North Country Rambler

Culinary Adventures in Upstate New York

  • Home
  • About
  • Explore
    • ADK North Country
    • Hudson Valley
    • Off the Trail
    • Home Cooking
    • Table Scraps
  • Index
  • Contact

Duo Bistro ~ Kingston, NY

By JC Steiniger June 1, 2016

Duo Bistro
50 John Street
Kingston, NY 12401

Breakfast from 10 AM, Lunch until 3:30PM,  Dinner from 5:30 PM
Closed Wednesdays
Reservations: 845 383 1198

I’m never quite sure what to expect when the phrase “new American cuisine” is used as a description. Sometimes you find a mish-mash of ethnic components reimagined as something new and interesting; sometimes you find meatloaf. You frequently find a $20 artisanal hamburger made from a recently massaged cow that had been personally ground by celebrity butcher Pat LaFrieda, or at least someone who had met Pat LaFrieda.

IMG_4646

Duo Bistro Dining Room

Here at Duo Bistro, a contemporary kitchen that has been playing to rave reviews since they opened four years ago, you find the real McCoy – as in smoked, wrapped in bacon, bourbon glazed American cuisine. I am embarrassed  to say that I had not been to the place until last month, as the restaurant is shuttered on Wednesdays, our usual night out. We took advantage of a Tuesday night in Kingston to stop by, and we were glad we did.

IMG_4655

Sweet Potato Fritters

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. One of the original owners, Juan Romero, still holds court in the kitchen but has teamed with a new partner, Shawna Chahanovich.  Chef Romero’s menu is delightfully original, combining local farm products with creative and well prepared recipes. During the summer, RSK Farm in Prattsville is a veggie supplier. The menu lists Fitzgerald’s Farm in Accord as the poultry source and Hudson Valley Beef as the supplier of the said aforementioned makings for Duo’s ($18) artisanal burgers, offered here with house cured duck bacon, aged gruyere, and herbed Parmesan and frites.

IMG_4647

Pea leaves, roasted walnuts and sunflower sprouts

What’s more American than sweet potato fritters?  The grated potatoes are fried to a crispy exterior, and topped with smoked tomatoes and fresh ricotta cheese, and plated with a spoonful of preserved citrus aioli. Fantastic dish. An appetizer of “fried pumpkin” caught my eye. The squash was drizzled with a sauce blended with Berbere Spice – an Ethiopian aromatic that was right at home with our Thanksgiving staple. Try it.

IMG_4639

Fried pumpkin with Berbere spice blend.

Other starters include a few salads including a spring salad of pea leaves, walnuts and sunflower sprouts ($10) and a classic Caesar ($11). The kitchen also fashions its own charcuterie plate (15) of cheeses and house-cured salumi and sausage.

Moving on to entrees, we selected the spring chicken papardelle along with a bourbon bacon wrapped chicken breast. Both dishes featured a Fitzgerald’s Farm chicken breast, an “airline” or “Statler” cut, leaving the first joint of the wing attached.  The bourbon wrapped bacon added flavor and insulation for the bird’s juices, I think. It was one of the best chicken dishes that I’ve had in a while. The pappardelle was more chicken than pasta. We were expecting a toss of pasta noodles and chicken slices. Here the kitchen plates an entire breast of chicken – again the full Statler cut – on top of the plate of papardelle. Overwhelming yes, delicious yes.

IMG_4662

Duo Bistro Chicken Papardelle

The wine list at Duo mimics the menu – concise, but well focused and thoughtfully selected. It’s a very nice “bistro” list. You can splurge on a $50 bottle of Chablis or Sancerre if you want to.  Familiar bistro reds like tempranillo and Cote du Rhones offer food friendly choices at reasonable prices. I chose a very nice $10 glass of Chardonnay from Jekel in Monterey, California to go with my chicken.

IMG_4666

Bourbon bacon wrapped Statler chicken.

The restaurant has recently expanded from its original space adding additional seating and a “Hudson Valley” marketplace next door.  I certainly see why the restaurant had to add additional seating. We’ll be back very soon to see what the summer menu looks like.

Share this post:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: General, Hudson Valley Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hudson Valley

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect

Recent Comments

  • Mary Davis on Schroon Lake Fish and Game Club Annual Chicken & Lobster Bake
  • David Jenkins on Home Cured Pork Tenderloin Salumi
  • Erika Ralf on Monte Rosa Lodge
  • Erika Ralf on Monte Rosa Lodge
  • TC on Home Cured Pork Tenderloin Salumi

Explore

Adirondacks Bar BBQ Bistros burgers Canada Cheese Commentary craft beer Dutchess County Farm to Table Favorites French German Glens Falls Home Cooking Hudson Valley Italian Kingston Lake George Region Microbrewery Montreal Newburgh New Paltz New York City North of Albany Off the Trail Favorites Orange County Outdoor Dining pizza Poughkeepsie Quebec Rhinebeck Saratoga Track Choices Small Plates South of Albany Steak Sushi Table Scraps Tapas Top 10 Ulster County Waterfront Dining Wine Wine Bar

Hudson Valley “Top 10” Favorites

  • Aroma Osteria ~ Wappingers Falls
  • Il Barilotto ~ Fishkill
  • A Tavola ~ New Paltz
  • Boitson’s ~ Kingston
  • Il Cenacolo ~ Newburgh
  • Fish & Game ~ Hudson
  • le Express Bistro ~ Wappingers Falls
  • Mercato Osteria ~ Red Hook
  • Mill House Brewing Co ~ Poughkeepsie
  • Mountain Brauhaus ~ Gardiner

Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

Hudson Valley Farmers Markets

  • Hudson Market – Saturdays
  • Kingston Farmers Market
  • Millbrook Farmers Market
  • Pleasantville Market – Saturdays
  • Poughkeepsie Main St.
  • Rhinebeck Farmers Market
  • Troy Farmers Market – Saturdays
  • Warwick Valley – Sundays

Hudson Valley Wineries

  • Adair Vineyards ~ New Paltz
  • Applewood Winery ~ Warwick
  • Baldwin Vineyards ~ Pine Bush
  • Benmarl Winery ~ Marlboro
  • Brimstone Hill ~ Pine Bush
  • Brookview Station Winery ~ Castleton
  • Brotherhood Winery – Washingtonville
  • Cascade Mountain Winery ~ Amenia
  • Clinton Vineyards ~ Clinton Corners
  • El Paso Winery ~ Ulster Park
  • Glorie Farm Winery ~ Marlboro
  • Hudson Chatham Winery ~ Ghent
  • Millbrook Winery ~ Millbrook
  • Oak Summit Winery ~ Millbrook
  • Robibero Family Winery ~ New Paltz
  • Silver Stream Winery ~ Chester
  • Shawangunk Wine Trail
  • Stoutridge Vineyards ~ Marlboro
  • Tousey Winery ~ Germantown
  • Warwick Winery ~ Warwick
  • Whitecliff Vineyard ~ Gardiner
  • Windham Vineyards ~ Windham

Tasty Links

  • Accidental Foodie
  • Adirondack Chick
  • Adirondack Harvest
  • Albany Eats
  • Albany Times Union Reviews
  • Big Hungry Shelby
  • Burgers & Brews Food Reviews
  • The Cheese Plate ~ New Paltz
  • Chefs’ Consortium
  • Culinary Institute Chef’s Page
  • Docsconz ~ The Blog
  • Fussy Little Blog
  • Happy Hour in the High Peaks
  • Hudson Valley Food & Wine Fest
  • Hudson Valley Compass
  • Kimversations
  • Lake George Dining
  • Nettle Meadow Farm
  • New York Wineries Map
  • Open Table Reservations
  • Seafood Watch
  • TableHopping
  • Upstate Downtown
  • Valley Table
North Country Rambler is a personal blog about our favorite dining destinations in "upstate" New York. Posts are not intended to be "critiques" or "reviews" in the classic sense. We do not criticize any establishments (at least not intentionally). If we do not like a venue, you will not read about it here. We only write about the restaurants that we enjoy. Our focus is on bistros, usually ethnic. We prefer a crock of cassoulet and a bottle of Beaujolais to just about anything else. We do not accept any advertising on the blog, we pay for all of our own meals, and we do not accept any remuneration from any establishments mentioned in the blog unless we can drink said remuneration before we leave.

Copyright © 2019 North Country Rambler · Design by Fabulous Blogging · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.