County Fare — Restaurant in Town of Wappinger

I grew up in Wappingers (not the town where this Main Street restaurant is but about 3 miles away) and I've watched the evolution of Main Street through the 70s, 80s, etc up to today. I can positively, without hesitation, call County Fare a perfect addition to the rejuvenation of Main Street. Several restaurants have attempted to succeed in this space, but County Fare seems to me to be the one that is going to stick. First of all, the space, atmosphere, decor and vibe are a perfect fit with the community from my perspective. Not haughty, not trying to hard to be hip, not pretentious, not coldly modern, rather, the place is inviting, relaxing, tastefully designed with an emphasis a bit towards the rustic or, let's call it the 'blue collar' side - interesting, but not divey. The immediate thing that will hit you on entering is the absolute, completely genuine, down to earth friendliness of the staff, who, on the several occasions I went were teenagers or early 20-somethings. The unmistakable sign of good, passionate and engaged management is who they hire. With such young staff, there is always a risk, but whoever is doing the hiring has a keen eye for young people who seem to just naturally understand how to treat a customer, how to engage respectfully and warmly, how to be attentive but not intrusive, and how to talk about the menu with knowledge. So straight off the bat, that's 5 stars right there. Now, the food. This is American country comfort food.. burgers, etc, done extremely well, with attention to detail, care for presentation, an interesting assortment of sides, and little nods to the unusual which are subtle but not overpowering, preserving the traditions of the basic dishes while giving you a little kick in the dopamine department. Beers, cocktails, etc are either sourced locally, designed specifically for the vibe of the place and the season or are intelligently curated from the very strong current movement towards bespoke or small brewers, distillers, etc. But they also have the basics, so there is pretty much something for everyone here. One of my fail safe tests of any restaurant of this nature (I think 'gastropub', although a UK term, adequately categorizes it) is to see if the chef actually knows how to cook a burger Medium Rare. It is extraordinarily difficult in the U.S. to find a chef who really knows his grill and knows his meat and can hit the bullseye on Medium Rare. If I have doubts, I order Medium, knowing that I'll probably get somewhere between Medium Rare and Medium. I specifically asked the waitress if she thought the chef could do an actual Medium Rare burger (meaning, it should be charred on the outside and then progress nicely to a pink center) and she said "Well, he's a CIA grad and I'm pretty sure he knows his stuff". Good enough for me and she proved to be correct. Burger was exquisite and actually Medium Rare. That goes A LONG way in my book. Second to that is whether or not a place like this has malt vinegar for french fries. If they do not, I begin to seriously doubt the head chef or whoever is designing the menu knows what they are doing. Sure enough, at my request, the waitress gave me a friendly look that said "DUH...coming right up!". So, flying colors on that test also. There is absolutely NOTHING off or worthy of criticism at County Fare. It fits in the neighborhood, it is staffed perfectly, the food, though simple, is awesome, the boozy department is well curated and interesting and, particularly on a snowy Hudson Valley evening, its design is warm, cozy and soulful. County Fare is on the top of my list for every visit up from Queens to take my Mom or friends out. And you can pop next door and get...

County Fare offers some very good food at good prices with exceptional service and a great atmosphere. It also offers outdoor dining which is nice for the summer time.

For starters we had the County Fare Tots (Fare Style) and they were very delicious. The tater tots were fresh and the chili had a perfect balance of spice. We also had the Fare Pierogis and they were also very good. I think the addition of caramelized onions made a sweet and savory bite all at once.

For the main course I had a Brisket sandwich (shown below) and was very satisfied with it. It also had a good balance between the slaw and BBQ sauce it wasn’t too much and wasn’t too little. I also tried a bit of a cheeseburger and the meat blend is packed with flavor and the patty itself was surprisingly very juicy even though it was cooked medium. The fries that are served here are also very good and the seasoning was spot on perfect.

Overall the meal was very good and I would return. The service was also good. Our waiter Lindsay went above and beyond and checked on us often even though there was a small lunch rush while we were there. The ratings speak for themselves. Lastly I was a bit disappointed to see that the website menu and the menu i was given were totally different. I originally came here to try a burger that was recommended to me but was disappointed to see that the menu isn’t really close to what you can actually order there. For me there weren’t too many choices which i didn’t like but at the end...

Bartenders can not fill up a growler properly! Who trained them if they were trained?. I used to bartend. The food is overpriced and gross. I ordered some pretzels ugh I make better ones at home. The owner of this place seems like an arrogant, pathetic racist loser. I don't know who they are blowing to keep this place open. The five-star reviews must be from friends or people who don't know any better. During COVID, these guys were real jerks. Stay far away from this place if you care about your health.

UPDATE ----- IF YOU ARE GOING TO OFFER VEGAN FOOD, MAYBE LEARN HOW TO MAKE IT. STEAMED CAULIFOWER IS NOT HOW YOU MAKE VEGAN WINGS! MORONS LOL. YOU BREAD THEM AND FRY THEM NOT WITH THE OIL YOU FRY MEAT AND CHEESE AND THEN YOU ADD THE SAUCE. LEARN HOW TO COOK. THIS PLACE IS WACK AND VERY EXPENSIVE. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

UPDATE UPDATE ----- Hiiiiiiiii, everyone is entitled to give their HONEST review whether pos or neg, it is called a cri·tique. Maybe, use the CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM for improvements, especially if you are charging such exorbitant prices. Everything in this review made sense. Bartenders couldn't fill growlers correctly, kitchen staff does not have REAL vegan chefs instead they are cooking pathetic versions of how they think vegan food is cooked. Those pretzels were poorly made. I was totally unsatisfied but that's what I get for eating at most Dutchess County restaurants Sad. That is my honest review and I have not been back since. I did give it a couple...