Nine New Reasons to Head Upstate for Dinner in New York

People used to head to upstate New York for historic architecture and views of open farmland. Now they’re going to eat. The region that unfolds north of New York City has become a dining destination as chefs and operators escape the pressures, prices and soaring rents of the Big Apple and immerse themselves in orange-yolked farm eggs, sun-warmed produce and abundant local dairy products.

Some notable hospitality names are part of the migration. Architect-developer Taavo Somer, the force behind downtown New York City fixtures like Freemans, has opened Little Goat, a country-style cafe and bakery in Rhinebeck, a few towns north of his Inness hotel in the Hudson Valley. This spring, Brent Young launched an outpost of Brooklyn’s acclaimed butcher shop the Meat Hook in Hudson; now he’s using it to supply his new Hudson Diner up the street. Another recent transplant is James Bailey, formerly of Brooklyn’s beloved the Long Island Bar, who moved to Margaretville and recast an old dive bar as a snug neighborhood spot, Rae’s.