Hi friends,

So I don’t have a ton of time, but I just wanted to give ever-the-quickest of updates as to the weekends’ activities.

If I’m being totally honest here, I would have to say that the town where I spent most of my young adult life growing up is, as they say, a bit rough around the edges. Newburgh, New York, has seen its fair share of crime (I mean, New York magazine had an in-depth profile on it almost exactly one year ago entitled ‘Welcome to Newburgh, Murder Capital of New York.’)

What I can say in all honesty, from having grown up in Newburgh and having spent four years attending high school there, is that this town is what you make of it. My friends, for the most part, were awesome, amazing people who, on occasion, managed to find trouble, sure–but what high schooler doesn’t?

Then, of course, there was the other side of Newburgh–the gangs and high school drop outs and high poverty rates. These were part of the side of Newburgh that I tried not to get to know too intimately.

Now, having not fully lived in Newburgh for more than 11 years, what I can say is that every time I go back, I’m impressed by all the improvements that it seems like the city is really trying to make–especially when those improvements are in and around the city of Newburgh, where the crime is at its worst.

And that, my friends, is really the point of this post. Yesterday was my younger sister’s birthday, and so Chris and I hopped the train to Beacon yesterday afternoon (after having stopped off for a late lunch at Junior’s because, let me tell you friends, I still maintain that they have the absolute best veggie sandwich in the world, and I love, love, love the free bowl of pickles, beets and cole slaw that you get) to hang out with Steph and her boyfriend.

Since both of them have been around Newburgh a lot longer than I have, and more recently, they tend to know the new, best places to hang. And so, the first place we went to celebrate Steph’s 24th year of life was to the Newburgh Brewing Company.

The Brewing Company can be found on the outskirts of the city of Newburgh, in what I’m pretty sure must have been an old factory building. It’s got those great tall, beamed ceilings, and ample open space for a live band (which we were privy to when we arrived) and some game tables.

A note from the founders on the site reads:

“Honor. You’ll find a good deal of it in everything we do here at the Newburgh Brewing Company. We honor the natural goodness of our ingredients, by working hard to make them shine through in every sip. We honor the rich history of Newburgh, a tough-minded town that’s still as hardscrabble as it was when General George Washington stationed his army here more than 200 years ago. That earnest, pull yourself up by your bootstraps energy still abounds in Newburgh and it’s reflected in the simple, honest flavors you’ll find in our beer. People have been brewing beer in Newburgh since before America was America – it’s a tradition we’re proud to be a part of. Most important, we honor you. We love making beer. We pour our passion into this brewery every day and we are deeply honored each time you choose to enjoy the fruits of our labor.”

Should you find yourself in Newburgh sometime in the near future, might I suggest a trip to the Newburgh Brewing Company, where I would highly suggest the Saison beer, especially if light, wheat ale beers are your schtick.

After the Brewing Company, we had dinner at Il Cenacolo, an adorable little Tuscan restaurant on South Plank Road. There we shared two bottles of red wine, stuffed mushrooms and tomato and mozzarella appetizers. Then I had the Farfelle alla pumate for dinner, which was pretty awesome, too.

Our last stop of the night was to Billy Joe’s Ribworks, on the water. To be fair, the Newburgh Waterfront has always been a point of interest for our little town, and within the past few years the restoration effort really picked up pace, and you can see a vast difference down there from what I remember growing up in Newburgh. It’s now home to tons of bars, restaurants, spas and salons.

Billy Joe’s itself is right on the water, with an open floor plan inside and a humongous deck outside, perfect for another live band to perform. (Nuts in a Blender. I’m not being gross. That was honestly the name of the band that performed last night. Surprisingly, they weren’t that bad.)

Anyway, all of this is to say–I’m proud of all the energy that has been put into building up Newburgh. In only a few short years, they’ve managed to really make a difference in many of the abandoned buildings and old storefronts.

Newburgh really has a lot of potential–and I think people are finally starting to put in the valiant effort needed to reach it.

Image courtesy of Umbra Newburgh