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Gemela, Woodstock report, One Domino Square, Feast & Floret, Oti, best Hudson Valley tasting rooms, César, Nate's Detroit Pizza, MORE
GETAWAYS • Upstate
Peace, love, and neo-rusticism
A dining update on Woodstock, NY, from a special Upstate FOUND correspondent:
So, the rolling third-acre on a hill in the middle of Woodstock, which housed bagel joint Mud Club and woodbarn-chic cocktail bar Early Terrible (since relocated to Nolita), has been taken over by folks involved with Sylvia and Good Night for a new venture, Gemela, slated to open in May.
Are we excited? Sure! Silvia is a go-to for date night or out-of-town guests — relaxed vibe, consistently delicious. I usually order the steelhead trout or wood-smoked pork chop, and the savoy cabbage entree inspires raves from friends, but all signs indicate “you can’t go wrong.” (I’ve never had a meal there where everyone wasn’t thrilled with their entree). At Southeast Asian-inspired Good Night down the road, I’m more likely to have appetizers and a drink at the bar. The crispy wild shrimp and shishito are so good, it’s hard for the entrees to get a look in. Both spots have friendly service, excellent drinks, and a very pleasant atmosphere (and in warmer months, both have outdoor seating options which welcome canine companions).
But is Gemela one too many upscale dining ventures for ’60s counterculture-inspiring Woodstock? It’ll replace two spots with a similar approach that never quite lived up to their promise or setting, so here’s hoping it’ll be an upgrade rather than an oversaturation.
Other Woodstock early spring dining notes:
Can’t talk about upscale dining in Woodstock without mentioning undersung sushi joint Medo. It may be on the edge of town in the back of an organic grocery store parking lot, but serves some of the best fish I’ve had upstate or down. Friends who dined there on my recommendation last weekend agreed. I like the balcony best, though for entertaining and educational sake service, sit at the bar, and let the bartender guide you through one or two of the tastings from the extensive list.
Sharkie’s Meatballs is expanding even further, now taking up three storefronts in a prime location near The Golden Notebook bookstore. Garden Cafe remains a popular casual option for vegan and outdoor seating, and Oriole 9 is still a solid brunch choice. Relative newcomer Tinker Taco is my current cold-weather favorite, as they welcome dogs in a separate bar space, make their own tortillas every morning for quality street-style tacos, and offer streamside seating in the warmer months.
On the bar front, when I’m not frequenting Tinker Tavern (five minutes down the road in Bearsville) with the pup, I’m looking forward to trying Small Talk, the tiny new “rustic-moody” cocktail bar right in the center of town which replaced Que Lo Que (missed it) which replaced Shindig (enjoyed it) which replaced The Corner Cupboard (never heard of it, though one reviewer says it offered “all moldy and old food”). –Jonny Porkpie
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Live above it all
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To advertise on FOUND, email us at sales@foundny.com.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: New renderings revealed for 19-story new development The Willow in Gramercy • Facade work progressing on The Henry on Upper West Side • Is there actually hope for fewer sidewalk sheds?
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Perpetual getaway
HALLIE GOODMAN • founder and principal designer • Hallie Goodman Design
Neighborhood you live in: Kinderhook, NY
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
My clients are all over the country, but the biggest concentration (by far) are in Brooklyn. I work from there a day or two a week, but by Friday, I like to be back Upstate. There’s a sense of expansiveness that being a few hours north of the city brings.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
A Friday night Upstate means a dinner party or a great restaurant with a few friends. A consistently delicious place is Feast & Floret in Hudson. I highly recommend the tagliatelle bolognese, it’s exactly right. The dark chocolate budino is spectacular. If sweets aren’t your thing, treat yourself to a gorgeous bouquet on the way out.
How about a little leisure or culture?
A pocket of unscheduled time feels utterly luxurious to me, so Saturday mornings are reserved for what I call therapeutic puttering, and hanging out with my husband. Sometimes I’ll run out to Morning Bird Cafe, our lovely local coffee shop in Kinderhook, to get us each a mochi donut. Doesn’t it seem like chefs are forever attempting to elevate the humble donut? Well, drop your pencils, people, it’s been sorted.
By afternoon I’m ready to do a bit of sourcing. Hudson is famous for its concentration of world-class antique dealers, so it’s kind-of beyond shopping, it’s also an inspiration and an education for me. I can’t count the number of treasures I’ve found for clients at Good Eye House and Style. Anna, the owner, is a good friend and we are forever selling each other things as we redecorate our own homes and cycle objects in and out. I also love Freaks’ for sexy, moody pieces, and Furlong for hard-to-find vintage lighting. Further south, Quittner Home in Germantown is another fave for handmade and turn of the century pieces.
Any weekend getaways?
I live in a weekend getaway town, so a break for me is either a sprawling road trip-treasure hunt, or a staycation with some kind of spa element. For the latter, I’m not sure you can beat Piaule Catskill. I’m a lover of stuff, but when minimalism is done in an organic, human way, it can be such a peaceful palate cleanse. Priority number one for me is a really good soak, but great design doesn’t hurt.
What was your last great vacation?
I haven’t traveled much the last few years as my business has kept me incredibly busy. But I’ve finally reached a place where I can take a deep breath and plan a few trips. Portugal is on my proverbial dream board right now, as is Paris. A lovely Parisian Designer on Call client offered to be my brocante guide, and I can’t wait to take her up on that offer. I’d love to stay at the joyful looking Hotel Les Deux Garres, I’m all about a colorful vintage-style bathroom. Or perhaps the chic Château Voltaire, which my fashion girlies swear by.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Remember the old Sex in the City cliche — how instead of actual savings Carrie had a mountain of Manolos? For me that’s abstract paintings and interesting chairs. Luckily, I can justify hoarding special pieces for design projects. Live Auctioneer is my drug of choice, and Westport Auction, Public Sale, and Showplace are among my favorites to follow.
What store or service do you always recommend?
My studio manager, Kate, also teaches Barre — she’s the least annoying workout person I’ve ever met. She leads a killer class at Lava Hot Yoga in Hudson and I recommend it to anyone who will listen.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Madness
NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional • Elite 8: Duke v Alabama • Prudential Center (Newark) • Sat @ 849p • section 8, $787 per
Brewers v Yankees • Yankee Stadium (Bronx) • Sat @ 105p • section 12, $288 per
The Livelong Experience • Longevity Science Made Accessible • Palm House, Palm Beach • Fri @ 5p thru Sat @ 5p • livestream ticket, $99 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: At 49 Walker in Tribeca, Cristin Tierney Gallery takes ground floor • Gagosian closing 980 Madison location with Picasso exhibit • Doc about artists who secretly lived in Providence mall screening at IFC • ABC: ‘Glengarry’ ticket prices are soaring.
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Monster mash
Don’t be scared off by the overgrown, clownish monster face that graces the front window of Oti, the narrow restaurant that opened off Clinton Street on the Lower East Side in 2023. It’s been quietly delighting diners ever since.
It’s all the more remarkable that the culinary force of choice is an unlikely one: Romanian cuisine. Chef and co-owner Elyas Popa, was born in Romania, grew up in California, and says he cooks dishes inspired by his mother and grandmother. Eating here feels and tastes like if southern California and Romania somehow collided.
On a recent visit, I perched myself at the bar — the best place in the house if you’re alone or with one other dining companion — where I watched and chatted with Popa as he cooked away in a makeshift kitchen that mostly consists of an induction stove and a cooking torch. The short menu is long on taste: Mici are finger-shaped, juicy minced lamb-and-beef sausages, much plumper than their Balkan brethren (such as the thinner Bosnian variety). Here, they’re umami flavor bombs, unleashing a fatty, smoky flavor across the palate.
The “broken burrata” combines gooey southern Italian cheese with soft, tangy Romanian telemea cheese, plus a few sprinkles of yuzu and a bit of lovage and tomato, into something that hits creamy, salty, acidic, and sweet notes all at once. But the dish I wanted to order seconds (or even thirds of) is the mămăligă, a polenta dish that’s the staple of the Romanian diet and often forgettable in its blandness. Not here. Popa adds in a healthy dose of parmesan, and spikes it with bone broth and miso for deeper, heftier flavors.
Manager and co-owner Dania Kim seems to make it her personal mission to bond with every diner inside the restaurant’s sparsely decorated white brick walls, walking everyone through the menu with a disarming charm that makes you want to cheer for this underdog of a restaurant. By the time you walk out, you might have even warmed up to the goofy monster face in the front window. –David Farley
→ Oti (Lower East Side) • 40 Clinton St • Mon-Sat 5-10p • Reserve.
GETAWAYS LINKS: United overhauls lounge access (and raises membership prices) • EWR debuts new sensory room • The Caribbean’s coolest new beach bar is on private island in Curaçao • First U.S. One&Only now taking reservations for Big Sky, MT, opening in Nov • Hot nuts are still ruining first class.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Tasting rooms, Hudson Valley
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
C. Cassis (Rhinebeck), playfully renovated barn for tasting house cassis, plus local brews, spirits, and wines