Cruella's Crypt: Halloween at New World Home Cooking

There’s really only one place to be in the Hudson Valley around Halloween, and that’s New World Home Cooking. If you don’t know about New World Home Cooking, or specifically Chef Ric Orlando, recent Food Network “Chopped “ champion, you clearly live under a rock.

New World Home cooking, located on Route 212 in Saugerties, New York, has been dishing out “clean food’ for about 16 years, and is recognized as the place for exceptional food, amazing music and outrageous parties. The recent Halloween season there was no exception.

Chef Orlando’s terrifying treats ranged from blackened chicken dishes, squid ink rice sides, blood orange drinks and so much more! The group I went with all sampled the “dark themed” menu specials for the night, which left us all totally blown away by the flavors, the textures, and the incredibly interesting combinations of all the food that was served.

As the night progressed, more and more Halloween revelers spilled into the place. By 10 pm the entire restaurant was hopping, with people dancing in two rooms separated by a big cozy bar area. One room playing everyone’s favorite disco tunes and the other room more house and techno beats--all jam-packed with dancing bodies and spectacular light shows. The costumes were as original as always--what would you expect? It’s Woodstock, baby! Everyone came out to enjoy what we all have come to know as the IT place to be. I recommend making the trek to spend the weekend in the Hudson Valley--and if you do, make sure to swing in, say hi to Ric, and tell him the Captain sent you.

Cruella gives New World Home Cooking:

4 Decaying Thumbs Up

Be sure to check out their delicious Thanksgiving menu too!

http://www.ricorlando.com/nwhchome.html

845.246.0900

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Cruella's Crypt: The Barn of Terror

[Editor's Note: Please give a warm welcome to a very familiar rotting face around these parts, the formidable Captain Cruella of the Carnivorous Cadavers. Fresh off the Village Invasion zombie crawl, Cruella will now be an official fixture here in the Vault. Keep an eye out (see what I did there?) for future installments of Cruella's Crypt, in which the Captain will keep all of us abreast of horror-related events and happenings taking place beyond the movie screen...]

Originally created as a way to raise money for a youth group, and now a “pro” haunted attraction, the Barn of Terror in Lake Katrine, New York is a real scream. Upon arrival, you are ushered into a small reception room where you start by actually walking through a standing coffin and into the first part of the haunted barn itself. The actors in there are good, loud and plentiful. The lighting is disorienting and the layout is fun. You get directed into a retired silo for a spectacular treat after exiting the barn, then catch a ride on a bus that drives you to the corn maze.

The maze itself was exceptionally long, and a little difficult to navigate in the dark. I ended up looking down for most of it, as I was afraid of tripping over stray ears of corn on the path. The theme at the Barn of Terror this year is zombie infection, which seems to be the theme overall this Halloween season. I did enjoy the military versus the zombie infection storyline quite a bit. The only drawbacks were that some of the actors didn’t appear too comfortable in their roles and it just seemed a little forced at times. With the vast corn maze that the Barn of Terror carved out for it’s visitors, there should have been far more actors to jump out and scare the groups as they went through. Some of the down time between actors made it feel like I was just out for a night time stroll. However, stumbling upon a skull mine--which is entirely too cool for words and really unique--made up for the lack of actor.

The Barn of Terror is located on Old Kings Highway at Thru View Farms in Lake Katrine, right off Saugerties Thruway exit 20. The cost is $20 per person, and it took a group of four about an hour and 10 minutes to make it through the barn and the maze. Their season runs from the last weekend in September through the last weekend in October, and it's open Friday through Sunday at 7pm.

I would have to say that given some time, a little finesse, and the addition of more confident actors into the corn maze, this haunt could potentially be a top-notch haunted attraction.

Cruella gives The Barn of Terror:

3 Decaying Thumbs Up

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