Visiting Hudson: Part 1 - Swoon Kitchenbar

This past Saturday I took a nice drive down towards Hudson to meet up with my twin. Going a couple of weeks without seeing her is like living without my left hand...impossible! So we set a time, picked a place, and our twin time began! Caitlyn is everything BUT a morning person and even though we met at 11am she still demanded a caffeine fix before we even started to catch up! And so we went to The Cascades...Cait ordered herself a cappuccino and I opted for a latte.

I also picked up a couple of adorable greeting cards, which I think were made locally.

After the caffeine, we started with brunch at the Swoon KitchenBar.

I instantly fell in love with this place as soon as I opened the door and stepped inside. 

 

After about 15 minutes of catching up, Caitlyn and I decided on one thing we wanted to start with... the wine.

 

It took us another 15 minutes to decide what we wanted to put in our bellies. Our waitress, Erica, informed us that Swoon KitchenBar's menu is constantly changing with new, exciting, and fresh food all the time! I love that they keep their restaurant current with fabulously creative & seasonal plates... but there are so many yummy options that I don't want them to go away before I get to try them!

Anywho...Cait and I decided to order and

split four different plates.

First up, Cheese platter!

You should already know me by now and realize I can't choose just one cheese as my favorite. They were all delicious and creamy and superb in their own special way. The cheese platter was presented in a simple yet appealing manner with crostinis lined up just waiting to be smothered with fruit preserves and three types of cheese: The Lazy Lady Blue (left) from Lazy Lady Farm in Vermont Hudson Red (middle) from Pampered Cow Creamery in Philmont, NY. And, Giselle (right) form Leonardsville, NY.

 

We had one quick bite, then the rest of our food arrived so we saved the cheese platter for last!

Bacon wrapped dates with maple syrup. These tiny bundles of joy were out of this world! A majority of the time I order anything wrapped in bacon it tends to be rather fatty...but this was not the case!

Even drenched in maple syrup the bacon remained perfectly crisp which made this dish even more delightful. I think the sweetness from the maple syrup could have made this little dish a nice perfect dessert!

Roasted beet salad with local goat cheese and baby lettuce.

There is just something to be said about goat cheese and beets getting all tangled up with greens...I think they should create the first food marriage....just saying.

House Cured Gravlax with poached eggs, crispy potatoes, and baby lettuce. This dish definitely hit the spot and they were so generous with the salmon!

Saving the cheese for last was actually the perfect way to end brunch. We were chatting away for the first half of our meal that we forgot to sip on our Chardonnay! So we just sat, let our meal digest, sipped on some wine, and nibbled on the remaining cheese. I'll take cheese over a dessert any day!

Overall, I had a lovely time. The food was delicious. The decor of Swoon KitchenBar is clean, bright, and alluring. And the staff kind and welcoming. Next time you're in Hudson stop in at 340 Warren Street! And don't forget to like Swoon Kitchenbar on Facebook!