weekend in upper columbia county/ berkshires

[tobesaurus]

So i'm heading up to northern columbia county/ berkshires area in june (i like to plan ahead), just looking for general suggestions. I'll be in the area for an entire week so i have time to explore. I've been given about a million suggestions for the mass side of things, but i need recommendations for new york, like chatham and new lebanon.

Thanks everyone!!

[copakekaren]

Try Taconic State park, bash bish falls, bike along the rail trail, take in a feel good community day in Copake on June 18th.

[rrems]

If Hudson is not too far out of your way, I recommend Helsinki and Swoon. Carolina House in Kinderhook is really good and very reasonably priced, with a particularly charming atmosphere. Nearer to the Berkshires, Swiss Hutte in Hillsdale is also a great place with rustic elegance and excellent food. In Chatham I like Lippera's, but I think the others I've mentioned are even better.

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Carolina House
PO Box 700, Kinderhook, NY 12106

[i_eat_a_lot_of_ice_cream]

You say you have a lot of recs for the Berkshires, but I'll throw in two more. Last summer we went to Route 7 Grill in Great Barrington and Mezze in Williamstown, both of which were excellent (Route 7 casual, Mezze more fancy, both with an emphasis on local products). We'll be making return trips to both this summer, in addition to Tanglewood and Hawk Meadow's llama hike, both of which are awesome!

http://www.route7grill.com/
http://www.mezzerestaurant.com/
http://hawkmeadowinlee.com/hawk_meado...

[feelinpeckish]

I could not eliminate either chatham (home of Lipera's and Blue Plate - both of which are worth considering (my prference is Blue Plate but many positive posts re Lipera's)/nor could I eliminate New Lebanon (The Pillars).
Hudson is well worth considering, menu focus is varied and I suggest going to Google for a view of the variety of choices Hudson has to offer.

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Blue Plate Restaurant
1 Kinderhook St, Chatham, NY 12037

[mjoyous]

I don't know when feelingpeckish last ate at the Pillars, but it is definitely not worth a trip. It does not resemble what it was when the Bocks owned it, and now has the taste and feel of a struggling restaurant that has no niche other than cheapish family fare.
If you are in/around West Stockbridge, Rouge is a personal and board fave. Eat in the bar or one of the rooms to the right, and you can access all the menus (tapas, sandwich, dinner.) Olio (also WS) was fine the one time I ate there but the service was just so-so.
Try the Southern New England board for lots of berkshire recommendations.

[feelinpeckish]

re:mjoyous
It has been a while since I last dined there. Thanks for the updated info, sad though as it was such a treasure and I had read early on that the new owner was filling in well. Sorry for the outdated data.

[mjoyous]

You're very welcome. I'm under the impression that the present management is the second since the Bocks left. As a local, we truly miss the old Pillars and Shuji's. No decent dining in New Lebanon-- even Fresco's (never my favorite except the pizza was OK) is closed.

[ronhall51]

bells cafe in catskill ny is to my thinking better then both Especially for breakfast ,They do a good dinner too

[ronhall51]

forget chatham and new lebannon focus on catskill ny and hudson ny