On-Hudson.com

4th Annual Hudson Valley Restaurateurs Week March 15-28 2010

http://www.prweb.com/releases/Hudson-Valley/Restaurant-Week/prweb3235494.htm

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2010 Offers World-Class Dining at Bargain Prices

Fourth annual Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, March 15-28, 2010, shows off this scenic New York State region as a premier culinary destination. Top chefs use local farm products, hotels feature special rates and foodies can take advantage of great prix-fixe meals.

Newburgh, NY (PRWEB) November 23, 2009 -- Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, March 15-28, 2010, is the perfect time to enjoy an early spring getaway to New York's scenic Hudson River Valley while indulging in world-class dining at bargain prices.

American Bounty at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park

The Hudson Valley food scene is vibrant. The Valley is home to the country’s foremost cooking school, celebrated artisanal cheese makers, world-class wineries and distilleries, and some of the best chefs in America,” says Janet Crawshaw.

For the first time this year, this much-anticipated Hudson Valley dining event will include two full weekends, making it even more tantalizing for those looking for a tasty getaway. Participating restaurants will offer three-course prix-fixe dinners at $28 and three-course lunches at $20.

This culinary extravaganza, now in its fourth year, shows why the Hudson Valley has become one of the nation’s most talked about dining destinations, according to Janet Crawshaw, Hudson Valley Restaurant Week organizer and publisher of The Valley Table magazine. The Valley Table is the recognized print authority on all things food related in the Hudson Valley and the go-to publication for dining, culinary, farm and agri-tourism information.

“The Hudson Valley food scene is vibrant. The Valley is home to the country’s foremost cooking school, a nationally recognized center for food and agriculture, celebrated artisanal cheese makers, world-class wineries and distilleries, and some of the best chefs in America,” says Crawshaw.

A weekend jaunt to the region can easily become a gastronomic adventure. To whet the appetite, visitors to the Valley during Restaurant Week can enjoy relaxing in an elegant spa, antiquing in quaint river towns, sampling wines and beers at local vineyards and breweries, tasting cheeses and other locally-produced foods at regional farms, and catching the first sap run at maple-sugaring operations. Many will want to include a fascinating tour of the Culinary Institute of America on their itineraries.

Because agriculture is still the Hudson Valley’s biggest industry, the use of locally produced ingredients on Restaurant Week menus is key to the event’s popularity. “Chefs go all out to use ingredients produced in the Hudson Valley, from venison, duck and heritage pork to artisanal cheeses,” says Crawshaw. “Chefs find inspiration and amazing ingredients in the surrounding farms.”

During Restaurant Week, Hudson Valley travelers can dine in a wide variety of wonderful settings. Consider Tavern at Highlands Country Club in Garrison, offering an elegant country atmosphere with antique tables and a blazing fireplace. Or experience the Village Tearoom in New Paltz, located in a landmarked building where hand-hewn beams lend antiquity and charm to the dining experience. At the acclaimed Restaurant 42 atop the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in White Plains, diners can enjoy new American cuisine and spellbinding 360-degree views. A new participant this year is American Bounty at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where the world’s premier culinary college offers imaginative global cuisine in an award-winning restaurant.

If it’s spectacular river views and great food you crave, choose from among the many restaurants offering riverfront dining, such as Harvest on Hudson in Hastings, Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry or the dramatic Xaviars X20 in Yonkers, with 25-foot vaulted ceilings and views down the river to the Manhattan skyline.

Overnight accommodations are available on the premises of some of the participating restaurants. Among them is the gothic-style Thayer Hotel at West Point with breathtaking river views, the Kittle House, a 12-room historic landmark inn in Chappaqua, and the historic Hudson House River Inn in Cold Spring. The Thayer, along with other hotels in the region, will be offering special rates for Restaurant Week. Unique lodgings can also be found at vintagehudsonvalley.com.

The 2009 event drew more than 125,000 diners, who discovered new culinary experiences at 87 restaurants in this wonderfully scenic region north of New York City. To consult the growing list of restaurants participating in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2010, go online to www.HudsonValleyRestaurantWeek.com.

To obtain a free Hudson Valley travel guide, call 1-800-232-4782. Online tourism resources include travelhudsonvalley.com andhudsonriver.com.

Travel to the Hudson Valley

By Car
The Hudson Valley is well-served by a network of highways. The New York State Thruway (I-87) and the Taconic State Parkway are the main North-South routes and I-90, I-84 and I-287 are the main East-West routes.

By Train

Metro-North trains run frequently from Grand Central Terminal in New York City to Poughkeepsie. Enterprise rental car pick-up can be arranged at many stations along the way. Amtrak stops at Yonkers, Croton-Harmon, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff and Albany, then north to Montreal with connections to the west.

By Air
Commercial air service brings passengers from all over the country into the Hudson Valley. Airports include Westchester County Airport in White Plains, Stewart Airport in Newburgh, Albany International Airport in Albany, plus LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Airports.

New-York ThanksGiving Dinner Cruise

http://www.newsday.com/blogs/entertainment/direct-flight-1.1394325/thanksgiving-on-the-hudson-1.1603538

Thanksgiving on the Hudson

Tania Padgett

Why sweat over a hot stove this Thanksgiving or worse battle crowds at a restaurant Thanksgiving Day. Cruise ships the Spirit of New York and the Spirit of New Jersey offer lunch or dinner, live music, and a chance to see historic sites, such as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty on Thanksgiving Day as they cruise down the Hudson River.

On Nov. 26 the following cruises will depart:
Lunch Cruise 
Departing Chelsea Piers, New York 
• Boarding: 1:30 p.m.
• Cruising: 2  - 4 p.m. 
• $43.90 a person
Dinner Cruise 
Departing Chelsea Piers, New York 
• Boarding: 6:30 p.m.
• Cruising: 7 - 10 p.m. 
• $73.90 a person
Dinner Cruise 
Departing Lincoln Harbor, New Jersey 
• Boarding: 6:30 p.m.
• Cruising: 7 - 10 p.m. 
• $63.90 a person
 

TuthilTown Spirits Tasting Friday November 20th 2009

Tasting: The Liquor Cabinet

Join Tuthilltown Spirits for a tasting of our home made  products at The Liquor Cabinet.

The Liquor Cabinet

Friday, November 20th, 2009 5pm – 7pm

7 Zena Rd
Kingston, NY 12401-7242
845.684.5383

New York Beer Adventure @ The Peculier Pub On Bleeker Street

http://www.peculierpub.com/index1.html

Like the beer after which it is named, Peculier Pub is classic and rich character. A Bleecker Street landmark, Peculier Pub has embraced the unique spirit of Greenwich Village for more than three decades. Inside you will see why the Pub, with its turn of the century tin ceilings, bottle cap mosaics and long wooden tables, has withstood the test of time not to mention the fickleness of trends.  What could be more timeless than a list of over 300 beers ranging from domestic and imported well-known brews to hand crafted nectar and rare barley wines from the four corners of the world? The jukebox, old school like the Pub, works as hard as the quirky barmaids, churning out classic rock and eighties hits to a slightly raucous but laid-back crowd. Can’t decide which beer to choose? Our informed staff is always happy to make a recommendation no matter what your taste or mood (they might poke fun at your Coors Lite first though) but it’s a small price to pay for their expertise.  There’s also a full bar as well as a menu of standard bar fare to compliment your beer or cocktail (or if you need to sober up)! So come one, come all-NYU students, after-work folks Village stragglers and your moms- pick your poison, carve your name into our tables, kick back and stay awhile.

Free TransPortation To Hudson River Cafe Pancho Gringo & Covo

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/diners_get_free_ride_to_harlem_eateries_rNrFI8uRjZMU2gW5z0rOcI

Diners get free ride to Harlem eateries

Manhattanites with an uptown address can now take advantage of a free car service to several Harlem restaurants.

Thanks to the new "Get Paid to Play" initiative, the owners of Viaduct Valley (ViVa) eateries Hudson River Cafe, Pancho Gringo and Covo have banned together to battle recession dining by offering free transportation to and from their respective restaurants.

The car service applies to diners coming from Spanish Harlem, Morningside Heights, Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, the Upper West Side, Fort George and Inwood. For all other diners, the ViVa owners will chip in $10 for gas and tolls.

RAHAV SEGEV

A skirt steak and yuca fries from Hudson River Cafe.

Hudson Valley Value Dinning September 2009

To Beef Or Not To Beef

Cowboy Rib-Eye Dinner for Two for $75
All September
Restaurant X & Bully Boy Bar, 117 North Route 303, Congers
For some serious carnivorous delight, Peter X. Kelly is serving up the Cowboy Rib-eye recipe he flayed Bobby Flay with on the Iron Chef. Enjoy a robust three-course Cowboy Rib-eye dinner for two for just $75 (plus tax and tip). Dinner includes two classic Caesar salads, grilled 40 oz aged beef rib-eye with cayenne and brown sugar crust, creamed spinach, potato gratin, and sauce Béarnaise, plus two classic créme brulee and two glasses of Millbrook Vineyards' Pinot Noir in an exclusive Xaviar's bottling. Available every evening for the month of September. Reservations (845) 268-6555.

Veggies and Vino
Sept. 26
Whitecliff Vineyard, 331 McKinstry Road, Gardiner
For the vegetarian: Whitecliff offers this exploration in pairing wine with vegan and vegetarian dishes. The questions to consider: Is Pinot Noir your best choice with lentils? What about an off-dry Riesling with sweet potatoes? Dishes feature a selection of seasonal foods from neighboring farms: from heirloom tomatoes to sweet corn, peppers or eggplant. Concludes with a late afternoon concert by the Bernstein-Bard Trio, on guitar, bass and mandolin. Tickets include three tapas-size dishes, six wine tastings and live music. Two seatings at 3:30 and 5:30 pm or lawn seating for the duration. Cost: $19 in advance; $21 at the door, $25 for lawn seating. (845) 255-4613 www.whitecliffwine.com

Hudson Valley Chili CookOff October 10th @ 4:PM

http://www.examiner.com/x-2256-Upstate-NY-Restaurant-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Hudson-Valley-Chili-CookOff-returns-to-Hudson

Hudson Valley Chili Cook-Off returns to Hudson

September 8, 1:13 PMUpstate NY Restaurant ExaminerBill Dowd

HUDSON, NY -- Restaurateurs as well as home cooks will be able to vie for bragging rights when the annual Hudson Valley Chili Cook-Off is held.

The competition this year returns to Waterfront Park after a year across the Hudson River in Catskill. It will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, October 10, as part of the Riverfront Farm Fest.

A beer and wine tent, live music and children's activities will be included in the event, sponsored by Columbia County Bounty. I've been a judge for several years, and can recommend the event.

Hudson Valley Restaurateurs Stimulus

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574378691368682788.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

True Values in the Hudson Valley

Beso and Le Canard Enchaine offer recession menus worth keeping into the recovery

By RAYMOND SOKOLOV

I got tired of hearing about how three-star Manhattan chefs were deigning to offer recession-hit customers cut-rate dishes in their lounges. So I decided to pass on the truffled hero sandwiches and pheasant sliders that were passing for value meals in New York City's better eateries and instead drove two hours north to see what down-to-earth restaurateurs in the Hudson Valley were doing to battle hard times.

I stopped at a sophisticated bistro in New Paltz, N.Y., called Beso. And then I returned to Le Canard Enchaine, a French-run shrine to la cuisine française in Kingston, the first capital of New York.

It wouldn't be quite fair to call Le Canard Enchaine a gastronomic museum, but it is very French, and its chef, Jean-Jacques Carquillat, is a far cry from television's media-savvy top chefs. For one thing, he is French. And Chef Carquillat has no branch in Las Vegas or Miami, although he does have a second Canard in no-tone Albany. The other night, he was wearing shorts sans apron. With a bill of fare heavy on oldies like onion soup, he's so far behind the curve that, in a world turned upside down by financial collapse, he's ahead of it.

View Full Image

Lorna Tychostup

Beso

Getting There

Beso

46 Main St. 
New Paltz, N.Y. 
845-255-1426 
www.beso-restaurant.com

Le Canard Enchaine

276 Fair St. 
Kingston, N.Y. 
845-339-2003 
le-canardenchainesrestaurant.com

Monsieur Carquillat, you see, offers budget-minded customers a prix-fixe menu—but not the fixed-price, $150, 11-course tasting menu that the fine-dining world embraced so firmly some 30 years ago that it's hard to remember a time when no restaurants had one. Instead, his prix fixe recalls the bargain menu that back in the day many restaurants offered within the a la carte menu. The choices were usually limited to a few of the less-spectacular dishes, but you could pay a cut-rate price for, say, a first course and a main course from that smaller, plainer menu for a still-dandy, all-in, fixed price. And that is just what you can do today at Le Canard.

The $30 prix-fixe menu here is also a kind of early-bird menu, available only 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. It offers a truly splendid Caesar salad or a generous starburst of endive stuffed with walnuts and Roquefort to start, followed by a duck breast or braised lamb shanks, with a glass of house wine thrown in, for about $10 less than you would pay for the same dishes on the regular menu.

Of course, if you insist on ranging freely over the restaurant's full panoply of dishes, you can order its dark and brooding fricassee of snails and mushrooms, or a crisp, rich double confit of duck legs, for a few bucks more—telling yourself you deserve something special. Indeed, I have always suspected that prix-fixe menus are a wily sort of marketing tool that encourage diners to order more-expensive dishes than they otherwise might have, in order to assert their greater classiness over plebes who hew to the piker's option. But there it is: Arrive at Le Canard Enchaine at a reasonable hour, order the prix fixe and hold on to $10. A Hamilton saved is a Hamilton earned.

View Full Image

Lorna Tychostup

Beso’s entrées include wood-grilled Hereford strip steak with garlic and herb butter.

In New Paltz, where the Grateful Dead still visibly lives, Beso has been a game-changing operation. A young couple with impressive food-world résumés brought their Manhattan-honed skills to a former saloon on Main Street in 2005, and suddenly weekenders and food-minded locals didn't have to drive over the Shawangunk Ridge or across the Hudson River for a fine dinner. The couple, with the Dickensian names Chadwick Greer (chef) and Tammy Ogletree (desserts and front of the house), were initially attracted to the area because of the first-class rock climbing, and because of the network of specialty farm producers. From their first spring days four years ago, they raised the bar for restaurant food in this college town, with dishes such as herb-crusted swordfish in salsa verde and handmade pasta.

Since emerging from kitchen renovations this spring, Mr. Greer has added a recession menu with dishes pegged at a somewhat lower price range than the grander pre-recession menu, which still coexists with the new cut-rate experiment. Beso's original menu wasn't a multicourse procession of obligatory small plates; portions were scaled to fit a traditional meal plan of appetizer, main course and dessert. Now, diners are asked to choose from two different menus, but they can pick dishes from either one for the same meal. In other words, the kitchen has really just added a new menu of cheap eats to supplement the pricier choices.

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Cari Marvelli (Le Canard Enchaine)

Le Canard Enchaine’s double confit of duck.

I applaud this gesture toward austerity, for obvious reasons, but also because it has forced Chef Greer to offer a broader set of dishes than before. My all-time favorite on the full-price menu is the honey-chipotle glazed Hereford beef short ribs with sautéed broccoli rabe, homemade cornbread and a sweet-and-pungent honey-chipotle reduction at $28. The full-price menu also features a wood-grilled 10-ounce Hereford strip steak with hand-cut French fries, roasted broccoli and aged balsamic vinegar for the same price. The recession menu offers an 8-ounce version of the same steak for $22—around a 20% price reduction for a 20% reduction in the quantity of meat. The recession menu also offers some demotic items not previously available in the restaurant, barbecue ribs for $17 and a Hereford burger for $13.

As the economy seems to be recovering, I hope Le Canard Enchaine, Beso and others like them won't abandon their leaner, meaner menus. Beyond the appeal of the lower cost per se, there's the very attractive freedom of choice in a world unconfined by the tasting-menu straitjacket. And beyond the money part is a more focused, more modest meal for suddenly soberer customers who need cutbacks without downgrades.

—Ray welcomes your emails at eatingout@wsj.com; however, due to volume, he can't reply to requests for dining recommendatio

New York"s Best Burgers Rankings

http://www.burgerrankings.com/

Overall Rankings

Restaurant	Chosen By	Pick Number	Ranking	Visited on
Peter Luger's	Brett	9	1	02/13/2006
Donovan's Pub	Dave	12	2	05/22/2006
City Hall	Jason	22	3	03/19/2007
Primehouse	Brett	43	4	12/15/2008
Bobby Van's Grille	Jason	31	5	12/17/2007
Burger Joint		7	6	12/12/2005
Landmarc	Brett	25	7	06/18/2007
Genesis	Darren	46	8	03/23/2009
Black Iron Burger	Brett	45	9	03/02/2009
Back Forty		33	10	03/03/2008
Dumont Burger	Darren	19	11	12/18/2006
Royale	BurgerRankings.com Users	49	12	06/08/2009
Stoned Crow	Adam	34	13	03/24/2008
Lure Fish Bar	Jason	37	13	06/16/2008
Del Friscos		48	15	05/18/2009
GoodBurger	Darren	26	16	07/16/2007
Westville East	Brett	38	17	07/21/2008
Molly's	Jed	29	17	10/29/2007
Pig N Whistle	Jed	44	19	01/26/2009
Wildwood BBQ	Jed	39	19	08/18/2008
P.J. Clarke's	Brett	16	21	09/18/2006
J G Mellon		6	21	11/14/2005
Corner Bistro	Jason	8	23	01/09/2006
Keene's	Darren	36	24	04/30/2008
Blue Smoke	Adam	21	25	02/12/2007
Hundred Acres Restaurant & Bar	Adam	41	26	10/20/2008
Zaitzeff	Jason	47	27	04/20/2009
BLT Burger	Marc	23	28	04/26/2007
Shake Shack		14	29	07/31/2006
Veselka	Jason	42	29	11/24/2008
Five Guys Burgers and Fries	Dave	32	31	01/28/2008
Tavern On Jane	Marc	35	32	05/19/2008
Paul's	Marc	11	33	03/13/2006
Maxie's Bar & Grill	Jed	40	34	09/15/2008
Stand		24	35	05/21/2007
Brooklyn Diner	Jason	15	36	08/21/2006
Café D’Alsace	Darren	28	37	09/24/2007
White Horse Tavern	Brett	30	37	11/26/2007
Nice Matin	Dave	20	39	01/15/2007
Blue9	Marc	2	40	07/11/2005
Spotted Pig	Adam	13	41	06/19/2006
Jackson Hole	Jed	18	42	11/13/2006
Angelo and Maxie's	Darren	3	43	08/08/2005
Rare	Brett	1	44	06/06/2005
Nolita House	Darren	10	45	04/10/2006
Boxers	Marc	17	1000	10/16/2006
Borough Food & Drink	Jed	27	1000	08/20/2007
All-State	Dave	4	1000	09/12/2005
McHales	Adam	5	1000	10/17/2005

BOTM Member Bios

Adam

Adam has been with the BOTM club since its inception in 2005. He enjoys watching football (Go Jets) and baseball (Go Yankees), playing golf, smoking cigars, taking road trips and of course eating hamburgers. He is 32, works in Marketing/Advertising and lives in Westchester with his beautiful wife and amazing son.

Brett

Brett has been with the BOTM since it was formed and took part in the adventure to tackle theworld's largest burger (at the time). When he isn't eating burgers, you can find him watching the Yankees, playing golf or training karate. Brett is 33, works as the VP of Operations for a software company and likes any event where food is a key ingredient... especially if there is some sort of eating contest involved. If you fry it or put cheese on it, Brett will eat it.

Darren

Darren, 36 (the elder statemen of the BOTM), has been with the club since its inception. To this day his mother still claims that ‘ burgers were all he ever ate as a kid’, so it’s no wonder he ended up in a Burger of the Month club. Darren manages the Sales and Marketing departments for a software company and enjoys spending time in various weekly or monthly clubs, including, wine, poker, movies and bowling. He lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. – Go Yankees!

Dave

Dave, 34, has been a member of the BOTM since inception.  In fact, his entire life has functioned as a BOTM, as it is doubtful that a month, or even 2 weeks have gone by without enjoying a bacon cheeseburger from somewhere.  He held (and may still hold) the office of Treasurer, despite devising a master ponzi scheme in which the seed fund of $50 magically disappeared.  He currently resides in Katonah with his wife and two children.

Jason

Undeniably a carnivore, Jason has made a lifelong commitment to all things meat, especially bacon!  Jason is 34 years old, an attorney, and his interests include Golf, Football (J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS), and BBQing.  He lives in Brooklyn with his beautiful and sexy wife (see, these are the types of things you say to remain in a burger club), and his wonderful daughter.

Jed

Jed is a 34 old attorney who likes the Jets, Yankees, NASCAR, and anything deep fried, preferably wrapped in bacon first.  He is the most recent addition to the BOTM club, and when he's not eating burgers he is exercising, which consists of walking briskly past the produce section of any supermarket.

Marc

Marc has been with the BOTM club since inception and was one of the members who took part in eating a cheeseburger the size of 60 big-macs (see world's largest burger adventure). While traveling is a big part of his job in the media/entertainment industry (Los Angeles BOTM anyone?), when at home he likes to stay close as you'll notice many of his picks are within a tight radius of his apartment in Manhattan's West Village (where he lives with his wife Trisha).

Chalet On The Hudson River Summer Specials

Chalet on the Hudson

Summer Specials

 

Enjoy Delicious Food, Beautiful Views & Amazing Prices

Porch Dining Now Available!

For Reservations Call 845-265-2600

 

 

This Sunday June 7^th

Come See The Tall Ships12pm-9pm

Complimentary Champagne with Brunch & Dinner!

 

 

Pasta Night Tuesdays

$3 Per Glass of House Wine

$9.95 All You Can Eat Pasta with Your Choice of Sauce - 

Tomato, Alfredo, Vodka, Bolognese, Garlic Cream or Primavera

served with Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread & Dessert

 

 

Barbeque Wednesdays

BBQ Spare Ribs & ¼ Chicken served with Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans,

French Fries, Tossed Salad & Watermelon - All For $12.95!

with $1.50 Draft Beer

 

 

Steak on the Hudson Thursdays

 

½ Price Drinks All Night

 

12 oz. NY Sirloin, Baked Potato, Vegetable Medley & Salad Bar with all the Fixings Just $12.95!

 

Starting Friday July 17^th

Friday Night Seafood Buffet

$38.95 Per Person, First 50 People at the Door Get a Free Lobster!*

Enjoy Mussels, Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, Clams and Much More!!

 

*with purchase of seafood buffet - limited time only