Page 28 - Valley Table - Spring 2023

garlic and herb-butter sauce; fried baby artichokes served with a rouille sauce; and, of course, a fabulous French onion soup gratinée.
Standout entrees include Hudson Valley duck confit, seared and served with Castelluccio lentils; pan-seared duck breast served with quince sauce; steak frites served
with peppercorn cognac
sauce or classic Béarnaise;
and steak tartare, which features locally sourced beef
in a spicy mustard-based sauce with capers, shallots, parsley, and cognac. And what’s a French restaurant without bouillabaisse? The Provençal fish stew is among Champetre’s rotating specials.
Be sure to save room for dessert. Among the many gems are île flottante, a floating meringue in crème anglaise that few restaurants feature
on their menus, and marquise au chocolat, a rich chocolate ganache terrine held together by lady fingers and served in
a pool of espresso and dusted crème anglaise.
Sourcing local ingredients and operating an environmentally friendly business are important to the Jeans, who purchase products from Pine Plains-based Full Circus Farm, Chaseholm
Farm Creamery, and Black Sheep Hill Farm, as well as MX Morningstar Farm in Hudson. “[Our] menu is flexible and sustainable,” says Patricia. “We’re able to compost
and recycle without being overwhelmed by the volume, and Michel is cooking the food that he loves.”
Champêtre
2938 Church Street, Pine Plains @champetre.ny \ 518.771.3350
QUICK BITES
Four restaurants are coming to Kingston. Elevated pizza spot Ollie’s (High Falls) will open a new slice shop later this spring. Expect new menu items and pizza styles, plus a retail market and prepared foods. West Kill Brewing’s new satellite, West Kill Supply, is a rustic tasting room with popular brews on tap, cans to go, and food pop-ups on weekends. Long-awaited wine bar Chleo opened after a few months of delays. The menu features natural, fermented wines and snacks like charcuterie, veggie spreads, and bites from the wood-fired grill. Brickmen Kitchen + Bar will serve up global fusion with HV flare; it’s from the same team behind waterfront restaurant Ole Savannah.
Beacon recently welcomed new wellness café Elixxr in the Hudson Valley Food Hall. Drinks include matcha and rose lattes, golden milk (turmeric), and coffee chaga. Sri Lankan outpost Red Pepper Diner moved to the city from Wappingers Falls in early February.
Kingston’s plant-based drive-thru Moonburger will soon open a second burger joint at the former Mexicali Blue space in New Paltz.
Return Brewing’s first craft taproom is opening in Hudson this spring and will feature both tavern-style and experimental beers. A high-end sushi restaurant, Nama Omakase, is anticipated to open in the old Etsy building on Warren Street.
Tannersville is popping: Quaint pastry shop Shandaken Bake and drive-thru Fred’s Coffee and Donuts had their grand openings within the last few months. Elevated comfort food will be available at Nat’s Mountain House (a sister restaurant to Manhattan-based Nat’s on Bank and Bleeker) next to new boutique retreat Hotel Lilien.
In coffee news: Big Mouth Coffee Roasters is opening a second café and roastery in Newburgh. The former HiLo shop in Catskill is now home to Joust Juice, a café featuring coffee drinks, cold-pressed juice, and vegan comfort food.
Rhinebeck resident Maya Kaimal, who created the Indian brand Maya Kaimal Foods, has a new cookbook, Indian Flavor Every Day, that hits shelves March 28.
Six Hudson Valley businesses are Good Food Awards 2023 finalists: Acetaia del Sole (Hurleyville), Fruition Chocolate Works (Shokan), Hawthorne Valley (Ghent), Potters Table (Round Top), Sfoglini Pasta (West Coxsackie), and Sweet Deliverance (Kingston).
Homespun Foods, in Beacon, has pivoted away from dinner service. They’re now open seven days a week from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. with a daytime menu and offer brunch on weekends.
In late January, James Beard Awards Restaurant and Chef semifinalists were announced. Here are the Hudson Valley-based nominees: Stissing House in Pine Plains (best new restaurant); Lil’ Deb’s Oasis in Hudson (outstanding hospitality); Anthony Gonçalves of Kanopi in White Plains, Shaina Loew-Banayan of Cafe Mutton in Hudson, and Paolo Garcia Mendoza of Karenderya in Nyack (all best chef in New York State).
26 TheValleyTable | March—May2023
—Francesca Furey