North Country Rambler

Culinary Adventures in Upstate New York

A Cassoulet worth a 700 mile drive?

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If you drive north from Quebec City through the Jacques Cartier Parc and continue through another one hundred miles of boreal forest, you will arrive at the town of Jonquiere, a suburb of Saguenay in central Quebec. The Auberge Villa Pachon is located there, on the banks of the Aux Sables River. Three years ago we read an article about the chef there, and the cassoulet he prepares. We drove seven hours from our home in the Adirondacks to try it.

Deer’s Head Inn ~ Elizabethtown, NY

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Deer’s Head Inn fans can rejoice in the restaurant’s reincarnation, and be assured that the new operation preserved what was best about the old – the small town “community center” vibe of the place. That welcoming atmosphere is complemented by a new pub style menu with a local focus, a very nice bar, and a country store alongside to stock up for the trip home.

End Cut ~ New Paltz

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End Cut is yet another great addition to the New Paltz dining scene. It is located in a neighborhood cluster of favorite destinations on Church Street, including Hokkaido, and newcomer, Huckleberry. Proprietor, Jordan Schor, who also brought you Jordan’s Bistro & Pizzeria in New Paltz and Solstice in Kingston, opened his newest restaurant last year.

Essie’s Restaurant ~ Poughkeepsie

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Essie’s Restaurant, a new bistro style eatery in Mount Carmel in downtown Poughkeepsie, is the newest addition to the city’s growing list of upscale dining establishments. The space most recently was home to Cafe Bocca, and those of a certain age will remember Sardi’s grocery, which operated there for over seventy years. We started hearing about the new restaurant months before they opened, in part because of the reputation of the proprietor, Brandon Walker.

A Weekend in Old Port ~ Quebec City

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Quebec City has long been on our list of favorite destinations, brimming with great restaurants and shopping, some fabulous hotels, and numerous art galleries and antique shops. As you might expect, Quebec has a fantastic selection of French restaurants, offering everything from fine dining and haute cuisine to classic bistro standards.

Duo Bistro ~ Kingston, NY

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Duo is in Kingston’s uptown Stockade District, just a pitching wedge away from two of our long time favorites – Boitson’s Bistro and le Canard Enchaine. Duo Bistro joined these two standouts in the spring of 2012. Chef Juan Romero’s menu is delightfully original, combining local farm products with creative and well prepared recipes.

UpRiver Cafe – Lake Luzerne, NY

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If you have been coming to the Adirondacks long enough, you have been to this place, or one just like it. Before the Northway, there was Route 9, running from Westchester to the Canadian border. Route 9 weaved its way through every town on the map, and every town had a roadside restaurant, maybe two, that looked just like UpRiver Cafe.

Aroma Osteria ~ Wappingers Falls

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It’s hard to imagine now, but thirty years ago there were no restaurants serving authentic rustic home style Italian food anywhere in the Hudson Valley. Back then, Italian meant red sauce and pasta and more often than not what you were served were “Italian-American” dishes like garlic bread with veal or chicken parmigiana or lobster fra Diavolo, or shrimp scampi (none of which would be found in Italy). Oh, how times have changed….

Global Palate Restaurant ~ West Park, NY

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If I were in real estate I would say that Global Palate is centrally located between Kingston and Highland. Located in the old roadhouse that housed Marcel’s in days of yore, the restaurant’s dining room, and the bar in particular, have always been on my list of favorites. If you had a dream about a 1960’s neighborhood bistro, this is probably what you would dream about.