I remember some years ago going to see a David Letterman taping in Manhattan. Turns out the musical act that night was The Band. Imagine the luck, I thought, of going all the way from Woodstock to New York City to catch a Woodstock-based group perform.

It's sort of like how I felt Saturday when we met friends to see an Off-Broadway show and then have dinner. They made reservations at a place called Olana.

No official connection between the Columbia County home of Hudson River School painter Frederick Church and this Madison Avenue restaurant. (Thanks to a reader who pointed out an error in my original post regarding the aforementioned.) But the Olana restaurant certainly is a tribute to him, from the murals in the wonderfully appointed space, to the menu, with its bow toward Hudson Valley cuisine.

I thoroughly enjoyed dinner. But I kept thinking that a Hudson Valley resident going to dinner at Olana in New York City is like a New York City resident dining at a Little Italy inspired Italian restaurant up here.