By Christopher Matthews
Wild Horse Winery, a California Central Coast wine operation based in Templeton, CA (near Paso Robles), is best known for its Pinot Noirs…and its familiar galloping mustang image on its bottles.
Last week, I had the opportunity to dine with Wild Horse’s Director of Winemaking, Clay Brock, at Bottino in Chelsea, where we sampled some of Wild Horse’s nationally available Pinots and Chardonnays. Continue reading
By Christopher Matthews
The dog days of summer have arrived with a thud, and August is still to come. In this hot, sticky weather, you want a wine that’s light (especially on the alcohol), lively on the palate and long on the fruit. A savvy summer choice on all counts? Willi Schaefer, an estimable Riesling producer from Germany’s Mosel region, especially from the current — and highly touted — 2011 vintage.
By Kathryn Matthews
Two Boots Bard: Annandale-on-Hudson
Meat. Cheese. Crust. Beer.
Righteous pizza attracts most guys—and a lot of girls. Add live music to the mix, and it’s dude heaven.
Two Boots, a Cajun-Italian eatery founded downtown (the East Village) in 1987, has delivered this winning combination—in New York City (eight locations), Los Angles, Baltimore and Nashville, too.
This spring, owner Phil Hartman opened a new Two Boots locale upstate: at Annandale-on-Hudson, across from Bard College (where Hartman’s two daughters recently graduated and where he is an honorary alum as well).
Christopher and I have long been fans of Two Boots (downtown). Curious about its upstate expansion, we decided to pop into Two Boots Bard for a quality check… Continue reading
By Christopher Matthews
Poughkeepsie, NY, a once-thriving river town on the Hudson, but long economically depressed, is often our gateway to upstate New York, via the Metro North train. But when we first bought our farmhouse in Dutchess County, there wasn’t much incentive to linger in Poughkeepsie after a commute. Dinner in Poughkeepsie? No way: a culinary wasteland, with a high crime rate to boot.
Fast forward a decade. Poughkeepsie now has a happening dining scene, especially in the historic and gradually gentrifying Main Street district, anchored by restaurants like the stylish Bull & Buddha and Brasserie 292, and Crave (at the foot of the Walkway Over the Hudson). But they all owe a debt to the first-mover and culinary standard-bearer of the area: The Artist’s Palate.
By Kathryn Matthews
After a recent meal at Luna 61, a 17-year-old eclectic vegetarian restaurant in Tivoli, New York, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that husband-and-wife owners Debra and Peter Maisel, were able to deliver what I hadn’t been able to find in Manhattan: clean Asian-inspired fare.
Over the years, visiting friends have asked: “What are your favorite Chinese restaurants in NYC?” They’re always taken aback when I can’t offer recommendations. Christopher and I don’t eat at Chinese restaurants anymore. Not that I have anything against Chinese food! After all, this is my cultural cuisine: it’s what I grew up eating. Both my parents were excellent Chinese cooks—the toast of every dinner party they threw—but their food, meticulously selected and prepared, highlighted fresh ingredients. Most importantly it was “clean”. Continue reading
By Christopher Matthews
In our ever faster, more frenetic world, the patience (and pocketbook, for mere mortals) required for stocking a cellar full of age-worthy wines — great Barolo, Burgundy, Brunello or Bordeaux, for example — and then waiting a decade or more for them to evolve into something special , is diminishing. Rapidly. Even among cognoscenti and collectors.
But it only takes one compelling bottle from a superior, mature vintage to remind us why we should wait. Last week, at the Wine Media Guild’s Annual Hall of Fame Dinner, that bottle was the Chateau Monbousquet 1995.
Chateau Monbousquet 1995
By Christopher Matthews
Every year is different, but as springs go, 2012 has been quite the rollercoaster in the Hudson Valley.
After virtually no winter, March shattered records for warmth, remained unusually dry and generated historically early blooms — plum trees, for example, were five weeks early! April then cooled off considerably, including several hard freezes that made local farmers extremely nervous (and zapped the pear trees). May has been alternately gorgeous and dry, and cool and wet. But, despite the extremes, late May in northern Dutchess county is bursting out in flower, and is mirrored on our property! Continue reading
By Christopher Matthews
“Farm-to-table” has become a buzzword for many restaurants in the Hudson Valley — and around the country. And while it’s a great trend to support, using local and/or organic ingredients doesn’t always guarantee a great dining experience.
One Hudson Valley restaurant that gets it right on all counts — quality local ingredients, an attractive, serene setting, informed service and, most important, a truly talented chef — is CrossRoads Food Shop, in Hillsdale, NY, near the junction of Routes 22 and 23.
By Kathryn Matthews
…is not top-of-mind for most who come here.
At the newish Liberty Public House in Rhinebeck, the red, white and blue-themed décor is eye-catching and fun. And, on a menu that salutes Americana favorites, the “Liberty Burger with Freedom Fries” gets a whole lot of love.
Sliders? Hot wings? Liberty’s late night menu (we passed)
As I recount in my RHO review−http://bit.ly/LibertyRvw−the burger, itself, is tasty enough. The beef patty, sandwiched along with melted Manchego cheese, lettuce and sliced pickle in a soft, squishy, sesame-seeded, white bun, with a side of ketchup is eerily reminiscent of a Big Mac−albeit with real meat. There are other such retro-themed reincarnations, including Buffalo rock shrimp with blue cheese dip, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese, and fettucini Alfredo—comfort food that ventures into precariously high sodium territory. As it did with the much touted “Freedom fries”, which Christopher and I found greasy and overly salty.
What I did find unexpectedly appealing and savory, however, contained not a whit of meat: the “stuffed yellow pepper”—even more surprising since I don’t particularly care for bell peppers. What I tasted was… Continue reading
By Kathryn Matthews
Surprise parties? Cringe. Surprise visits (as in “I’m downstairs in the lobby!”)? Uh-uh. Don’t you dare. Surprise gifts? Unless you know my taste and size—I’d rather you didn’t…
Obviously, I’m not big on surprises—unless they’re delicious.
Our recent visit to Another Fork in the Road was just that kind of surprise…
Upstate-Downtown 