The Changing Restaurant Scene
by Cait Johnson & Paul De Angelis

It can be a challenge to keep all the restaurants straight in this particular bend of the Hudson Valley since there are so many of them. The task is further complicated by the fact that many are housed in buildings that have seen a few metamorphoses: just check out the new-restaurant notes below and you'll see what I mean. But we must be au courant, and it's fun to see the changing faces of Rhinebeck and Tivoli summed up so neatly in the ebb and flow of its restaurants.

The Terrapin, not really all that new by now, on the corner of Route 9 and Montgomery Street in Rhinebeck (in the gorgeously-renovated old church that used to house Marco Polo) is doing a booming business, especially in the lively, lower-priced bistro section to the left as you go in the front door. The right-hand Fine Dining section is more subdued, with prices commensurate with the hushed atmosphere. I haven't been there yet, but after reading Beverly Kipp's article, I'm making it a priority! Meanwhile, Rhinebeck needed a lively late-night place, and Terrapin's Bistro seems to be it. Call 845-876-3330.

Also in Rhinebeck is Bing's, on 46 West Market Street, a jewel of a place, due to open just after my deadline for this article. I spoke with Bing Yang, the co-owner, who completely captured my imagination with his descriptions of the rooms available for fine dining, or for parties and banquets. The first thing you need to know is that the original Bing's—which was housed in a historic building dating from 1860—burned almost to the ground just days before it was due to open several years ago. Now, like the legendary phoenix, Bing's has risen from the ashes. Diners will be able to choose from the Zen Room (overlooking a Zen garden), the Out of Africa Room, the Renaissance Room, or the 1860 Room (with the beams, fireplace, and floorboards salvaged from the original building). Chefs from China and Thailand will produce exquisite international cuisine for these rooms, while the Amazon Bar will offer a down-to-earth tasty menu with lower prices and a comfy atmosphere that reflects the owners' passion for international travel. For more information, call 845-876-5551.

In Tivoli, Mikey the Baker of Café Pongo fame now has his own storefront (in what used to be a hairdressing establishment) at 75 Broadway in Tivoli. Come early in the morning to snag some of the best bread ever at his Tivoli Bread and Baking Company. It opens before most of us are vertical and stays open until noon from Tuesday through Friday, and until 4:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Call him at 845-757-2253. He'll also sell you a cup of great coffee to go with his heavenly baked goods.

Meanwhile, the Tivoli restaurant scene is going through a major reinvention. The building that once housed the Café Pongo, of cookbook fame, and for a few fleeting moments the Tivoli Pasta Company and a kind of ersatz Irish place, is being renovated into what promises to be a major new restaurant. So is the space across Broadway that used to be the Stoney Creek Restaurant (during most of the 1980s it was the Tivoli Confectionary Company, then the only food source in town!). A new café will soon move into the little barn that most recently hosted the Paradox Café (and before that the Café Magdalen . . . and before that the natural foods store that later moved to Red Hook . . . and before that Alternatives Health Centre!).

While all this feverish renovation goes on, diners in search of good food in Tivoli can still count on Milagros, The Black Swan, Osaka, and, of course, the venerable Santa Fe.