HudsonValleyGoodStuff

Woodstock Farm Festival Wednesdays are here: Come shop for farm food, listen to live music & eat al fresco!

Woodstock Farm Festival Wednesdays started on May 29th and will run until October 23rd for the 2013 season.  It's a lovely community scene, and as one vendor says, it seems to get bigger and bigger every month.  If you drive by, it just looks like a small farmers market, but there is large area behind the market that has a few more vendors, a few restaurant stands, a live band, and a dozen or so picnic tables to dine at.  It's very relaxed and kid-friendly. If you happen to be in Woodstock on Wednesdays from  3:30 to dusk, you should defnitely check it out. WoodstockFarmFestival.com.

Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck: An elegant and delicious lunch with tapas dessert!

 

The dining room at Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck

Terrapin Red Bistro Bar

Warm white and green asparagus salad

Grilled Ahi Tuna Fish Tacos

Tapas-sized dessert

Terrapin Red Bistro Restaurant in Rhinebeck invited Hudson Valley Good Stuff to lunch last week. The last time I ate there was three years ag during the week of Chelsea Clinton's wedding. (A friend and I had lunch on their patio to people watch during the media circus).  This time I'm by myself and enjoying a rare quiet lunch in this elegant setting. The restaurant was once a church, and maybe that is why it feels so refreshing and civilized here. To me it has a bit of city hotel vibe to it. 

I got there around 11:45 am, and soon the bistro bar area began filling up with local business people, tourists. The biker couple at the bar were beaming and enjoying their lunch at the bar. The dining room is closed for lunch, but open for private parties and events. 

To start I had the warm white and green asparagus salad, which is a new appetizer for Spring and very popular.  It was very tasty. I love asparagus, and I wish I could make it this good at home. For my entree I ordered the grilled ahi tuna fish tacos. The tuna was cooked medium rare the way I like it, the Spanish rice and guacamole was very creamy and good. Terrapin has bite size tapas to start. I didn't try those, but I did decide to have the tapas sized dessert of warm molten center chocolate cake with Ronnybrook vanilla ice cream.  As I sat there drinking my pot of hot chai roobios tea, I had this thought, "This is so civilized!" 

 It was a delicous lunch. Unfortunately, Chef owner Josh Kroner wasn't there so I didn't get to thank him in person for the wonderful meal. Ah, well. I've got another excuse to go back! They are having another Farm Dinner series July 1st-July 3rd.  Terrapin Restaurant, 6426 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck, NY (845) 876-6274

DUO's Bistro Brunch Tasting recap: Sneak Peek at breakfast, brunch & lunch!

Today Chef Neils Nielsen and Chef Juan Romero invited Hudson Valley Good Stuff and a dozen other foodie friends to taste the breakfast and brunch dishes they are planning on serving at DUO. The multi-talented duo re-fined the former Gabriel's space. The wood floors look shiny and new, and the bar is very roommy with solid bar stools. (They hope to be all set with the liquor license by Summer time when they will start to offer dinner as well).

The tasting started with 3 different egg dishes: breakfast salad, eggs over easy over roasted potatoes and delicious spiced sausage and bacon, and omelets.  Then came platters of lunch sandwiches (chicken salad, tofu, goat cheese, organic beef burgers). The turkey confit salad was a real crowd pleaser. I overheard two people say they could eat this salad every day.  The salad will be offered with tofu for vegans. We also sampled a very comforting Scottish cod chowder soup called Cullen Skink. The plates kept appearing out of nowhere, and at one moment I felt like I was at a Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of new friends. Well, I felt thankful to be invited to this private tasting. Towards the end, Nielsen and Romero sat down at the table to get our feedback on certain dishes. (Which spiced sausage did we like better? How did you we like the homemade toast? How do you like the cutlery selection?)  

The DUO chef owners hope to open this week. I'm looking forward to the opening of DUO Bistro on John Street. I have loved what I tasted so far, and I'm sure you will too. DUO Bistro/Bar, 60 John Street, Kingston, NY. Phone (845) 383-1198. Open 8:30 am- 3:30 pm 7 days a week. You can follow and Like Duo Bistro on Facebook here.