Freelance Cafe & Wine Bar

Peter Kelly, the affable kingpin of Hudson Valley fine dining, has enjoyed an unblemished streak of winners in the past 20 years — X2O Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers, Xaviars at Piermont and Restaurant X and Bully Boy Bar in Congers. To many of Kelly’s avid followers, the laid-back Freelance Café & Wine Bar in the lively little village of Piermont is their favorite Kelly establishment.

Freelance Café shares a two-story building with Kelly’s signature restaurant, Xaviars. The dining room is tiny and tasteful, with soft, muted colors and vibrant pastoral paintings adorning the walls. The place could be mayhem were it not for the cheery and imperturbable staff. In a rush? Grab a seat at the dining bar.

Kelly’s locavore-style cooking can be winsomely colorful and complex, and as fine-tuned as a Maserati. Typical dishes include bucatini with cockles and garlic, lime-marinated grilled game hen and grilled shrimp with Thai spices and kaffir lime. The wine list is filled with delightful surprises; prices start in the low $30s.  -Bryan Miller