Hudson Valley Dwellers

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Yes, I have insomnia. No, I do not rise at 4:30 AM, so if you are a farmer, please do not invite me to breakfast after reading this post.

We are about to begin the most *magnificent* season in the Hudson Valley, and I get all sorts of spastic thinking of the tastes that are just around the corner.

The catastrophe is that my work cohorts are scattered about the country, so they can only partake on occasion -- and it just isn't enough, dammit. It is so much fun to share the experience with others who appreciate food and wine on the same manic level as myself, so this is a gastronomic S.O.S.

If you live in the Hudson Valley, travel up here for weekends away, or hell, even if yer just passin' through -- I'd love to meet up with you for some culinary mayhem. I have references to prove that I am a marvelous dining companion (how could I not be? I'm Italian and Scottish).

There are also tons of festivals in the coming months, so if you plan to attend one, please do let me know. Look, you could always lose me in the crowd.

[adegiulio]

We live in the heart of the Valley in Red Hook, Dutchess county. There is a Wine Festival up here next weekend at Greig Farm. Unfortunately, we will be away for the weekend (we will be in Paris, so I guess it isn't too unfortunate).

Wine fest page

We too are always looking around for fun thing to do and eat. Where are you located and how far would you travel?

Ant

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Ant, that's wonderful to hear!

I'm in Cornwall, but I'm open to wandering wherever there is a culinary adventure to be found, so let's keep each other posted of happenings. I may indeed check out the Wine Fest, but I'd much rather be in Paris.

Have fun!

[adegiulio]

Oh, I forgot to mention, one of our favorite events of Autumn is the Depuy Canal House Road Rally. It's an all day affair, starting with brunch and ending with dinner. We won a couple of times and have had loads of fun. We will be going this year for sure...

Click here for more info...

Ant

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Ooh, I forgot about that one!

I hosted my 30th birthday dinner at Dupuy, as I wanted to celebrate my Hudson Valley "roots." They did such a lovely job, giving us a private room, creating special menus, etc. I loved every minute.

It was really quite funny, because I brought a huge contingent from la famiglia, and they are more about comfort than haute, so they were a bit gob-smacked by the bill. I did check with them first, so they were fine with the individual prix fixe, but I think the grand total shocked the hell out of them.

It is now in the annals of Iannolo family history as "Jennifer's Thousand-Dollar Dinner." Which, quite frankly, given the number of people, was pretty damn good.

[lauderdale75]

Jennifer - Great thread and an equally great idea. I'm a recent transplant to "upstate NY" (Albany), by way of Miami, Florida. I've thoroughly enjoyed the bounties of the season, but am looking to venture to all the great eats this area has to offer. If you schedule any events during the weekend - please let me know - I'd love to join.

Regards,

Chirag

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Thank you, Chirag. You are going to LOVE the autumn here.

Hmm...there are so many things to choose from, perhaps we should start a list, and then we could gather at one or a few? I'll work on that over the next couple of days, so if you have any favorites, PM me and I'll add them.

Anthony, the Road Rally will definitely get listed.

I'm gettin' all excited over here...

:::happy dance:::

[Stone]

I'm up there almost every weekend. It would be nice to find something to do in the evenings other than go to redneck bars to watch the mother-daughter fistfights.

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Good Lord, man, what bars are you going to?

[Stone]

They're not for the faint-hearted.

I find the bar scene in the valley to be limited. I'm open to suggestions.

[markabauman]

Jennifer-

Are you familiar with the "Taste of the Hudson" benefit held annually at the CIA to benefit St. Francis Hospital? It's been a great way to familiarize myself with restaurants/chefs in the Hudson Valley as well as sample some great wines and attend interesting, informative short cooking/wine demos/tastings. Here's the link: Taste of the Hudson

[lauderdale75]

Thanks for the welcome, Jennifer. I don't know if its out of the budget range for what you desire to put together here, but I would willingly participate in a field trip to Blue Hill @ Stone Barns. Taste of Hudson, suggested by Mark Bauman, above, also sounds like a neat idea where we'd have the opportunity to sample many different places.

[docsconz]

Hey folks, per the eGullet policy, if anyone wants to start or sponsor an event we can work it out. If simple get togethers are the order of the day, arrangements will need to be made either by PM or email. Either way works, but this thread can no longer be used for organization of personal get togethers. I would suggest that this thread be used for reporting on tastes of the Hudson Valley. If it cannot evolve into that soon, it will need to be deleted.

Edited September 7, 2005 by docsconz (log)

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Sorry Doc!

I didn't see that part of the policy, so I apologize. How does the get-together dynamic work in terms of becoming official? I've seen what looks like that scenario in other eG areas, and I thought we were doing the same thing, but I seem to have gone about it the wrong way. I would love for there to be an eG Hudson Valley gathering if such a thing is possible.

Help.

[Jennifer Iannolo]

Well, I think we can solve both issues, actually. If we want to move ahead with an eGullet event, let's continue that discussion here.

For personal gatherings, we can make arrangements via the Gallivanting Gourmands section of my discussion board over at GM. This way we won't disturb anyone. (The forum is free -- you just have to register.)

Better, Doc? I'm tryin'.