When Jack and Luna’s Café opened in Stone Ridge a few years ago, I thought, Hmmm, good, a sleek-looking new breakfast and lunch spot. I must check it out. Since then, I’ve driven past perhaps a zillion times. I finally stopped in to meet a friend last week.
Although it’s taken me awhile to find out what I was missing, the café has evidently been well appreciated by a host of others — the soups, sandwiches, and coffee are the best in the Valley, according to readers of Hudson Valley Magazine. I’ll add that my fresh bagel with cream cheese, excellent lox, capers and red onion was pretty darn good, too. Even the decaf coffee is tasty.
 |
 |
At lunchtime, the place is a magnet for locals, who pile in for the award-winning soups (corn chowder with crab meat is the weekend favorite), sandwiches, salads, panini, and quiches. The baked goodies are terrific, too. You’ll find the cupcake craze well represented, along with cookies, brownies, scones, and a rotating selection of cakes, including a daily gluten-free treat. If you’re in the mood for chocolate, hit the café when the cake of the day is the chocolate one, with chocolate mousse, covered in chocolate ganache. There’s a fix for you.
The setting is bright, industrial-chic-modern, with a polished concrete floor, stainless tables, and orange, molded chairs. There’s WiFi, too, so you can order at the counter and hang out with your laptop while you nibble and enjoy a cappuccino, a beer, or a glass of wine. On warm days, you can sit on the terrace.
Julie and Chris Bowman opened Jack and Luna’s in 2007 as a local hangout, although in his heart, Chris, a drummer, wanted a jazz club. So once a month (sometimes twice a month in summer), the café reopens at night for jazz sessions. Chris, who always drums, pulls in a roster of well-known musicians to jam with. “As he says, it’s the best gig he could come up with,” Julie remarks. The usual menu is available on jazz nights, with a $10 music charge. Check the Web site for coming shows (www.jackandlunas.com). And don’t wait years to get there.
» Go to Jack and Luna’s Café in Stone Ridge, NY
» More from The Accidental Foodie blog
» Go to the Hudson Valley Restaurants Guide
» Go to the Hudson Valley Food & Drink Guide
