The getaways issue
Amenia, Sagaponack, Egrement, Little Cranberry Island, Bark Air, best Hudson Valley antiques, Tangier, MORE
→ This is a special best-of FOUND edition celebrating the 4th of July and summer travels to getaways near and far. Enjoy the holiday.
GETAWAYS • Hudson Valley
Detour land
The Skinny: In March, Jose Ramirez Ruiz (of beloved, shuttered Semilla) opened his new spot Isabela in the sleepy Upstate town of Amenia. His first solo project is a departure from the tiny portions and complicated preparations Semilla was known for, instead offering a menu of generous portions in thoughtful presentations. On its first (rainy) Saturday night, Isabela was bustling.
The Vibe: De riguer for an upscale Upstate restaurant these days: uncluttered modern farmhouse. The space is divided into two sections, with the dining room ambiently lit by wax-dripping candlesticks, accented by a large open window exposing the kitchen. Tables are generously spaced, with woodwork and mirrors by local craftsmen. On the other side, there’s a bar area with a few tables open for walk-ins and a more casual, locals-only feel, complete with a TV over the bar.
The Food: Ruiz offers dishes with seasonal produce and flavors, drawing from his Puerto Rican heritage. The snacks are your classic smart bar bites (olives, bresaola, oysters, cheese) plus a large cut of Jose’s sourdough served with a ramekin of butter swimming in buttermilk from a nearby dairy farm. Appetizers are heavy on vegetables, like a punchy salad with a housemade spruce vinaigrette and kale gnudi with beans and subtle guanciale.
At first glance, the main dishes read as run-of-the-mill — chicken, steak, trout — but Ruiz layers on the flavor, turning ostensibly simple proteins into something exceptional. The fluke with salsa verde and the pot au feu served with wasabi-esque mustard pack unexpected punches, setting them apart from the rest of the region's food. If sitting at the bar, I’d just order sides, like those beef-fat purple potatoes, which would go perfectly with the bar-only burger.
There are a few dessert options, but the rice pudding for two is the one that matters. With whipped cream folded in and sides of dulce de leche, juicy elderberries, homemade crumbled crepe cookie, and candied walnuts, it’s their signature finisher for good reason.
The Drink: Cocktails are made with local spirits, including a tipperary with Taconic bourbon on tap. The few non-alcoholic options borrow from the cocktail’s ingredients, including a maple soda and oat “horchata.” There’s also a drinkable apple cider vinegar, in case you forgot that Ruiz came from the world of fine dining.
The Verdict: Amid a growing number of new farm-to-table options in the area, Isabela differentiates itself with bold flavors while successfully capturing small-town bistro charms. Rarely can chefs like Ruiz so effortlessly transition from high-end gastronomic experience to approachable dining, but he pulls it off here. –Sylvie Florman
→ Isabela (Amenia, NY) • 3330 Route 343 • Wed-Sun 5-10p (dinner 530-9p) • Reserve.
GETAWAYS • The Hamptons
Sagg heaven
After a thoughtful multi-year restoration, the Sagaponack General Store has officially reopened with newfound energy thanks to its steward, Mindy Gray, a Sagaponack resident for over 20 years. From the moment I stepped onto its front porch, I sensed the deep care and consideration that went into its reopening, along with a hint of nostalgia. With the delicious aromas of rotisserie chicken and freshly baked bread in the air, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of delight.
The General Store offers a curated selection of farm-grown flowers and vegetables, fresh fruits, specialty items from local purveyors, and a thoughtful range of grocery and household items. The assortment of breads is provided daily by Il Buco and Alpina — the beer pretzel, which is buttery and flaky, almost croissant-like, is the best treat after a three-hour drive from the city.
Also on offer: pre-made entrees and sides that make perfect companions to that rotisserie chicken. I can already picture beach lunches with their sandwiches, especially the turkey BLT. And the abundant candy selection has quickly proved popular with kids and adults alike. Families and neighbors are already gathering on the deck for frozen yogurt, offering a glimpse of the summer evenings to come. –Sarah Jackson
→ Sagaponack General Store (Sagaponack) • 542 Sagg Main St • Wed-Mon 7a-7p.
GETAWAYS • Maine
Acadian glory
Islesford Dock Restaurant & Gallery is accessible only by boat, unless you happen to live on Maine’s Little Cranberry Island, which only a couple hundred people do. This past August, we shared the 20-minute ride from Northeast Harbor (via Cadillac water taxi) with one of those residents, Elaine, who had missed an earlier ferry and needed a lift home.
She returned the favor when we docked by taking us on a quick tour of the island on her golf cart, parked just up the road. The kids hung off the back as she pointed out her friends’ houses, mostly modest affairs with windows pointing towards the sea.
Back at the restaurant with some time to spare before our reservation, we sipped drinks on the dock, our elbows on the wooden rail pointed west toward the mountains of Acadia. Multi-generational parties came and went — regulars, mostly. Eventually, the sky and harbor blended into a color we’d never seen before, and the Mainers and interlopers all took turns trading phones and posing.
When the show ended, we sat inside at a table beside one of the walls of windows framing the bright dining room. There’s a sturdy bar in the center, wood beams and white clapboard walls throughout. Art lines the passageway to the gallery in the back, where local works are for sale.
What’s the Maine slogan — the way life should be?
The menu is a mix of Downeast vacation comfort and farm-to-table ambition (there’s a greenhouse behind the restaurant and a fisherman’s co-op next door). A season later, the particulars of the dishes have mostly faded into the glow of that sunset and the buzz of the room. But the food just needed to be hot to clinch the meal of the summer, and it was much more than that. The desserts, particularly, are still rendering in color: five spoons at once in a chocolate trifle and a too-hot-to-touch berry crumble.
On its website, the restaurant warns that it’s not responsible for your ride home or finding lodging in the event you’re stranded. Honestly, it would’ve been fine. Elaine told us to stop by; she was carrying a bag of groceries from the mainland. The sun would be up in nine hours. –Josh Albertson
→ Islesford Dock Restaurant & Gallery (Little Cranberry Island) • 1 Main St, Islesford, ME • Open mid-June through late-September.
GETAWAYS • Airlines
Ruff ride
Owning a large dog brings endless joy, but also comes with logistical challenges, especially when it comes to travel. A few years ago, after multiple attempts to crowdsource a pet-friendly flight from New York to California through a very popular and active Facebook group, we gave up and drove — from Montauk to LA and back — just so Scout could join us.
So when I first heard about Bark Air, I didn’t hesitate. The idea of making it to LA in just five hours on a plane specifically designed to accommodate big dogs was obviously appealing. Flying out of Teterboro (TEB), Bark serves destinations including LA, London, Paris, Fort Lauderdale, and Milwaukee, operating each route several times a month. (To add another layer of convenience, Bark can arrange pet-friendly transport to and from the airport.) Our one-way fare to LA, for both dog and human: $6000.
Upon check-in, each of the eight or so pups on the flight gets a “pup passport,” complete with photo and stamps, followed by a meet-and-greet session to burn off any pre-flight zoomies. I found the attention to detail impressive — there were plenty of dog treats and cozy beds for lounging, plus drinks and snacks for the humans. The flight attendants were very experienced with dogs and kept them (and their humans) calm, happy, and informed.
Once on board, the pampering continued with a new experience for the pups every hour: a pupachino, “chompagne,” old socks and shoes. Scout even got wrapped up in a robe for a “spaw” treatment where his ears were cleaned, paws detailed, and head massaged until he fell asleep.
One may think that a plane full of dogs would be chaotic, but my Bark Air experience proved the opposite. Our flights were filled with the sweetest, most well-behaved dogs and their equally respectful owners — there was a shared sense of excitement and gratitude for such an incredible experience, to say nothing of the ability to travel with our pups. –Sarah Jackson
→ Bark Air • NY to LA, Ft Lauderdale, Milwaukee, London, Paris • Rates from $950-$8500 per dog & person.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Antiquing, Hudson Valley
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best of NYC and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Quittner (Germantown), off-the-highway warehouse specializing in vintage & antique lighting, farmhouse-style pottery, tableware
Freaks’ (Hudson), highly curated top-of-the-line antique furniture, plus skill for sourcing velvet couches and chairs
Abode Home Goods (Millerton), home shop with vintage tabletop selection and limited furniture alongside products from local makers
Ball & Claw (Port Ewen), classic vintage decor and tchotchkes in Dutch colonial w/ coffee shop
Red Owl Collective (Kingston), multi-vendor warehouse spanning taste and time
Pidgin (Oak Hill), limited selection of high-design antique objects and decor including boxes, vases, and mirrors
A. Therien (Cairo, above), collectable books and prints w/ occasional vintage European furniture
Upstate Rug Supply (Hudson), piles of antique rugs of various size, emphasis on handmade varieties, plus rotating selection of vintage furniture
Available Items (Tivoli), small shop for collectable furniture, rare design books and magazines
GETAWAYS • The Berkshires
Newguard club
My first Hy’s Fried experience was at an 18-person New Year’s Eve fried chicken-dinner-turned-dance-party. We didn’t rent out the restaurant; simply calling and asking to push six tables together did the trick. I like to think I’m a relatively considerate diner, but we were a lot. And yet the team at Hy’s didn’t seem to mind when we won all the bingo prizes (chicken magnets), shut down the bar, took over the DJ booth (I’m so sorry), and ate ice cream sandwiches on the dancefloor.
Hy’s Fried opened last August on a windy loop of Route 23 in South Egremont, MA, in what used to be the Old Egremont Club — a 1935 bar that hosted live bands for 40 years, but has been vacant since 2016. Hy’s breathed life into the retro space while preserving some of its mementos, like the big cursive signs borrowed from the music club of yesteryear. It also makes clear its own identity as a one-stop shop for evening fun with outrageously good fried chicken, sides, and contemporary cocktails.
During my second visit, a low-key family dinner, I was much more cognizant of what I was seeing and eating. The restaurant is cherry red from head to toe, from pixels of light reflected by a disco ball to metal chairs and tables, leather booths, and bathroom tile. The food arrives in unassuming red plastic baskets, martinis in chunky goblets. The chicken is crispy and doused in a sticky, sweet honey sambal — somehow reminiscent of the best parts of both Southern and Korean fried chicken. I could shout from the DJ booth (if they’d let me) about the potato salad — light on the mustard, heavy on the vinegar, mustard, red onion, and lemon.
Having enjoyed both extremes of the Hy’s experience, I’d say that the ideal lies somewhere in the middle. Go around 8, get the whole bucket, potato salad, collard greens, and a couple of Sunny Days (vodka, guava, grapefruit, campari, Prosecco), and make a whole night out of it. Maybe you’ll even leave with a pack of chicken magnets to boot. –Alice Gilbert
→ Hy's Fried (Egremont, MA) • 264 Hillsdale Rd • Tue-Sun 5-11p • Walk-ins only.
GETAWAYS • Morocco
Tangier tango
“Tangier is more New York than New York,” Paul Bowles wrote in his 1952 novel Let it Come Down.
The best time to visit the Moroccan port city of Tangier is in the fall — and the best hotel there is Villa Mabrouka, which opened last year.
Just above the Kasbah and the Medina, and with breathtaking views of the Strait of Gibraltar and the North Atlantic Sea, Villa Mabrouka is an intimate, 12-room hotel housed in a 1940s modernist building on a 12-acre hillside. The property was once the holiday home of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, and was transformed into a hotel by British designer Jasper Conran in 2019. Its unveiling was stalled by the pandemic, with a soft opening only last year. But now the kinks are all worked out, creating an unmatched luxury hotel experience, without ritzy affectation.
The design of Villa Mabrouka reflects a blend of modernist architecture and traditional English country house aesthetics, with elements like floor-to-ceiling glass windows, intricate fretwork, and antique furnishings. The gardens, by landscape architect Madison Cox, feature cascading terraces, with over 6500 trees, shrubs, and flowers, including banana palms, ferns, bamboo, citrus trees, hollyhocks, nasturtiums, roses, bougainvillea, and agapanthus. A variety of bird songs and the five-times-a-day calls to prayer from the mosque next door add to the Tangier experience.
The villa features two crystalline swimming pools, three restaurants, and a rooftop coffee and cocktail bar. The dining options emphasize local Mediterranean ingredients, with dishes like grilled lobster, sauteed sole, and tagines (lamb, beef or chicken).
Delta has a two-stop flight that takes 15 hours to reach the destination, but most flights are much longer. The best option is to spend a few days in Paris or London and then fly directly to Tangier — a 2.5-hour flight.
To prepare for your trip, read Bowles's classic novel The Sheltering Sky, which will put you in the mood for this storied North African city. –Brad Inman
→ Villa Mabrouka (Tangier) • 1 Sidi Bouknadel.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
→ A handful of favorite NYC restaurants from new subscribers: L'Artusi (Greenwich Village) • Ritz Diner (Upper East Side) • Crevette (Greenwich Village) • Four Horsemen (Williamsburg) • Ortobello’s (Mapleton).