Milton's Henry's & Red House for Delicious Fare • We Blog The World

I had never heard of Milton before heading to upstate New York recently to review the Buttermilk Falls Inn in Hudson Valley despite having spent quite a bit of time over the years in the Catskills and the Adirondacks.

Milton is a small town a couple or so hours from New York City, and home to two foodie gems — Henry’s at the Farm and Red House, both owned by the same proprietor who runs and owns Buttermilk Falls Inn.

Henry’s at the Farm

Henry’s at the Farm is committed to sourcing ingredients from local farms and artisan food producers and purveyors and they work primarily with those who practice organic farming and humane animal husbandry. Cheese, meats and poultry come from nearby farms such as Coach Farm, Taliaferro Farms, John Fazio Farms and others focused on organic and sustainability.

The restaurant sits on the 40 acre Millstone Farm, whose kitchen garden and orchard produce the majority of our fresh greens, organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, honey and eggs throughout the year.

The inn itself is very historic and the nature surrounding the inn and the restaurant are beautiful. Henry’s is known for their unique cocktails, such as the Spring Hibiscus Fizz and the Millstone Farm Bees Knees (shown below), which is made with Warwick Gin, Millstone Farm Honey Simple Syrup, Meyer Lemon and Awestruck Lavender Cider.

They offer a variety of craft beer and cider from the area and also serve local soda’s on tap such as Cola, Lemon-Lime, Ginger Ale and Hibiscus.

Their salads are fresh and you can opt for a Spring Salad with Artisan Blend Lettuce, mandarins, almonds, Asiago cheese and red onions, an Arugula and Frisee salad with Red Quinoa, Bramble, pecans, shallots and crushed red pepper, a spinach salad with strawberries, candied walnuts, leeks and creamy brie croutons or an Oven Roasted Beet Salad, which I couldn’t pass up.

The chef combines Candy Cane, golden and red beets, shaved fennel, Cara Cara and toasted filberts with goat cheese.

More decadent starters include pan seared sea scallops (below) with hearts of palm, cashews, garlic scapes (one of my favorites) and brown butter.

Large enough to be on the Entree menu is their lobster starter, which we also tried. It was served with braised bok choy, Chorizo, and a brandied lobster broth. Let’s just say that it was to die for – oh so yum! They also had steamed mussels, fried calamari, crispy pork belly and white truffle and parmesan frites on the menu, along with a flatbread which changes daily.

Clearly we distracted when we ordered this decadent Tomahawk Steak – 48 ounces – what were we thinking? Massive, tender, scrumptious and well, just perfect. We had this medium rare divine dish with a delicious Malbec from Argentina (2014 Los Belascos “Llama”) and later swapped it out for a local wine — the Cabernet Franc from Benmarl Winery out of Marlboro New York — both were a great pairings with the steak and its accompaniments which included white truffle mash, broccoli rabe, beer battered onion rings and a wild mushroom demi-glace.

I went for the pan-seared duck breast, which was tender and not fatty despite the fact that it came with fois gras, a five grain power blend, Cape gooseberries (yum!) and sweet pea tendrils.

Other mains worth a call out include their Hen of the Woods wild mushroom gnocchi with Baby Bella, morels, enoki and sundried tomato pesto cream sauce, a Crispy soft shell crab, a Lobster ravioli which I would have loved (served in a sherry cream for those who are wondering), and their Grilled Wahoo with saffron risotto, braised leeks, spring onions and a Sanguinello Orange BBQ sauce. All of it was amazing! I’d love to return with friends so we can sample a few more dishes. Another decadent choice is their Rack of Lamb in a rich rosemary reduction!

Dessert was equally incredible — they insisted we try the Creme Brule which they suggest pairing with their Ferreira 2009 LBV port. They also had house-made ice creams, an ice cream sandwich, a daily fruit crisp and a flourless strawberry chocolate decadence cake with a chocolate and strawberry sauce. Sounds amazing right? They pair this with the Broadbent 10 year Malmsey Madiera.

Another wine gem on the menu. Most of what is included in their dishes is locally sourced from farms nearby if they can’t get it from their own farm, Millstone. Some of the local farmers they support include Hepworth, Hudson Valley Farm Hub, Rock Hedge Farm and Bulich Mushroom Farm among others.

From their own farm, they grow apples, Swiss Chard, kale, cherries, kiwis, garlic, rosemary, zucchini, sage, basil, honey, eggplant and others.

You can sit inside or out (in warmer months) and although the weather was lovely when we were there and I almost always opt to sit outside, we sat inside their historical building, rich with textures and warm ambiance. The service was also top notch.

DETAILS:

Henry’s at the Farm

220 N Road

Milton, NY 12547

http://www.buttermilkfallsinn.com/restaurant/henry-s-at-the-farm.htm

Be sure to read our write-up on the Buttermilk Farms Inn, where we stayed in late June.

Red House

Red House is owned by the Buttermilk Falls Inn folks as well and located in the center of downtown Milton, a small hamlet in Ulster County. The town was apparently named after John Milton, an English poet.

The restaurant is charming and when you first walk in, you might be surprised by the attention to detail but what will surprise you even more for a small town of this size in upstate New York, is that it serves fresh sushi. It’s not the typical American dish hot spots you’d expect to find up here or in the Big Apple.

In addition to delicious sushi rolls, Red House offers Asian Fusion dishes that showcase Thai, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. There’s a full service bar and in addition to wines and sake (go for the One Ten-Black aka junmai dai-ginjyo), there’s an eclectic selection of Asian wines and liquors. How about a Mango-Chili Margarita, a Lychee Martini, a Plum Spritzer or a Saketini, which is sake, vodka and ginger-stuffed olives. Wow, right? Indeed.

Anthony was in heaven after tasting their Coconut-Galangal Soup, which includes straw mushrooms, one of our favorites. They also have classic wonton soup, a Thai Beef Salad, seaweed salad and green papaya salad among others.

We were told that we must try the Hamachi Sashimi which they serve with ponzu sauce and jalapenos, so how could we refuse? It was oh so delish!

If you don’t worry about carbs or calories and want something a little more decadent, there’s the Shrimp Tempura or Duck Confit Moo Shu on the small bites menu, as well as a spicy crab salad, egg rolls and a roast pork in a honey-sherry glaze.

I’m not much of a noodle girl but Anthony was drawn to their Cold Sesame Noodles, which are chilled lo mein noodles with a peanut-chili dressing sauce. Simple but lovely.

There’s plenty of sushi rolls and sashimi on the list, such as Tekamaki (classic tuna roll, which is also available in a spicy option), a salmon and cream cheese roll, one of our waitress’ favorites, the traditional Philadelphia roll and others. More unusual tries were also on the list however, such as a Passion roll, Mesican roll, a pepper tuna avocado roll, a Christmas tree roll (tuna, salmon, avocado, seaweed powder and caviar), a Tokyo roll (chopped shrimp, crab meet and spicy mayo) and eel with avocado, one of my go-to rolls back in California.

We went for some of their specialty rolls (above and below), including the Hattori Hanzo Roll (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and avocado, with scallions and peppered tuna on the outside), their Tartar Roll, made with chopped tuna, salmon, red snapper, yellow tail fried with spicy mayo and crunch on top and last but not least, the Crazy Boss Roll — gotta love the name, which they serve with crunchy spicy tuna and avocado, eel, peppered tuna and tobiko outside topped with a Red House made sauce.

For those not into sushi, there’s Thai and Chinese influenced “mains” as well, such as more traditional items like Chilean Sea Bass with black bean sauce, Spicy Mango chicken or shrimp, Grilled Hangar steak and sweet and sour pepper to Asian classics, like green and red curries, Teriyaki and Shanghai Shoots.

Have room for dessert? They’ve got you covered as well. Two thumbs up!

Luxury foodies — be sure to check out our Food/Wine section as well as our Restaurant Reviews section as well.

DETAILS:

Red House

30 Main Street

Milton, NY 12547

https://www.redhouseny.com/

Renee Blodgett

Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.

She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.

Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.

Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.