A Hudson Valley View

Another lost recipe. How to clean a clam. And two fantastic food trips.

Yes, that is a bear on my lawn.

If you had told me, when I moved to Columbia County in the mid-nineties, that the falling down depressed little town of Hudson would one day become the Brooklyn of the north I would not have believed you. In those days it was filled with small antique stores - mostly ramshackle places with no heat and low prices. They’re all but gone now, pushed out by shops catering to all the new people who live here.

Last week a La Briffe reader said he was planning a trip to Hudson and asked for suggestions about places to go and things to eat while he’s in the area. I fired off a few quick thoughts, but it struck me that this might be a good time to mention some of favorite places in a part of the world I know well.

Talbott & Arding is among them. Mona Talbott and Kate Arding moved to Hudson because they wanted to work with local food producers. When Mona was a chef at Chez Panisse Alice Waters took over the kitchens at the American Academy in Rome and tapped Mona to run the kitchen and create the garden there; it instantly became one of the finest places to eat in that city. Her wife, Kate Arding, is a cheese expert (she helped establish Cowgirl Creamery and co-founded Culture Magazine), and their shop is a wonderland for food people. They make all manner of prepared foods and baked goods, have a fantastic cheese department, and have sourced the best local products (like the wonderful charcuterie from La Salumina and the spectacular soy sauce from Moromi). Don’t miss it.

Hudson Wine Merchants is the place to shop for wine. Proprietor Michael Albin - aside from being a lovely person - really knows wine, and his customers trust him so completely that he makes weekly trips into New York City to deliver wine there. This is also the place to discover the best local spirits.

When Feast and Floret opened a couple of years ago I walked in, saw Jason Denton and felt instantly at home. Jason opened Lupa in New York- and then went on to run the Inoteca restaurants. He’s removed all the pretension from the former Fish and Game restaurant, and turned it into a place for deliciously simple, relaxed Italian food.

Last year Cafe Mutton was on almost everybody’s list of Best Restaurants. It is the quirkiest place, which is part of its charm; you know that chef Shaina Loew-Banayan is serving exactly what she likes to eat. You will undoubtedly like it too; I am particularly partial to the pate sandwich, the rice porridge and the homemade celery soda. They only serve dinner one night a week, but if you’re in Hudson on a Friday, it’s the place to be.

Rivertown Lodge Tavern is a tiny space inside an old movie theater that’s been transformed into a hip hotel, but during the summers it spills onto the pleasant outside patio. This is another wonderfully quirky menu, and I’m willing to bet there are at least three combinations you’ve never considered. Take a chance: I’ve loved every dish I’ve eaten here.

Lil’ Deb’s Oasis is an instant party. Colorful, proudly queer, with a pan-latino slant, it offers instant fun and delicious food. Everybody loves the whole fried fish, but I’m also partial to the ceviche and Abuela’s beans.

A few miles east of Hudson you’ll find Churchtown Dairy; if there’s a more beautiful farm in the world I haven’t seen it. Created by Abby Rockefeller as both an organic working farm and educational center, it is an essential stop when you’re in the area. While you’re there stop in at the shop and pick up some cheese.

Travel north a bit and you’ll come to Kinderhook Farm, which raises much of the meat served in local restaurants. They raise beef, lambs, chickens, geese - all running free in the bucolic landscape. The farm is open to visitors at all times, as is the shop which sells everything they raise. They also have just about the nicest place you could possibly stay while you’re in the Valley.

Not far from Kinderhook you’ll come to The Berry Farm in Chatham, a family-owned place which calls itself a “daily farmers market.” They raise most of the produce they sell, and if you want to pick it yourself, you often can. As the name suggests, this is a particularly good place to buy berries.

Just down the road is Staron’s Farm Stand. It’s one of my favorite places to buy produce; the Starons are, among other things, the largest growers of potatoes in Columbia County.

Nearby you’ll find Kinderhook, a charming little village that has a world-class art gallery, The School, and the most surprising restaurant in the Hudson Valley. The Aviary looks as if it belongs in New York City, not this little rural village, and the food created by chef Hannah Wong is anything but down-home. Wong worked in New York restaurants like Gramercy Tavern and db Bistro, and her Asian-inflected menu is unlike anything you’ll find nearby. I love her gado gado, her hand-pulled noodles and her lemongrass shrimp burger. (Their Morning Bird Cafe is open on weekend days, and it too has an unusual menu.)

Other things you might want to do while you’re in the area: walk at Ooms Pond, one of the most serene places I know. Visit Art Omi. Hike up to Bash Bish Falls. Go to P.S 21, Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow. Drive to Mass MOCA: it’s worth the drive. And while you’re there, visit The Clark as well.

And finally, if you’re a food-lover, you might want to cross the line to Massachusetts to visit Great Barrington which has a world-class cheese chop, Rubiner’s, and a really wonderful food market, Guido’s.

Heading south? Don’t miss Gio Batta in Tivoli, which I wrote about here.

Here’s another Hudson Valley suggestion. Come join me, Mark Bittman, Sean Sherman, Karen Washington, Tunde Wey - and a whole host of interesting people for a three-day workshop called Beyond Delicious: Transforming the Future of Food. Held at the Omega Institute in August, it’s an affordable way to hear serious change-makers discuss the issues that concern them.

Looking for something more lavish? We have room for two more people around our table at Dinner with Friends. It’s an adventure that Nancy Silverton, Alec Lobrano, Laurie Ochoa and I are planning for the south of France in October. The trip includes two three star meals, fantastic hotels, bistros, wineries, art …. and the chance to hang out with us in a really intimate setting. I guarantee that you will have a good time.

Another lost recipe from Save Me the Plums. This one was originally included in the chapter called Enormous Changes which begins on page 149.

Willoughby agreed to make the trip from Boston, but I had the distinct impression that he had little interest in a new job. “I’ve been longing to visit the Conde Nast Cafeteria,” he admitted..

Si would have been pleased; this was exactly why he’d lured Frank Gehry to Four Times Square. The cafeteria might masquerade as the company canteen, but Si had wanted to create New York’s most exclusive club.

It was a singularly brilliant move, and it worked exactly as planned. The cafeteria got so much press that the whole world yearned to visit Gehry’s soaring space with its sinuous glass panels and curving titanium walls. The fact that an invitation was required made it that much more enticing.

For prospective employees the cafeteria was always an attraction.  This was fine with me; I like interviewing people over lunch. You can learn a lot about a person by watching them eat and I wondered what I’d glean from my meal with John.

He walked in and looked around, seeming suitably impressed. He pointed to the Chinese-food line, where a famous actor was waiting. “Is that . . . ?”

On any given day, the Condé Nast cafeteria was packed with celebrities whose agents had wangled invitations. John slipped in behind the star and watched a cook toss tough nuggets of precooked chicken into a wok, add some limp, overcooked vegetables, and smother it all with garlic-free kung pao sauce. Tugging on his apron, the cook gave the mess a listless stir. “That looks dreadful,” said John, slipping out of the line.

I herded him toward the sushi station, where “sushi chefs” were arranging pre-sliced fish onto soggy seaweed. The skinny Vogue assistant in front of us leaned in to negotiate.
“Will you please cut my tuna roll in twelve?” she asked the chef.
“Eight!” he said curtly.
“Please.” She actually batted her eyelashes. “Please cut it into twelve. For me. I’m on a diet and it makes it seem like more.”

John gave a shout of laughter and edged out of the line to move on to the steam table, where a pair of GQ editors was earnestly discussing the merits of lukewarm fried chicken. He shadowed them as they surveyed a vast tray of macaroni paved in a thick orange crust. “I’d bet my life that’s not Velveeta!” said one.

John looked at the oozing tray and shuddered slightly. “But everyone says the food here is good!” His disappointment was palpable, and
after we’d wandered around the cafeteria he said, “Would you mind going somewhere else for lunch?”

He’d aced that part of the interview.  We went out for oyster stew.

Oyster Stew for Two

Carefully open a dozen and a half oysters and save the liquor.  Combine the oyster liquor with ¼ cup of bottled clam juice in a saucepan, along with 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce , 2 tablespoons of butter, ½ teaspoon of paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of celery salt.  Bring it just to the boil over low heat and add one cup half and half. Gently add the oysters, lower the heat a bit and cook just until the oysters’ edges begin to curl.

Transfer to a bowl, add a pat of butter and a sprinkle of paprika.

This isn’t a recipe, exactly, but while we’re talking about oysters…

The other day I walked into Guido’s (see above), and saw the most beautiful steamer clams. “They just came in,” said the man behind the counter, “aren’t they beautiful?”

They were.

“And so clean!” he said.

I looked dubious. Clams are filter feeders and they are never clean. “I”m going to purge them,” I said.

“Cornmeal?” he inquired.

“Oh no,” I said, “I hope you aren’t telling people to use cornmeal. All they want is salt water.”

He looked abashed. “How much salt do you put into the water?” he asked.

“Two tablespoons of sea salt for 4 cups of water,” I said, “then I leave them in the refrigerator over night. In the morning dump out the water - and all the sand - and do it again. You can’t believe how much sand you get out of a few clams.”

Then all you have to do is put the clams in a pot, cover it, turn the heat on high and wait for the clams to open (about five minutes). Meanwhile, melt some butter.

When the clams open, put them in a bowl, pour the broth into a smaller one, and take them to the table. Dip each clam into the broth, then into butter.

It’s a feast!

Like bagels? You won’t want to miss The Bagel Man video that Priya Krishna created for the New York Times. Everything you ever wanted to know about bagels - and an introduction to an extraordinary man.