Late last winter, Via Cassia opened in the former Ca’Mea space in Hudson. And now a mere nine months later, the small trattoria on Warren Street finds itself under the national spotlight. Launched on December 1, USA TODAY’s annual readers’ choice awards, 10Best, finds Via Cassia nominated as one of this year’s Best New Restaurants—the only eatery in the Hudson Valley to make the preliminary cut. Of the 20 contenders, Via Cassia is currently ranked 11th, with 16 more days of voting to make the top 10 cut.
The Italian restaurant is headed up by husband-and-wife duo Gaetano and Meigan Arnone. The culinary concept is shaped by Chef Gaetano’s 10-year career in New York City and a stint studying under a master butcher in Tuscany. His CV includes accomplishments like helping open the city’s first Eataly, working at Dickson’s Farmstand Meats and Salumeria Rosi, and a nine-year run at the acclaimed Babbo where he became Chef de Cuisine.
“We found out about it this morning,” Meigan replies by email. “Funny enough, Chef Gaetano has a Google alert set for anything written about Via Cassia and we woke up this morning to an article published about it from 107.7 WGNA radio website.”
The menu at Via Cassia focuses on doing a few simple things very well. At its center is the in-house pasta program, complemented by rustic antipasti, cheeses, salumi, and fully Italian wine list. “There are some Italian classics on the menu that anyone with time spent in Italy would recognize, and others that are unique to Chef Gaetano,” says Meigan.
Freshly relocated to the US from Tuscany, the couple is thrilled to be in the running for a national title. “It was a very unexpected surprise!” Meigan says. “USA Today is a national award-winning news outlet and we feel quite proud to represent the Hudson Valley with this nomination!”
You can vote for Via Cassia once a day through December 20.
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