Everybody's 🦜 talking about...
BUT FIRST: Hudson weekender! NYCB 🩰 news. Can’t-miss Caffè Lena jazz.
Weekender: Head to Hudson
NYC Chic with a country heart
First in a series…Here’s a direct link to Head to Hudson to save for later.
For anyone seeking an urbane-chic adult experience with all of the culture and style of Manhattan (but none of the hassle and a lot a more heart): Head to Hudson. Just 71 miles from Saratoga Springs, it’s easy to head down for a day trip, or an easy overnight.
Here’s what to eat, drink, shop, see, and where to spend a night if you need an extra dose of adult serenity.
Eat:
Taiga: Siberian forest flavor that’s a rich tapestry of traditional European culinary techniques and ancient recipes from indigenous northern people. Don’t miss the Tsar’s Platter, with blini, Borodinsky bread, three caviars, butterfish, and other pickled and sea-faring accoutrements. 119 Warren St.
Via Cassia: One of the most exciting new(ish) Italian restaurants in Upstate New York, the classic fresh and extruded pastas are technically perfect — while also being highly seasonal and relentlessly creative. Swoon for the lumache with sausage and Swiss chard ragu, black truffle, smoked ricotta salata. 214 Warren Street.
Cafe Mutton: Perched quietly off the beaten path, you will likely still have to wait for a table (it’s worth it). And whatever you do, don’t ask for substitutions: just trust the kitchen and eat that headcheese on a baguette slathered in aioli. Or be beige and order the crepes with butter and maple, a staple for a reason. 757 Columbia Street.
Drink:
The Hereafter: The perfect date night or best friend hang where the bartenders are friendly, the people-watching is epic, and the drinks are well-crafted and zany. Try to resist the Hellcat, a mezcal infused with ancho and pasilla peppers, then toppled up with strawberry amaro, guava, lemon and agave. Killer small plates too. 721 Columbia Street.
Spotty Dog Books & Ale: A place that serves excellent craft beer (plus wine and cocktails), much of it locally sourced, while curating a collection of classic + ultra-progressive books I want to read? You haven’t gone to heaven, you’ve stepped into Spotty. Watch out, or you’ll stumble out, buzzed with a pile of books. 440 Warren Street.
Shop:
Neven & Neven Moderne: Hudson got a shout-out in Billions for its epic antique shopping opps, but their mid-century modern fair is even better. Neven & Neven is the most rigorously curated and silver-sleek fierce of the bunch. 618 Warren Street.
Mel the Bakery: Do I need to make a special stop at a bakery in Hudson, you might ask? You haven’t tried Mel’s sourdough chocolate croissants, nut-brown boules, or perfectly overstuffed Italian sandwiches, I will answer. 324 Warren Street.
Nikki Chasin: Delicious, cozy, urban-country-chic loungy comfort threads that look like the sartorial love child of Eileen Fisher and The Row. 553 Warren Street.
See:
Carrie Haddad Gallery: The first of many fine art galleries in Hudson, the O.G. was launched in 1991. A recent exhibit was dubbed, “Earth Endures, Stars Abide: An Exhibit of Hudson Valley Landscapes,” with works from Tracy Helgeson. 622 Warren Street.
Olana State Historic Site: Today, it’s a historic house-museum in the Victorian / American Exotic Revival style of architecture with 250 acres worth of stunning grounds offering romantic gardens and long-winding paths to wander, with views of the Hudson River. In yesteryear, it was home to Frederic Edwin Church, one of the most lauded figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. 5720 NY-9G.
Stay:
The Maker: This is a hotel for anyone who wants to live like a Parisian writer with a rich patron, circa 1921. Think a hotel that feels like a lifestyle, with eclectic, masterfully crafted, bespoke furniture and décor. Edith Wharton, but make it sexy. Get brunch in the dreamy on-site restaurant. 302 Warren Street.
Rivertown Lodge: This is clean, Scandinavian lines, Workstead brass lighting, locally crafted furniture … in a rigorously upcycled movie theater. If you weren’t hip when you arrived, you’ll feel hip when you leave. Grab a sexy dinner at the convivial bar. 731 Warren Street.
🩰 NYCB audience fave returns
If daydreams of summer are powering you through this last month of winter, SPAC is here for you. Today’s news: New York City Ballet (NYCB) is bringing back audience favorite A Midsummer’s Night Dream in celebration of SPAC’s 60th anniversary season.
SPAC CEO Elizabeth Sobol called the ballet’s return “beautifully full circle,” as the magic-tipped ballet is what NYCB founder George Balanchine chose for his company to perform at the ampitheaters grand opening in July 1966. The romantically chaotic ballet was last performed here in 2022.
NYCB will also bring Balanchine’s romantic showstopper Serenade, Jerome Robbins’ “feverish” Opus 19/The Dreamer, and a new work by principal dancer Tiler Peck.
Tickets for the July 8-11 shows will be available beginning Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. for members (tiered by level) and Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. for the general public. Visit spac.org for details.
🎷 Fresh NYC jazz at Caffè Lena this Thursday
Bassist Ben Wolfe has toured with Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall — and now he’s headed to Saratoga this Thursday with his Ben Wolfe Trio, part of Caffè Lena’s Peak Jazz Series.
“Jazz has been a big growth area for Caffè Lena over the past few years, and NYC is where we look for most of the talent in this genre,” says executive director Sarah Craig. “No need to board that train and head south for the best of the NYC jazz scene because Caffè Lena is bringing it right to Phila Street.”
Wolfe makes his Caffè Lena debut Thursday with Chris Lewis on sax and Aaron Kimmel on drums.
Visit caffelena.org for more info and to grab your ticket.
🦜 Everybody’s talking about…
It’s not just that everybody’s talking about the messy situation over at our beloved Compton’s, it’s that everybody is talking about it and has an opinion.
In case you went off grid the past two days or so (and then somehow made your way here), my favorite place for a grilled cheese or sunny side up egg took to its Facebook page on Thursday to kick off a wild ride of a few days — first posting a cryptic hint that led many to believe it was closing, then announcing it’s being sued, and finally telling the public exactly how much they have to spend on it ($50k).
All in 48 hours.
And now everyone is worried.
“Praying for a miracle,” reads one comment.
“Fight fight fight,” adds another.
Of course, as news spread, devotees started to simmer down from the “YES! FIGHT!” variety and take to social media with their own views on the sticky situation— with the What’s Going on Saratoga group bringing out the most opinionated in signature form.
“Is it worth them fighting for 50k just to only have 10 years before they kick you out anyways?” asked one.
“Gotta say, think you’d be better off not on [Broadway],” wrote one, asking for a move to a place with parking.
During the dizziness, on Friday, the diner announced that in March, it is going back to 7 days a week 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Compton’s here to stay!!!” it wrote.
For more info on the landlord in question, check out the Daily Gazette’s “Compton’s uncertain future.”
🗓️ Reminder
I’m speaking at The Torch Club this Monday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m., at the Saratoga Springs Holiday Inn.
I’ll be talking about the Substack you’re reading right now — and the future of journalism as we know it.
“Local media as we know it has been dying for a long time,” Saratoga born-and-raised journalist and author Will Levith told me last week. “It’s really going to require creative thinkers and creative journalists to figure out a new way forward. Your Dispatch is the 3.0 version of how local media should be reported right now.”
CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS
See you there!
📌 ICYMI…
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Jazz singer who covered ‘You’re So Vain’ on what the ‘elite’ feminist anthem meant to Black women
Savor this, Saratoga: TogaNola’s efforts to give back are downright delicious
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