Page 19 - Valley Table - Spring 2021

house-made spreads (ember-roasted eggplant, onion jam), roasted vegetables, and cured meats.
Taking up residence in the former Fish & Game space
is Feast & Floret. Part flower market and part Italian restaurant, it’s less taxidermy décor and more tagliatelle Bolognese, truffled egg toast, and bitter chicory salad with apple, gorgonzola, and hazelnuts. At the other end of Warren Street, Hudson Food Studio transforms seasonal ingredients from local producers into Southeast Asian-style plates, inspired by Chef David Chicane’s travels to Vietnam. Order the roasted Brussels sprouts with nam sla aioli, the hoisin-miso Berkshire pork belly, and whatever ramen or pho is on offer that day, and thank us later.
Throw a stone and you’re likely to hit a restaurant or
bar where the wine list skews organic, biodynamic, and minimal intervention. Tiny Sonder is the city’s latest natural wine bar. Trust the three-person team to pour you a glass of something exciting (Catalonian skin-contact wine or chilled reds, perhaps) to pair with chef/owner Daniel Bagnall’s impressively complex cooking, like delicata squash with burnt-garlic aioli. Lawrence Park has an extensive by-the- glass list, with more than 20 selections, plus beers from some of the Valley’s best breweries, including Suarez
and Equilibrium.
SWOON KITCHENBAR
Want to take home a few bottles? Grapefruit Wines is a new natural wine shop from the owners of Kitty’s, where you can pick up wines, spirits, ciders, and amari or sign up for a monthly subscription.
For something a little stiffer, Wm. Farmer and Sons is our favorite spot to grab a drink in Hudson. The anything-but Standard Cocktails list features original creations, like the Royal Navy Old Fashioned; adapted recipes from vintage cocktail tomes; and drinks, like the bourbon-based Bodega Buck, inspired by contemporary bars with serious cocktail cred. At Backbar, the outdoor courtyard is the ultimate warm- weather hang thanks in part to its playful slushie cocktails. Pair a Where There’s Smoke (mezcal, chili Aperol, smoked agave, and lime) with some of Zak Pelaccio’s shareable, Malaysian-inspired plates, including spicy dan dan noodles, cured pork bao, and beet laab.
For lovers of all things cheese and charcuterie, there’s maybe no better shop in the Valley than Talbott & Arding. Alongside European favorites like crystalline Gouda and silky prosciutto di Parma, owners Kate Arding and Mona Talbott make a point to stock delicious delicacies from the Hudson Valley, including Churchtown Dairy and Four Fat Fowl cheeses, Jacüterie salami, and Catsmo smoked salmon. Round out your order with some of the shop’s prepared foods, from house-made artichoke-lemon spread and duck rillettes to chicken pot pie and New England clam chowder.
Prefer soft scarves to soft cheeses? Fluff Alpaca shears its own small herd for its line of super-cozy, sustainable, alpaca fiber throws and shawls. Another favorite is Flowerkraut, a quirky little flower shop that offers locally-sourced-when- possible floral arrangements — and a variety of fermented probiotic foods, like sauerkraut, hot sauce, and kimchi.
photos by briana balducci photography (sonder), courtesy of swoon kitchenbar
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SONDER