Have you been looking for an unpretentious place with really good food and good people? Then you need to head over to County Fare in Wappingers Falls. --a gastropub with a bar and grill feel and a menu focused on great ingredients with options for all.
It’s been almost a year now since, owners Adam Lauricella, his wife Keely and Branden McAlpine opened up County Fare in the space previously occupied by the Quiet Man Pub.
The menu has plenty to choose from including their custom-blend burgers and a large selection of comfort food and sandwiches. There is their award-winning mac & cheese, along with perogies and local beer bratwurst. If you’re looking for main courses, there are ribs and a blackened salmon among other heartier options.
The menu also offers many vegetarian options created not just to take the meat out of a dish, but to make something delicious in its own right. Prime example: their roasted buffalo cauliflower-a signature dish.
Everything is made on premises, including the addictive twice-fried, hand cut fries. You’ll get them with the burgers, the Peppadew Veggie Burger and tempeh Rueben and many of the other great sandwich options.
At the bar, they offer a long list of specialty and classic cocktails. The Quiet Man Manhattan, a nod to the spaces previous owner, made with Warwick's Black Dirt Bourbon, Byrrh and orange bitters is barrel aged in house wooden barrels. It is served over one overly large ice cube, in classic cocktail style, with a slice of orange and a Luxardo (candied) cherry. Delicious!
They feature a large selection of local beers, including some “hyper local” and “Unicorn” beers, as Lauricella calls them, that are in high demand and may not be easy to get elsewhere. Even with all the choices, you can still get a classic Budweiser or can of Pabst. “Not everyone likes or wants a craft beer. We are here to give people the opportunity to have what they like and what they want.” Says Lauricella
Once a month they host a ‘Tap Take Over’ where they invite a brewery to come in for the evening and they highlight their beers. They will strike 6 or 8 taps with just the one brewery’s beer and often add special food pairings. “We act kind of like a brokerage house and acting intermediary for these breweries. Since some of the breweries don’t have tap rooms or they are far away, it gives them an opportunity to showcase their beer and it is a chance for someone to taste a beer that is usually just served at the brewery,” explains Lauricella.
Friends for many years, Lauricella and McAlpine both have a deep-rooted passion for the restaurant and hospitality business. They insisted on creating a place that is accessible to all--where everyone can kick back and have a good time.
Lauricella is no stranger to Wappingers. He’s a native, born and raised in Wappingers. His grandparents moved here in the early fifties and his parents met in the village of Wappingers. So, his roots run deep. He shares, “I remember hearing my famlly talk about Jenny Stripple’s Candy Store, Lee’s General Five & Dime and Sweet Orr & Co. jeans factory. I took guitar lessons in the village, bought my first guitar from Sal’s Guitar Shop, which I still have the guitar.”
With deep sentimental ties in the village, it is important to Lauricella to be able to give back to the town of Wappingers and give the community a place they enjoy and feel comfortable in. “It’s a simple place and we’re not looking to over-complicate it. It’s important to us that the people around here know that they do not have to go out of town to have a good evening. There are options in the village now,” says Lauricella.
County Fare has a relaxed atmosphere, and they pride themselves on not taking themselves too seriously. When I sat in the restaurant I had the feeling of a space where you could quote the famed Cheers theme song lyrics, ‘Where everybody knows your name, and you’re always glad you came.’ I’d add--and you’ll eat really well! The staff is welcoming and if you are lucky, Lauricella’s wife, Keely, will be there to greet you. Her warmth and friendliness makes you feel like you have just been invited into her home.
County Fare
2652 E Main St,
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
www.countyfareny.com Phone: (845) 297-3300
