PHOTOS: Is This the Most-Missed Restaurant in the Hudson Valley?

Sometimes all it takes is one sentence to catapult you back in time, and that's exactly what happened this week when a Hudson Valley resident asked a relatively simple question.

"What is/was the name of the Italian restaurant on 209 that supposedly sold the best chicken parmigiana[?] It's between Kingston and Rosendale". As a native Ulster County resident, I immediately knew which restaurant she was talking about, and so did tons of others. The flood of comments made me wonder if the since-closed restaurant might be the business that Ulster County misses most.

Remembering the Marbletown Inn in Ulster County, NY

Even though the location could be more accurately described as between Stone Ridge, NY and Kingston, NY (the actual address is in Kingston), the answer was clear: the restaurant in question was the former Marbletown Inn. What may be more important than the answer, however, were the memories shared about the former community staple.

Chicken Parmigiana at the Marbletown Inn

"I miss that place!!! The BEST chicken parmigiana", said one Ulster County resident. "And I loved their Italian dressing!!!", added another. "Marbletown Inn was fabulous, I miss them", came a comment that seemed to sum up the feelings of everybody in the thread. Personally, my memories of the restaurant stretch back more than twenty years.

Read More: New Restaurant Finally Replacing Flavorful Ladle In Highland, NY

Local Memories at the Marbletown Inn

The Marbletown Inn, located at 2842 Route 209 in Ulster County, NY, was where my cross-country track team at Rondout Valley High School went to eat end-of-season team meals. It was also the setting for one of my first dates after getting my driver's license. I even got to join a local band on stage one fateful night when I was no older than 14 years old, and played the bass in front of strangers for the first time. Luckily, the restaurant hasn't fully disappeared.

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The building that used to house the Marbletown Inn is now the home of another local favorite, the High Falls Café. While the location may be relatively new, the High Falls Café has been a local favorite since 2005. Now in its third location, the restaurant even offers the dish that got this conversation started in the first place: chicken parmigiana.