Mill House Brewing Company- Poughkeepsie, NY

The Mill House Brewing Company in Poughkeepsie has been on the short list for some time now, the timing just has not been right until today. One time there was no parking, and another there was too long of a wait. We popped in late on a Saturday afternoon and found a parking place so we were golden. We entered and were seated right away. Had we been an hour later there would have been a wait for a table. 

Inside it is nicely appointed and has a feel of a new brew pub, but with an older charm. While it was crowded, the noise level was low. It looked as if someone put a lot of thought into the design. 

I decided to start with a flight of five beers for $14. They have six available so the choice was what to drop from the list and Octoberfest didn't make the cut. The stout was good, the Hubar great (and a crawler of it came home with me), the Kilt Spinner was a good Scottish Ale, the Amber ale good, and the Kolsch nice and crisp tasting. Now to the dinner choices. 

I went with the hand formed burger at $18. That's right, eighteen bucks. When a burger costs that much, the expectations are high but it was worth every penny of it. The meat was fresh and properly seasoned and it came out a perfect medium with pink in the middle. In fact, it may have been one of the best damn burgers I have ever had. The fries were hand cut as well and delightful. Seriously, I'm still stuffed and I could eat another one right now. They do have a cheaper burger but splurge. 

Teresa went with the French Dip at $14 and she said it was quite good. The meat was so juicy that the roll did get a bit soggy, but no big deal as she was dipping it in the au jus anyway. 

I was toying with the idea of a growler, but it would be too much for just me so I went with the crowler  of the Hubar (32 oz) for ten bucks. 

Overall, an amazing place with great beer, excellent food, friendly service, and a warm atmosphere. We will be back again, and soon. They have a website for more information. 

Blue Chip Burger- Middletown, NY

Blue Chip Burger sits on East Main Street in Middletown in what was once a bar. About three years ago a local family with a lot of restaurant experience turned it into a burger joint with the mission of using quality grass fed beef and other natural ingredients to make a quality product. It has been on my list of places to visit for some time now.

We stopped by late one Saturday afternoon and were greeted by our very friendly waitress. She suggested that we try two different specialty burgers and split them. We took her suggestion and ordered the three alarm burger and the roasted garlic burger. Both were under ten bucks and came with copious fries. 

The burgers were very good. They were properly cooked (I didn't specify a temperature so they were medium well) and it was quite apparent that the meat was a quality product and seasoned just right. The fries were of the shoestring variety and were okay. 

They also serve Jane's ice cream, made locally in Kingston, and have a few local beers available. Overall, a neat restaurant with good food, reasonable prices, nice ambiance, and friendly people. We'll be back. The have a website for more information. 

Chicken Riggies

We were headed up to Utica, NY to watch our granddaughter while her mom and dad went to a wedding and a few people said that we had to try the chicken riggies while we were in the area. We stopped at Carmela's in New Hartford and I ordered it.

The dish is chicken, olives, sweet and hot peppers, and a pink sauce over rigatoni. Nothing really exotic, but the flavor combinations are quite nice. I would have preferred the pasta cooked a bit more, but I'm not an al dente fan and that seems to be the style upstate.