6 Reasons to Visit Buttermilk Falls

Farm to Table Dining

Farm to Table food is the best thing that you can put inside your stomach these days. I don’t know about you, but I definitely want to know the ingredients in my food are organic and definitely not from a Monsanto GMO/pesticide-laden non-sustainable industrial farm. That said, if you definitely want to eat organic (and you should), always call ahead to confirm what ingredients or dishes are organic that day. Don’t be afraid to ask what farms they use for what ingredients, either. A good farm-to-table restaurant should be able to tell you that so you can verify.

Henry’s from the outside

At ‘Henry’s at The Farm’ restaurant in Buttermilk Falls Inn they “make every effort to source as many ingredients as possible from the Hudson Valley and are proud of the fact that during the growing season about 50 percentage of the ingredients used by the kitchen are indeed local; and the majority of those are organic,” — a few may even be from their on-premises garden.

With delicious comfort food-style dishes and great staff (our waiter, Graham, was a sweetheart), you’ll want to come back on the regular. We only wish they had more vegan options! We loved eating outside on the 2nd story deck because we could watch the ducks and swans in the pond below, but the inside has decadent and sexy red walls and leather decor, and would be a perfect date spot. If you’re wondering why the restaurant is named Henry’s, it’s because the real estate investor (Robert Pollock) who last purchased Buttermilk’s son is named Henry.

Outdoor seating at Henry’s at the Farm, at Buttermilk Falls Inn

Fried chicken and waffles at Henry’s at the Farm restaurant at Buttermilk Falls Inn

Cocktails and scallops at Henry’s

Inside Henry’s at the Farm

When you check-in at Buttermilk Falls Inn, breakfast, and afternoon tea will be free of charge. But that’s not the best part. The best part is that it’s serviced on the outdoor patio with sweeping views of the property and the Hudson River. We had a hearty breakfast of blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs with apple sausage and peppered bacon. Not only that, coffee refills were on the house (and it was good coffee!). You also have the option to enjoy your meal in the sunroom, as we call it, which is overlooking the patio, still with views of the lush greenery and the surroundings. And if watching playing cats doesn’t bother you, then feel free to say hello to the three yard cats that sometimes hang out on the patio.

Where we had breakfast and tea every day, overlooking the Hudson River and part of the grounds at Buttermilk Falls Inn

Another culinary delight in this part of the Hudson Valley is the Culinary Institute of America, which is only 10 minutes from Buttermilk Falls Inn. You will be astounded by the amount of attention to detail and comprehensive service that the students and former graduates here will give you. But why not? This school is often coined as the Harvard for chefs or think about it like this – if Juilliard is for the performing arts, then CIA is for cooking.

Here’s a video to give you a feel for the place:

The restaurants on premises are The American Bounty, The Bocuse which serves French cuisine, Caterina de Medici which serves Italian, and Apple Pie Bakery Café. Most of the ingredients used in the school’s restaurants are from the farms in the nearby Hudson Valley area.

The Bocuse

American Bounty Restaurant

Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici

These restaurants are the training grounds for the students, so expect some creative cuisine. But lo and behold, they cook well and they serve you well enough to deserve tips. Unfortunately, the school policy and the IRS prohibit them from receiving any tips as they are not paid workers. So just praise their great work to show appreciation because really, the food is spectacular.