Julian and I were in Hudson, looking at all the great antique shops and modern furniture stores (we love dreaming of the future), when we decided we were really hungry. In search of a great place, we looked at Le Gamin Country, an adorable little french cafe. It had a really sweet inside that transported you to France, but as we stood in the entrance way, waiting for a waitress to seat us, a woman came over and very rudely said it would be a while to seat us. There were clearly many tables available. Her rudeness excited me and I thought, “just like France!!,” but Julian was upset by her behavior and thought it be better if we left. It’s funny because usually I am the more sensitive one to rude waitresses, but this time Julian was. We walked past the green, where the chic stores end, and saw a sign that said local burgers and fries!, so we walked a bit further.
We came to a diner, that I thought couldn’t be the place that served local foods, but it was! What a great idea to turn a cute old diner into a modern restaurant! We were swiftly greeted by a host and given a menu and information about the local farms that supply their food. I wanted to get a milkshake and thought $4.50 was a bit expensive (the large is $8.50!), but thought nothing of it since it was local milk and home-made ice cream. When it came out, it was little more than a shot’s worth. It seemed like our waitress was new and that is why there was about another glass of ice cream in the container, but if there hadn’t been, I would have refused it. I cannot understand why this would ever cost so much. It was a little ridiculous.
Then, I couldn’t decide which burger to order only because some of them seemed so expensive. The Cowboy (Over Easy Egg, Artisanal Cheese, and Country Ham) was $14.95. The cheese I chose for it was Hawthorne Valley Raw Milk Cheddar (a cheese my dad buys from Hawthorne). Julian had The Bello (Portobello cap, Grilled Eggplant and Red Onion, Buttermilk Aioli, Greens and Tomato on an Organic Bun). When mine came out, Julian and I both felt like it could hardly be worth $15. It was the size of a slider. The burger itself was okay (we had to ask for ketchup), and the fries were excellent, but I think overall we felt jipped. I am all for buying local, but even so, I felt the food was overpriced. Overall, I felt like my money was spent well, for a good cause, and this calmed my nerves about spending so much. But I think Julian just felt annoyed that they could have charged so much for food that was only okay.
Grazin’
717 Warren St
Hudson, NY 12534
Phone: 518.828.2131
http://grazindiner.com/index.html
