Headed to the Farm with Stops along the Way!

Jon, Joe and I arrived at JFK airport yesterday where Eric picked us up and took us to Grand Central Station (GCS). We found Eric’s Car Service (Drive NY) via Craig’s List. He was very professional and actually less expensive than a taxi. Plus it was a much more comfortable ride.

After meeting up with friends at GCS we headed to Grand Central Market where an outpost of Murray’s Cheese Shop is located. We purchased some fines cheeses, charcuterie (can’t get enough sausage having now taken a class) and a great bottle of Pinot Noir (screw top variety , since airport security still does not allow corkscrews) for the train trip to Tarrytown., NY. From there we rented a car and headed up to Duchess County.

GPS led us to Millbrook Vineyard & Winery for a vineyard tour and wine tasting. Afterward it was a quick trip to our Econo Lodge in Poughkeepsie for 5 minutes of R & R as we had 7:30p dinner reservations at the Escoffier Restaurant, part of the Culinary Institute of America campus.

Even though the restaurant is run by students (and that evening they happened to be less than 24 hours from graduation) the dinner and entire experience was top notch.

Looking out over the Hudson River, the CIA was a former Jesuit Seminary. Having gone to college at a Benedictine Seminary, it’s no wonder that a campus such as this feels so familiar.

Check back to see what we enjoyed for dinner and how we spent the rest of the week.