On the Road to See the Leaves in Hudson Valley
Yes, we have impressive fall foliage here in Washington. But everyone (from the North East) talks about how good the autumn leaves are in New England and New York’s Hudson Valley, upstate (or at least up river) from New York City (“the City”). So we decided to check it out. In the process, found a few places for you to try next time you head upstate in New York (and new England).
Starting in the Far Northwest Corner of Connecticut
We started our leaf-seeking expedition just outside the Hudson Valley in the farthest Northwest corner of Connecticut in Lakeville, a part of the state known for summer resort lake trips to escape from the City and exclusive boarding schools. We soon discovered that almost every restaurant in the region was closed on Tuesday nights. Luckily we found Le Gamin, 10 Gay Street, Sharon, CT, 860.397.5382, https://www.legamin.com/, which is just a few miles down the road. This native French restauranteur originally had a location in the City (Soho) and now has locations in Brooklyn and rural Sharon, the latter being close to where he now lives. You might also run across a related location in the town of Hudson which he sold but which continues with a similar format under new ownership.
The location in Sharon has a very relaxed atmosphere—bistro like, if that is possible in rural Connecticut. We tried their La Croque Madame, a grilled sandwich with ham, swiss cheese and bechamel sauce topped with an egg sunny side up, and, upon the server’s suggestion, the duck (“Le Confit De Canard”), served with green beans and fingerling potatoes. The duck was very good, very rich, and generous portions for a duck dish, but the Croque Madame stole the show with one of our team exclaiming it was better than any they had ever had in France (a non-zero number).
Le Gamin serves wine and has a full bar but we found the selection to be rather limited. One should come to this establishment more for the food than the drink. Or come here for the relaxed and friendly atmosphere enhanced by the owner making the rounds to chat at each table at dinner.
Le Gamin is open 9 to 9, featuring is brunch, as well as lunch and dinner. But be aware the kitchen closes at 8:30 sharp. We found Le Gamin worthy of a return visit when next we find ourselves in the neighborhood.
Just Over the Border (Back into New York)
Another quirk of this far Northwest corner of Connecticut is almost every restaurant closes its kitchen at 8:30 p.m. This is too early for people still on West Coast time. We were on the verge of desperation when we crossed the border into New York (2 miles away) and happened upon Willa, 52 Main Street, Millerton, New York, 519.789.0252, https://www.willabar.com. Their kitchen is open an extra hour (and we barely made it in time). Willa is a new establishment and not yet well known in the area, but we were happy we found it. We sampled a very good smashburger and very interesting raw winter squash salad. Based upon reading local food critics in Seattle one could have the impression smashburgers are a Seattle item, but the one we had at Willa was at least as tasty as the best we have had in Seattle, although it was noticeably smaller. The winter squash salad was much bigger than we expected and with golden raisins, pine nuts and mint; the squash itself, being raw, was chewie but cut quite thin and flavorful.
Willa is a bar so they had a wide selection alcoholic beverages including a reasonable selection of premium scotch, and a very good sipping mocktail with some kick (spice). Willa is named for one of the owners pet pig, and if you look carefully you may notice various pig ornaments around the premises. That owner is a second-generation bar owner with her father having a bar near West Point as she grew up, so there are decades of experience that helped build Willa.
Willa was a very happy accidental find and we would return for many reasons. They were very friendly, the food was good and interesting, the drinks were good, and their kitchen was open longer than anyone else’s in the area.
By the Time We Got to Woodstock
After crossing over the Hudson River we stopped in Woodstock, even though the concert (and the museum devoted to it) were about forty miles away in Bethel, NY. Despite that, Woodstock is a rustic artsy town with plenty to see (and eat). We chose one of the fancier restaurants in town, Good Night, 50 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY, 856.684.7373, https://www.goodnightwoodstock.com/. We were greeted by very elegant décor with a bar like a movie set, in great contrast to the rustic vibe of the town in general.
We ordered the grilled Lemongrass and Ginger Chicken which had been endorsed by several people who told us to go there and the black cod. We enjoyed both. The chicken was very good, but not quite legendary as had been described to us by locals in advance. Still, we would order both dishes again. They have a full bar and a good selection of mocktails that complemented food well. We did not try one of their desserts.
The service was very friendly from top to bottom, and it even held up politely to some challenging New Yorkers (at a neighboring table). As we were told by several locals, Good Night is definitely a place to consider when in the area. We enjoyed it and we would return, and next time we might sit in the bar which is beautiful. Reservations are not absolutely necessary, but would be advisable.
While You Are in the Area
And although this column does not usually cover sightseeing advice, we were told we had to see Olana near Hudson, New York, https://www.olana.org/. We were very glad we took the advice. Check out the link. Next time, we will hit Storm King Art Center, near West Point, https://stormking.org/. Apart from the numerous cultural opportunities, the leaves were probably just as nice in the Northwest, at least this year.
Heading Much Further East: Dining in the Original Soho
The original Soho is not in New York, but in London. Originally known as St. Giles Field, the name Soho first appears on a map in 1682. Seeing it today it is hard to envision it was a hunting field at the time and the name derives from a hunting cry of the period (“So Ho.”) In the present it is hard to visualize Soho as a hunting field as it is quite fully developed, full of restaurants, hotels and theaters (or, more appropriately, theatres) and a very busy multi-cultural neighborhood close to the center of London. We set out to try some newly opened restaurants but we very quickly learned that reservations are needed at the better known restaurants, especially on Friday nights. However, we were able to get squeezed in at the bar at a restaurant recommended by one of the full restaurants, Hoppers, 49 Firth Street, London, https://www.hopperslondon.com a Sri Lankan restaurant with three locations in London, and we were quite happy with this referral. For background, once you get past the full restaurants with reputations, Soho is still packed with restaurants practically every ten feet on almost every street and alley, so choosing one can be difficult, especially given the wide varieties of ethnic foods there.
There is a well regarded Sri Lankan restaurant in Seattle, but it is one of the more difficult ethnic restaurants to find. Sri Lankan food is known for it own unique combination of spices, usually including cinnamon (Sri Lanka being one of the original sources of the spice). Not surprisingly, seafood is a frequent focus in the food. The name of the restaurant, Hoppers, is for the Sri Lankan dish, hoppers, that come in several forms, most commonly as a Pancake or a nest of noodles (“string” hoppers). Hoppers are made from fermented rice flour, coconut milk and spices, and the pancake hoppers tend to have a bubbly texture.
We took the advice of the server and a neighbor at the bar (of Sri Lankan descent) and ordered the prawn curry with a pancake hopper. One uses the hopper to eat the curry, much as one might use nan or injera although implements are also provided. The hopper was crispy on the edges and fluffy in the middle. The curry was flavorful, somewhat sweet, and only a little spicy. (We have been told Londoners do not go for heavy heat in their spice.)
The décor was entertaining as part of the restaurant was decorated with Sri Lankan masks, but there was not a lot of extra space to get up and enjoy the décor. Hoppers has a full bar and there were some very interesting looking signature cocktails, but those will have to wait for a future trip. We enjoyed the meal enough to return, but the neighborhood offers a lot of competition to try, so it may take multiple trips to London to further investigate. And, there are more types of Sri Lankan food, such as Kottu, to sample for future issues.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard with the help of friends and family, both locally and on the road. Comments and suggestions are welcome at chh@f2t.com or 206.669.5956.
