Chuck's Eat the Street

Hudson Valley Hot Spot (3x5)

Air date: Aug 07, 2014

A hundred miles up the Hudson River from Manhattan is the little village of Rhinebeck, New York. It has less than 3,000 people but dozens of delicious eateries that offer the best ingredients in the Hudson Valley. Along a former stagecoach road called Route 9, Chuck tastes the bounty. At the charming Le Petit Bistro, Chef Joseph Dalu draws his inspiration from around the world and his ingredients from the Northeast with an Asian Fried Oyster with tobiko mayonnaise and cucumber salad. Chef Josh Kroner, from Terrapin, takes Chuck on an excursion to pick up maple syrup direct from the tree at Crown Maple Farm. It's the key ingredient for his maple-brined pork chops with Apple Jack demi-glace and maple-bacon almonds. Next door at Gigi Trattoria, chef Laura Pensiero creates healthy dishes that taste decadent. Case in point: her Neapolitan-style pizza that she calls skinny pizza or "skizza" is the delivery vehicle for delicious toppings like butternut squash, kale pesto, roasted tomato, and Parmigiano Reggiano. On the edge of town, in place of the usual roadhouse diner, Chuck finds Cinnamon where owner Shiwanti Ridyarathna and her chef husband, Charminda, make South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes, like Chicken Madras that starts with freshly-ground masala powder.