Weekend Wrap-Up: The Haven That Is Hudson

I have the most restless legs in the world. It's an epic challenge for me to make it through a movie without leaving the theater and running laps around the parking lot. Apparently they make medication for this supposed 'restless leg syndrome', but I avoid it like the plague because I absolutely refuse to be the girl on crazy leg drugs. People would think I was loco, right?!?!

Now that you have a deeper understanding of my unruly legs, you'll understand that I can only take so many road trips without going certifiably insane. My legs prefer short, easy trips (3 hours tops) vs. the marathons to Indiana that Adam drags me on every Thanksgiving (Just kidding, Adam! I LOVE those trips!).

This past weekend we rented a car and took a short 2.5 hour drive north of the city to Hudson, NY. You've probably heard of the Hudson River or the Hudson Valley, but most people are pleasantly surprised to find that there's also a small Victorian-era town by the same name!

Hudson has become a haven for artists, antique dealers and city folk who have grown weary from the wear and tear of daily life in the concrete jungle. Downtown Hudson is very small but packed to capacity with shops and restaurants. There was even a weekend Farmer's Market... BINGO! We spent Saturday afternoon wandering through the shops while I made long mental wishlists of items to request from Santa (I'll probably need a house to hold all the stuff he's going to bring me this year).

After shopping 'til we dropped, we drove 20 minutes east to the Hudson-Chatham Winery in Ghent, NY, a small family-owned operation. They were having their annual Sangria Festival (yes, please!). After the parking lot attendant who looked like he was maybe 12 years old called Adam 'Christian Bale', we were pleasantly surprised to find that 'said' parking lot attendant and his buddy were the featured 'local band' listed on the afternoon's line-up. They played Johnny Cash's 'A Boy Named Sue'. They also had to stop and start over a few times to get their timing right. Need I say more?

For dinner, we made reservations at Swoon Kitchenbar on Warren Street. Swoon is a Zagat rated brasserie that prides itself on using food from local farms. The food certainly lived up to the reviews. We started with Matunuck Oysters on the 1/2 shell with a mignonette sauce and the Crispy Artichokes with black aioli. They both really hit the spot after a long day of shopping and sangria.

For our entrees, Adam had the Flounder over a colorful ratatoille, and I went with the Grilled Lamb Shank over Israeli couscous and sauteed greens with tahini sauce. Both were spectacular. Although I couldn't imagine eating anything else, we had a very hard time passing up the fresh blueberry tart with lavender icecream. When in Hudson, I guess...

Because we waited until the last minute to plan this adventure, we almost had to camp out after dinner (apparently, Hudson was THE place to be last weekend). Thankfully, the Front Street Guest House saved the day just in the nick of time. Front Street Guest House is a beautiful B&B-style cottage overlooking the Hudson River. The owners were extremely gracious and accommodating and the house had lots of charming Victorian-era touches. I highly recommend it.

New York City can easily become a bubble if you let it. Sometimes it takes a good road trip to remind you that there's life outside the city ...and nature at that!

Mid-Week Wrap Up: The Best Is Yet To Come!

Confession: I have been so wrapped up in the Olympics that I didn't get around to sharing last weekend's festivities! And that's just a damn shame because they were, in fact, super festive.

Friday night, Adam and I had date night at a cozy little restaurant in Nolita called Socarrat, serving traditional Spanish fare. Usually in NYC, Spanish fare = tapas. Tapas are great (don't get me wrong), but sometimes it's nice to have an entire entree all to yourself so you are not mentally dividing the food into pieces divisible by the amount of people at the table. You know the drill. There's a time and a place for tapas.

Much to my utter bliss, Socarrat had a whole menu of paellas. I still had to share (as the paellas come in a huge skillet for two), but I survived. 

 

We started with a few appetizers...

First up were the stuffed dates with Valdeon cheese and Marcona almonds, wrapped in bacon (this was clearly a Friday Splurge, which doesn't sound as nice as a Saturday Splurge...I know, I know). 

Image courtesy of itinerantfoodies.com

Next up were the grilled shrimps, sizzling in garlic, olive oil and guindilla hot pepper.

Image courtesy of flickr.com

Now, for the 'big daddy dish for two'... the Paella Valenciana, a succulent mixture of rice, pork rib, rabbit, snails, scallions, sugar snow peas and asparagus. It was L-O-V-E. 

Image courtesy of nysun.com

Afterwards, we wandered down Houston St. to our favorite music venue, Rockwood Music Hall (www.rockwoodmusichall.com). We stumbled upon my new favorite band. Julia Haltigan brought the soul and her backup band brought the harmonica, the trumpet and a very soulful guitar solo. I've never seen a bad show at Rockwood and this was no exception.

Saturday, I spent the morning at the Aveda Carsten Institute in Union Square getting my hair done - cut, color and style. I was placed in the artful and innovative hands of Simeon Kline who worked wonders on my hair. Thanks, Simeon! (www.simeonkline.com)

Next up was lunch and the Union Square Farmer's Market with my beautiful friend Marissa Roy and her foster dog, Charlie (who I fondly call by his given name, Charles). We enjoyed some Thai at Republic in Union Square while Charlie looked onward with jealousy (Hey, we're not THAT mean! He got a doggie icecream from Petco!)

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the Olympics, running in Prospect Park and enjoying a lovely brunch at one of my favorite Park Slope spots, Rosewater (the next Saturday Splurge is coming right up!).

Enough about the past! It's time to look forward! This week I am taping a TV show for Veria Living TV (www.veria.com/tv), which airs on DISH and Verizon FiOS. I'm going to be the guest on a show with 'The Plant-Based Dietitian' Julieanna Hever, who was recently featured on Doctor OZ and was a consultant for the documentary 'Forks Over Knives'. I'll be learning how to throw a healthy party... food, drinks and even earth-friendly decorations! Here's to hoping I don't make a fool of myself on TV!

And the fun doesn't stop there! This weekend, Adam and I are renting a car and driving up to explore Hudson, NY and Bear Mountain. A weekend of eating, drinking, shopping ... and some hardcore hiking and winery-visiting! Pictures to follow!

Hope everyone is having a week worth remembering...