Which is the best upstate city for dining? If we exclude towns like Rhinebeck and Millbrook for being too small, and Albany for being Albany, the main contenders for space in my stomach have been Kingston and Hudson. Hudson, of course, has perhaps the best restaurant in all of Upstate, the new but already storied Cafe Mutton (note: few dishes actually contain mutton, which is too baaaaaaad). But I think Kingston has pole vaulted over Hudson to become my fave food destination. Here are two restaurants to demonstrate why.
First, the above photo which shows me lovingly handling Tosta Matrimonio, an unholy marriage between anchoas, boquerones and a whole lotta butter, at a new restaurant called Mirador. Mirador is to be found in Kingston’s Midtown nabe, a wonderfully unfussy stretch of new and old storefronts with insane Jamaican, Turkish, Central American and now Spanish cuisine.
Dishes like the above tomato concasse and the most weirdly delicious Spanish tortilla (it’s got freaking trout roe) are absolute perfection and there’s a backbench of great wines, vermouths and dry sherries to go around. I think Mirador was already listed as one of the country’s best bars by Esquire.
The next restaurant I wanted to mention has been around for a while but it easily fixes a gustatory problem that has afflicted Upstate for a while, the lack of good Japanese food.