Tricycle

Living in the Village, there are people you know without ever meeting. They and their habits are as familiar as the water tower in the skyline.

She has intrigued me for a long time, the tricycle rider. She reminds me of another tricycle rider on the other side of the world. I never met him, and neither will she; but they are parentheses around my little world.

Bubby's Back!

The little Burrito Stand is open again. You don't need me to tell you, unless you haven't traveled 9G on your way to Tivoli in the past couple of weeks.


It's a sure sign that Bard graduation will soon be upon us, when Bubby comes back home from Mexico and sets up the Burrito stand. All winter she and her husband run a cafe in San Miguel. Not a bad gig. But, in summer, she's all ours.


You can get your black bean burrito with guacamole or without, and there's a cheese quesadilla on the menu too. The most you could possibly spend for lunch is $7.50, so add this to your cheap date list.


If you hang around the stand to eat (which is the best part), just watch out for the chicken. She's a burrito-eatin' chicken, and if you are part of the under 3-foot crowd, she just might steal your lunch.


Bubby's Burritos is located at the Montgomery Place Orchards Fruit Stand on Route 9G just north of the light at Route 199. She's open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 to 5. And, she'll be with us until early fall.

Joel Griffith, Painter of Tivoli

Tivoli has a few painters, but none more identified with the Village than Joel Griffith. You've probably seen him beside the road under a big straw hat with his easel and brushes. You may even have wondered - how could he be painting... that? He is engaged by the details of this place, and not just its obvious postcard shots (which abound).


Joel's style is documentary and experiential. Yes, it's realism, but with a point of view. His canvases are quiet and still. That stillness makes you see the beauty of a landscape and its all-too-human interventions. Having grown up on Broadway, Joel has had the luxury of time in observing his subject. Rusty train tracks are as beautiful as the Catskill sunset they frame. Utility poles and worn black top enliven views toward the river.


If you have a keen eye, you will have noticed a deepening of his technique as time has passed. His rendering has become so sharp that it is hyper-real. His more recent paintings of trailers fit uncomfortably within the genre of house portraits. And, the discomfort works. The shipping container quality of these little boxes plopped on their lots catches you off guard. This is Joel at his best.


These days Joel is as likely to complete an entire painting in his studio as out in the elements. While he loved having us peer over his shoulder and make inane and witty comments, he has tired a bit of painting in public. You will still find him contemplating a view, perhaps sketching a detail, but his painting is done largely in his studio. He's often working on six or more paintings at a time. He says, "It's like dating a bunch of people. You get tired of one and move on. When you come back, you remember what you liked about it in the first place." His studio is above the Black Swan, pub extraordinaire. It is tiny and smells of oil paint, Lestoil and last night's beer (the last two contributed by the pub). His palette is just an old pizza box, which he flips over and uses twice.


This would be a good point to mention that Joel makes his living largely with his art. When I visited, he was nearing completion of a lovely wedding gift commission, a big canvas of farm fields where the couple were married. Over the course of two mayors' terms of office, the Village of Tivoli commissioned seven paintings which are on display in the entry of Watts DePeyster Hall. On your next trip to the Library, take a closer look.

Joel has just come to the end of a two-year period of intensive painting. He hints at a possible stylistic change, which has happened before in his 20 years of painting. For now, he's packing his bags for a month in Brazil. He may paint while he's there, but as he says, "I could paint one church, or visit ten; and I'd rather visit ten." Have a great trip, Joel. We'll be looking for you under your straw hat again in spring.

Meet Otto

Otto is a grocer. And his little grocery has turned the lights back on on Main Street, Germantown. As you may have heard, Otto is from Whole Foods, a former VP of Operations responsible for 16 stores in the NY metro area. So why is he in Germantown, you ask?

He wanted to be a chicken farmer. He went looking for land and found a market instead. And it needed him. Desperately. It's been two long years since Central Market went dark, and Germantown has been patiently waiting.


And it is beautiful. Otto has kept the cafe tables and the bar counter facing the street, so you can sit and watch Gtown go by (pick-up after pick-up after pick-up, all with plows, I might add). Ken is back from the Central Market days making great soups daily, and he's in the deli cutting fresh meat to order and making sandwiches and panini (the pickles are surely the best north of White Plains).

New to Gtown is Starlight, the CIA-trained pastry chef (yes, that's her name, and she is delightful). She bakes muffins and desserts daily including Otto's grandmother's own butterscotch glazed cinnamon buns. She's a talented cake baker, from what I hear, and will make special occasion cakes with 3 days notice. In the category of find-of-the-week, she's also making homemade marshmallows. Remember that when you're thinking campfire s'mores this summer.


While all of this makes a breakfast or lunch meet-up in Gtown once again possible, the essence of Otto's Market is groceries. Before opening, Otto did his research (which is why he should be around for awhile). He visited every market in a 50 mile radius. He found out most little grocers don't have much food for sale (but, we knew this). "I had more food in my cupboards than they had on their shelves."


Otto's shelves are packed. A friend of mine (former Germantown organic shiitake farmer) recently checked out behind a guy with a big plastic tub of Cool Whip. Gotta love that. Which pretty much sums up Gtown, and Otto's. Peruse the aisles and you will find locally roasted J.B. Peel coffee next to Maxwell House. Chatham's own Our Daily Bread just down the aisle from Freihofer's. And Fruit Loops shoulder to shoulder with European meusli. There's something for every palate and wallet from basic grocery, to local products, national-brand natural foods, and posh imports.


Gone is the catering, but who has money for that these days, anyway? Otto will happily prepare trays for meetings and gatherings and his cheeses, fresh local produce (in season) and baked goods should get you through, just fine.

And, I must note, the staff are all adults. Adults. With food experience. And they really like Otto. This is a very good sign.

Thank you, Otto. From the jars of penny candy to the grind-your-own peanut butter, the heavenly Chemex coffee to the Financial Times, we really like what you've done. And we won't forget that you are the Village of Tivoli's nearest grocer. The chickens will just have to wait.

Otto's Market is at 215 Main St. conveniently opposite Jim Lawlor's liquor store. Otto's is open Mon-Sat 7-7, Sun 7-3. Phone 518.537.7200.