye.com

Dinner ~ Tuesday through Sunday
Closed Monday

Rock and Rye Tavern is located in the historic Huguenot section of New Paltz, in the building that formerly housed the Locust Tree Inn. It overlooks the New Paltz golf course, and the nearby ridge line of the Shawangunks. A prettier spot will be hard to find, especially on summer evenings out on the back patio. Fans of historic structures and settings will love the place. It is easy to visualize a colonial era meeting in the dining room, with a kettle of punch warming in the fireplace.

Elephant ~ Kingston, NY

Elephant Wine Bar
310 Wall Street
Kingston, NY 12401
Phone: 845.339.9310

www.elephantwinebar.com
Hours: Tues ~ Sat, 5 PM - 10 PM

Elephant bills itself as a casual tapas ~ wine bar. Co-owners Maya Karrol and Rich Reeve opened the popular uptown Kingston eatery five year ago to rave reviews and quickly built a loyal following. An overnight sensation, right?  Not exactly. There is much more to the story.

More Hudson Valley Table Scraps ~ New show at Bull and Buddha

New Management, New Menu 

Bull and Buddha, 319 Main Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Ph:   845.337.4848

www.bullandbuddha.com

Dinner Tues - Saturday: 5:30 - 10 PM

Orient Ultra Lounge: Fri / Sat - 11 PM - 3 AM

We visited downtown Poughkeepsie's Bull and Buddha Restaurant a few times this summer. The Bardavon Gala patron's party was held there, and once again they did a terrific job handling the 500 plus attendees. Later in the year they scaled back their days and hours of operation - which always seems to hurt business on the days you remain open, and it did.  A new management team has been brought in to revitalize the venue, which includes expanded hours of operation, a new menu, and plans for opening for lunch. We stopped in last Wednesday and shared some small plates at the bar.

Nettle Meadow Artisanal Cheeses

Nettle Meadow Farm & Cheese Co.
484 South Johnsburg Road
Warrensburg, NY 12885
518.623.3372
www.nettlemeadow.com
Farm Tours every Saturday
Store open 11 AM - 3 PM
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday

It is hard to believe that it has only been eight years since Nettle Meadow's owners, Lorraine Lambiase and Sheila Flanagan, pulled up stakes in California, drove cross country, and started the business we now know as Nettle Meadow Farm and Cheese Company in Thurman.  They were hobbyist cheese makers with a dream, ambition, four - yes four -  goats, an epic work ethic, and I assume a wicked sense of humor.

The search for the perfect poutine.

Poutine may be the perfect food, and now I have found the perfect poutine. 

Poutine with Oscars sausage gravy
 and Maplebrook Farm cheese curds.

No one knows exactly when this North Country dish drifted south across the border from Quebec. Perhaps we can thank the colonial era fur trappers for this adopted local favorite. Poutine is truck driver hearty and diner simple.  It is as much a member of northern tier staples as the michigan, and is often consumed as a complement to that upcountry hot dog variant. If New York was a swing state, both presidential candidates would go out of their way to be filmed at South Pattsburgh's Clare and Carl's roadside stand, dressed in their finest flannel eating dripping mouthfuls of poutine, washing it down with cans of Genny cream.   

As plain and straight forward as a dish could be, poutine has not been immune to the nouvelle variations of modern gastronomy.  This pub and greasy spoon staple has been treated to toppings of everything from shredded lobster to rabbit. My favorite - until yesterday - was the dish created at Anthony Bourdain's favorite Montreal house of pork -  Pied de Cochon, where poutine is served topped with a slab of seared fois gras (and if I recall correctly, a side of Lipitor). 

Yesterday I tasted a dish that trumped that hands down. Now I appreciate that many purists are already grimacing at the thought of messing with what could be considered perfection. Why do we need still another variant of this heavenly blend of all three major food groups (french fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy). I'll tell you why. There was one missing component, and I didn't realize this until dinner last night at barVino Wine Bar and Restaurant in North Creek.

Westport Hotel and Tavern ~ Westport, NY

Westport Hotel and Tavern
6691 Main Street
Westport, NY 12993
518-962-4501
TheWestportHotel.com

Open 7 Days ~ All Year!

We stopped in at the Westport Hotel and Tavern yesterday, after coming across Lake Champlain from Vermont on the ferry to Essex. It was immediately apparent that this restaurant held one significant advantage over most Adirondack restaurants at this time of year. They were open.
The new owners, Jim and Jayne Vance, have plans to brave the North Country winter and cater to the locals through all four Adirondack seasons - summer tourist season, ski season, mud season, and black fly season. I assume they know what they are in for, as the family owns a number of other local businesses including the Victorian Lady Bed and Breakfast down the road, and the Lakeside Motel at the Westport Marina.

Brasserie 292 ~ Poughkeepsie, NY

  

Brasserie 292

292 - 294 Main Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(Phn) 845-473-0292

www.brasserie292.com

Dinner: 7 Days
Lunch: Mon - Fri
Sunday Brunch

I first wrote about Brasserie 292 last summer, shortly after they opened. (You can read that post here.) It was much too early for a legitimate review, but even after that very first dinner - during their first week of operation - we all came away most impressed.  I've eaten at Brasserie many times since then, and watched as the dining room staff has settled into their routine. I've enjoyed watching the menu develop as specials become regular menu items, or not, and featured wines come and go on the list. Both cartes are classic "bistro" -  lots of solid but inexpensive wines (most marked up around 3/1) from Languedoc, or Rhone, or Beaujolais, to complement bistro staples like duck confit ($24 & terrific), cassoulet ($22), moules frites ($19) and steak tartare / ($12 / $19) ~ my staple lunch order with a sliced baguette and a glass of Beaujolais.  Brasserie became one of our favorite stops and quickly was added to my list of Dutchess County Favorites.  It became our go to destination after our Monday night Bardavon meetings, where we take over the bar and usually dine on appetizers or the Monday night special - cassoulet.

The Cheese Plate, New Paltz, NY

The Cheese Plate
Water Street Market
10 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561
Phone ~ 845.255.2444
www.cheeseplatenewpaltz.com

How exactly does someone decide to go into the retail cheese business? I want to open a store, and I think I'll sell.... mmmm... cheese. I wouldn't think there would be a lot money in cheese mongering, unless you are in a large metropolitan area.  Maybe they just really, really, like cheese. Luckily for us, Jeff and Theresa Logan took the plunge, and we have a very nice cheese store right here in New Paltz. Better yet, it is the Water Street Market, which is well worth the trip, even if you are not in the market for cheese.

Schroon Lake Fish & Game Club Annual Chicken and Lobster Bake

Schroon Lake Fish & Game Club
Hoffman Road, just east of the Adirondack Northway (87)

The Schroon Lake Fish & Game Club will host their annual end of summer chicken and lobster bake next Saturday, September 8. The festivities start at noon. Tickets are on sale at the club, Flanagan's, the Timberwolf, Black Bear in Pottersville, or at Schroon Lake Liquors.   

The Schroon Lake Fish and Game Club Chicken Crew

Your's truly and the Bullet Pond Boys will be manning the "firehouse" chicken grills, applying our famous BBQ rub and secret sauce.  Stop over and say hello!

Dana and Dan try not to fall in the lobster cooker. 

The lobster crew will be trying to remember how to boil water and wait for the lobsters to turn red.  That's really hard so try not to interrupt them while they're cooking.  

Planning a Day at Saratoga Track

The "Greeter" at Siro's Restaurant

Dining, parking, and wagering. 
The complete guide to dealing with the crowd. Or not. 

We made our annual pilgrimage to the track last Friday, a summer ritual steeped in tradition. It is the only day of the year when I will visit a racetrack, or place a bet. I am not a serious "student of the ponies", but after thirty years of practice, I do know what an exacta is, and even how to calculate the cost of "boxing" said exacta. I have a betting routine that helps assure I enjoy the day.  I combine the favorite with the long shot in an exacta, which requires both horses to finish win / place (first and second). To me there is no fun in just betting the favorite and winning your money back. On Friday I bet the first eight races before leaving for our dinner reservation (more on this later), and I went eight for eight. I lost every race. Since I bet $10 a race, the day cost me $80. (This is also an annual ritual.) Mary, on the other hand, has no such routine, no system or budget of any kind, and won enough to pay for dinner.  Go figure.
Planning a day at the track presents huge issues for me because I abhor crowds, absolutely hate sitting in traffic, looking for parking, and most of all - eating volume produced "fair food". You can see the problem. If you share these aversions, you may be interested in reading about our routine.