Good eats near Hunter, NY/Hunter Mountain or lunch along the way?

Depending on how far you want to drive, there are some good options in Woodstock and the environs (Bear Cafe in Bearsville, Oriole 9 or Cucina in Woodstock are three that I personally really love), or Peekamoose Tavern in Big Indian. Search for "Woodstock" on this board - there have been a few conversations that should give you some more ideas.

As for the cheese place in Tannersville, I've been there for lunch a couple of times and had a really great time. I always stick to a cheese plate as I've never knowingly ordered anything else when there's cheese on the menu, but Husband loves the chili there. It's worth sitting up at the bar and chatting about the beers!

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Chavin in Port Chester

I walked past it a few weeks ago and saw it was closed, but seem to recall seeing a sign saying that it'd be closed for a few days. But it certainly looked as if it hadn't been "lived in" for a little while, so your suspicion could be right... I'm not sure I'll miss it hugely - the pisco sours were the best thing I had there, the food was only sort of eh. Amazing space, though.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Coals - new restaurant in Port Chester

Update: A bit of googling reveals that it's where Patrias used to be! Hadn't even realized it had closed, though I believe they struggled after changing management a while ago, if I recall correctly.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Coals - new restaurant in Port Chester

Driving along Main St. the other day, noticed signage up at the Westchester Avenue end of N. Main St for a restaurant called "Coals" - grilled pizza. There's one in the Bronx that opened a few years ago, according to their website - http://coalspizza.com/. Anyone been to the Bronx location?

We've had Port Chester pizza threads before - I'm a sucker for Tarry Lodge's guanciale & fried egg pizza (although it was once served to me with the egg almost completely raw in the middle, a bit of a turn-off), and I have to say, on a good night, JT Straw's rocks out a pretty tasty pie. Haven't tried Frank's or other places, so I'll be interested to see how Coals does.

Still, nice to see new businesses come along on Main St. (Having trouble remembering what was there before, though.)

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks 2012

Sigh, I had to cancel North in the end as the bride whose wedding I'm matron of honor for had a bit of a disastrous dress fitting and I couldn't just leave her there in the shop. She'd better have a happy marriage, that's all I can say. Grrrr. All of which is to say, then, that I have failed to eat at a single RW place. And I'm so insanely jealous of all this great stuff I'm reading!

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks 2012

I'm going to have to cancel my North reservation for Tuesday - 7:30pm. Before I do, is there anyone here who'd like it? I know it's getting difficult to get good times there so thought I'd ask before hitting the button.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks 2012

It does!! And, Moderne Barn has its up on its site, albeit a little buried under the events tab. And, honestly, I'm underwhelmed. I've actually canceled my reservation there - 7:30 on the 20th if anyone wants to try to grab it! I think I'm going to go for Le Provencal instead. I can have tomato soup and roast chicken anytime...

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks 2012

Curses, Mister Bill, I've made my essential (missed out last year!) resys for Moderne Barn and North, the two places that I've most been dying to go to. And then you had to post the recommendation for Le Provencal, which I hadn't even considered. Calf's liver!! I MUST go now, but all these RW shenanigans are going to wreak havoc on my Weight Watchers efforts... sigh.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

In White Plains...

And NYC. Because what White Plains really, REALLY needs is another pub. Sigh. :-/

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Whole Foods coming to Port Chester, and I rejoice!

Hadn't heard about the White Castle - and now my husband is the happiest chap in all the land.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Whole Foods coming to Port Chester, and I rejoice!

I've heard rumors for a while now, but here's the incontrovertible proof: Whole Foods is coming to Port Chester. http://portchester.patch.com/articles/whole-foods-coming-to-port-chester

I know there's been plenty of threads about the state of grocery shopping here; I know Whole Foods isn't for everyone, but honestly, I'm thrilled. The no-brainer guess is the A&P space on Route 1, by the Kohl's. But who knows?

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Tarry Lodge - any recent experiences?

Yep, Elisa. That'll teach me to attempt humor! I was absolutely knocked sideways by how great the pizza was. I agree that we should keep it a secret!

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Tarry Lodge - any recent experiences?

JT Straw's has the worst pizza and it's unfriendly and no one should go there, ever. (In support of Cubanat's suggestion that those of us in the know about it being pretty much the best pizza around should keep this place a secret!)

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks 2012

No, reservations are reservations - they don't have specific ones for people who'll choose the RW menu (or not). That said, do make sure your restaurant of choice is serving the RW menu when you book - many have blackout dates/times (weekends, some are even lunch-only, eg).

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks 2012

FWIW, this "pre-public" period seems to have caught some of the restaurants by surprise. I called one yesterday and the very nice woman on the phone sounded a little weary when she told me they still only take resys 28 days out. I told her that I sensed she'd had to say that a LOT today, and asked her if she knew about the Valley Table's email. "No!" she said. And, of course, all the OpenTable links won't let you make RW resys as OT also only takes resys 28 days out. So, lovely idea, but not sure if all the restaurants are on board yet...

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Where to buy beef suet

Me again - just to say that Nigella Lawson tweeted just this morning about suet substitutes - here's the link: http://www.nigella.com/kitchen-queries/view/3073/0. She says freeze vegetable shortening (Crisco, eg), grate it, refreeze for a while, then mix.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Where to buy beef suet

You're right, Maryld, I haven't tried it. But the science SOUNDS like it makes sense, at least! ;-)

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Where to buy beef suet

Shaffey, I'm one of the people who posted a couple of years ago; an expat Brit in Westchester. For the past couple of years, I've bought Atora light (i.e. vegetarian) suet from Myers of Keswick in NYC, and I honestly haven't noticed a difference. I've been using the same Christmas pudding recipe for about 15 years now (Delia Smith's) and the switch from beef to vegetarian suet has not affected it.

Freezing butter and grating it is not going to work; the whole point of suet is that its melting point is crazily higher than any other fat, so its shreds melt reaaaaaaally sloooooowly, coating each piece of fruit individually. Butter will melt just as quickly once it hits the steamer, whether you freeze it or not before mixing.

If you buy fresh suet from the butcher - which I have a couple of times - make sure it's the proper stuff; the pearly white fat that surrounds beef kidneys. Meateria in Port Chester sells it. There are also quite a few Irish butchers in the Yonkers area that do, too; they just didn't have it in time for when I made my puddings. (My version of "stir-up Sunday" is to always make my puddings the day after Thanksgiving.)

If you decide to go the Atora vegetarian route, UK Gourmet in Milford, CT stocks it; again, they didn't have it when I needed it but they tell me they have it now.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Frank Pepe's

I 100% agree, PookieMom. We'd never gone to a Pepe's location and were so looking forward to it. I don't know if Danbury is better or worse than any others, but it was just overwhelmingly "eh" to us. As you say, the pizza isn't bad; it's perfectly fine. But I didn't get the paroxysms of pleasure I was anticipating given everything I'd been reading about Pepe's for years now.

Honestly, my favorite Westchester pizza right now is humble JT Straw's in Port Chester. The fact that it's about three doors away from my house doesn't hurt, I guess, although I'm having to run quite a few more miles each week currently to counteract the damage...

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hyde Park / Rhinebeck

We had lunch at Terrapin on Saturday. I was a little bit disappointed with the atmosphere, hard to put my finger on what it was - maybe it's better in the evening. Wasn't in the slightest bit disappointed in the food, though. I had a smoked trout salad, and Husband did a build-your-own-sandwich thing. It was really clear that the ingredients used were top-notch. Portion sizes were also tastefully reasonable. (I'm a Brit and even after 10 years living here, I still find big portions startling, and often a sign of sub-par quality. Huge generalization, I realize, but my own experience finds this a pretty good litmus test.) Every item in my salad really sang out, and although the dressing was puckeringly vinegary, it didn't overwhelm. Husband's sandwich was delicious, but my sandwich was good enough that I didn't have Plate Envy.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

In search of Hudson Valley-area vineyards for rainy Memorial weekend

You're so right, menton1, it was just blissful, wasn't it?? Thanks SO much, everyone, for great ideas for another rainy day. Saturday was spent running, hiking and drinking beer around Hyde Park. Sunday, thanks to previous Chowhound recommendations, was spent in part at the farmer's market in Rhinebeck where we tried Clinton Vineyards' Seyval Blanc - beautifully refreshing in 88 degree heat. We'd thought of visiting a vineyard yet on Monday, but of course being Memorial Day, none was open. Planning a trip to Brotherhood (et al) very soon.

Meanwhile - a tip for Rhinebeck farmer's market - if you don't get there during the first hour of opening, you'll miss out on all the fresh game sausages, waaaaaah :-(

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

In search of Hudson Valley-area vineyards for rainy Memorial weekend

We're busy making backup plans for Memorial weekend, given that it's looking like our planned camping trip is going to be a washout. We're thinking of finding a vineyard to visit - we want to tour and taste and end up eating cheese and drinking wine in a nice cafe area. We've been to Cascade in Amenia, and Hopkins in New Preston, CT; the latter is a huge favorite of ours (the hayloft wine bar is heavenly) and would love somewhere with a similarly laid-back vibe.

And while we're at it - any other suggestions for rainy weekends in HV? We love in Port Chester.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks - March 14-27, 2011

I will, Ice Cream - thanks for confirming my suspicion! Good to get your tip on brunch, too. Dinner it is.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Hudson Valley Restaurant Weeks - March 14-27, 2011

We went to X2O last week for the RW menu. We hadn't been before, but it'd been on our list for a long, long time. Our table was OK, though I thought the room in general was weird - oddly lit (overly bright except two of the three decorative chandeliers were turned off??) and the swirly carpet was a bit banqueting hall-ish. Music was a mix of nothing, awful Celine Dion, and some other really random stuff. Please tell me the ambience is normally better!

The food: I normally order fish when we go out as Husband doesn't eat it so I rarely cook it at home. As we'd had our pre-dinner drink in view of the sushi bar, I ordered the sushi app as it all looked so delicious. It was... fine. The crunchy outside (briefly fried I guess, I naively hadn't expected that and am not really a huge fan of fried stuff) was a distraction; the inside was perfectly... fine. Husband's butternut soup was really quite good, though honestly I felt it was a tiny bit undersalted.

I found the salt in my entree, the pork. WHOAH. Salt. SALT. The cheddar grits were absolutely delicious, the pork beautifully cooked, but the level of salt was just absolutely mouth-puckering. The fried cauliflower was, well, fried, and FAR too fried for me, too rich for the dish in general. I was pining for some levity on my plate.

Husband's short ribs were delicious, and even when eating around the fat (there was a lot of fat on those), there was still a giant portion.

Desserts - he had the banana bread pudding, which was good but not transcendent. I had the lemon tart which was as sweet-tart as it should have been, though the blackberry sorbet would have benefited from standing out of the freezer for a couple of extra minutes for the ice crystals to soften.

I mean, yes, $28 is not a lot of money. And X2O certainly didn't stint on the portions. But I would have preferred to have a smaller amount of food that seemed better curated. The service was rather rushed and abrupt, and seeing the big assembly station in the middle of the room was a little offputting. Based on my experience last week alone, I would push X2O off my list of special-occasion places. But my suspicion is that the rest-of-the-year experience is better than that. Am I right?

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X2O
71 Water Grant Street, Yonkers, NY 10701

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Searching for wedding site/reception within two hours of NYC!

This might not be helpful as you'd need an outside caterer, but we got married at Tarrywile Park & Mansion a few years ago, in Danbury, CT> http://tarrywile.com/ . The fabulous thing about it was that it was all OURS - it really felt like we were getting married in our own, very grand house.

We did things cheaply - we supplied our own booze (so we knew people were drinking really good stuff!), and I even did the food, with the help of my mother, though there are plenty of good catering firms around. We did the whole wedding for 70 for a ridiculously small amount of money.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Nessa - Port Chester

I agree on nearly every count about its improvements, having gone over the past couple of years. Last time we were there was about a month ago. The one letdown, which was so striking it just felt like a weird joke, was a dessert we ordered, a tramezzini with peanut butter and... something else. It was just this weird, stale sandwich. Completely bland, no merit to it whatsoever. We didn't say anything as we were with friends and had such a perfectly lovely evening otherwise. But just... weirdly bad.

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Best Value Grocery Shopping in Westchester?

wincountrygirl, I agree that going to several stores is a real pain. That said, we've gotten it down to a reasonably good art. We get our meat from Costco and freeze it in portions. (Extra freezer in the basement.) Also from Costco, basic staples like pasta, oatmeal, etc. Posh cheese from Murray's in Grand Central (a plus side to my commute). More basic dairy, plus dried fruit & nuts, frozen veg from Trader Joe's. Then the weekly grocery shop tends to just be a boat load of fruit and veg from Apple Farms in Port Chester.

Since I've been doing it this way, I've rarely needed to go to the Stop & Shop in PC. I made the mistake of buying meat there when I first moved to the town 3 years ago, and what I discovered when I opened that package of pork can not be described on a family-friendly message board...

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)

Kennebunkport in March

I've been to the ramp in November, and the wintry landscape does actually do the place a great justice. I seem to remember a fire... It is a lovely place, but not too stuffy and posh.

My husband and I celebrate every wedding anniversary at the Captain Lord - great choice! Love love love the place. We really love having dinner at Hurricanes. The food's mostly very good, the wine list is great, yet you can have an absolutely affordable evening there. It's not OTT posh, and our favorite thing is to take the dregs of our bottle of wine into the bar area to finish with dessert up at the bar. There's always great conversation there and Keith and Al, the bartenders, are wonderful company.

Mrs.Sean in Northern New England

Anyone been to Arrosto in Port Chester yet?

It seems to have opened over the weekend. (The place on South Regent St., where Hostaria Mazzei used to be - and speaking of which, anyone know when its new location in the old Giorgio's is meant to be opening??)

It seems promising, just by the pics and info that Liz Johnson posted last month, but I haven't had time to check it out yet. Would love first impressions, and if not, then I'll just revisit this thread next week when I've gotten around to visiting!

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Hostaria Mazzei
25 S Regent St, Port Chester, NY 10573

Mrs.Sean in New York State (exc. New York City)