Welcome to our list of favorite dining destinations in New York's Hudson Valley and Adirondack regions. We visit restaurants, wineries, barbecues, and a smattering of off the beaten path culinary destinations like maple sugar shacks and fromageries. My friends and I have been dining out together weekly for over twenty years. The locations we write about are our favorite destinations. We are not claiming they are the best, just our favorites. The posts are not "reviews" in the classic sense. - we offer only our picks, not pans. We will leave the criticism to others. We are a happy blog. We much prefer a good bistro to "haute cuisine", especially if they also have a nice bar. We prefer a crock of cassoulet and a bottle of Beaujolais to just about anything else. If you enjoy simple home style rustic cooking with a decent (but not too expensive) bottle of wine, then pull up a chair and join us.



This Month's "Well Said!"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

Ferran Andria

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Mexican Radio ~ Hudson, NY

A day in Hudson NY, and lunch at ~ 


Mexican Radio
537 Warren Street
Hudson, NY 12534
www.mexrad.com
Lunch & Dinner, 7 Days


If you have not been to Hudson in a few years, then you have not been to Hudson.  To suggest that the town has undergone a renaissance would not tell the story adequately; you really need to see it to believe it. The last few times that we decided to "stop in Hudson for lunch" we have ended up spending the better part of the afternoon; there is too much to see and do.  There is a vibrancy to the place - the streets bustling with young hipsters sipping coffees and chatting and poking their heads into shops, and walking more cute dogs than any one town should have.
 The central business district on Warren Street is home to a fantastic collection of restaurants and coffee shops, very high quality antique stores, house-ware purveyors, and gourmet shops. One shop - Otto - is dedicated exclusively to Turkish imports - decoratively painted serving platters and hand woven fabrics, hammered copper coffee pots (and coffees) and of course, the requisite porcelain evil eye without which no Turkish home would be complete. Hudson is most definitely a culinary destination, where diners are faced with the delicious dilemma  of  eating top shelf Mexican at Mexican Radio, world class American bistro fare at DA | BA, some of the area's best barbecue at American Glory, or sandwiches constructed on what is arguably the best baguette in the Hudson Valley at Cafe le Perche. I suggest you buy said baguette to take home and use it with some razor thin sliced prosciutto cotto purchased from Olde Hudson Specialty Foods, also on Warren Street.  With so many wonderful choices, return trips are necessary, and keenly anticipated.


Serious Spice Rack
On our last trip we started our tour at Mexican Radio.  The restaurant is open every day. The owners have two locations - one here in Hudson and a second on Cleveland Place (off Spring St) in SoHo. Both offer the same menu, with the expected selections of Mexican fare, but with very unexpected attention to detail (for casual dining) in quality and construction and the presentation of the dishes. The result is a menu that has reaped accolades from fans and numerous publications here in the Hudson Valley and in New York.  The menu offers lots of vegetarian and vegan choices, and a concerted effort is made to source ingredients from local farms. It really does show. 
Mexican fare at its best speaks of freshly chopped tomato salsas and crushed avocado guacamole and briny seafood ceviche braced with lime juice and flecks of red hot dried peppers. And chorizo sausage. With Dos Equis.  All of the above can be found here in abundance.
Our extended lunch at the bar started with some very nice chorizo and a big bowl of piping hot butternut squash soup.  Very seasonal, and very nicely done.  I copped out and ordered the daily special - a "surf and turf" chimichanga, which is in essence a deep fried burrito.  Take a very healthy flat bread wrap of veggies and shrimp and steak, and drop it into hot oil. What's better than that?  This one - an overstuffed version the size of a smurf football - was just fantastic, with chunks of grilled flank steak and sauteed whole shrimp in every bite. All of this was smothered in a base of sauteed arugula and it was right up there with the best I've had anywhere.
Olde Hudson Charcuterie
It was a very nice start to a very nice day.
As I was walking up Warren towards Cafe Le Perche to buy some bread, I found myself eavesdropping on the young couple walking directly in front of me.  One was trying to convince the other to buy a weekend home in Hudson.  We would of course have to sell the Red Hook place, she said. How times have changed! Go see for yourself.  
I look forward to our next trip to Hudson.  Our first stop will be the charcuterie / cheese counter at Olde Hudson, where a wedge of Spanish Mahon cheese from Minorca has my name on it.  
          
If you do stop in please let our other readers know about your visit in the comments section.
Mexican Radio on Urbanspoon


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