Hyde Park

Hyde Park in New York's Hudson Valley is home to the Vanderbilt Mansion and main campus of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Just a couple hours north of New York City, it was a retreat for robber barons, home to former president FDR, and now a foodie mecca.

The Eveready Diner along Route 9 has the lights, materials and flash of a classic East Coast diner wrapping a pretty large restaurant that can serve a ton of people. Featured on Season 1 (Ep.6) of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives back in 2007 with Guy Fieri, it is appropriately labeled as a Local Legend. We stopped on our way into town for lunch and returned the following morning for an early breakfast.

Like a lot of diners with Greek origins, the menu is massive. There are pros and cons to this. Some of the things we ordered were so good that they overshadowed other items that were more standard fare like the frozen french fries. Fresh squeezed orange juice, real home-fries and french toast made from bread baked on site were top-tier delicious. Old chewy onion rings and a sad gyro were misses at lunch.

Diner culture is historic to the American North-East and did reasonably well through the great depression offering simple but filling fare at low prices. It really spread throughout America post World War II with expansion of the interstate highway system in the 1960s. The Eveready Diner tries to keep the prices down for all with a ton of options catering to the diverse masses that pass through it's doors. We'll be back for breakfast.

With our short visit, we decided to choose between touring the Vanderbilt Mansion and former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's library/estate. The Vanderbilt story and Hyde Park property were less familiar to us and the direction we went for this visit. The house was one of many for Frederick and his wife Louise, but said to be his favorite. Originally close to 600 acres, around 400 were sold but the National Park Service has owned the house and around 200 residual acres along the Hudson River since 1940.

We paid for an hour-long guided tour of the house with the very knowledgable park service team. Furnishings are original to the Vanderbilts, and a close-eye was kept on touching or distrubing anything. Most interesting was that the Vanderbilts were considered "New Money" and compensated for this by filling their home with antiques and styles from Europe. The Park Service staff really brought history to life for everyone through stories and questions to the group that stirred thought and discussion.

Unfortunately we didn't have the time or weather to explore the larger property with its trails and views. Fully appreciating the gardens and estate would best be done in late spring or early summer with a simple picnic lunch combined with the house tour. Enjoying the property itself is free, and there were plenty of locals out and about jogging and walking their dogs. We all agreed visiting the Vanderbilt Mansion was a good choice not knowing what we missed at the FDR library and estate.

The Culinary Institute of America is (arguably) the premier college for those seeking a career in the kitchen or hospitality industry. Famed French chef Paul Bocuse visited and was so impressed that his son (looking to follow his father into the restaurant business) snubbed French schools for the CIA. Hyde Park is home to the flagship campus and alma mater for numerous world-renowned chefs including Anthony Bourdain.

While the Hyde Park campus is an accredited higher learning institution, it also offers tours and enthusiast workshops. We didn't have time for a full workshop, but if you would like to participate they normally book out months in advance. The tours are shorter, more frequent and easy to get into with student guides. We started in a lecture hall watching a couple short videos, hearing the students speak and then going through a tasting exercise combining hot, sour, salty and sweet. The tour is wrapped up with a walk through Roth Hall to see the kitchens and bakeshops along with Farquharson Hall - an amazing dining and event room. You finish at the campus store which is dangerous for cookbook collectors...

The campus has three student-run restaurants that take reservations. The Bocuse Restaurant is ultra-modern French cuisine, Ristorante Caterina de' Medici is regional Italian, and American Bounty features both contemporary and traditional dishes utilizing Hudson Valley ingredients. We enjoyed three courses at American Bounty which also included an amuse-bouche, fresh baked breads and small mignardises. The students do an amazing job with the food - as good or better than some of the best restaurants in New York or Paris. Most are there to cook or bake, so front of house service can be like tempered chaos.

Hyde Park is just one town in the greater Hudson Valley, but is home to amazing sites of historical importance and culinary experiences. The region offers a relaxing escape from the greater New York City Metropolitan area, and can be a day-trip for those who need a break from the skyscrapers, noise and fumes of NYC.

Thank you for joining us as we explored Hyde Park and some of the best that the Hudson Valley has to offer! Let us know in the YouTube comments what we missed and need to experience next time we're in the area!