TOWN OF KINGSTON, N.Y. >> Off state Route 28 there is a brewing destination spot drawing notice of motorists.
“Eat Drink 28 Gourmet Row,” the signs out front a block of stores proclaim, put there by an entrepreneurial just-formed collective that hopes to cooperate and boost business.
PHOTOS: Eat Drink 28
The creation of “Eat Drink 28” was the brainchild of Eric Childs, owner of KBBK Kombucha & Fermentation Supplies.
Childs moved the shop from Brooklyn to the Route 28 location two years ago.
“With that move, we saw a lot of interesting potential on this really interesting strip that we call Eat Drink 28,” Childs said recently.
Childs added he thought “perhaps there was an opportunity to collaborate and cooperatively work together to create a destination spot.”
Similar business collectives have sprung up throughout the country including New York City and Seattle, Childs added.
“As I started talking to the other business owners, they also had a drive to do something in collaborative fashion,” Childs said.
Besides Childs’ shop, the others in the culinary collective are Blue Mountain Bistro-to-Go, Cheese Louise, The Wine Hutch, La Bella Pasta, and Hookline Fish Co.
Skip Card, owner of Hookline Fish Co. for the past four years, said the idea for the collaborative is an attempt to create a brand, save on costs such as for billboards and other advertising, and perhaps even on plowing charges.
Card sells a variety of salmon cuts including Salmon Belly, Tails, Primos, Fat Boys, and Fingerlings. He also boasts smoked salmon pate, chowder and quiche.
“It (the collective) was designed to say that there are unique stores here on Route 28 in Ulster County that is unlike anything else,” Card said in a recent interview. “
“If you are passing by you are probably on your way to somewhere else,” said Card, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West and has a house in Mount Tremper. “We want to get people to realize what they are passing up.”
Card said that the fact people can park anywhere at the strip and get a variety of foods and drink -including smoked salmon, fresh pasta, wine, gourmet take-out, and kombucha- “just blows people away.”
Card said it was a good time to build the promotional effort.
“I think we see a good number of people moving into this area for several reasons and one is the Hudson Valley appreciates good food,” Card said.
Card said the reason for small business start-ups in Ulster Count by New York City entrepreneurs rather than in the city is not difficult to understand.
“When I was deciding on New York City or Ulster County the costs for opening up a business in Ulster County was so much cheaper,” Card said. “It was a no-brainer.”
Richard Erickson, co-owner of Blue Mountain Bistro-To-Go, said the business owners had a number of meetings on the Eat Drink 28 concept.
Blue Mountain Bistro-To-Go has been at the location for the past 10 years. On its website, the gourmet take-out says the “mission at Blue Mountain Bistro-to-Go is to provide delicious food that meets the highest standards of quality, freshness and seasonality.”
“We had several meetings and numerous emails and conversations before deciding on ‘Eat Drink 28,'” Erickson said in an email. “Mary Anne (his wife) drew on her background as an illustrator, artist and graphic designer to give it all a ‘look,’ which we all voted on.”
Erickson said the creation of the destination spot will feature “several events throughout the year featuring our products.
“We also plan to band together for advertising giving us more visibility and hopefully create awareness of our location as a destination for good food and drink, all from homegrown businesses.”
Erickson said that the business also might try something else.
“We might also band together for booths in farm markets or other food-related events in the Hudson Valley,” Erickson said. “Really we’re just getting started and I’m sure many more ideas to raise awareness of our businesses and what we’re up to will come.”
RECIPE: Spanakopita (aka Spinach Pie)
Ingredients:
2 cups crumbled feta cheese;
2 Tbs. flour;
1 cup chopped onion;
10 oz. frozen spinach;
3 Tbs. butter;
5 eggs;
1 Tbs. dried oregano;
Salt and pepper;
1/2 pound of butter;
1 package of phyllo dough.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cook the onions in the three tablespoons of butter. Lightly salt and pepper the onions, saute until translucent.
Meanwhile, drain and ring out the spinach. Now combine the cooked onions, spinach, feta cheese, flour, eggs and oregano in a bowl.
To assemble, have a 9″-by-13″ baking pan and pastry brush on hand.
Melt 1/2 pound of butter and brush the sides and bottom of pan generously with it. Lay a phyllo sheet in the pan and up the sides of the pan, brush the dough with butter and continue this process with eight more phyllo sheets.
Next, add the filling, smooth it out until filling is even. Continue stacking the rest of the filo dough. Make sure to butter generously between each sheet.
There will be excess filo dough around the edges of the pan. Fold it over, making it clean-looking.
Place the spanakopita in your preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the top of the spanakopita is golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Recipe from Cheese Louise
RECIPE: Tomato-Corn Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
1 crusty baguette or peasant-style bread, cubed;
1 qt. milk, buttermilk, half and half or a combo;
4 eggs;
1 heaping cup grated cheddar or jack cheese;
1 large Spanish onion, diced;
2 tablespoons chopped garlic;
2 tablespoons fresh thyme or sage;
4 tablespoons butter;
1 large beefsteak tomatoes, diced;
2 large beefsteak tomatoes thinly sliced;
4 large ears of corn;
Salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
Butter or oil a 13-by-9-by-2″ inch baking dish. Cube the bread, (stale bread works the best). Whisk together the milk, eggs, and cheese and pour over the bread in a mixing bowl along with the diced tomatoes and garlic.
Allow to soak while you complete the other tasks.
While the bread is soaking, shuck the corn, remove silk, and slice the kernels off the cob. In a saute pan cook the diced onions with salt, pepper and half the minced herbs in butter until translucent. Now add the corn, salt and pepper and stir for a few more minutes.
Add this to the mixing bowl with the bread tomato mix, stir, then pour into your baking dish. Take the thinly sliced tomatoes and cover the top, seasoning lightly with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, and the remainder of the fresh herbs. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
This dish can be prepared a day ahead and then baked. It also re-heats very well.
Serves eight.
Chef Richard Erickson, co-owner of Bistro-To-Go
