Cucina

Communal tables in restaurants are like anchovies on pizzas — you like them or you avoid them. In this farmhouse setting you can pull up a chair next to a complete stranger — actually, 22 complete strangers — or find more privacy in one of the tasteful, modern dining rooms. Owner- chef Gianni Scappin is a celebrity of sorts in these parts, having co-founded the wildly popular Gigi Trattoria, in Rhinebeck. Earlier in his career he was the chef at a number of marquee eateries in New York City. He’s an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

The locally sourced food is bright, light and infused with authentic flavors. Dishes include rigatoni with sausage, peas and tomatoes, linguine with shrimp, spicy tomato sauce and garlic, short ribs stew with polenta, and pork tenderloin with sage and prosciutto. The wine selection, mostly Italian, is well-paired to the food.

In warm weather tables are set out on a broad, covered porch.

--Bryan Miller