OPENINGS Recent openings of restaurants, farms and markets.
Birdsall House
970 Main Street, Peekskill
(914) 930-1880
Birdsall House is a circa-1940s "classic American tavern" locals remember as Connolly's Bar. The tavern, renovated by new owners Tim Reinke and John Sharp, pays tribute to the old Peeksill landmark and the vanishing architectural details of mid-century American design. Reinke also owns the Blind Tiger Ale House in Greenwich Village, known for its specialty beers, so it's no surprise that Birdsall House sports 20 drafts and features a wide selection of craft beers, many of them local. Chef Matt Hutchins formerly cooked at Chez Panisse, and his passion for locally grown, sustainable ingredients is evident in the farm-to-table menu built around organic breads from Wild Hive Farm in Clinton Corners, artisanal cheeses from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in Chatham, and meats, like the Hemlock Burger, sourced from Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt Manor, a working farm since 1939.
The Moviehouse Gallery Cafe
48 Main Street, Millerton
(860) 435-2897; www.themoviehouse.net
The Gallery Cafe is currently being featured at the Moviehouse, a three-screen cinema offering current Hollywood, documentary and independent films. Carol Sidlon and her husband, Robert, bought the theater 30 years ago and opened the cafe / gallery space, where the work of local artists is showcased, in 1980. According to Sidlon, the cafe needed "freshening up," so some walls were removed, others repainted, and the food preparation area completely renovated. The cafe’s simple, locally-sourced offerings include the three "original addictive organic substances"-coffee, chocolate and tea. Cookies, brownies and biscotti sweeten the menu. The cafe is open every day to enjoy before, during or after a movie.
Chef Tim Cocheo and his wife Taryn opened No. 9 Restaurant in the Simmon's Way Inn in November 2009. Cocheo learned his trade from his Croatian grandparents and at the French Culinary Institute; he cooked at La Caravelle and Wallse in New York City before moving to the Wheatleigh in Lenox, MA. Cocheo's formal French training and diverse work experience shaped his philosophy of using fresh, seasonal, local flavors. Inspired by the beauty of the Hudson Valley, in 2007 he and Taryn opened the popular Bottletree Grocery in Ancram. At No. 9, Cocheo's menu includes a first-course salad of Sky Farm field greens with Coach Farm goat cheese ($8) as well as entrees that range in price from $23 for a Herondale Farm chicken ballotine stuffed with wild mushrooms to $12 for a No. 9 Herondale beef burger with fries. The address is on Main Street, but you'll find the entrance to No. 9 is on Century Boulevard.
The Harvest Grill and Brew Pub at Pennings Orchard & Farm Market offers a local alternative to mass-produced, commercial cider and beer. As interest in craft brewing and wine making continues to grow, small-batch regional beer, cider and wine will be the focus here. Butternut Beer & Ale, Brewery Ommegang, Warwick Valley Winery, and Demarest Winery are just a few of the local producers represented. Guests can enjoy food at the bar, a functioning apple grader Steve and Jill Pennings use to sort apples during picking season. The pub, christened "Apple Grader Pub," is an "ag bar" instead of a sports bar. Second-generation farmers and market operators for more than 20 years, the Pennings provide a space where friends can connect over a cold beer and a Warwick grass-fed burger.
At this full-service, sit-down, raw, vegan and organic cafe, owner Sai Corson, a food and hospitality photographer, and her staff collaborate on recipes and share nearly a decade of raw food experience. Head chef Katie Key, a Certified Raw Chef, has devised specials such as spicy "Buffalo" nut-filled jalapeno poppers and zuchinni mac-and-cheese with collards. Corson and her staff source food locally-Tierra Farm, Common Ground Farm, Green Teens, Fishkill Farms and Honey Locust Farm. The cafe offers a "sliding-scale" menu and half portions for as little as $5. Also coming are several outreach programs and classes on raw food; weekly meal and juice-cleanse programs will be delivered "CSA-style" to local farmers' markets. "We want to offer kids raw-meal boxed lunches as an alternative to the starch-laden, sugar-filled school lunches," Corson says. "We hope that public schools can find room in their budgets for this kind of alternative." In order to raise funds, Corson hopes to start a vending program this fall, offering organic, sugar-free snacks in vending machines at area schools. The Superfood Citizen Cafe is open daily from 7AM.
){kind=link}