220 North Road, Milton, NY
Reservations: 845-795-4050
www.henrysatbuttermilk.com
Dinner Wednesday through Sunday
Lunch Friday & Saturday
Sunday Brunch
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| The new kitchen at Henry's Restaurant |
The dining room is located on the second floor and will seat about 50 diners. A comfortable bar awaits you at the entrance. The lighting in the dining room is fascinating, utilizing what look like blown glass wine carboys as fixtures. A dozen hang from the dining room ceiling. The look and feel of the place is surprisingly casual, and not what I was expecting; I would feel out of place with a suit on.
Our new favorite bartender, Simone, was behind the stick last week when we stopped in with the Wednesday Night crew. Simone attends the CIA when she is not working at Henry's and aspires to use her culinary training in her career pursuit to reinvent hospital meal service. Oh, to be young and ready to take on the world! In the meantime she also makes a nice drink.
Adam has expanded the wine selections quite a bit since our visit in March shortly after they opened, and it is beginning to look like a wine list should. It is not substantial by any means, but offers a few value priced selections of most varietals. A Chateau St Jean Cabernet goes for $39. A Bearboat Russian River Pinot Noir is listed at $36. Dyson's Millbrook Proprietor's Reserve Chardonnay makes an appearance at $32. There is a nice selection of wines by the glass, including a Beringer Pinot Grigio ($7) and a Trivento Malbec ($7.50).
The menu and the service is as casual and informal as the setting. Small plates can be used as appetizers or mixed and matched to feed a table for dinner. We tried the crispy duck spring rolls ($10), served with a curried dipping sauce. The Hudson Valley cheese plate is a steal at $11, including Sprout Creek Farm's wonderful Touissant and Camus cheeses, along with a portion of Coach's goat cheese. The Maryland crab cakes ($12) had just enough spice in the remoulade to call it Creole, and were very nicely done.
The kitchen also puts out a range of rustic pizzas ($13 - $15). Offerings include a duck and arugula pie, trimmed with carmelized onions and Fontina cheese, or an artichoke / spinach and Gorgonzola combo, or a classic margharita.
I tried a duck breast from Labelle Farms ($25), accompanied by some fresh spring asparagus and a porcini risotto. The Hudson Valley Cattle Company's grass fed strip steak ($28) was nicely prepared, plated with mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas, and drizzled with a tangy horseradish demi. Other offerings included a grilled pork chop ($25) with sweet potatoes, snap peas and toasted walnuts, or a Wellington Farms chicken breast with
rosemary garlic red potatoes and baby bok choy. A coffee and Sambuca will finish the meal nicely.
Henry's is another welcome addition to the Hudson valley dining scene. The locale and the setting belie the comfortable, casual atmosphere in the dining room. I see Henry's not only as a "special occasion" destination, but also a place to stop for a pizza and a glass of wine at the bar. Now that the weather is accommodating, I would arrive early enough to stroll around the grounds before dinner and take in the views.
If you do stop in please let our other readers know about your visit in the comments section.
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