Gigi Trattoria Italian – Rhinebeck Upstate NY Catskills
Montgomery Row – Suite 1
Rhinebeck, NY
(845) 876-1007
www.gigitrattoria.com
We were visiting some friends at the Omega Institute and then went to dinner in Rhinebeck on Route 9. We were feeling a little let down by not having the chance to dine the Culinary Institute so we sought other established 
dining options and are friends told us about Gigi. Funny because the chef Laura Pensiero is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute of New York and the running joke with a hint of scarcasm that night was hey she was featured on Oprah’s magazine so it must be great! Nevertheless the food was
amazing and we all gained a deeper respect for Oprah. (Seriously though, Gigi was selected as Oprah’s top 5 ‘gifted and giving’ food professionals for her cookbook The Strang Cancer Prevention Center Cookbook) I ordered a dish of spicy sausage penne pasta with a cream sauce. The pasta was cooked al dente to perfection which is quite impressive because often you order pasta at an Italian restaurant and its either soggy or chewy. Sing ordered a nicely cooked Rib Eye steak that was also cooked just right. Along the main strip of Rhinebeck are many other exceptional restaurants that I hope to visit again in the future. Next time you take a road trip upstate New York, I highly suggest stopping by Rhinebeck and checking out Gigi Trattoria and the many other restaurants. It’s a hidden culinary hotspot in a relaxed country feeling with great food and at more palatable prices than New York City.
Ok, I am not entirely sure Rhinebeck qualifies as upstate, unless everything north of 57th street does, but this is a great review and I might have to head south and try it out. I have a blog that does foodie stuff mainly, but not exclusively, around the finger lakes,