hudson and rhinebeck (a food lover's guide.)

The boy and I migrated north last weekend for a weekend away from the city.  I rented us a house on AirBnB (my absolute favorite site at the moment) in the adorable town of Tivoli.  I hadn’t been north to the Hudson/Rhinebeck area in years.  My parents used to take my siblings and I for day trips so we could explore a new area and they could antique.  My appreciation for such activities was at an all time low when I was 10, but now that I am 28 I can appreciate such things (sorry it took me so long Mom and Dad!). 

We filled our weekend with antiquing, eating, and exploration.  It was amazingly fun especially since there are a lot of hidden food gems up there.  Below are some of my favorites.  I strongly encourage you to make the trip up there; it’s a breathtakingly beautiful area with a lot of stuff to do (Hiking! Pick your own farms!  Kayaking on the river!)

All of the below towns are about a 20 min drive from Tivoli.  If you are looking for a place to stay I can’t recommend this place enough. 

Rhinebeck

-Cinnamon Indian Cusine: 5856 Rte. 9 – Really excellent Indian food with very sweet servers.  (The sag paneer was excellent!)

-Bread Alone: 45 E. Market St. – An excellent selection of breakfast pastries but the real reason to come is for the lunch where all there sandwiches are made on their awesome homemade bread.

-Rhinebeck Farmers Market: 61 East Main St. – This Sunday only market has an excellent selection of vendors selling a wide variety of things.  I fell for the man selling homemade honey, the tamale lady, and the butcher with locally raised pork and beef (with very reasonable prices to boot). 

-Del's Dairy Creme: 6780 Albany Post Rd. - A super old school drive up ice cream shop that makes you nostalgic for childhood.  I recomend the $3.50 ice cream sundae!

Hudson

-Café Le Perche: 230 Warren St – Let’s talk about the cheese danish I had here because it was the BEST CHEESE DANISH I HAVE EVER EATEN.  Yes it was and I am stilling dreaming about it and trying to figure out how I can get another one and really soon.  The front part of the restaurant has carry out breads and pastries, the back part is the dine-in area.  The french toast according to my other half was one of the best he has ever had (and he takes french toast seriously).

-Baba Louies: 517 Warren St – Superb thin crust sourdough pizza with a plethora of pizza toppings and unique pies that you can choose from.  They also have a gluten free pizza available if you are one of the unlucky people who can’t have gluten.  A favorite with the locals (or so it seems based on how busy they were.)

-Bonfiglio and Bread: 748 Warren St – An adorable shop with really, really, good rustic style breads (reminiscent of Tartine in San Francisco).  They also sell divine pastries and an excellent cup of coffee. 

-Hudson Farmers Market: 6^th and Columbia – Saturday only farmers market.  Like the Rhinebeck one there is a wonderful selection of produce and local products.  We loved the beer from the Chatam Brewing Company, the wide variety of cheeses, and the wonderful produce.  You can basically buy everything you could possibly need to make dinner (and a really good dinner it would be)!