Route 9

The moniker derives from the highway that sweeps by the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. That's where owners Paola and Jeremy Goldberg met while obtaining their culinary training. Their menu is composed of charcuterie and cheese plates; soups and salads; nine small plates; eight main plates; and sides. The first category encompasses artisan cheeses with olives and jelly, and burrata cheese with fig preserves. Small plates include baked goat cheese with olives and soft garlic cloves, served in hot olive oil and addictively good when spread on bread; sticky chicken wings, which should have been labeled spicy chicken wings; a smoked-marlin-filled poblano pepper; and cream of tomato soup that registered a tinny blandness reminiscent of Campbell's. A small wedge of salmon steak and a cylinder of prosciutto-wrapped pork loin both boasted crisp exteriors and were moist within; flank steak, cut into thick strips, was flavorful. But accompaniments on each plate were wanting. Steak came with two romaine lettuce hearts grilled and lightly dressed with blue cheese vinaigrette (meh); five little cipollini onions were served alongside the pork (less than meh); and salmon rested upon a bed of bland, soggy, overcooked couscous (awful). But service here is great.