This was formerly Ca Mea, which was very good, but Via Cassia is on a different level. Unfortunately the menu is quite limited, but the food is superb.
Dishes we had:
Porchetta tonnato (a variation on vitello tonnato, but so much better)
We absolutely loved Julia’s, a small place with simple decor, in an out-of-the-way location (25-minute drive from Hudson) and is only open Wednesday through Saturday. The food is French-American with Scandinavian influences. Dishes are very creative, and the menu is extensive enough that you could eat there often without repeating choices. All vegetables come from their own garden, and most meat and fish is locally sourced.
Dishes we had:
Rainbow trout tartare
Cured venison
Grilled mocha-marinated rainbow trout
Short-rib Bourgignon
We also got 2 quarts of soup to take home, split pea with smoked ham and trout chowder with trout dumplings.
Service is included in the prices. With wine and tax our total was $207.
A 10-minute drive from the center of Hudson, this is a distillery where they grow everything they use to make brandies. They recently opened a high-end restaurant, where the decor, view and food are spectacular. I took a few photos but unfortunately they disappeared.
As with too many restaurants these days, the menu is very limited. I hope they will expand and change it more often, as the food was delicious. We were three for dinner, and these are the dishes we tried:
Oeuf mayonnaise
Chicken liver mousse
Duck breast
Pork chop au poivre
Crispy potatoes
Plum tart
Chocolate semifreddo
Almond cake
A bottle of Rioja Reserva was a good deal at $70, only about twice retail.
A 20% “operating charge” is added to the bill. Total for the three of us was $400.
We picked up a rental car in Savannah and drove to Charleston, where we began with lunch on our way to Drayton Hall, one of the plantations along Ashley River Road.
Betty Lou’s Bistro:
This is an unassuming little place in a strip mall down the road from several plantations. It was a convenient place to stop, but also happened to be very good. We both had burgers, topped with bacon, pimento cheese and caramelized onions, served with very good fries. I had a grapefruit soda and Stanley had peach. They also have a large selection of craft beers. The total was $56.
This is a 1738 house that has never had plumbing or electricity, despite the great wealth of its owners. It is also one of very few that survived the civil war intact.
After the tour, we drove into Charleston and settled into our hotel, the Church Street Inn.
This is a boutique hotel with duplex suites. We had a large living room, full kitchen, a massive bedroom, 1 and 1/2 baths, and a huge walk-in closet.
Saturday evening we celebrated Stanley’s birthday at a very special restaurant, the c. 1886 House. The restaurant is in the former stables of what was the Rogers House, but has been turned into a luxury hotel called the Wentworth Mansion as it is located on Wentworth Street. They serve 2 different 5-course tasting menus, so we ordered one of each and shared all the dishes.
Everything was spectacular; food, service, cocktails, and wine were just phenomenal. The five-course tasting was perfectly paced so it was filling without being overwhelming. Our only regret is that this would likely be so far above any other meal we would have.
Here is the wine I chose:
At $85 it was reasonable, between 2 and 3 times retail.
We also had a glass each of Iniskillin ice wine with dessert at $16 a glass.
The total with tax and tip was $540, which may seem like a lot, but if we could find a comparable meal in New York it likely be near double that.
We visited 2 plantations, with a lunch in between. We began in the morning with Middleton Place.
This is not the original house. It was built in 1755 as offices and guest quarters but converted to a house after the other houses on the property were destroyed in the civil war. Photography is not permitted inside the house.
Below is the restaurant, where we had brunch today. The food was excellent. I had shrimp and grits, and it was infinitely better than the version Stanley had at the Pirate’s House in Savannah. He had eggs with bacon and roasted potatoes. With iced teas, tax and tip, the total was $61.
After lunch we drove down the road to Magnolia Plantation.
As with Middleton Place, this was not the original house. Most of that was destroyed in the civil war. A small part was left intact and turned into a 4-room cottage. The rest was added in the late 1800’s to create what we see today. Photography is not permitted inside the house.
Back in Charleston, we had dinner at the Charleston Grill, located in the Charleston Place hotel.
Due to a flood in the main restaurant, they were serving in the “Palmetto Grill”, which was very nice anyway. The food was phenomenal, pretty much the same quality and creativity we experienced the previous night at the c. 1886 House, but we ordered less food. I started with squab and then had venison. Stanley started with seared foie gras and then had the squab as his main course. We had a wonderful bottle of wine from the Alto Adige. It was quite a bargain at $50 as it was a 2017, no longer available in stores, but the 2020 is retailing for $30, so the markup was extremely low.
Unfortunately my interior photos were unusable. We enjoyed this place very much. Atmosphere, food and service were great.
Stanley had 2 appetizers, fried chicken livers and grilled sea scallops. I had deviled eggs and then lamb chops set on wild mushroom & crème fraîche orzo pasta, with sautéed spinach & cipollini onions, in a rosemary-lingonberry lamb jus. This was especially delicious. For dessert we shared pumpkin tiramisu. I chose a bottle of Frog’s Leap Zinfandel, which typically retails for close to $40. The restaurant only charges $68, a good deal.
Next we visited the Nathaniel Russell house. This one was spectacular, beautifully restored and by far the best restoration we have seen in Charleston. The furnishings were not original to the house but were carefully chosen to reflect the type of things the owners would have collected, and were of supremely high quality.
The paint colors and decorative architectural elements were an exact replica of what the original owner had.
We both had the she-crab soup (award-winning, so they say). We thought it was good but not outstanding, and it seemed to be thickened with cornstarch, which seemed strange. Stanley had a roast pork sandwich, which he liked. I had jambalaya, which was pretty good, but again not great. We had peach sodas, which I think are house-made and were very tasty. The bill with tax and tip came to $101.
After lunch, we toured the last house of the day, and the last of our trip to Charleston, the Heywood-Washington house. The owners were the Heywards, but George Washington once visited, so his name was added.
The food here was excellent. Stanley started with a charcuterie platter, then had grilled scallops. I began with stuffed quail and then shrimp and grits (not quite as good as the version I had at Middleton Place, but nonetheless praiseworthy. For dessert we shared banana cream pie. A bottle of Ridge “3 Valleys” 2021 zinfandel was well-priced at $70. With cocktails, tax and tip, the total was $230.
We arrived in Savannah after an overnight train trip, where we had a lovely dinner in the dining car and a not very comfortable sleep in our roomette, due to the poor condition of the tracks which caused the train to shake. Overall not such a bad trip and we arrived on time at 7 AM.
We took an uber to the Marshall House, which is a beautifully restored 19th century hotel in the center of town on Broughton Street. The room was very comfortable and the included breakfast quite good.
We set out to see 3 historic houses but only managed to make it to 2 of them that day.
This was a very interesting tour, and a fairly long one. We then had a late lunch at the Pirate’s House (forgot to take photos). I had a crab melt and Stanley had shrimp and grits. It was classic southern cooking and done well. With iced teas, tax and tip, the total was $54.
We were tired and decided to skip seeing a third house in favor of a nap back at the hotel. At 6:30 they serve wine and cheese in the beautiful library, and that night there was a harpist performing.
That evening we had dinner at Chive Sea Bar, which was just a block over. It’s very comfortable and the food was outstanding.
I started with she-crab soup, which was absolutely fabulous, and Stanley had a very nice shrimp cocktail. Then I had striped bass with a red curry sauce, and he had a giant crab cake on top of fried green tomatoes. With cocktails and a bottle of rose, the bill came to $231.
Thursday, 9/26
After a good night’s sleep we had breakfast and waited for the rain to slow down. This was the only seriously rainy day. Luckily by late morning the rain slowed somewhat, and we headed over to the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace. She was the founder of the Girl Scouts, and they now own the house.
After lunch we visited the Telfair Art Museum, which was originally a grand private house owned by the Telfair family.
Back to the hotel for wine and cheese. There was also a trivia quiz.
Dinner was at the Olde Pink House.
This one lived up to its reputation. The service was excellent, as was the food.
To start, we shared an order of she-crab soup, as the server suggested it could easily feed two. It was very good, though not quite as rousing as the one I had at Chive the previous night. Stanley had a very good pork tenderloin and I had a fried pork chop.
With a bottle of a 2021 garnacha, tax and tip, the total was $179.
We had intended to visit 3 houses, but were only able to see 2. There was a severe windstorm during the night, causing power outages and downed trees, so some houses were closed or late to open. the same was true for restaurants, though the one we planned to eat at was open. The Andrew Low house was not open, but here is a photo:
It’s said to be very grand on the inside, but the exterior looks rather austere, and a bit rundown.
Thinking the other 2 houses were also closed, we had lunch, but on the way, we passed the Sorrel-Weed house, and it had opened, so we planned on stopping back after lunch.
The Public Kitchen:
I had a smoked salmon BLT, which was delicious. Stanley has a gyro, which was unexciting. With an iced tea, a grapefruit soda, tax and tip, the total was $57.
After that, we crossed the street to get a photo of the Green-Meldrim house, and were pleasantly surprised to find it too had opened, and we were able to catch a tour.
Even though it faces the river, there are only a few tables that look at windows on the river. However, it matters little, because the view is quite uninteresting. The food was pretty good, though I can’t say exceptional.
Stanley had a salad with riesling poached pears, blue cheese, pecans and arugula, and for the main course, fried flounder. He liked it all. I had she-crab soup to start. It was very good, similar to the one I had at the Pink House, but neither of these compared to the one at Chive. For my main course, I had 2 appetizers, a crab cake and fried green tomatoes. The crab cake was quite good, and the tomatoes were also but the portion was so big I couldn’t finish them. We had cocktails and a bottle of a very full-bodied rose from the Rhone valley. The bill with tax and tip was $224.
That completes our visit to Savannah. We departed for Charleston on Saturday for a 4-day stay. I will be posting another report on that.
Frustrated by several recent restaurant closings in and around Hudson, we searched for some places within a half-hour drive or so. I checked out several in Rhinebeck and found that most were quite expensive and not necessarily particularly interesting. Gigi was a notable exception. The menu was not only interesting, with a good number of choices, it was also reasonably priced. The wine list turned out to be quite reasonable as well.
We’ve now been there twice. Standout dishes were:
Fried oysters (a special when I had them, now added to the regular menu)
We arrived from Amiens in the late afternoon and took an Uber to Ana and Bertrand’s in La Varenne.
After settling in, we drove into Paris to have dinner at Hectar in the 9th, (Bertrand refuses to take the train) and after much difficulty finding it, attempted to park in the garage that was nearest to the restaurant, but it was full. Bertrand was annoyed and didn’t know what else to do, so he dropped us and Ana off at the restaurant and went home.
Fortunately for him, he didn’t miss anything, as the food was terribly disappointing. Service was not great either, as the small staff seemed overwhelmed.
This was Stanley’s birthday dinner, and I had chosen the restaurant after much careful research. The atmosphere was nice, and it was filled with presumably happy customers. We couldn’t understand why it reminded me of last year’s experience at Le Mazenay (see last year’s Paris posts).
The quail starters that Stanley and Ana had were adequate, but not in any way special. We’ve had much better, including the ones Stanley prepares himself. I had soupe au pistou, which was just ordinary bland vegetable soup.
For main courses, Stanley had cassoulet, which was absolutely awful, a bowl of undercooked beans with tough meats. Cassoulet should be cooked for many hours, even days, for the beans and meat to soften and the flavors to meld. It’s not a difficult dish to make. This one was not at all what it should have been. Stanley makes a much better version himself. Ana and I had a special of colvert, which is a wild duck. I’ve had excellent versions of it in other restaurants, particularly Le Radis Beurre, but this one was poorly executed, with a skin so tough it had to be cut off and put aside. The meat wasn’t bad but just uninteresting.
For dessert, they had figs topped with whipped cream, which weren’t bad, but again nothing imaginative. I had “chocolate mousse”, which I put in quotes because it was not a mousse at all, more like a bowl of chocolate sauce.
Only the wine was satisfying and well-priced.
For the 3 of us, the bill was 211 euros.
Saturday, 9/30
We took a day trip to Moret-sur-Loing and Fontainebleau, about an hour’s drive from La Varenne.
Moret-sur-Loing is a charming and well-preserved medieval village, famous for being the home of the impressionist painter Alfred Sisley.
After touring the village, we had lunch in Fontainebleau at Fuumi.
This is a Japanese restaurant owned by the chef of Axel, the neighboring restaurant, which has a Michelin star and is, according to Ana and Bertrand, wonderful. Fuumi was a mixed bag. Sashimi was excellent, as was the udon noodles with ground meat and the gyozas. A main course of pork belly with noodles was also very tasty, but the fried chicken was too heavy with batter, and the chicken was overcooked. They use white meat, and it really would be better if done with dark meat.
Overall, pretty good but not worth a detour.
We bought a cake for Sunday’s dinner at Dardonville, which is known for wonderful desserts.
After lunch we visited Alex and Marie, Ana and Bertrand’s son and his wife, who have a 16-month old baby, Amelia, who we were meeting for the first time, at their lovely house in Samois-sur-Seine, just a block from a back entrance to the chateau of Fontainebleau. We had coffee and a delicious cheesecake souffle that Ana had bought at the patisserie adjacent to the restaurant and under the same ownership.
Back to La Varenne briefly, Stanley and I then took the train into Paris to have dinner at Le Servan, an Asian-influenced French restaurant in the 11th. It is owned by 2 sisters who are French-Phillipine.
The cuisine is very imaginative. I started with a tartare of veal, and Stanley had a salad of pig’s ears. Main courses were echine de cochon (a very tender cut from the upper back of the pig, done to a perfect medium-rare) and a raviole (we can’t remember what it was stuffed with, but it was wonderful._For dessert, I had a coupe glacee with berries and he had clafouti. With wine, the total was 141 euros.
Sunday is the day we spend at home when we visit Ana and Bertrand, having a main meal in the afternoon and a lighter supper in the evening. We went to the farmers’ market in the morning and bought a chicken, which Stanley cooked. It’s a recipe we’ve been making recently that is simple and wonderful, roasted with butter, tarragon and cognac. We also picked up some rabbit terrine for an appetizer. Dessert was a cake we bought in Fontainebleau at Dardonville (famous for wonderful cakes), incorporating several layers of different mousses, including raspberry and pistachio, covered with a raspberry glaze. The weather was beautiful so we ate on the terrace facing the river.
Bertrand made the evening meal, salmon trout and potatoes. It was still warm enough to eat outside.
Monday, 10/2
Almost all museums are closed on Monday, but we did find one open, the Grand Palais Immersif, next door to the Bastille Opera, which had an Alphonse Mucha exhibit, so we planned to see it in the afternoon. We took it easy in the morning and set off for Paris to have lunch at Le Radis Beurre, a longtime favorite of ours.
I had the appetizer I always order there, the pigs feet, and Stanley had head cheese. His main course was sweetbreads, and mine was colvert, same as I had last year. It was way better than the one I had at Hectar the previous Friday. We shared a dessert of rice pudding, and a bottle of a really great Vacqueyras. The bill was 136 euros.
We loved the Mucha exhibit, but I didn’t take any photos as it is not the actual art but projections on walls. It was a very innovative concept. Trust me that it is very worth seeing.
We had time to kill before dinner at Jeanne Aimee, so we had pina coladas at a nearby café, arriving at Jeanne Aimee for our 7:30 reservation.
The chef is French but uses many Japanese ingredients, making for some very interesting flavors and textures.
They now offer only a tasting menu, which we normally don’t care for, but this one was an exception. Unfortunately I didn’t get a printed menu and the descriptions of the dishes were complicated. There was a menu on the website, which only varied slightly from what we had, but it’s not showing up now. It only shows the lunch menu, but maybe they will correct that.
Beware of the sommelier pushing wine pairings, as they are expensive and what I saw him pouring at neighboring tables was nothing special. We ordered a bottle of a light red that went well with everything, for 49 euros.
Again we left in late morning to have lunch, this time at Brigade du Tigre, an Asian fusion small-plates restaurant.
We ordered 4 plates and 2 sides, starting with a raviole of chicken, crawfish and rice and duck tartare, then fried chicken and noodles with meat and seafood, with sides of rice and kimchi. The food was very interesting and tasty. With a bottle of rose, the bill was 91 euros.
Afterward we took a boat cruise on the Canal St. Martin and the Seine. It took two and a half hours, most of which was on the canal.
The guide was very informative and described everything in both French and English. Note that you must book this tour in advance and not all days are available. We managed to get a reservation only a day ahead but this is not always the case.
Again we had time before dinner, so we had cocktails at Le Mabillon on Boulevard St. Germain.
Dinner was at Le Sergent Recruteur, where we had lunch last year and were very impressed.
This time the menu was almost exactly the same. We both began with foie gras, which was excellent, and a generous portion. Stanley had chicken and I had grouper, both very good but not exceptional. We shared a chocolate dessert. With an excellent bottle of 2013 Cahors (62 euros) , the total was 247 euros.
Left for home. We were notified the previous day that our United flight was being cancelled, and they were going to book us on the same flight the following day. We were not happy about this, so I was able to get them to put us on a Lufthansa flight, but it meant having to change in Frankfurt, and arrive in Newark 6 hours later than the original flight. At least we were able to get home the same day, and the flight was pleasant enough.
