» Barn Notes

Here are just a few of the local restaurants that we recommend.  Click the restaurant names that appear in red to read our own reviews.

Stissing House in Pine Plains, NY - (518) 398-8800 www.stissinghouse.com

Aurelia in Millbrook, NY - (845) 677-4720

The Bottle Tree in Ancram, NY (518) 329-0444   www.thebottletree.net

Manna Dew in Millerton, NY - (518) 789-3570  www.mannadew.com

Lia’s Mountainview in Pine Plains - (518) 398-7311 www.liasmountainview.com

The Red Devon in Bangal, NY - (845) 868-3175  www.reddevonrestaurant.com

Mercato in Red Hook, NY - (845) 758-5879

Rouge Restaurant & Bistro, West Stockbridge, MA - (413) 232-4111 www.rougerestaurant.com

Aroi Thai Restaurant in Rhinebeck - (845) 876-1114  www.aroirestaurant.com

Gigi’s Trattoria in Rhinebeck - (845) 876-1007 www.gigitrattoria.com

Arielle Bistro in Rhinebeck - (845) 876-5666   www.ariellebistro.com

The Rhinecliff Hotel in Rhinecliff, NY  - (845) 876-0590 www.therhinecliff.com/dining.html

The Old Mill in South Egremont, MA - (413) 528-1421

The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA - (413) 298-5545  www.redlioninn.com/rli/dining.html

Cafe Adam in Gt. Barrington, MA - (413) 528-7786   www.cafeadam.org/

Local 111 in Philmont, NY - (518) 672-7801  www.local111.com/

Swoon Kitchenbar in Hudson, NY - (518) 822-8938   www.swoonkitchenbar.com/

A new twist on Charles Dickens’ classic tale featuring Scrooge, the Cratchits, Tiny Tim, some unusual ghosts and your favorite holiday carols!

MAKE IT A FAMILY CHRISTMAS! The CENTER is pleased to offer a special family package. Buy 1 Adult ticket, get 1 ticket FREE for children 18 and under! The family package must be purchased through our box office - call (845) 876-3080 to order.

For more information and other holiday productions visit their website:  http://www.centerforperformingarts.org/

Join us at Hammertown Rhinebeck & The Barn in Pine Plains this Monday Night!!!

Rhinebeck will be open until 8:00 pm and The Barn will be open until 7:30 to give you even more time to shop for everyone on your list.

To make your shopping experience even more enjoyable, we’ll serving prosecco for sipping as well as some delicious local cheese from who else but The Amazing Real Live Food Co.

No matter which location you choose, our staff, as always, will be there to help you find the perfect gift and we’ll wrap it beautifully, too!

See you Monday!

American craftsmanship at its very best!

These boards are favorites of mine at Hammertown.  I have sold Ed Wohl’s boards for over 15 years.  They’re handmade in America with superb craftsmanship in Birdseye maple.

Each is precision-shaped and hand-beveled for graceful shape and balance.  Individually hand-sanded and finished to a sensual silkiness, each board is an art object designed to add aesthetic and utilitarian pleasure to your daily life.

It’s a piece of art that stands the test of time.  Combine it with some of The Amazing Real Live Food Company’s cheese and you’ll have given a holiday gift to remember for years to come.  Or, remember it for wedding or engagement gifts.

Priced from $106 for the 14″ Round Board to

$130 for the 16″ Board.

Rory Chase at work. (Photo from Rural Intelligence)

AND…he’s making it right here in Ancramdale AND Hammertown is going to be selling Amazing Real Live Food Co. cheese at the Barn this week!

You know how much we love supporting local farmers and businesses — and it’s easy to do when something is this good!  Cheesemaker, Rory Chase (who grew up in Pine Plains), and his best friend & business partner, Peter Dessler (a graduate of the Culinary Institute) have built The Amazing Real Live Food Co. into a food force to be reckoned with.  The Fresh-Herbed Farmers Cheeses are delectable and the Chaseholm Camembert is truly out of this world…and “world-class”!  Clearly, we believe in this product…we’ve been featuring Amazing Real Live Food cheeses at almost all of our Hammertown events.

As if that’s not enough, this cheese is actually GOOD FOR YOU, too!

“My seven years on the West Coast left my palette changed.”  says cheesemaker extraordinaire, Rory Chase.  “The communities I was living in had a high regard for fermented foods, and the more i learned about the microbiology of these processes, the synergistic effects between the organsims (yeasts and bacteria: “the good ones”) who do much of the pre-digesting and human health and nutrition, and the nature of the auto-intoxication of pathenogenic organisms (yeasts & bacteria: “the bad ones”), the more clearly I could see a role for myself as a maker of food, one whose focus is on feeding people well while at the same time delivering a vital dose of “good bacteria and yeasts”.  Remember the majority of the cells in our body are actually bacterium living in our g.i. tract.”  Sounds complicated.  All we know is we love this cheese and so will you!

So…here’s the deal: We will be selling cheeses from The Amazing Real Live Food Co. this weekend at The Barn in Pine Plains. (Descriptions of cheeses appear below.) You can place your order on line by emailing joan@hammertown.com, give us your credit card number and it will be ready for you to pick up.  You can also call Joan to reserve (518.398.7075).  WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND contacting us by Friday evening to ensure availability of the cheese you want.  We’ve already been making gorgeous and tasty gift baskets for holiday giving with these delicious artisan cheeses.  We add the basket, a plate, cocktail napkins, a cheese knife, the cheese (of course) and whatever else you want to include.  We package it up beautifully for you and voila….it’s a wonderful local Hudson Valley Gift!

Visit www.amazingreallive.com to find more about this wonderful cheese that EVERYBODY is raving about (also check out this article about Rory and his cheese at Rural Intelligence!)

Yes, Hammertown loves this cheese and we love Rory and Peter — the men behind the cheese.