Agriturismo
2938 Church Street
Pine Plains, NY
518.398.1000
Website: www.agriturismorestaurant.com
We first introduced Mark Strausman to our readers in March of 2010. At the time, we could hardly believe this big-city, high profile chef (Sapore de Mare, Coco Pazzo, Fred’s at Barneys and Compagna) was talking about opening an Italian farm-to-table restaurant right here in Pine Plains. When I first met Mark back then, I liked him immediately.
Mark and I on my first visit to Agriturismo back in September (I can tell by my hair color!)
He’s a very approachable and down-to-earth guy. I happened to tell him I was about to go on a buying trip to Chicago for the Housewares Show. Without a beat he offered to make reservations for us at his restaurant, Fred’s at Barneys in Chicago. Being the foodies we are, we took him up on his offer and had the most incredible meal with impeccable service. Wow…I thought…THIS is coming to Pine Plains!! (read our blog about our meal at Fred’s)
Since then, the restaurant got a name — Agriturismo (which is the Italian term for farm vacation) and it has been winning praise from diners and critics alike across the Hudson Valley and beyond for Mark’s rustic Italian cuisine. Within weeks of opening in September 2010, Agriturismo became a major player in the Hudson Valley restaurant scene. Until recently the restaurant was only open on weekends: Friday and Saturday for dinner and Sunday for brunch and early dinner. Mark has now added Thursday dinner to their schedule which has proved to be very successful.
And the food…well, the food is amazing. One of the reasons Mark chose Pine Plains was the fact that it was surrounded by so many farms that could provide fresh produce and meats. “It’s a chef’s dream” Mark told Lynn Hazlewood of HVMagazine, “like being in Europe, where all the great little restaurants are in the country”.
On my last visit to Agriturismo, I invited my friend, Lynn Karlin to join me. She had a locally-raised lamb dish that was out of this world. The Agriturismo Salad (local greens from Sky Farm) was fresh and delicious and I had the roasted sock-eye salmon (clearly not a local ingredient) which was beautifully prepared as well.
But don’t just take my word for it, check out some of the reviews below and you’ll see why we are so proud to add Agriturismo to our impressive list of Hammertown Choices (which also happen to include two of Mark’s food suppliers – Amazing Real Live Food and Sol Flower Farms).
Welcome Mark!
Summer Hours:
Thursday – 5:30 pm – 10 pm
Friday & Saturday – 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Sunday – 10:00am – 3:30 pm & 5 pm – 9 pm
