This Is Where to Eat in Poughkeepsie, New York

Lolita's Pizza was a restaurant recommended by The Culinary Institiute of America to visit while in New York. And holy moly, this dining experience goes on my list of all-time favorites.

When in New York, you have to eat some pizza. Lolita's uses wood-fired ovens and the smell throughout the restaurant was heavenly. I ordered their "New Yorker" which is basically a cheese pizza with mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, caciocavallo, and oregano. The taste of freshness from their quality ingredients really came through in every bite. I could see the oregano infused into the cheese that provided a nice hint of earthy flavor with the rich cheeses. The dough was nicely charred, and the rim of crust stayed airy and light.

Yes, there was a lot of amazing food I ate this evening, but my favorite dish was the Brussels sprouts! The Brussels were dressed in a malt vinegar aioli with hazelnuts and garnished with an indulgent amount of pecorino cheese. I was a little hesitant to order these because I am not the biggest fan of vinegar. But I was actually pleasantly surprised by the flavor which tasted more like a slightly sweet olive oil. This was the perfect combination to the salty cheese and hazelnuts. The texture also had many different dimensions from the crispy Brussels sprouts, smooth cheese, and crunchy nuts. This was a bowl of absolute perfection.

Another exciting appetizer or side dish I would order again was their arancini, crispy fried risotto, but stuffed with lamb and cheeses including pecorino, grana Padano, and fontina. Arancini has potential to be overwhelmingly rich, but the chimichurri aioli added a nice herbaceous balance. I love a bite that starts with a crispy crunch and ends in creamy deliciousness.

Now it is time for dessert! I shared this dining experience with my dad and cheesecake is not the first pick for either of us. But their vanilla cheesecake was highly recommended by the staff, so we gave it a try. This happened to not be your average cheesecake; it is served deconstructed with a toffee pudding, cinnamon streusel, crust pieces, topped with vanilla cheesecake. Putting a unique spin on a very traditional dessert is risky but this one paid off. There was a kick of a bitter coffee flavor with just the right amount of sweet where it actually felt light which is unusual for cheesecake. This was my favorite dessert of the night.

The next dessert I tried was their bread pudding with a lemon glaze. Traditional bread pudding has strong cinnamon, brown sugar, or nutmeg flavor. Their lemon glaze tasted sourer than a sweet limoncello flavor. The taste of a lemon and bolder cinnamon combination was a little odd, but the overall baking execution of the bread having a crispy exterior and pillowy interior was great.

This last dessert was their fried dough with a bourbon caramel drizzle and powdered sugar. These tasted just like funnel cake but made with much higher quality dough. Simply sweet and fried goodness you will not be mad about ordering!

I will be craving Lolita's Pizza until my next visit!