As much as I profess to enjoy cooking (I do, truly!), I’m also partial to going out, especially when I can find a place that’s a little bit out of the ordinary. New Paltz, New York happens to be home to a wild array of culinary delights and debacles, the majority of which I’ve deemed to subject myself to over the last year.
Allow me to take you through a random, rabid traipse through the restaurants, pubs, cafes, and diners of New Paltz, NY.
Well beyond the McDonald’s, Burger King, Star Bucks and Dunkin Donuts, there exist a number of fast, reasonably cheap eateries and whatnot that are good for a quick bite.
Rocco’s, located in the main shopping plaza, has the best pizza in town. It has a small sit down area, fairly quick staff, and the greatest buffalo chicken pizza ever created. They also have a fairly wide variety of pasta/sandwich dishes for anyone that wants to eat there. The prices are cheap, the restaurant clean, the workers friendly, and it’s possibly my favorite place in town.
Not too far away, is Great Wall, a chinese restaurant. Eating there is an option, but it’s meant for take out or delivery. It’s standard american chinese food and it’s always been slow for me, but it’s probably the better of the two chinese places in town.
Also close by is the bagel shop. They only take cash, always an inconvienance for me, but they make their own fresh bagels and they’re the fastest place in town despite the crowds in the morning.
The last restaurant in the main plaza is the New Paltz Diner. They have a wide variety of dishes (swordfish?!), although I’d only brave eating maybe a dozen of them. Not too fast, not that slow, they’re open all the time. I don’t care for the diner much, food always seems overgreased and bland, but they’re a solid average as far as restaurants go.
Moving across the street, we have Pasquales, a pizza place. The service is haphazard, ranging from swift and amenable, to downright incompetant. The prices tend towards being a bit high, but they’re the only really true sit down italien restaurant in town except for La Stazione, which I’ll get to shortly. The Chipotle Pizza here is spicy and delicious and my main motivation for occasionally sitting down at Pasquales.
My Hero sits in the middle of town, but of far from everything. I passed it a thousand times before I ever attempted to eat there. In retrospect I might have passed by it some more without regret. The first time I went there I had a cold turkey hero. The sandwich I got back was huge, 2 8 inch subs. While they were heavy on bread and lot on substance, for the price it was impressive. They location was still offputting, but worth the occasional stop. My second venture, with a group of 5, resulted in my receiving my sandwich about 45 minutes after everyone else. The chicken parmasan hero was hardly worth the wait being immensely subpar.
Lemongrass is the second middle-of-town restaurant. It’s a desceptively fancy Thai restaurant. The Pad Thai I had was good, but wouldn’t draw me back. I suspect I would have appreciated the place more if I had gotten a spicier dish or the place hadn’t been extremely crowded. It’s very small and somewhat expensive, but it’s the only place in town.
Before hitting Main Street, you’re likely to miss La Bella, a pizza place that was under construction the first year I was here. It’s a very solid pizza place and my second favorite after Rocco’s. The variety is nice and I really should try their deserts, but best of all, it’s extremely fast and well-priced. I’ve never had a reason to complain about the food, the service, or the atmosphere. There’s nothing special about La Bella, but it’s very good and perhaps a bit underappreciated.
Main Street has the majority of the restaurants. Towards the south Murphys and China Kitchen are across from each other. Murphys is an Irish Pub. The fare attempted to go beyond bar food, but despite the fancy names and descriptions it was pretty plain and a tad pricy.
China Kitchen is the second chinese restaurant in town. It’s standard and average, nothing to really recommend or take away. It has a larger sitting area than Great Wall for these inclined to sit.
Main Street proper is home to: P&Gs, McGillicudies, Muddy Cup, Rock Da Pasta, Gourmet, Fat Bob’s, Yanni’s, and Neko Sushi.
P&Gs and McGillicudies are both bars. P&Gs, located on the corner between the library and the road that rolls down to my apartment, is the older, stuffier, more dignified of the two, hence my slight partiality. The somewhat larger selection is still mostly standard bar fare, but it goes a bit beyond with nicoise salads, cajun burgers, and a variety of very delicious wraps. McGillicudies is more popular as a bar and throws a pretty great trivia night, but the food is rather average with little more than bar food and burgers.
Mexicali Blue is next to P&Gs and happens to be one of my favorite places in town. Fair warning, you might die of old age before you get your food, but once you get it, you won’t mind dying. The hole in the wall restaurant has no space, smells like fish, and almost disappears into the wall of shops beside it, but they have an amazing catfish burrito and a number of other more usual taco,burrito fare. I haven’t tried their black bean dip yet, but it’s on the list. On a bright sunny day, there’s not much better than a quick walk along the rail trail, a stop into the Muddy Cup for a smoothie, and then a Mexicali Blue burrito for lunch.
Across the street lies the only-slightly-larger, ‘Rock da Pasta’. Part jukebox ambiance, sixties and seventies rock primarily, and part pasta, Rock da Pasta a delicious and auditory experience tucked into a bedroom sized kitchen+seating. The owner seems friendly, but I still blanche at double digit pricing for pasta dishes. I had some dish named after David Bowie while I was there, so I can suggest that.
Gourmet and Fat Bob’s have the singular destinction of being ‘drunk food’. Adequate by day, both places shine for their late night service, bar side location, and licentious clientele. Gourmet has the best hot wings in town and Fat Bob’s is cheap. Both serve an adequate slive of pizza at a cheap price.
Main Street Bestro is nearly across for Gourmet. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch, but it has a healthy reputation as one of the best places to eat in town. Sadly, this leads to longest waits in town as well. On weekends it is rare not to see a dozen or more people milling outside waiting to be called inside. Those that get past the wait are treated to an expansive menu with a lot of organic, vegetarian, and delicious breakfast/lunch options. The service was surprisingly fast and everything I’ve had there, egg sandwiches, salads, chicken, has been tasty and filling. The prices are average and appreciated.
The Muddy Cup, next to Rock da Pasta, isn’t really a restaurant at all. It’s a coffee shop and local hang out for the various hippies, skaters, and culturals that live in town. They serve a variety of pastries, all decent, and some excellent fruit smoothies. I try to get one every other week or so.
I went to Yanni’s for the first time about a month ago. It’s a Greek place on main street. The atmosphere is a bit cramped and dark, like many of the places on main street, but it has a certain old world charm with the dainty tables, haphazard glasswear (one cup advertized nascar, the other some soccer team?). The waitress spoke greek and suggested I try the pork gyro. About 20 minutes I had a fabulous gyro bursting with lettuce, peppers, pork, a delicious sauce all on a soft and warm gyro wrap. Since then it’s become a new favorite for when I want something other than mexicali blue. Also, the prices are between $6-10 a plate, so it’s cheap as well.
Neko sits on the north corner of main street. The building is hideous. Brown paint, red roof. It looks like it fell off of a slum and landed, half collapsed, at the edge of town. The inside is similarly dark and tacky. Despite the atmosphere the Sushi is impeccable. For $3-12 a roll, a ptron can order dozens of different varieties of sushi, sashimi, and other delicacies. I am especially partial to the new york roll: salmon, apple, and avocado, the budda roll: roasted peanuts and avacado, the shrip tampura roll, and, my favorite, eel. The presentation is simple, clean, and fairly cheap.
The last restaurant is Saruchi’s a bit off of main street near the independant bookstores. It’s an Indian restaurant, one of two. The other I’ve never had. Saruchi’s does it’s best to create a fantasy of india. The waitresses are dressed to the period and there are lounge booths available. Me and my companion decided to take a less adventurous table for our repaste.
Before ordering ‘chips’ were brought out. These ash flavored bits of unknown came with a trio of similarly inedible sauces. Our meals, however, were memorable. Bowls of meat, soupy sauce, and vegetables were delievered with a glass of water, which was quickly used in quenching these packages of spice. The meal was flavorful and filling and well worth the price for any adventurous soul looking for a taste of India. Fair warning, the leftovers did not keep well and I was forced to throw mine out, leaving behind a trail of pungent waste that held in the air for a good few hours.
Route 32 has two restaurants of note, Barnabys and Wrapsody.
I’ve only had breakfast at Barnabys. I was sadly disappointed with my omelette, a rather plump collage of tasteless vegetables wrapping in a slightly overcooked egg wrapping. Nevertheless, the smooth jazz pumping out of the speakers, the old wooden benches and the smartly dressed staff give the place a singularly posh atmosphere. I’ve heard excellent things about the dinners and intend to go there.
I have a love hate relationship with Wrapsody. As the closest restaurant to me I always want to eat there. Sadly, the wraps are just a bit expensive. $6+ for a single wrap is only reasonable when the wrap is very large or sides are provided. With each wrap being a half pencil length and a inch thick, it requires a good two wraps to make a meal. With a drink and or desert the price starts to equal twice what I could get for substantially more at Rocco’s, Yanni’s, or Mexicali Blue. Nevertheless, they occasionally have 2 for 1 specials and the thanksgiving wrap (cranberry, stuffing, gravy covered in turkey) is a treat.
The Gilded Otter is near the Water Street Market. It is probably the preeminent dinner restaurant in town and there is usually a short wait on weekends. There is also live entertainment most friday and saturday nights during the summer. Famous for their large brewery, the Gilded Otter is a cross between a bar restaurant and a genuinely fancy place. The service is well-trained, friendly, and prompt. The restaurant is clean, spacious, and lively. The food, well, it ranges from standard burgers, to the best calamari in town, to the meatload sandwich I am always tempted to have one more time. The steak is cooked to order, the fries transcend the world of bar fries to another plane, and the salads are clever. It’s possibly the best overall dining experience in town and comes at a price comperable to the average Chili’s, Outback, or Applebees.
La Stazione is located within the old railway station that sits opposite Water Street market near the Wallkill River and the Gilded otter. The outdoor seating is quaint and perfect for a late summer afternoon. They light up the candles, which flicker against the evening sky against the backdrop of the Minnewaska mountains. Sadly, that’s the best I can say. La Stazione specializes in italien dishes, all nearing $20 a plate. The meal however was plain, bland, small, and came with the most atrocious service I’ve had in a restaurant in years. When two people are paying over $60 for a meal, I expect to receive my check within an hour. Other people have had far better experiences, but for taste, price and service I’d much rather go to Rock da Pasta or Pasquales.
Leaving town, you may pass the College Diner. It’s a skeevy, sketchy place, but it’s always open. It’s a standard diner and has a wide variety, but nothing is very good or very bad. Infinitely average.
The last restaurant is Caribbean Cuisine. I don’t actually know where it’s located, but I’ve had it delivered. With a menu that sells jaimaican jerk, ox tail, and jamabalya, it’s tough to go wrong. Each dish is accompanied by a healthy side of fried plantains and delicious portions of rice and beans. The food is delicious, though I wonder at what sort of establishment delivers these heavenly packages of heavily spiced taste.
I still need to try Main Course, Beso, Harvest Cafe, Paul’s Kitchen, the pizza place near the card shop, the fish restaurant, Village Pizza, the indian place near Fleet, and a handful of other places. Until this, this is my review of bread and wine in New Paltz, ny!
