HudsonValleyGoodStuff

Detour: Kid-friendly Eateries in The Hamptons

I came back from a 7-day stay-cation in Southampton last night. I grew up on the East End and love visiting, but I get  a different kind of nostalgic feeling when I return to the Hudson Valley. Being able to wake up and go for a walk on the beach every day is indeed a luxury for a beach lover, but so is not having to deal with traffic jams, crowds everywhere you go, road rage, and $15 rotisserie chickens!  What I love most about living in the Hudson Valley is that a high percentage of people here seem to be extra happy, and this goes hand in hand with feeling less stressed. The "whistle while you work" philosophy is everywhere.  Last night, the teenage clerk made a joke about the bread I dropped on the floor. The toll booth attendant asked me how I was doing.  I always meet plenty of friendly waiters and Hampton locals too, but the crowds and high-maintenance customers can put a strain on a work day.  (I know because I used to wait tables during the summer in Southampton). An example, a couple years ago, my husband was patiently waiting in line at the Southampton Village Cheese Shop, and overheard a preppy man in front of him yell to the sandwich maker, "Come on, chop-chop!" clapping his hands, in an effort to speed the sandwich making process.  He was greeted with awkward silence.

We eat out at our favorite kid-friendly restaurants. If you visit the "The Hamptons" and have kids, I highly recommend Bay Burger in Sag Harbor (the best burgers!)  http://www.bayburger.com, Publik House in Southampton, Princess Diner on Montauk Highway in Southampton, and The Driver's Seat on Job's Lane in Southampton.  Except for the Princess Diner, all have outdoor seating. Citarrella's gourmet take-out is worth the splurge too. They have locations in Water Mill, Bridgehampton, and Eeast Hampton now.  On a self-promotion side note, I updated the Long Island chapter of Fodor's Travel Guide Book to New York State (Random House, July 2009) so if you want to get a full lowdown on Long Island, it will be on sale July 7th.

Lucky Chocolates--Saugerties, New York

Last winter I had this idea that I would stop at Lucky Chocolates once a week to indulge in a $3 cup of hot chocolate, but I ended up only indulging in this once. It's been a stressful Spring so far, and I just had a sudden craving for chocolate yesterday and I didn't have to twist my husband's arm to stop here. Warning: children of all ages can go into a sort of chocolate trance upon entering. All the organic chocolates are displayed like jewels behind glass cases. I love dark chocolate and there were so many options, and with limited time to choose before my kids went into a "I want chocolate!" meltdown, I settled for dark chocolate hazelnut truffle creation. We also chose 2 chocolate mice, 2 vanilla dogs (the chocolate assistant told us the breed, but I forgot). I made a mental note to buy one of those over-sized red Lucky Chocolate mugs next time a friend's birthday comes up. Here is a video story of Lucky Chocolates filmed by ThePeopleWhoFeedUs a video blogging company based in Woodstock, NY that puts out interesting stories about the VIPs in food in our communities. Lucky Chocolates has a new location in the village of Saugerties at 115 Partition Street.

New Ice Cream Stand in Saugerties: No name yet, but ice cream is good!

This place popped up about a week ago so I was eager to check it out.   I think I've tried most of the ice cream places within a 40 mile radius of Woodstock so it's nice to try a new place.  The server told me that the owner hasn't chosen a name yet, but hopes to soon.  It has has a cheery exterior with a bear motif and nice picnic tables. Their soft serve ice cream machine wasn't working yet, but there were about a dozen or so gourmet ice creams to choose from and most of them looked really good. I was tempted to try the Cake Batter flavor, but instead chose the Mocha Chocolate Chip yogurt. My husband had the Coconut Almond. Both were very tasty. As it is so new I didn't get an address for it, but it is right across from the Saugerties Lumber Yard which is located at 223 Ulster Avenue in Saugerties, close-by CVS.

Cool Art Sighting: Beautiful Carousel Horses--Saugerties, NY

Recently I've been admiring beautiful carousel horses strategically placed around Saugerties, and I have been meaning to go online and find out more about these creatures.  The Saugerties Chamber of Commerce is running a campaign in celebration of New York State 's Hudson Fulton Champlain Quadricentennial, the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of the river that bears his name, and has lined the streets of the Nationally Registered Historic Business District of the Village of Saugerties with these individually crafted Merry-Go-Round horses. They were installed over Memorial Day Weekend and will be on display until September 12 th when the Merry-Go-Round horses will be auctioned off for charity. Other cool things to do in Saugerties? Lots of great restaurants including Love Bites Cafe, Land & Sea Grill. I haven't been to Tanmayo yet, but I heard it's good.  Horse lovers visit HITS (Horses-in-the-Sun). There are also a few nice antique shops, clothing boutiques like Dig, a cool barber & shaving shop, a couple of beauty salons. A new Tea Room is having a grand opening this weekend as well. For more info on what's going on in Saugerties, visit http://www.welcometosaugerties.com. Click on http://www.horsnaroundsaugerties.comfor more info on the carousel Hors'n Around Saugerties Celebration.

Winchell's Pizza-Ashokan, NY

Mozzarella Sticks the size of sponges!

By the time Friday night comes along, I'm feeling pretty lazy and uninspired when it comes to cooking a healthy meal for my family. This is usually when my pledge to practice "mindful eating" goes in the pizza oven.  Tonight the family and I went to our favorite pizza place, Winchell's Pizza on Route 28 in Ashokan. We dine here about twice a month, and we usually go during the week when it is slow. Tonight the place was packed, but service was still pretty fast.  I have to blame my husband for ordering these ridiculous mozzarella sticks. They were the size of sponges! We split a pepperoni pizza.  Their homemade over-sized chocolate chip cookies are way too good. This is actually the worst place for dieters.Winchell's Pizza doesn't have a website. Phone number is (845) 657-3352.

Tea Shop of Woodstock--Where tea lovers relax and taste the tea!

Yesterday I really felt like just relaxing somewhere and having a cup of tea, and I had been curious about the new Tea Shop of Woodstock ever since it opened up a few months ago. If you ae a tea snob, you will love being surrounded by tea pots and hundreds of fancy tea tins. There are tea tastings daily, and the staff knows their tea, of course.  You can also try Lucky Chocolates "Tea Truffles" there.  Since chai is my favorite tea, I tasted the Super Chai tea.  It was super strong, but very smooth!  There is a small seating area where you can sit down and have a cup tea. The tea menu lists over hundred different teas to choose from. Harney & Sons and Tay Tea are sold here. If you love Harney & Sons, you can go visit the Harney & Sons Tea Shop & Tasting Room in Millerton, NY. It's on my "To-visit" list.  A reliable source informs me that Danish-Peruvian supermodel Helena Christensen once stopped by Tea Shop of Woodstock recently to stock up on green tea. The Tea Shop of Woodstock, 7 Maple Lane, Woodstock, NY 12498. (845) 679-4100. Open 11-7. Closed Tuesdays. To visit Harney & Sons in Millerton, visit their website http://www.harney.com/visitus.html.

Ride the Ridge Bike Challenge--Sunday, June 7th--Stone Ridge, NY

Whether you are a serious cyclist or an average rider, you can take part in the Ride the Ridge Bike Challenge this coming weekend.  There is a 5-mile Family Ride, a 25-mile Countryside Ride, and a 50-mile Shawangunk Ride. Visit http://www.ridetheridge.org for registration info.  Happy Biking!

Amma "Divine Mother" Sri Karunamayi blessings in Woodstock

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Peace Walk with Amma Sri Karuanamayi on the beautiful grounds of the Bearsville Theater

To celebrate not being called in for Jury Duty yesterday I went to Bearsville Theater in Woodstock because I knew that Amma was offering individual blessings there from 9am-1pm.  I arrived there around 10 am and received an index card with the letter "H" scribbled on it and brochures with instructions/protocol for receiving her blessing.  An usher escorted me to the balcony. Amma hadn't arrived yet, but the theater was filling up quickly. It was a cozy spiritual Indian atmosphere--flower garlands, incense, a bright red over-sized throne for Amma, photos of Indian gods, a large TV screen showing clips of Amma and her work in India.  Soon a young man came to the podium and announced that Amma would be here shortly to "nuke" the place with her energy. He also spoke a little bit about what to expect during the blessing. We were told that everyone with a card would probably have to wait 1-2 hours, but we would receive a blessing. Group "A" would be the first group and they wouldn't have to wait as long.  At 10:20 am we were notified that Amma was on the grounds and that she requested that everyone go for a Peace Walk with her in the garden so we dutifully hobbled outside, barefoot on the pebbles until we reached the soft grass. Everyone followed her, and many tried to vie for a closer look at her. It was a quite a Woodstock scene. 

Once everyone returned to the hall, Amma gave a short lecture on chakras and the benefits of being selfless. She thanked us for joining her on her Peace Walk. Soon she got down to the business of individual blessings, with the volunteer ushers making sure everything went smoothly. Some people brought personal items to be blessed by her. (Ushers place these trinkets on trays so that the items only go to Amma).  I felt very relaxed in this atmosphere, but I was starting to realize that there was no way my letter would come up before I had to leave at 1pn to get on with my day.  A volunteer told me that Amma would be taking a break at 1pm. "For how long?" asked a fellow H group member. "That's up to Amma!" quipped the volunteer.

Well, I figured an individual blessing was not in the cards for me this year, and left to meet my husband. Around 3pm, family in tow, I joked that if we returned to Bearsville Theater with our daughters, we'd move to the front of the line. My husband isn't a yogi/ meditation kind of guy, but he is always up for a new adventure. He called my bluff and we all headed back to Amma.  When we arrived there the crowds had really thinned out. She was taking another break, but we only had to wait about 15 minutes for her to return, and seeing my restless (but happy) children, the volunteer said that we could go right after a set of babies went.  We were up! With my 5 year old in my arms, I clumsly gave Amma my blessing card with my right hand as instructed.  I moved my little one up to the platform so she could bless her. Amma put her hand on her head while my daughter played with her bangles. Amma blessed my forehead with "ashes" and did the same to my husband. My 7 year old was more compliant and received the dot as well. No words were exchanged. ("Silence is the language of God") She just smiled knowingly at us when we left.  The girls got Hershey kisses and Amma cards. Afterwards we went to the garden to relax and drove home. For the rest of the afternoon my cynical husband kept on saying, "Wow, I feel so relaxed!"  He rarely feels relaxed!  I have to say that the whole family was feeling quite groovy for the rest of the day. I even slept for 9 hours, which rarely happens. To see if your city will be part of Amma's 2009 World Tour, go here http://www.karunamayi.org/tour/Tour-Schedule.html  (Note: photography isn't allowed during the blessings. The photo of Amma blessing the woman is from her website. I posted it to add a visual here). Have you ever received an individual blessing from Amma? Were your experiences similar to mine?

By the way, Amma will be back in Woodstock for July 4th weekend in 2010.

Quick Chek Gas--Cheap Gas & Fun Coffee Machines--Saugerties, NY

These Quick Chek stations are popping up out of nowhere.  A new one opened up in Saugerties a few days ago. I was lured in by the free medium cup of coffee promotion.I hate pumping gas, but Quick Chek makes it a little less painful.  (Confession: I only learned how to pump gas last year!)  There is usually pop music blaring so you can take your mind off the gas fumes. The pumping area is spacious and the store is sparkling clean. This one has a fancy flavored coffee machine, and a fancy hot chocolate machine. They also sell sandwiches. Outdoor and indoor seating is available too. I spotted someone on their laptop here, but they don't have Wi-Fi according to the person who answered the phone. Quick Chek always has the cheapest gas around too. Will work on finding more Wi-Fi hotspots. Right now Panera Bread on Ulster Avenue is my only Wi-Fi salvation. Quick Chek Gas, 3048 Route 9W, Saugeties, NY. (845) 246-1083. http://www.quick-chek.com/gas.asp