New York State’s official tourism board, I Love NY, recently invited The Knockturnal to spend the weekend in Coxsackie, New York (pronounced Cook-Sah-Key).
The James Newbury Hotel hosted us for the weekend. It is the only riverside boutique hotel in the Hudson Valley region. Click here to learn more about our luxurious stay.
Coxsackie is a small town about a three-hour drive from New York City. After checking in, we decided to take a walk by the Hudson River. We visited the Hudson Eagle Recreation Area, which celebrates the return of bald eagles to New York since environmental laws were enacted in the 1970s. We learned that there used to be only one nesting pair of bald eagles in the State of New York and now there are over eighty. In addition to playing basketball and picnicking, visitors can rent a kayak to take on the river.
Next, we decided to explore Reed Street, the town’s main street. Our first stop was a café, bar & bookstore called Shipwrecked.
Inside we met the store’s owner, Katlyn Irwin, who served behind the counter. We ordered a couple beers from Return Brewing, a small brewery started by Hudson Valley locals.* The store was cozy and cute. It was decorated with spiderwebs and other ornaments of the Halloween seasons. Bookshelves bore a selection of spooky books, including many classics and some exciting staff picks. Erwin worked previously as a sommelier and wine director in New York City before bringing her talents back home to Coxsackie. Her partner helps in the kitchen making bagels from scratch and Reuben sandwiches on the day that we visited. While we were there, the mayor of Coxsackie, Mark Evans, stopped by and shook our hands.
Once we finished our beers, we headed next door to dinner at Che Figata, an Italian bistro. We highly recommend their prix fixe dinner menu in celebration of Italian Heritage Month. Our four-course meal was filling and delicious while also affordable. For $28 I had baked polenta with gorgonzola and tossed house salad with strawberries, gorgonzola and balsamic, risotto with butternut squash, and tiramisu for dessert.
For those looking for groceries the General Store has some good supplies. After the delightful dinner, we visited Ravish the downtown bar in the back UnQuiet Antiques. In UnQuiet, we inspected artifacts of past ages such as an early camera, artwork, taxidermy and old furniture, to name a few.
After that, we came back to the James Newbury and went to sleep.
*Any alcohol that we tried, we purchased on our own dime and was not sponsored by the NY State Tourism board.
