Restaurants in Poughkeepsie

Since 1993, Mendy's Restaurant has infiltrated Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods with its kosher soups and sandwiches, serving thousands of eaters each day. Rumor has it that one of them was Larry David, who reportedly sampled the eatery's split-pea soup in the early ‘90s before writing the now-famous dish into an episode of Seinfeld. But the split-pea soup is just one of many tasty offerings; the deli cures its own corned beef and crafts matzo-ball soup in-house. Any of the tasty menu items can be enjoyed during snorkeling sessions or private parties held in rooms that hold 20–200 guests.

The dough halo hovers in the air, free-for a split second-from gravity's machinations. This airborne moment is short-lived, and the circlet plummets back into the hands of the New York Pizza Company chef, who repeats the up-and-down cycle until he deems the dough ready to be festooned with toppings. Masters of the well-made pie, New York Pizza Company's chefs pride themselves in their hand-tossed dough and the fresh toppings-such as ricotta, roma tomatoes, and barbecue chicken-that dapple their surfaces. Once a pizza has been assembled, the chefs slip it into the kitchen's brick oven where off-duty suns imbue it with a golden, toasty patina. Along with their signature pies, the chefs also whip up hot and cold subs, calzones, pastas, and soups.

Two longtime residents, nurse Audrey Hochroth and her husband, contractor Sal Barone, grew weary of traversing the bridge to Manhattan whenever they wanted a good steak. So in 2009, they opened Augie’s Prime Cut—a local place their neighbors could go for delicious steak-house fare, such as slow-roasted prime rib, dry-aged porterhouse steaks cut by hand, and fresh lobster plucked from the tank, without driving to the city or kidnapping a steak-house chef. Audrey recently told the Examiner News that so many customers flock to Augie’s Prime Cut on the weekends that they had to open a new 18-table area upstairs—Augie's Loft—to avoid turning people away.

House-made sauces top each classic Italian dish on the menu at Biscotti's Ristorante, sending up ribbons of steam as waiters bear loaded plates across glossy hardwood floors. Specialty pizzas borrow toppings from meat- and seafood-rich entrees such as chicken parmigiana and clams casino, and a to-go family meal arms patrons with enough pasta, soup, salad, and bread to stun four bellies into a satisfied silence. Happy-hour drink specials at the attached full bar help patrons to escape workday stress without slipping out early down office ice luges.

Over the tops of neatly groomed conifers, the muted drizzle of a fountain loops over a still pond. Glancing out from the dining room of Seasons American Bistro & Lounge, away from the lofted beams and white tablecloths, the eye drifts out across the water and to the verdant rolling hills crowded with ancient trees. Inspired by the bistros and tapas bars of Europe, the menu at Seasons highlights shareable plates, which circulate during long chats measured in glasses of wine. From the ranks of bottles spring the floral bouquet of the Italian Alverdi pinot grigio and the earthy plum notes and Napa Valley sunshine of the 2005 Markham merlot. The sound of toasting glasses drifts through a bar and lounge with small tables and a wrap-around banquette decorated with cut flowers and candles that set the mood and keep somebody from setting down a cornucopia there.

Beneath the glow of 12 high-definition plasma televisions, riotous sports fans toast to their teams by clinking glasses and smushing burgers together at First Place Sports Bar & Grill. Between sips of cold beer and bites of handheld eats including sandwiches, nachos, and ribs, bar-goers throw wild shots at three dart boards and play 52-ball pickup around the pool table. Numerous video games, such as 2010 Golden Tee Live, Silver Strike, and Big Buck Hunter, jingle in anticipation of a feeding of quarters, while a jukebox offers a custom soundtrack to sporting revelry.