GREAT TASTES

Kickoff highlights Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

Geoffrey Wilson
Poughkeepsie Journal

HYDE PARK - A veteran of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, Chris O'Brien knows it's all about making the right impression.

From left to right, Greg Best, partner at the Ticonderoga Club in Atlanta, Georgia, Hutch Kugemen, head brewer at the Culinary Institute of America, Douglass Miller, lecture instructor at Cornell University, and Robert Mitchell, vice president of craft beer, wine and spirits at Manhattan Beer Distributors, discuss the business of selling craft beverage. The roundtable, part of Support the Craft, preceded the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week kickoff event.

"When you have someone trying a restaurant they wouldn't normally eat at, they're going to be a bit leery," the co-owner of Farm To Table in Fishkill said.

But the two-week event will provide restaurateurs ample opportunities to impress customers with local meals on the cheap.

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week hosted a kickoff gathering Tuesday at the Culinary Institute of America, highlighting the upcoming event as well as New York's craft beverage industry.

In its 10th year, Hudson Valley Restaurant Week aims to highlight local cuisine while giving restaurants a boost during a typically slower season. The event runs from Nov. 1-13.

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"Restaurant Week underscores the importance of the Hudson Valley as a culinary capital," said Janet Crawshaw, founder of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week.

The kickoff was preceded by a roundtable discussion on the business of selling craft beverages, a campaign in support of the New York craft beverage scene.

Greg Best, Poughkeepsie native and partner at the Ticonderoga Club in Atlanta; Hutch Kugemen, head brewer at The Culinary Institute of America; Douglass Miller, former instructor at The Culinary Institute of America and lecture instructor in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University; and Robert Mitchell, vice president of craft beer, wine and spirits at Manhattan Beer Distributors, discussed the explosion of the craft beverage scene and the need for a deep knowledge of craft beverages and what people are looking for in order to impress customers.

"If your staff doesn't have the knowledge to sell these products, it's not worth it (to sell them)," Miller said.

Desserts served as part of the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week kickoff event at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

Restaurant Week offers hungry customers a deal on a local meal, with prix fixe, three-course lunch menus at $20.95 and dinner at $29.95.

Price and menu are key to drawing customers beyond Restaurant Week. While most customers are there for the good deal, O'Brien said it's also important to offer food that can be found on the regular menu.

"It drives people to places that they wouldn't go and experience otherwise," O'Brien said. "And if 10 percent come back again, that's good business."

Though Restaurant Week is still a month away, 28 Dutchess County restaurants and nine Ulster County eateries have signed up to participate, according to the Restaurant Week website. More than 200 restaurants are participating across the Hudson Valley region.

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW

If you go

What: Fall 2016 Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

When: Nov. 1-13

Where: Participating restaurants throughout the Hudson Valley

Price: Prix-fixe, three-course lunch for $20.95 or dinner for $29.95.

Information: For more information or to register, visit www.valleytable.com/hvrw.

Participating restaurants

*indicates first-time participants

Dutchess

  • Aroma Osteria, Wappingers Falls
  • Baja 328, Beacon
  • The Bocuse Restaurant, Hyde Park
  • Cafe Amarcord, Beacon
  • Carlo's Trattoria, LaGrangeville
  • Cosimo's Trattoria, Poughkeepsie
  • County Fare, Wappingers Falls*
  • Crave, Poughkeepsie
  • Eleven 11, Fishkill
  • Farm to Table Bistro, Fishkill
  • Hudson's Ribs & Fish, Fishkill
  • Il Barilotto, Fishkill
  • Joseph's Steakhouse, Hyde Park
  • Kitchen Sink Food & Drink, Beacon
  • Le Express, Poughkeepsie
  • Mill House Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie
  • The Mill, Poughkeepsie
  • Monte's Local Kitchen & Bar, Amenia
  • Poughkeepsie Ice House, Poughkeepsie
  • Ristorante Caterina de' Medici, Hyde Park
  • The Roundhouse,Beacon
  • Sapore, Fishkill
  • Shadows On The Hudson, Poughkeepsie
  • Terrapin, Rhinebeck
  • The Beacon Hotel, Beacon*
  • Trattoria Locanda, Fishkill
  • Trattoria San Giorgio, Millbrook
  • The Vault, Beacon

Ulster

  • A Tavola Trattoria, New Paltz
  • Dino's Vigneto Cafe, Highland
  • Henry's at the Farm, Milton
  • Perch, Marlboro
  • Ship Lantern Inn, Milton
  • Tuthill House, Gardiner
  • The Village Tearoom, Restaurant & Bakeshop, New Paltz
  • Woodnotes Grille, Mount Tremper
  • The Would, Ulster