MERCATO OR MADELIN'S TABLE ?
Hi all
I posted previously about my trip to Hyde Park in early September and I have another decision to make - I'm hoping you guys can help me.
I'm torn between Mercato and Madalin's Table for Sunday dinner. I would love to dine at both restaurants, but as neither are open on Monday (and I have reservations at American Bounty on Tuesday), I don't have that option. I adore pasta and Mercato sounds just delish, but the seasonal menu (granted, it's a sample menu only) on Madalin's Table website looks scrumptious. I love food that is seasonal and fresh - I can't get a lot of that on Long Island)).
From Hyde Park, both restaurants are about 30 or so minutes away, so it's a nice drive either way. If you had one restaurant to choose, which would it be? I understand they are completely different types of restaurants and either one would make me very happy.
Also, I have a question that may sound silly - if so, I apologize. Am I mistaken or does it seem as if people drive greater distances to go to restaurants in the Hudson Valley? On Long Island, most people that I know (my parents included) would very rarely drive 30-40 minutes to go to even a very good restaurant (figuring they can get good food much closer to home). Maybe that's because towns are closer together or maybe it's because I find myself having to do gymnastics of sorts to find good restaurants for my trip (this is no knock on HV restaurants; it's just that from now on, lol, I will make a point not to visit the Hudson Valley on a Monday or Tuesday). I personally don't mind driving for good food and a drive from Hyde Park to Rhinebeck/Red Hook is surely more beautiful than the lousy strip-mall scenery I am subjected to on a daily basis on Long Island. It just seems that more people are willing to drive for good food in HV - or at least it kind of looks that way to me in the limited research I have done.
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The problem with the Hudson valley is that there are not very many really good restaurants, so yes, we do make allowances for distance in order to get a good meal. On the plus side, it is usually a pleasant drive. As moosesocks says, Madalin is spacious and comfortable. The service is generally very good. As nice as the victorian dining room is, it is also a real treat to sit on the outside veranda in warm weather, where the seating is also very comfortable and the people-watching is fun.
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re: Solstice444
I didn't mean to imply that the Hudson Valley is lacking in restaurants - only that people seem a bit more adventurous in travelling. In fact, I'm finding that there are a lot of good restaurants even in just the specific area I'm visiting. It's nice that many of the students from the CIA graduate and then stick around - this way, the restaurant scene will never really get stale.
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moosesocks
Jun 30, 2008 06:40 PM
My hubby and I love Mercato. The food is simple yet fresh and flavorful with seasonal ingredients. The downside of the restaurant is that the service tends to get a little bit sketchy on busy nights and the front dinning room gets cramped when every table is occupied. The back room is OK for a bigger party, but then you don't get to feel all the action going on in the open kitchen facing the front dinning room.
I haven't been to Madeline's Table, but from my observation while sitting at Santa Fe, the Cali-Mex restaurant diagonal across the street, the restaurant is spacious and has that "Great Getsby-ie" feel. (I guess that has a lot to do with the kind of chairs they use, which I somehow associate with the story or that period.)
As to the second question, I agree with what Solstice444 said. Thinking of it this way, if you are going from Hyde Park to Rhinebeck or Red Hook, it's really just a town or two away!
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moosesocks
Jun 30, 2008 06:39 PM
My hubby and I love Mercato. The food is simple yet fresh and flavorful with seasonal ingredients. The downside of the restaurant is that the service tends to get a little bit sketchy on busy nights and the front dinning room gets cramped when every table is occupied. The back room is OK for a bigger party, but then you don't get to feel all the action going on in the open kitchen facing the front dinning room.
I haven't been to Madeline's Table, but from my observation while sitting at Santa Fe, the Cali-Mex restaurant diagonal across the street, the restaurant is spacious and has that "Great Getsby-ie" feel. (I guess that has a lot to do with the kind of chairs they use, which I somehow associate with the story or that period.)
As to the second question, I agree with what Solstice444 said. Thinking of it this way, if you are going from Hyde Park to Rhinebeck or Red Hook, it's really just a town or two away!
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re: moosesocks
hmm,. Mercato sounds better every time I read about it. I love simple, fresh food where you can actually taste the ingredients.......Whichever restaurant I don't get to on this trip, I will be sure to save for my next trip. Too many restaurants, not enough time!
About the driving distances, that's a good point as far as just passing through one or two towns. That's what happens when you get out of the city/suburbs and into the countryside....I'm looking forward to it.
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I can't give you any info about Mercato/Madalin's Table, but I did want to comment on your last question. I think you are right...people will drive greater distances to go to restaurants in the mid Hudson Valley, but I think that's because the towns are more spaced out. Also, there aren't as many highways as on Long Island or in Westchester. For example, it takes me 25-30 minutes to get to downtown Poughkeepsie from Wappingers Falls, but the distance really isn't that far...if I could take a highway there with no lights, then it would be much quicker! Yes, I find myself driving 30 minutes to go places to eat and it doesn't seem that far to me. I used to live in Westchester and there I felt like the average drive for food was maybe 15 minutes. When my mom comes to visit and I tell her we're going somewhere 25 minutes away, she isn't too happy!
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re: Solstice444
Thanks for the comments, Solstice. I'm going to explain to my mother (and my father should he decide to join us) that frankly, driving is a lot different than on Long Island and very likely a lot more enjoyable. It's nice to have a decent drive in which to build up anticipation about a restaurant. I'm really excited about this trip - I've always wanted to visit the Hudson Valley. It will be nice to get away from the boring suburbs (I love my home and LI, don't get me wrong, but I would like to see real trees, real farms, real countryside for a change). I would rather have an easy 30 minute drive, also, than a difficult, traffic-snarled 15 minute drive
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