‘WARM HOSPITALITY’
The Amsterdam uses farm-to-table approach for American, internationally influenced fare
RHINEBECK, N.Y. » The owners of The Amsterdam restaurant want their guests to feel a sense of “warm hospitality” when they visit.
“We want people to feel like they’re in our home,” owner Howard Jacobs said recently.
He said the design and the décor of the Mill Street restaurant he owns with his wife, Chris, is built around comfort and community, and the desire to make people feel like they are in a home for a special night of great food and drinks and warm hospitality.
Jacobs said he and his wife were very fortunate to buy a building their guests tell them is a special place. He said the front of it was built in 1978 and was home to many famous families that founded Rhinebeck. It has gone through a major transformation and the design is meant to invoke a sense of togetherness, simplicity and unity, Jacobs said.
He added they felt that was a great platform to present their food and bring warm hospitality to the market.
“We were weekenders in Rhinebeck for six years,” Jacobs said. “Then I had the opportunity to buy the building where The Amsterdam now resides. I bought that four years ago.”
He said the restaurant opened in late April 2017, with a focus on American and inter-
nationally influenced farmto-table cuisine. Jacobs added the restaurant, with Executive Chef Alex Burger, is focused on in-house production and making things on site as well as “leveraging the bounty of the Hudson Valley.”
Burger buys ingredients for the menu from a variety of local farms, purveyors and foragers, Jacobs said. He added the menu is very seasonal as a result.
“We currently have our spring menu and we anticipate that changing about the third week of June as we enter the official summer season,” Jacobs said. “And our menu will adapt accordingly and bring forward lighter, more warm weather options, but still staying true to the farmto-table ethos.”
The menus include a weekend brunch and dinners, as well as craft cocktails. Currently on the dinner menu is an arborio risotto, The Amsterdam burger, a plateau de charcuterie of pickles, mustard and fennel compote, and a rainbow trout.
Jacobs said the big draws are the restaurant’s burger, duck breast, arctic char and
roasted chicken. He added that the restaurant makes all its desserts in-house and bakes its own breads and pastries, which includes a cinnamon-pecan sticky bun.
And the kitchen is completely open so guests can see their food being prepared, Jacobs said. He said that “helps us deliver on this idea that it’s coming from our home.”
Jacobs said The Amsterdam, which has 30 full- and part-time employees, has a variety of rooms and outdoor space to accommodate its guests. He added when visitors enter the front of the building they find an extensive bar area with 20 seats and a lounge.
Jacobs said they then can proceed into the main dining room, which has a tall ceiling and open space that leads to the kitchen.
At the rear of the building, guests can take advantage of the outdoor area that includes a large covered pergola with seating, Jacobs said. He said there is also an outdoor bar and more seating in a garden area. The outdoor space also has a firepit, Jacobs said. He said guests can enjoy a game of bocce while visiting too.
The restaurant also has an upstairs dining room that can be used for private functions, Jacobs said. He added that restaurant also hosts special events, like wine or harvest dinners, and musical performances.
More information is available online at www. lovetheamsterdam.com.
Weekend brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, while a weekend midday menu is available from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The bar opens at 5 a.m., Monday through Friday, and at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner is served from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.