
Bannerman’s Island is a rugged, tree-covered rock topped with a crumbling castle and flanked by sunken towers that appear to belong to a drowned fortress. Adrift in the Hudson River a few miles south of Beacon, the castle is only viewable if you ride the Metro North train to Poughkeepsie. Even then you’re barely treated to a glimpse through infuriating trees as you’re whisked by at 60mph. Read more…






Rhinebeck, my adopted hometown and weekend destination of choice, is located about 90 miles due north of Manhattan. It’s idyllic in the summer, but it’s not exactly a beer-lover’s paradise. Supermarkets and gas stations carry your standard six-packs, but for something special, you gotta burn about 12.1 miles of petroleum on a journey to Discount Beverage Center in Hyde Park. As someone who regularly browses the “single and fancy” section of Whole Foods Beer Store for the novel odd bottle, this means finding a car, or spending a few days of relatively-uninspired beer quaffing. Enter Grand Cru Beer and Cheese Market. 



On holidays I scuttle out of the city into the woods of upstate New York like a cranky hermit crab seeking a quiet, once-disposed-of but always-dependable mollusk house. Sometime during this long drive toward the unchanging hometown a familiar snack craving awakens, one that will only be silenced by grits and cheese.