Peter Conway

Newburgh Brewing Company a Place for Fun, Family and Friends

I have to admit the thought of going to Newburgh has been a little intimidating with the reports of crime you read about. We had been to the waterfront district with all its restaurants and places to walk and boat, it’s very safe there. But it did not really appeal to us. Seemed too corporate. We like more charming areas.

We had heard about Liberty Street and the historic district which seemed appealing so we decided to venture over and are going back tonight for dinner with friends at Liberty Street Bistro.

After a walk down Liberty where we found two great looking restaurants, a European coffee caffe, and a fabulous wine shop, along with a Washington’s Headquarters, we headed over by car to Colden Street in the East End Historic District to Newburgh Brewing.

Did you know that the “City of Newburgh has the second largest historic district in New York State. over 4,000 buildings of historic interest.” newburghonhudson.com

Newburgh Brewing is in a building built over 110 years ago and was once the Newburgh Paper Box Factory. The signage you see pays homage to historical value of this place.

Step inside and the theme continues, with an inviting wide open space and bar that warmly welcomes family and friends. My interest in Newburgh Brewing comes from my own family as my daughter Nell who is quite steeped in the world of fine craft beer first introduced me to their fine Brown Ale. Fact is that when my son Pierce and Nell come home to Garrison for Thanksgiving we plan to stop by Newburgh Brewing for some fun food and drink Wednesday evening.

Beers of the day are on the chalk boards behind the bar, nothing quite as good as freshly brewed beer.

The appealing food offerings are on another chalk board.

Can’t wait to get back there again.

Read more about Newburg Brewing here: Newburgh Brewing Company

88 Colden St, Newburgh, NY
(845) 569-2337

Sweet Reminiscence of Puglia, Yet Home in the Hudson Valley

A favorite wine we found at the engaging Palate Wine and Spirits shop in Newburg, NY inspired this dinner. A Fiano from Puglia (Apulia) one of our very favorite parts of Italy. Puglia is the “heel of the boot” of Italy, the lower south east peninsula wrapped by the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

Wine made with the Fiano grape is very popular, In this part of Italy, a bright and flavorful wine. Yet the grape can be hard to grow and has low yields. It is rarely farmed outside of Italy. We fell in love with it on a wine pilgrimage to Italy in the fall of 2012. It can be hard to come by in the US so we were delighted to find this wine in here at wine store in the Hudson Valley.

This one is by Masseria Li Veli a winery founded in 199 by the Falvo family who also owned the fine Avignonesi estate in Tuscany.

The fresh ingredients for the dinner we made came mostly from Dan Madura Farms a regular vendor at Cold Spring Farmers Market who had gorgeous yellow cauliflower, onions and abundant fresh parsley this week. With this produce we made a dish from Tal Ronnen’s fabulous vegan Crossroads Restaurant recipe book, “Cauliflower With Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes.” Other ingredients came from our own Cold Spring Foodtown and Adams Market in Wappinger.

For the pasta dish I created my own recipe for Orchietta, the classic Purglian pasta. We bought some exceptional Italian sausage, that Chris of Marbled Meat Shop has just made. Sauteed it with escarole and onions, EVO, Kosher salt, and hot red pepper flakes, some white wine, veal stock and as a last step a tablespoon of arrowroot to thicken the sauce.

These dishes with a nice baguette from Marbled and fresh herbs from our own garden as well as freshly ground cheese, and of course accompanied by a perfect wine, were an inestimable culinary luxury.

Here’s More:

Masseria Li Veli

Palate Wine and Sprits

Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes from the Restaurant That Is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine

Our Trip to Puglia

Marbled Meat Shop

The Cauliflower Recipe by Kris Carr.

American Diner or Sri Lankan Bistro Your Choice Red Pepper Wappinger Falls

We had always been curious about the quirky little dinner called “Red Pepper” on route 9D just North of Route 84 in Wappinger Falls, with its bright red and yellow colors and promise of “Worlds Favorite Cusine.”

Opened in October two years by excellent chef and very welcoming host Saman Munaweera, Red Pepper has two personalities.

Once seated you’ll be offered two menus, one that offers typical American diner food and Italian American dishes, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the menu we immediately chose Red Pepper Rasa that presents Saman’s authentic Sri Lankan dishes.

Beef Kothu Roti

Rasa is a Sanskrit term meaning “sap,” “essence” or “fluid.” In the spiritual tradition, this term refers to the essence of human experience; the emotions that govern human life.

The menu includes many delights best accompanied with the most popular Lion Sri Lankan beer. We enjoyed a most pleasing dinner.

With something new a dish called Chicken Hopper. A full description can be found on the Red Pepper Rasa menu here. MENU

Coconut Sambol

And familiar favorites like Sri Lankan Dahl and Brinjal Miju

Dinner was finished with a very rewarding dessert.

Open seven days from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Buffet night is Friday and Saman just announced:

“Hudson Valley’s very first Sri Lankan brunch every Sunday from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. will be offering Sri Lankan breakfast favorites such as milk rice , string hoppers, hoppers, savoury curries, omelette station and Lankan Style Mimosas. Live cooking HOPPERS,,,We hope to see you every weekend. -Chef Saman & Thanuja”

Saman Munaweera, his wife Thanuja and their children (photo by A. Rooney)

Highlands Current – Sri Lankan Cuisine on the Menu

Also lots of great reviews on Tripadvisor and Yelp

1458 Route 9d, Wappingers Falls, NY
845-440-0020

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A Different Sort of Beach Walk at Little Stony Point

We’ve walked so many beaches, oceans and seas, continents, none quite like this one just a few miles from home, along the beloved Hudson River, a precious place to explore.

Best time is the early morning, during the week, as you might expect it becomes very populated on the weekends. This visit was on Wednesday September 7th.

Little Stony Point, part of the Hudson Highlands State Park is considered one of the most beautiful places in the Hudson Valley. Sadly the park is not cared for by the many visitors as much as Pete Seeger had, a frequent habitué who was know for always taking out a bag of litter. We did.

Though if you walk beyond the closest trails you’ll find the many unsullied magical spots as we’ve captured here. The Little Stony Point Citizens Association does a lot to keep this place beautiful, but they could use all our help. If you do visit we hope you will.

At the entrance there is a fork in the trail and as Yoga Berra advised, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Either way the paths lead you to the river and the contemplative beaches.

Through the trees the sun glistens off the water.

And entices you to broader views and placid spots to mediate.

To the north. So exciting.

And the south. The view can be vast.

The further you walk the cleaner the park is. But do watch out for what some careless dog owners leave behind.

A stony path.

Stony dunes.

And a meadow.

A fire would be nice on a chilly night.

Gnarled roots. Look like slithering prehistoric snakes.

Pretty sand. We may bring our beach chairs next time.

Funny sites, does a bear live here?

Stony beach with inviting water.

Graffiti is dismaying, but I do love the words.

Magical light above the beach.

You can get lost in reflective reverie, with great joy and comfort.

Little Stony Point Citizens

Little Stony Point – Hike the Hudson Valley

The “GW Six Oh” a Very Special Hudson Valley Cocktail for a Very Special Birthday

We drank and ate and laughed and played, a weekend of fun and friendship at cherished Long Beach Island Loveladies beach, with best friends Gail and Marc, part of a year long celebration of Gail’s 60th birthday.

Of course an original cocktail just for Gail Wagner was in order. “I love your cocktails,” were Gail’s words, “but they are too sweet for me.” Well ok, I can make dry cocktails, and crafted this Sherry Martini with Hudson Valley Tuthilltown Spirits Indigenous Fresh Pressed Apple Vodka, Lustau Almacenista Fino Sherry from, Artisan Wine Shop, Beacon, and the very fine 1830 Antoine Amédée Peychaud bitters, accented with raw almond stuffed black olives. The result … ” Yum! Very delicious and not sweet!” called the GW Six Oh!

The recipe:

For each cocktail

2 oz Tuthilltown Spirits Indigenous Fresh Pressed Apple Vodka

1/2 to 3/4 oz Lustau Almacenista Fino Sherry

Canned Pitted Black Olives Stuffed with Raw Almonds

3 drops of Peychaud Bitters

Chill a martini glass or four with ice and water or in your freezer
Stuff a bunch of good black jumbo olives, the pitted kind in a can with raw almonds put two on a toothpick
Add ice to a shaker and the vodka and sherry and shake well
Let it sit for a moment as you empty the ice water from the cocktail glasses or pull them from the freezer and place the stuffed olives in each glass
Gently pour the cocktail over the olives and add three drops of the bitters
Toast sip and smile

Blogs and Pages

My 60th Birthday Celebration

Tuthilltown Spirits

Made with 100% Hudson Valley apples grown at selected local orchards, it is so smooth and delicious.

Sherry and Vodka Available at

Artisan Wine Shop Beacon

A Seat at the Table — Longhaul Farm — The Cottage Supper Club

The hidden yet prosperous farms of Garrison are true gems of our community. Most everyone has heard of Glynwood Farm, more than a farm an institution with a mission “to ensure the Hudson Valley is a region defined by food, where farming thrives.”

But perhaps lesser know yet equally vibrant, is Longhaul Farm that operates a copious CSA to which you may subscribe and in season offers wonderful dinners with wine pairings to small parties in “The Cottage Supper Club.”

Operated by Jason Angell and Jocelyn Apicello who have enthusiastically embraced their decision to pursue a more satisfying way of life with a deep connection with the earth. They spent a year in Patagonia Argentina at 20+ year old organic and bio-dynamic fruit and vegetable farm in El Hoyoa learning the art and science of farming. Then moved back to family land in Garrison. More

For my birthday dinner Diana got us two seats at Longhaul’s Supper Club. The events begin with a special cocktail and invitation to stroll the grounds.

It was a gray day, but the richness of the land was no less beautiful. Fortunately the impending rain held back through our evening of wining and dining.

The menu was spectacular all prepared by Jason and Jocelyn with vegetables, fruit, and meat all from this farm. Each dish was lovingly presented. Truly “Farm to Table.”

Wine was served for each course, selected to compliment each dish. Well presented by sommelier Andy Bay.

A wonderful evening was had by all.

Learn more about their CSA here.

Hudson River Sunset at Garrison Landing

The Beauty and Bounty of Boscobel

The Boscobel House has quite a history, a story that is created year after year with memories like these of the annual Big Band Concert and Sunset Picnic. This was the 16th. The Big Band tradition started with the turn of the 21st century. Seems like a long time ago but it is really just a fraction of Boscobel’s 200 year life, two centuries!

The event rings out the end of Summer with a night of festivity for young and old.

Picnics with one the most wonderful Hudson River views.

The event is attended by a full and happy crowd, dining, dancing and enjoying the Big Band sounds.

This is just one of the many events held here that include the Summer season of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, tours of the house and garden, a wonderful tangle of paths that we have walked often. Frances Stevens Reese Woodland trail

If you drive 9D between Garrison and Cold Spring you will certainly have noticed the deep green signboard announcing the many seasonal events.

Boscobel House and Garden

We love Boscobel so much we named a cocktail in its honor. The Boscobel, a Fig Shrub Manhattan

Sunday Poem – Grey Sunday

33-garrison-landing-fall-coming-back-fence-and-river

Probably at least til noon, fall is coming. Wind tosses the brown leaves already on the ground.

33-garrison-landing-fall-coming-back-fence

Love this poem by Joyce.

Grey Sunday

Grey Sunday afternoon.
Rain is fallen glistering gloom.
Inside it’s warm and cozy.
Time for writing and relaxing.
Watch a movie and some texting.
Even when this day is grey.
Smile and have lovely Sunday.

Hello Poetry Sunday Poems

At After Ella’s There Are Great Cocktails

If you know Beacon, then you must know Ella’s Bellas the fabulous gluten free bakery and cafe, but you may not know what happens at night, after 6:00, at “After Ella’s.”

It is fun and chilling, “a collaboration project between Ella’s Bellas and More Good featuring craft cocktails designed with More Good Syrups & Mixers” by the master Jason Schuler.

We’ve been here twice and enjoyed the drinks and the casual easy vibe.

The bartenders are alert and cordial ready to dive into conversation and booze. There are small plates to be enjoyed, savory or sweet, from Ella’s kitchen and accomplished staff.

Some nights there is more actions with DJs or Oyster-men. All good fun.

After Ella’s

418 Main St
Beacon, NY 12508
(845) 765-8502

Drink More Good