Living in Hudson, we are fortunate to be surrounded by so many restaurants offering the bounty of the Hudson Valley. However, one can easily take for granted the culinary expertise we have right around the corner. Crowds on the summer and fall weekends may be intimidating, but why wait? Why not make Wednesday a special night out?
The Maker’s restaurant and conservatory offer a warm, inviting, and quiet environment with a menu filled with exceptional food, and prices inline with other local restaurants.
The Maker’s Head Chef, Alex Napolitano
Originally from northern New Jersey, Alex Napolitano now lives in Germantown with his wife and young son. He spent much of his early adult life enrolled in a small culinary school in Italy and was a line cook in a top-rated Michelin star Italian restaurant. When he returned to the United States, he brought with him not only the techniques he learned in Italy, but also the spirit and essence of Italian cooking. Ask anyone who visited Italy, and they will tell you, food is not just about nourishment, it is a way of life. The skillful and thoughtful preparation, as well as the freshness of the ingredients, make Italian cooking unique.
Alex recalls, when working in Italy, “I remember the fishermen, still with sand on their boots, would walk into the restaurant with bags of clams. We served the clams the same night.”
Back in New York, Alex finds the same level of freshness. “The Hudson Valley has some of the best bounty of products in the US. I think we have some of the highest quality of produce available, right here, around us.”
Since the Hudson Valley has such distinct seasons, Alex’s menu can reflect regional Italian cuisine variety. “I can travel up and down the boot of Italy throughout the year. In the colder months, I focus on northern Italian and Alpine recipes, and as the spring and summer comes in, we travel south through Campagna and Emilia-Romagna until the height of summer, when we are down in Sicily and Puglia. The Hudson Valley has many growing seasons aligned with those regions.”
The Food
“The Hudson Valley is known for its incredible farms and farmers, considered second to none.” says Alex, “I source almost all my proteins from local family farms as well – beef, pork, lamb, even the poultry comes from a family-owned farm in Livingston Manor. I use the best that I can get locally, which happens to be exceptional.”
Everything served at the Maker is hand-made, prepared in house or baked at their sister location, the Bartlett House. Alex explains, “All pasta, dried and filled, is made by hand, by us. All the meats are braised by us. Everything you see has been thoughtfully and artfully prepared by scratch, by me and my staff.”
The Exceptional Eggplant Terrine
When it comes to hand-made dishes, few top the exceptional eggplant terrine. It is probably Alex Napolitano’s most successful dish.
“When I first made it,” says Alex, “I thought it might be a little too weird for people, but it turned out to be the dish that I can never, ever, take off the menu, not even for a day! It is everyone’s favorite dish, and after the first time, they come back for more.”
“The eggplant terrine is very labor intensive,” he explains, “but at the same time, a simple construction with familiar flavors. It’s an eggplant parm turned on its head with ingredients and flavors you are not expecting.”
The process starts with the eggplant sliced thinly, drenched in flour, flash-fried, then cooled and dried. Alex’s staff layer the eggplant – in many, many layers – with San Marzano tomatoes and parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
The layers are then baked and as they cool, pressed with steel hotel pans. The terrine is portioned and placed on a skewer to form a block. For service, it is seared on all sides, plated on whipped ricotta with marinated tomatoes and a surprise Calabrian chili crisp – a condiment Alex and his sous chef worked on for weeks.
Alex explains, “The Calabrian chili crisp is exceptionally delicious. It was inspired by Asian chili crisp, but with Italian ingredients to create a savory, sweet, deep and dark spicy condiment. It’s got texture, power, and smoke. The chili crisp is coupled with marinated tomatoes and whipped ricotta cheese served alongside the eggplant terrine.”
Make a Reservation
Osso bucco ravioli
“We are a neighborhood restaurant.” says Alex. “Our pricing is not very different than any other restaurant in town. Our offerings are not too esoteric to have, even once a week. You can have a glass of wine and a simple pasta or a burger with fries and a beer, and it can be your Wednesday night spot.”
The Maker Restaurant is open every day of the week, 5-9:30pm at 302 Warren Street. If you want to avoid the crowds, the best time is mid-week, especially before the summer season starts. You can make a reservation here.