Behold The Cozy Map Of Comfy Places

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[Werner Herzog Voice] They say the tundra is a place of desolate wilderness – treeless, exposed, where the wind gnaws at the earth with the indifference of a nameless universe. A place where survival is measured in increments of suffering.

It is ice-storming outside my house as I write you this letter, and I’m stuck in place, our driveway frozen into a cruel luge course with no cheering spectators, where no one wins at the finish line. This is Winter’s Grip, and there’s only one thing that can thaw us from the sorrows.

OK that was my best Werner Herzog. I anticipated that the Winter Grip might come for us. That’s why I’ve been visiting cozy places upstate all month long as a form of cozy-seeking, to find comfort amongst [looks at newsfeed] ~all of this~ and I’ve also been cryptically posting pictures of these places without much additional information in the hopes of building anticipation for my latest Jiffy Jaunting Map: The Cozy Map Of Comfy Places!

Or is it The Comfy Map Of Cozy Places? I don’t remember anymore, because I must have blurbed 3,000 blurbs, condensing them into what you see now. It’s all the blurbs a brain can blorp. If there are any mistakes or corrections that need to me made, please let me know.

Think of the Cozy Map as a field guide to seizing this last stretch of winter and making the most out of it, finding warmth and community, coffee shops and third spaces, art galleries and comfort food, all over the Hudson Valley, Berkshires, and some of the Capital Region.

I've added tags in each listing to help you search around the ~150 places (the maximum amount I can add on this map!) and narrow down your list to find that special spot. I’ve been using and having fun with the PamPam mapmaking platform, designed by former Google and Google Maps UX folks.

You can use the search function to find places with features including a “fireplace,” “comfort food,” “apres ski,” etc. You can also simply peruse through the sections and find a place that fits your comfort-needs.

It has been an especially cold winter, and I hope this map helps you find some warmth somewhere.

While each spot on the map has a blurb, there are some that have Extended Blurbs. These are places that I especially love. Here are a few of those:

Roe Jan Brewing Co., Hillsdale, New York

Roe Jan Brewing Co. is one of my favorite places. I live only a few minutes away, but I'd drive at least an hour to sip on their Cozy Flannel, a brown ale that Brewmaster Hayley Shine told me should "feel like a hug. A beer that feels like a hug."

That was the inspiration for the Cozy Flannel, a perfect beer for this Cozy Map Of Comfy Places. And Roe Jan Brewing Co. is definitely a place to feel comfortable: Their dining room is in the main floor of a mercantile building dating back to at least 1850 and features an open kitchen and an octagonal bar surrounding an antique grain hopper.

After you try the Cozy Flannel, go for the Jerry’s Farm amber lager if it's available – brewed with smoked hay, it has a unique blend of flavors (cinnamon, candied orange, stone fruit).

Comfy Key: Beer Hall • Cocktails • Wine • Live Music • Family Friendly • Farm To Table • Comfort Food • Extended Blurb

Old Dutch Inn, Kinderhook, New York

The Old Dutch Inn was built in 1856 – but not as a hotel – when John Bray, Jr. put up this multi-story, wood-framed building in Kinderhook to house his shoe store and some apartments above.

The hall on the third floor was used as a meeting place (they say the Masons met there). And, according to the Village of Kinderhook's audio tour "among the most memorable events was a rally held [here] on April 24, 1861, in support of the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War."

It's the only surviving building used as a hotel in Kinderhook, and the rooms are super cozy: Each is named after a local legend, and the entire interior is designed by Jen Ose-MacDonald, the innkeeper herself, who reopened the hotel and redesigned it after years of closure.

She told me, "There is this whole generation of Kinderhookers who had no life experience in this building. But the generation before, they all had their first job here. They met their spouse here, some of them honeymooned here. This was their regular haunt for drinks and dinner. There was so much connection to the community. And they know it as the Dutch."

Comfy Key: Lodging • Fireplace • Daytime Cozy • Family Friendly • Extended Blurb

Wassaic Project, Wassaic, New York

Now is when we need art to give us Deep Winter Warmth, and "A Space Between Worlds," currently on view at Wassaic Project through March 15, does this in many layers.

Nine artists, seven floors, a historic grain mill converted into exhibition and studio spaces. Dana Robinson’s fabric sanctuary wraps you up; Mary Tooley Parker’s hooked tapestries pull you into her domestic scenes.

Then Paolo Arao’s geometric weavings reshape your perspective. Regina Durante Jestrow’s quilts bend the landscapes of her hometown of Miami (a warmer place). Amira Pualwan's handwoven cotton and jacquard hanging pieces use vibrant reds, gentle oranges, peaches, and blues to evoke sunsets and flames, iconically cozy things.

They all work together to take you to a "strange somewhere else between this world and another," somewhat like my interactive map here does, too, hopefully.

Comfy Key: Third Space • Daytime Cozy • Extended Blurb

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