Sip a 'Walkway' to celebrate Walkway

The buzz this weekend in the Hudson Valley is the opening of Walkway Over the Hudson, the “air park” that has been transformed from the former Poughkeepsie railroad bridge into the longest pedestrian bridge in the world at 1.25 miles long and standing 212 feet above water.

Needless to say, there will be plenty of celebrating this weekend as the bridge officially opens for public use.
Back in the day, the bridge was considered an engineering marvel when it was completed in 1888. At the time, it was the world's longest bridge and the only one to span the Hudson River south of Albany.
A fire, caused by sparks produced by either brakes or engine exhaust, put an end to train travel on the bridge in 1974. It has sat idle all this time, and now it will come to life again as a pedestrian walkway. I can't wait to ride my bike over the river on this marvel of a perch.

You can find out a lot more about the bridge, a list of activities scheduled this weekend and information on its storied past in the special section published by the Poughkeepsie Journal by clicking here.
That's the stellar cover, above, with photo by the Journal's ace photographer, Spencer Ainsley. Check out more about the walkway by visiting www.hudsonhappenings.com and
http://walkway.org.

So, what does this have to do with food?

Of course, libations are in order for any celebration, and there is one unique cocktail debuting this weekend that was created to mark the historic event.

(The Walkway cocktail features a chocolate "walkway" stirrer/Keith Ferris photo/Culinary Institute of America)

The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park has introduced a new cocktail, The Walkway, a combination of rye whiskey, apple jack, New York state maple syrup and Dutch chocolate bitters in honor of the quadricentennial, a celebration marking the anniversaries of explorer Henry Hudson’s journey up the river that now bears his name, the exploration of Lake Champlain and Robert Fulton’s steamboat journey.

The cocktail is garnished with a chocolate “walkway” that also serves as a stirrer for the cocktail.
How cool is that?

Douglass Miller, a CIA lecturing instructor in Hospitality and Service Management, created the darling beverage.

The Walkway cocktail will be offered in the college’s three international restaurants — American Bounty, Escoffier Restaurant and Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici through Oct. 31.

For more information about The Culinary Institute of America’s public restaurants, visit www.ciachef.edu/restaurants or call 1-845-471-6608.

Come, visit the valley and take a walk on the air park, and then indulge yourself with good food and a Walkway cocktail at the nearby CIA.