The Basics at the Cotton Exchange, Wilmington, NC

My daughter Rachel told me about The Basics at the Cotton Exchange, she said she had a great burger there, so on this visit to Wilmington we decided to stop by. After eating there, all I can say is that she was right. The food is excellent, the service friendly and the prices right. Four adults and four children ate for fifty bucks plus tip. Well, three children ordered, the seventeen month old ate a bit from everyone else. About the tip, I forgot to add it to the charge (I was going to leave cash on the table and just forgot) and I called them a couple of hours later and apologized to the girl. She said she could add it to the bill.

I had the burger of the day, bacon and cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, with BBQ. I opted out of the BBQ. For the side I chose the salad with a nice blue cheese vinaigrette dressing on the side, but I could have had mac and cheese or any one of a few other choices. Teresa had the fried green tomato sandwich with bacon. Nicole had the grilled pimento sandwich with tomato soup and a side of the mac and cheese, two of the kids had chicken fingers (nicely spiced) with a side of fruit. All were very good, my burger was one of the best I’ve had.

If you haven’t been there yet, I recommend you pay them a visit, and soon. I do recommend the lunch menu instead of dinner. I think the selection is bigger and the value better. They have a website for more information.

Nu-Cavu, Wallkill. Another great meal.

One of my favorite places to eat is the Nu-Cavu Restaurant in Wallkill and I had an urge to go there for the Pescadore, it was a Friday in Lent after all. As always, the food was delicious, the service excellent and the atmosphere warm and friendly. Teresa had the eggplant lasagna and we shared the Raspberry Tower shown to the left. Raspberry sorbet coated in chocolate. Rich and tasty.

Bobby's Burger Palace, Paramus, NJ

Bobby Flay is one of the best-known stars on the Food Network and I've been watching him since his beginnings on his original show, Boy Meets Grill, when he fumbled a few lines. His fame has grown, as have his restaurant holdings and talents, and one often wonders if the celebrity chef's restaurants are as good as they should be. We've been to a few places that have been featured on the Food Network. I've had this place on my short list for quite some time now and the opportunity presented itself to stop by. And no, I did not expect Bobby Flay to be in the back cooking my burger, but it would have been cool if he were there.

There are five locations, and the restaurant we went to was in the Bergen Town Center, an outlet Mall off Route 4. The restaurant entrance is from outside the mall and we saw there was a line to get in. The line moved fairly fast and next thing we knew we were at the counter. You place your order and pay. They give you a number for the table (so they know where to bring the food) and you move to a short line where a server directs you to an open seat. For two or three this seemed quick, but it may be more problematic for large parties. After being seated the food came quick. Even though the place was packed, we weren't there all that long.

The featured burger was the Chicago Burger with all the trimming of a Chicago hot dog, only on a burger. I went with my personal favorite and ordered the Bobby Blue Burger, medium (see top photo). It was cooked perfectly with pink all through the inside and nice juicy flavor running down the mouth, and all over my hands. There was plenty of blue cheese and some very nice crisp bacon, lettuce and tomato and a fresh bun. I had it crunchified (potato chips on it) and added some chipotle ketchup. The price? $7.50 for what was probably one of the best burgers I've ever had.

Teresa had the Dallas Burger (second photo) with cole slaw, Monterey Jack cheese and spices for $7.50. She ordered it cooked medium well and it looked perfectly done and she said it was. We shared an order of sweet potato fries for $3.00 and they were very good with a dipping sauce. Add a soda and the whole thing came to twenty bucks. Good prices, great food, and a neat dining experience.

So the question I had earlier was indeed answered. Bobby Flay delivers in his Burger Palace and he has created a great burger and trained the staff to deliver it as he intended. Like I said earlier, it would have been cool if he were there, but he didn't need to be. The final product was his creation.

By the way, the mall has a Whole Foods store in it so we'll be headed back to do some shopping and to try out some of the other burgers. You should try them too. The website has locations and menu and all that stuff.

Raccoon Saloon, Marlboro, NY

The Raccoon Saloon on Route 9W in Marlboro, NY has been around for a very long time. The mid-eighteen hundreds in fact and the name comes from a family of raccoons that used to live on the property. The restaurant has changed hands a few times, but they've had a reputation for making a very good burger. Years ago there was a sign in front proclaiming they had the best burger in the Hudson Valley. We ate there about a decade ago when that sign was up and I disagreed with it.

A couple of weeks ago my son said he ate there and the burger was excellent. I trust his opinion, especially since he inherited and or acquired similar tastes to mine so we went there to check it out. We went on a Saturday night during restaurant week so there was a special Prix fix menu that had an interesting seafood fra diabolo on it, but I came to try the burger so that's what I looked at.

I got the 12 oz burger with bacon and Swiss cheese and I got the onion rings instead of the fries. The burger was $11.75 and the bacon and cheese added another two bucks and a quarter to make it a fourteen dollar burger. Teresa got the 8 oz burger with fried onions and that came to $11.75. This is not a cheap burger, so I thought it had better be a good burger. It was. The meat was fresh and well cooked, the onion rings were good, and they use their own home-made ketchup which has a sweet taste to it.

The food was good and the people seemed accommodating. We'll go back again to try something from the regular menu sometime soon.

Table Talk Diner, Poughkeepsie, NY

As I've said before, there are great diners, there are good diners, there are mediocre diners and there are bad diners. Table Talk fits somewhere between good and mediocre, a nice place but nothing special.

We stopped off the other day to try something different, we'd seen seen it on our last trip on Route nine and were seated fairly promptly. We were given menus and when we looked them over they featured fairly standard diner fare. The specials had quite a few fish dishes, probably because of the lenten season. They had a Kobe burger for six-fifty, but I seriously doubt that it would be real Kobe beef for that price. I was tempted to try it just to see, but decided against.

I decided on an Italian Panini, featured above. It came with french fries and had prosciutto, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and onions. What it needed was some moisture so I asked for some balsamic vinaigrette dressing and added it. Much better. Teresa had the vegetarian omelet with home fries and that looked and tasted good.

Bottom line, the food was okay and the service adequate. Not bad for a bite, but like I've said before; when in a diner get diner food. They have a website for more information.

Baba Ghannouj, Wilmington, NC

In the Independence Mall in Wilmington sits a fairly typical food court, with one exceptional gem. Baba Ganoushj. From what I understand, this is not a chain, but rather a locally owned restaurant that once was someplace else.

Liz Biro from the Star News raved about this place in an article. In it she said that it wasn't typical mall food and looking at the counter, I could see what she meant. The salads in the display looked so good I just wanted to take a fork to them all.

I was still quite full from an omelet at Sweet and Savory, but I just had to try this so I decided to order light. I had the gyro meat for four bucks, two stuffed grape leaves at fifty cents each and kalamata olives for seventy-five cents. Total was six dollars for what you see in the picture.

The gyro meat was very good, cut thick, and they'd grilled it. The grape leaves were tasty and came with a very nice taziki sauce, which came in handy for the meat as I didn't order a side of it. After I finished I went from slightly full to very full, but it was worth it. Stop by and give them a try sometime.

The Reel Cafe, Wilmington, NC

We were looking for a nice place downtown that was a different, yet family friendly enough for eight adults and three children. My daughters suggested The Reel Cafe on Front Street so we walked down and looked at the menu in the window. I love it when a restaurant does this as we can decide whether they are what we are looking for or not.

In this case the menu looked good, as did the prices. Even better, kids eat free. One children's meal free with an adult meal. We went in and were seated immediately as it wasn't busy. I've been past here in the Summer and it is usually packed, especially at night.

We looked over our menus and made our choices. I have that soft spot for a burger with bacon and blue cheese, so that's what I ordered. I got the black and blue and added bacon which brought the price to ten bucks. I ordered it medium and it was closer to medium well, but still juicy and full of flavor. My son-n-law ordered the same burger, but well done. The beer special was White Wolf, an American Ale I believe, so I got one. It was okay, but for the second one I switched to a Fat Tire. That was much better.

The rest of our party ordered; a Black and Blue salad (blackened chicken over a salad with blue cheese), a fresh catch sandwich (grouper), a meatball sub, a crab sandwich, two chicken sandwiches, a kid's burger and two kid's chicken fingers. All were good and the total came to eighty bucks, plus tax and tip. The one drawback is the restrooms as they are on the second floor and were, shall we say in need of a cleaning. Definitely not handicapped accessible. Overall it was a good experience and we'll be back.

No website that I could find, but they do have a facebook page for more information, you'd have to friend them though.

Sweet and Savory, Wilmington, NC

I have a long list of places to try in Wilmington, NC. I also have a short list of places I really want to see. One of them is, or rather was, Sweet and Savory. My daughter and my grandchildren have been raving about Sweet and Savory for some time now and we were going to try them last summer, but we never got the chance. This short trip down we decided this was a must visit and we went there on Sunday for dinner. I can see what she meant, this place was great and it is now on my list of favorites.

The menu is extensive and they have plenty of specials. On Sunday one of them was all bar sandwiches for five dollars with the purchase of a drink or soup. I looked at the beer menu and noticed they had Scotch Ale from Front Street Brewery, so that was a no-brainer. I ordered a pint and got the English Burger, a very nicely done burger with grilled onions (sweet and red, I think wine was involved in the cooking), cheese and bacon on a toasted English muffin. Oh, and lettuce and tomato with chips on the side. It was excellent, tasty and fresh.

Teresa had the Carolina Burger with slaw and BBQ sauce, it looked as good as mine, and she had a seafood soup with it that tasted just fine. Mike had the Gyro, and Sarah had a wrap, both of them had black bean soup. The three kids had chicken nuggets with fries. The whole order came to fifty bucks, tax included. They are definitely family friendly with the prices.

Service was great. Taylor was attentive and caring. She apologized for the wait, but I thought everything came out fast. My youngest granddaughter dropped her pickle and one of the servers brought her two more to keep her happy. By the way, the bathrooms are clean, at least the men’s room was as that’s the only one I saw.

They have a website for more information.

Photos in order are; Gyro, Chicken nuggets, Carolina Burger and the English Burger.

We are headed back for breakfast soon to sample either an omelet or eggs benedict. I'll be posting that soon.

Clinton Station Diner, Clinton, NJ

The Clinton Station Diner in Clinton New Jersey, just off Route 78, was featured recently on the Food Network show Outrageous Food with Tom Pizzica. I'd seen the episode, but I didn't recognize the restaurant as one we pass by once in a while on our way to Pennsylvania. Today we were passing by at noon and decided to stop by for lunch. This turned out to be a good decision. One of the reasons we always thought about stopping was that there is a railroad car attached to the building that was once a railroad observation car. We were given a seat in the main dining area, but I peaked into the dining car and realized we should have asked to be seated there as it was brighter and looked interesting. Well, next time.

Still didn't recognize the place from the Food Network until we looked at the place-mats and Teresa pointed it out to me. They make the world's biggest burger, a massive fifty pounder called the Mount Olympus. They also make burgers that are one pound, two pounds, three pounds, and up to a seven pounder called the Zeus, as well as normal sized ones with a whole bunch of toppings choices. I remember the big one on TV. This keeps up with our Food Network restaurants and chefs we've visited and makes number six.

We smelled the coffee as we entered and saw the sign that announces the coffee is made fresh every twenty-minutes so we ordered coffee and water and looked through the menus. Well, we took quite a bit of time looking as the menu is extensive and everything looked so good. I was originally going to get a Cuban burger and finally decided to pass in favor of the Cuban Panini, shown to the left. Teresa got a chicken and eggplant sandwich with marinara sauce on the side. By the way, the coffee was very good.

The food came rather quick and was piping hot, so hot I had to be careful picking up my sandwich. The cheese was melted perfectly, there were plenty of pickles on it and the ham had a nice flavor. The fries were steak fries and there were plenty. Very good sandwich. Teresa's was equally good and the marinara sauce had a nice flavor, better than the marinara at some Italian restaurants we'd been to.

The service was good and attentive and I watched how the waitress handled a complaint at a neighboring table where the woman didn't like what she'd ordered. They did a nice job of rectifying the situation pleasantly. Oh, and the bathrooms were clean.

Overall it was a good dining experience and I think we may take this route so we can stop by more often to sample a few things on the menu that looked interesting. I will try a burger as I saw one being delivered to another table and it looked big and juicy. They have a website for more information.

Holy Smoke, Mahopac NY

A friend of mine, Ernie Davis, told me we had to try this place. He said the barbeque was excellent and the beer selection amazing. I'd been waiting for the opportunity to stop, it is a bit off our beaten path being in southern Putnam County and all, so today when we went to Danbury we detoured on the way home and stopped off for an early dinner.

Holy Smoke is a large red building located on Route 6N in Mahopac Falls, just south of Secor Road off the Taconic Parkway. Easy to find, but we did overshoot it and had to turn around. Entering through the bar I can see that Ernie was right about the beer. I saw quite a few tap handles and some signs announcing that they carried some good brands, including Victory. I decided to pass on the beer as it was early and I had a long drive to get home. Water would be a good choice.

One thing that struck me as we entered was the smell of smoke, the smell that should be present in a barbeque place. That smell was just right. It didn't knock you out and make your eyes water like some places I've been. That was a good sign. The really nice and pleasant waitress told us to sit wherever we wanted as it wasn't crowded at that time. We found a table and she brought us menus and the water we asked for. We looked over the menus and the waitress answered questions as she cleaned off the table next to us.

Well, we decided on the "PigNic", a combination that said it would feed two, for $32.75. It came with four items and the choices were; 1/4 rack of St. Louis ribs, 1/4 roasted chicken, Carolina Pulled Pork, Chorizo or Brisket and four sides. We doubled up on the ribs and had the pork and chicken (we substituted pulled chicken for the roaster) and for the sides had baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and creamed spinach. Our waitress said it would be ready quick and I was relieved as the menu said that some of the items slow cooked for seventeen hours. I'm glad we only waited about ten minutes as the smell was making us hungry. Seventeen hours would have been hard.

The food was delicious. Quite possibly the best barbeque I've had, even better than Dreamland in Alabama. There was a smoke flavor to the meat that didn't overpower it, just right and with the right amount of heat. The Ribs were very good, the chicken was good and the Carolina Pork was excellent. The sides were great too, especially that creamed spinach with a hint of cheese in the background. The only thing wrong with the food was that there was just too much of it. The menu said it would feed two, but we could have fed four with the portions served. Trust me, we tried our hardest to keep eating but we filled up. We brought enough home for tomorrow's lunch, and a bit more.

If you like barbeque you really need to stop by and try this place out. Good food at good prices, friendly service and a good beer selection. Visit the website for more information.

Garrison's Tavern and Wine Cellar, Montgomery, NY

We've been to Garrison's Tavern and Wine Cellar a couple of times before and had appetizers at Happy Hour, the calamari and chicken strips were very good as I remember, and we've been meaning to stop by to eat for a while. The other day our son Mark was over and he asked if we'd been there recently and we said no. He then told us on Wednesdays they have some $5.00 specials and we made up our minds to go. It turned out to be a good idea.

The location of Garrison's, 11 Union Street in Montgomery, once housed a place called The Daily Bean, a coffee and sandwich place. When it changed hands they renovated a bit and added a bar that is now home to 35 beers, sorry there are none on tap, and a good selection of wines. We both ordered the five dollar burger special and it included the cheese and fries. I'd recently had a fifteen dollar burger at another place and here this five dollar burger was every bit as good, for one third of the price. The regular menu has a couple of interesting burgers, including one that has pulled pork ribs, roquefort cheese and Vidalia onions mixed in for fourteen bucks. That sounds interesting, as do some of the other selections on the menu.

We also had a dozen steamers for five bucks. They were steamed in a delightful broth with lots of garlic. I asked for spoons so we could finish the broth. It was that good and it would have been great over a plate of fresh pasta. I will do the steamers again next time we go.

I had two Goose Island IPA and with the three items the total bill came to $27.00, plus tip. Good food, good friendly service, nice atmosphere. Well worth a visit. They have a website for more information.

Grilled Twinkies Recipe

I decided to delete my recipe blog after checking the stats and finding that I have no readership. I did however notice that one recipe does get hits and that's the one for grilled Twinkies, so I transfered it to this blog. Try it sometime, you'll find it interesting and delicious.

Grilled Twinkies, that's right, grilled not fried. Now the fried ones are amazing and have a unique flavor, but there is the whole deep fried aspect. Grilling is healthier (marginally anyway) and imparts a flavor that is a cross between toasted marshmallows and toasted sponge cake, with a hint of smoke.

First, unwrap the Twinkie (the plastic would melt into it otherwise) and spread some butter on the bottom. Get your grill fairly hot, then place the Twinkie bottom down. They will be some quick flames as the butter burns and this adds to the flavor. Give it about a minute and a half on the bottom and a minute or so more on the other three sides. Be careful or the Twinkie will stick to the grill. Get it browned like the top photo, or the bottom one. You decide how brown you want it.

Next, plate it and eat. You can add some ice cream, chocolate syrup, anything you like. It's your Twinkie.

New World Home Cooking, Saugerties, NY

Ric Orlando, the owner of the New World Home Cooking in Saugerties was on Food TV's Chopped three times. The first time he won, the second was for champions and he won the first round as well. Unfortunately after making it to the final two, he was chopped. He was also at the Garlic Festival this fall giving a demonstration which we watched. So having watched him on TV three times and once in person, we decided to visit his restaurant.

We had gone up to Woodstock Chimes for the annual factory sale and took a drive over after wandering around Woodstock for a short time. We were early, they don't open until five, so we sat at the bar for fifteen minutes and read the menus. This way we knew what we wanted when Josh came to take our order. We started with an appetizer, the Saigon Street Calamari with peanut and chili sauces for 9.95, see the picture above. It was delicious. The calamari was cooked perfectly and the chili sauce had just enough heat without being obnoxious. Good start, especially with the Hurricane Kitty I'd ordered. By the way, Ric was in the kitchen cooking along with his chefs as you can look right through windows and see the kitchen. That's something I like, a restaurant that has nothing to hide.

I had the Northwinds Farm burger (named for the farm the beef came from) with blue cheese and bacon with fried plantains for my side. I'd ordered it medium, but it arrived much closer to well. Even so, it was still juicy and had a nice fresh taste that comes with quality beef. There was a charred sear on the outside, like a steakhouse burger done in the broiler. The bun was a brioche roll and the cheese was melted perfectly. The bacon was delicious too. The plantains had a slight sweetness and were a nice change from fries. Oh, and that green thing on the lettuce . . . it was a pickled caper berry and it was delicious with a nice tart bite to it.

It was a good burger, but be aware that this was a fifteen dollar burger. That's right, a fifteen dollar burger, thirteen for the burger and a buck each for the blue cheese and the bacon. Like I said, it was a good burger but for fifteen bucks it had better be (I'm going for a twenty dollar one in Ellenville at some point and that one better just amaze me). Teresa had the Ropa sandwich for 11.95 which was a roast done somewhat like pulled beef on a roll with a rice side dish. It was good, but she did have to take quite a bit of fat out of it before she could eat it. She said it was good, but nothing great.

Total bill? $42 buck plus tip for an appetizer, two dinners and a beer. Definitely worth the trip. The service was excellent and very attentive. They have a website for more info.

Cauldron Restaurant and Bar, Montgomery NY

I've been meaning to go to the Cauldron Restaurant in Montgomery for months now, but it seems that I never travel that section of the road anymore, so I always seem to forget. The restaurant is owned by the family of one of my former students, Giovanni La Piana (one of my favorite former students), and I've tried their food at Montgomery Day and The Walden Harvest Festival and liked what I had. Well, today we were out and couldn't decide where to eat and suddenly it came to me. We've gotta give the Cauldron a try. We're glad we did and we've added a new favorite to our list.

The Cauldron isn't big. There is bar area with a few tables, and a small dining room. It's decorated in red and white with a warm feel and posters on the wall. Giovanni seated us, gave us the menus, and explained the specials. He told us that all of the pasta is homemade and all of the vegetables are local. From farm to table is how he explained it. If you're a localvore this will make you happy. Shortly after we ordered we were given fresh baked focaccia bread,

We ordered off the specials menu and I had the Cioppini (see the top photo). It was clams, shrimp, calamari, in a spicy sauce with carrots and celery over home made linguini. The best description is delicious with just the right amount of heat. The calamari was cooked perfectly and it almost melted in my mouth. The shrimp and clams were just right too, as were the carrots and celery. The pasta was amazing. There was so much on my plate I had to bring half of it home, and that's rare for me, but I have a nice lunch waiting for me tomorrow.

Teresa got the butternut squash ravioli with a nice white sauce on it. I took a bite and it was very tasty. Both of our meals came with a choice of salad or soup. Looking at the soup choices we decided that was the way to go. I got the French Onion, which was excellent. Teresa had the Tuscan soup with broccoli rabe that had a nice flavor that even I liked. She loved it.

Both dishes were eighteen dollars and worth every penny of that. Overall, this was a great meal out and I highly recommend the Cauldron Restaurant. They are located at 631 State Route 17K in Montgomery New York, next door to the Spruce Lodge. The phone number is (845) 567-1760. They also make a pretty mean pizza and they used to be known as Colletta's Pizza. Stop in and you'll be glad you did. Tell them I sent you.

Beacon Falls Cafe, Beacon, NY

Beacon New York is one of those small American cities which fell into a steep decline a couple of decades ago and it looked like it was never going to come out of it. Well, that all changed a few years ago when a few art galleries opened, along with some antique shops and some specialty stores. That brought a new crop of restaurants so that Beacon is now a destination.

Teresa and I went over to Beacon today to try something different. First choice was Poppy's, he's a champion on the Food Network show Chopped, but we decided to do that another time so we headed down the street to where we'd spotted a Mexican place once in passing. We parked and wandered around for a few blocks looking into some shops and we looked at the menus in a couple of restaurants. One choice was Thai, but it was pricey and I'm not a huge fan anyway. The Mexican place held promise, shrimp tacos being one of my favorites, but we decided to do that another day. What struck my eye was a small place called Beacon Falls Cafe, near the corner. There is a small waterfall nearby that was once used to power a nearby factory. We looked that the menu posted on the window (I love it when restaurants do this as it makes it so much easier to see what they have to offer, as well as the prices) and decided this was the place.

We entered and were told to sit wherever we wanted. The outside tables were full, and I'm not a fan of eating on the sidewalk anyway, the smell of diesel exhaust while eating isn't my idea of fine dining. There were a few tables available and we chose a table by the window as I wanted good lighting for the picture. It isn't big inside, but it is bright and clean and well decorated with the paintings of a local artist.

We were asked a few times what we wanted to drink and each time we said the water they'd already given us was fine. I'm a huge fan of tap water at restaurants and rarely order a drink while eating, especially if I'm driving. They do have a good wine and beer selection, but we passed on that. We were given menus and we watched them bring food to other tables. I like to look at what passes by as I decide what to order and everything looked good.

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a soft spot for a bacon and blue cheese burger. There's something magic about that combination so after perusing the menu I ordered my usual. Teresa ordered a special.

It took a little long to get the meal and the waitress apologized for the delay. No matter. When my burger arrived I smiled and took the camera out to get a portrait of my meal and placed the burger in the sun so it had a nice halo affect, kind of an ethereal glow. After the photo shoot, I took the top bun off and realized there was no bacon. Hmmm. Then I noted that the cheese was yellow. This wasn't my burger! I called the waitress over and said, "This is a beautiful burger, but not the one I ordered." She apologized and said she'd correct it. I told her it was okay, I'd eat this one. I was salivating over it anyway and it really didn't matter all that much.

Now here's what separates an ordinary restaurant from the really good ones, how they handle a mistake. The really good ones make up for it immediately. I received so many apologies as I ate that I think I got to know the entire staff. I kept saying it was all right and it really was. The burger I got was delicious with fresh meat cooked to perfection, on a fresh kaiser roll. The fries were crisp and hot and they had a small pasta salad with it too. Teresa said hers was good, I just can't remember what it was. Not a good thing for a food critic to do, but maybe I was so wrapped up in what I had. After we finished, and the bill came, we were told that the chef wanted to give us desert. We were full, but after hearing the choices, we decided we'd share a delightful chocolate mousse cake. So rich and tasty! Good thing we shared it as neither one of us could have finished it on our own. I also had coffee. Good coffee.

Now it is possible that I got made as a food critic, especially when I took a picture of the food as that's not something the average diner does, but I may be experiencing a bit of hubris if I think I'm that recognizable. I think they are genuinely concerned about customer service and that makes them a really good restaurant. No, maybe a great restaurant.

The bill came to $20.00, tax and tip included, for a great meal with great service and atmosphere. I'm definitely going back again, this time I do want that bacon and blue cheese burger. They have a website for more information.

Update- I did get back for that bacon and blue burger and it was worth the trip. Service was excellent and food terrific. If you haven't been there yet, what are you waiting for?

Another Update- Since this review we've been back quite a few times and the food, service and ambiance have been excellent. I've gotten to know Bob, the chef and owner, well. I have to say that BFC is truly a gem and is fast becoming my favorite place in the Hudson Valley to eat.