You could say Russell Baldwin wears his feelings on his sleeve; his restaurant wears it on its sign.
The name says it all.
Rusty”™s Farm Fresh Eatery.
Six months after opening the restaurant in Red Hook, Baldwin thinks the secret to its success is providing something for everyone ”“ from vegans to carnivores ”“ all prepared using fresh local ingredients.
“You name it, we make it; and we don”™t use anything processed,” Baldwin said. “There is something for everyone here; it”™s not just health food.”
The menu stretches from wheat grass concoctions to a variety of burgers using grass-fed beef.
Baldwin said the restaurant is a matter of upbringing and opportunity and his business plan is simple ”“ serving good local food. It might take more trouble to find and prepare ingredients, he said, but the results are a loyal customer base.
“It takes way longer, takes more money, but you get great response from the customers,” he said. “They appreciate it.”
His work is aided by his father, Joe Baldwin, who runs the nonprofit group Farm to Table to promote organic and natural locally grown produce for use in area restaurants and home kitchens. The younger Baldwin said his father”™s knowledge and connections have simplified the task of obtaining the best ingredients the Hudson Valley has to offer.
The elder Baldwin is a Culinary Institute of America graduate who had run his own restaurant before moving on to become a farmer and activist, and he still helps out in Rusty”™s kitchen. “It”™s a family operation,” said Baldwin, of his 35-seat eatery.
The restaurant hasn”™t neglected business basics, there is plenty of parking, and there is catering, free Wi-Fi and local delivery. The restaurant is at 5 Old Farm Road, just off Route 9, which is Broadway in Red Hook, south of the main intersection in town with Route 199.
The restaurant brings in locals and tourists, said Baldwin, who said that repeat business and word of mouth are starting to show dividends.
“I think people realize they can come here and get anything they want from a Philly cheese sub to a gluten-free dessert.
Rusty”™s is open every day for lunch and dinner.
