Page 22 - Valley Table- Winter 2025

GOLDEN RUSSET
ROSIE GENERAL
COPAKE GENERAL STORE
nice small-town things about a
shop like this.”
GOLDEN RUSSET
CAFE & GROCERY
835 Fiddlers Bridge Rd,
Rhinebeck
book on the topic, American
Cider: A Modern Guide to a
Historic Beverage.
With wife Jenny’s help,
Cavallo says the Golden Russet
is always looking to fill new
needs, which lately has meant
providing dinner on premises.
They offer a popular Friday
night fish fry and Saturday
suppers featuring braised
short ribs with polenta, and
the like. (Pro tip: If there
happens to be any homemade
salted chocolate chip cookies
still available, get one.)
KITTY’S MARKET
60 South Front St, Hudson
Whether you’re looking for
a fried chicken sandwich, a
wiffle ball and bat, or stellar
Szechuan chili crisp, the
Golden Russet has your back.
“I see our ever-expanding
selection of grocery items
as an attempt to become the
Valley’s most dynamic savory
hardware store,” says owner
Craig Cavallo with a laugh.
Since the summer of 2019, the
eatery/store has been serving
up bacon, egg, and cheese
sandwiches, turkey melts, and
more to streams of customers.
While there are essentials
(toilet paper, Bisquick), what
invites browsing is a trove
of Japanese sauces, Spanish
tinned fish, and iconic Moxie
sodas. Plus, there’s what may
be the Valley’s best selection
of hard cider, curated by Craig,
who literally co-wrote the
With its too-good-to-be-true
location right across from
Hudson’s train station, Kitty’s
Market (open since fall 2020)
has happily served everyone
from day-trippers in search
of caffeine before strolling on
Warren Street to commuters
hunting for dinner.
Lattes and crullers—in
flavors like dulce de leche
and hibiscus—are currently
having a moment, and Kitty’s
20 Valley Table | December 2024 – February 2025
“spinning chicken” (aka
rotisserie) with jasmine rice
and miso poppy slaw makes for
an ever-popular meal on the
fly. The well-stocked cold cases
offer meats, dairy, and more,
and the shelves are packed
with local honey, botanical
salves, puzzles, dice, and other
clever items.
Come evening, Kitty’s
morphs into a wonderful place
to grab a cocktail and dinner,
and the outdoor space in back
is often home to music and
craft events.
MAIN STREET FARM
36 Main St, Livingston Manor
Think of Main Street Farm
as the OG general store.
Opened in 2010, it’s one-stop
shopping for basics as well as a
foodie’s paradise. Founder and
owner Jon Westergreen was
a weekender in the area and
saw it as a food desert back
then. Building on his career
in retail, he acquired a little
storefront on Main Street to
provide good local food—he
soon expanded, again and
then, again.
“I had started as a food
market where you got
a baguette and cheese,”
Westergreen recalls, “but then
people were saying, ‘Can you
throw together a sandwich for
me?’ and things took off.” Now,
people make a pilgrimage for
his trout melt, made with the
area’s famous trout.
The kitchen’s hours are
expanding, with a new “After
Four” program that features
draft beer and cider, plus a
burger-based menu (with
vegan options). The retail
aspect of Westergreen’s empire
is going strong, too, with
loads of fresh produce, trout,
meats, yogurt, granola, and
fun finds like Iberian potato
chips and the store’s bespoke
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BUSINESSES