A Vibrant Upstate New York Town, Set Against a Quaint Backdrop

When the husband-and-wife New York City restaurateurs Sarah and Nick Suarez left New York City to open their first restaurant upstate, the couple made a somewhat surprising choice in Germantown. Despite giving roots to one of America’s most powerful and well-known families — the Rockefellers — the quaint Columbia County town, home to a population of just 2,000, has remained relatively undiscovered compared to other buzzier Hudson Valley destinations such as Kingston and Hudson (though it benefits from its proximity to both).

“There’s a very special energy to this little town,” Suarez says. Last summer, the couple — whose experience at Brooklyn and Manhattan restaurants includes Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Franny’s and Marlow & Sons — opened Gaskins, where the locally sourced menu of seasonal dishes offers up tastes of familiar, home-cooked comforts (which seems appropriate, given that the Suarezes live upstairs above the restaurant).

Sarah and Nick have equal hands in their fledging restaurant’s nightly operations: She runs the front of the house, while he oversees the kitchen, turning out modern riffs on favorite dishes like wood-roasted half-chicken, burrata with toast and kale pesto, and house-made cavatelli. There’s also beer on the menu from Suarez Family Brewery, which Nick’s brother recently opened in the nearby town of Livingston.

In only a year, Gaskins has become a gathering place for locals and residents — it’s not uncommon for neighboring business owners, many of whom are also new arrivals, to describe their location in terms of proximity (“around the corner” or “across the street”) to the restaurant’s Church Street address — and has attracted out-of-town foodies to the area. Earlier this week, the restaurant hosted New York City’s Mile End Delicatessen for a joint pop-up dinner of wood-fired Middle Eastern dishes flecked with some of the deli’s Montreal-inspired trademarks, such as gravy-drenched poutine and a smoked brisket sandwich. (The Mile End’s owners Rae and Noah Bernamoff have a part-time home in nearby Saugerties, which added to the night’s communal feel.)

Below, where to shop, browse art — and eat some more — in the neighborhood.