Indian food + indie film = perfect evening

On the recommendation of my new hair stylist, I finally tried Red Hook Curry House last night. I passed over the $11.95 buffet —- very popular and deemed fresh and tasty by my husband -- so that I could try the tikka biryani with chicken. The huge portion cost $14.95 and had just the right amount of heat. It also made a great leftover lunch today. The mango lassi was a yummy accompaniment.

We then headed to Upstate Films in Rhinebeck to catch a screening of "Paris Je T'aime." This fun film is actually a number of shorts about love inspired by different neighborhoods of the city of light.

The who's who of directors includes Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuarón, Wes Craven and Gus Van Sant.

Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Elijah Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal and the legendary Fanny Ardant are among the featured actors.

For me, the standout segments were the hilarious "Tuileries," directed by the Coen Brothers and starring Steve Buscemi; the beautiful "Faubourg Saint-Denis," directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Natalie Portman and Melchior Beslon; and the heart wrenching "Loin du 16ème," directed by Walter Salles and starring Catalina Sandino Moreno.

According to IMDB, Upstate is the only moviehouse in the country where you can watch "Paris Je T'aime" this week.

Great Indian food and a great indie movie. And I didn't have to leave Dutchess County.

(Poughkeepsie Journal photos by Lee Ferris and Karl Rabe)

Not a bad way to spend a Friday

One-woman punk rock band The Laura Pepitone Show is headlining the New York State Beer Expo at Terrapin Catering, located at Dinsmore Golf Course on Route 9 in Staatsburg.

The $25 entrance fee includes all the beer and food you can eat and entertainment by Pepitone, Johnnie Wang and The Meg Johnson Band.

The expo takes place Friday from 5 to 10 p.m.

For more information, call 845-876-3330.

I got your Spiegeltent menu here

No interest in cooking tonight? Head to Bard's Spiegeltent every Thursday-Sunday evening now through Aug. 19.

From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., choose from a menu of summer foods, including local beef burgers, grilled house-made sausage, falafel with grilled pita and berry shortcake, plus Millbrook wines and Magic Hat beers.

Click here for the full Spiegeltent menu.

Eat and drink outside on picnic tables or inside in the cabaret atmosphere of the Belgian palace of mirrors.

The photo is by Poughkeepsie Journal photographer Lee Ferris. To view a gallery of his Spiegeltent photographs, click here.

The best cheap eats are free

Artisan Wine Shop in Beacon offers free wine and food tastings every Friday and Saturday night.

Spend happy hour tonight (4 to 7 p.m.) with all-American wines like SkinFlint Rose, Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc and Bogart Old Vine Cinsault Lodi and munch on whatever owners Tim Buzinski and Mei Ying So — both Culinary Institute of America grads — are inspired to make.

On Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., Artisan features South African wines and frikkadels — South African meatballs — to go with them.

Artisan is located at 180 Main St.

Cheap eats update: Janet's Jerk Stop

Poughkeepsie's highly recommended Janet's Jerk Stop, 96 Washington St., has a booth at the Poughkeepsie Farmers Market, which takes place on Fridays on Main Street.

I'm writing this post in between delicious forkfuls of curry chicken, rice and beans and cabbage with carrots: $6. Janet is also serving jerk chicken and fried chicken at the stand. If you can't get to the market today, you will have to wait two weeks. Janet will be vacationing Jamaica.

Also, Anu Bhatia is at the market today doing cooking demonstrations with her homemade chutneys and masala sauce.

Father's Day picks for alterna-dads

If the Gen-Ex dad in your life is more tattoo than tie, here are a couple of cool ideas for Father's Day:

The Hudson Valley Horrors, the valley's own female flat track roller derby league, take on the Pioneer Valley Western Mass Destruction in their inaugural bout, "Who's Your Daddy?" The action takes place Sunday at 6 p.m. at Hyde Park Roller Magic on Route 9.

Seats are $13 in advance, $15 at the door.

Tickets can be purchased at the rink in Hyde Park, Firebird Grill and Lounge in Rhinebeck, Catskill Art & Office Supply in Kingston and Burt's Electronics in Kingston.

And in Poughkeepsie, dad can smoke the hookah and dine on Middle Eastern food while belly dancers entertain him at Zorona on Raymond Avenue.

Reservations are necessary. Call 845-471-8838.

Cute roadside stand alert

I snapped this picture on Route 9G, near the intersection of Route 199 in Red Hook.

Bubby's Burritos serves rice and bean burritos and cheese quesadillas with all the fixins for cheap out of a Trillium 1300 trailer decorated with potted plants.

The owners split their time between their stand in Red Hook and their restaurant in Mexico.

Try it on your next trip to Bard College or Tivoli.

And if you do, let me know what you think.

Fleisher's Meats opens Rhinebeck location

Dutchess County residents no longer have to schlep to Ulster for the best beef, pork, locally raised lamb and poultry.

Fleisher's Grass-fed and Organic Meats, located at 307 Wall St. in Kingston, is opening a second, larger location in Rhinebeck.

Besides meat, the old-fashioned store at 47 Market St. will sell local eggs, regional cheese and organic meals to go.

You may have encountered Fleisher's products before at New York City restaurants like (Diner, Bonita and Savoy). All are good Fleisher's customers.

But unlike NYC residents, we don't have to eat out in order to eat the best. Sometimes it's better to be the country mouse ...

Cheap eats, part II

Thanks everyone for sharing your Hudson Valley cheap eats with me.

Here are just a few of the recommendations:

In Poughkeepsie, Janet's Jerk Stop on Washington Avenue, Krishna Groceries on Route 9, Soul Dog on Main Street and Saigon Cafe on LaGrange Avenue (pictured).

In Fishkill, Tanjore buffet on Main Street.

And in New Paltz, Yanni and Karma Road.

Dan asked for some more Kingston-area cheap eats and I've got a great one for those of you heading to the opening of the Old Town Stockade Farmers Market on Saturday: Gabriel's Cafe on John Street.

The owner of this lovely little place uses local, organic ingredients whenever possible and makes his own hearty bread and pastries. The egg sandwich ($4.75) comes with a garlicky homemade salsa. Amazing. The coffee is strong and locally roasted from Catskill Mountain Coffee. There are also Colombian specialties for lunch, a nod to Gabriel's heritage.

Now I have a cheap eats dilemma for you readers. I am heading up to Rhinebeck tonight to see "Waitress" at Upstate Films. Are there any cheap eats among the $30/entree restaurants? And if not, are there any diners in the area that you'd recommend? A (not too) greasy spoon would fit the movie.

I'll share my cheap eats if you share yours ...

A favorite topic of every young and cash-strapped foodie is the best places to get cheap eats, those little hole-in-the-wall places that you only find out about by word of mouth.

Here are my top 5 Hudson Valley cheap eats:

1.) Andy’s Place, 45 Dutchess Ave., Poughkeepsie
Call 845-452-2525.

Four pierogies, a nod to my Polish heritage, are only $4.95. There’s also a kielbasa dinner w/pierogies for $11.95 and a kielbasa sandwich with sauerkraut on rye for $7.25.


2.) Jamaican Spice, 184 Main St., Beacon
Call 845-831-7505.
The next time you’re gallery hopping in Beacon, head to this little gem, which opened in 2005.
Turnovers filled with jerk fish, meatloaf, chicken and spicy beef are just $1.25-$1.50.
The restaurant also serves jerk pork, saltfish, curry chicken and ginger beer.


3.) El Danzante Mexican American (pictured), 720 Broadway, Kingston
Call 845-331-7070.
This kitschy, authentic Mexican restaurant features a white bar “cave” that displays dozens of tequilas.
Chicken enchiladas with mole sauce are savory and toothsome. Or put together a sampling of soft tacos. The best is carnitas — fried pork with Mexican herbs and spices — served with cilantro and onions for only $2.

4.) Kismat Indian Restaurant, 50 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie
Call 845-442-8536.
The best value for your foodie buck: Kismat serves an all-you-can buffet of Indian specialties for just $6.95 for lunch and $8.95 for dinner. Feel free to bring your own wine or beer.

5.) Lola’s Café and Gourmet Take Out, 131 Washington St., Poughkeepsie
Call 845-471-8555.
Chef Ed Kowalski elevates the lunchtime deli experience with high quality ingredients and flavor combinations. Try the tropical curried chicken wrap for $5.95 or the marinated Portobello mushroom panino for $6.95.

Please add to the list by posting below.

BBQ road stand opens for season Friday

CIA grad Rob VanVoorhis of All Smoked Up will be cooking up his gourmet barbecue on Friday on Route 55 in Beekman.


Three days a week (unless he's catering a party) VanVoorhis sets up his 13-foot smoker and serves a loyal lunchtime crowd.

I cut and pasted Friday's menu below:


~ Lobster Mac & Cheese W/ Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar & Lotsa Lobster!! $8
~ New Potato Gratin W/ Gruyere $4
~ Pulled Pork Sandwich W/ ASU Slaw $6 (Not Spicy)
~ Prime Rib Sandwich W/ ASU Slaw $10 (cherry wood smoked)
~ Smoked Duck W/ Blackberry Gastrique & Warm Cabbage Slaw $12
~ Baby Back Ribs $ 18 per rack or $10 a half rack
~ Half Pound Beef Frank W/ Kraut on an 8" Grinder Roll $5
~ Soda $1

Serving from 10:30 to 1:30 or until it's gone...........All Smoked Up will be roadside as the weather permits (no wind, no rain & sunshine) are the criteria!!

Update on BYOW

Just returned from vacation and thumbing through the April 6 edition of Enjoy!

Zorona, a Middle Eastern restaurant on Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie, is advertising that it is a Bring Your Own Wine restaurant.

So now there are two yummy choices for BYOW (and BYOB) near Vassar College: Zorona and Kismat.

(2004 photo by Poughkeepsie Journal photographer Kathy McLaughlin)

On the quest for 'cue in the HV

Doing the jaunt up and down I-95 this week, I've been able to sample some delicious barbecue, one of America's greatest culinary gifts to the world. Around these parts North Carolina style, distinguished by pork with a vinegar-based sauce, is king.

But my favorite style is Memphis, which in the last 10 years has been embraced by New Yorkers with a fervor.
But you don't even have to travel as far south as New York City, home of Blue Smoke, Daisy May's BBQ and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, to get some amazing 'cue.

I can't get enough of the pulled pork platter at Hickory Barbecue and Smokehouse, located on Route 28 between Kingston and Woodstock.

I'm also a fan of Max's Memphis BBQ in Red Hook.

Still on my list to sample: Biggy's BBQ Bistro in New Paltz, Rob VanVoorhis' roadside stand on Route 55 in Beekman and that kiosk that recently popped up on Main Street in Poughkeepsie.

Have you been to any of these local barbecue haunts? Which ones are missing from my list? Comment below.

Bring Your Own Beer (or Wine) in Potown

Anyone who has traveled to Montreal knows it has an amazing selection of
“bring your own wine” restaurants. This allows you to choose the perfect bottle while saving a ton of money on your restaurant tab.

So when I passed by this sign (above) at 50 Raymond Ave. in Poughkeepsie, I was positively giddy.

Kismat Indian Restaurant, a stone's throw from Vassar College, has all the favorites (chiken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo, palak paneer) as well as a $6.95 lunch buffet and an $8.95 dinner buffet. BYOB or BYOW is encouraged.

These stores have knowledgeable staff who will help you pick out the perfect
wine to pair with ethnic cuisine:
Artisan Wine Shop, 180 Main St., Beacon, 845-440-6923
Viscount Wines & Liquor, 1173 Route 9, Wappingers Falls, 845-298-0555

Share your favorite BYOB or BYOW restaurants in the mid-Hudson Valley with
me at kmurray@poughkeepsiejournal.com or comment below.