Blue Hill at Stone Barns

New Yorkers are known for their belief that there is nothing outside of New York that you can’t find within the city’s limits. It’s a principle that many assume applies to food, too. As far as restaurants go, few cities boast as many offerings. But what if you’re dreaming of an 80-acre farm where the food on your plate was picked — or slaughtered — only hours before hitting your mouth?

The bucolic Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located 30 miles up the Hudson River on the sprawling Rockefeller Estate, has been lovingly serving up dishes made with regionally sourced ingredients since before “eating local” became cool. The mushrooms were handpicked in the woods, the cream in the coffee hand-squeezed, the vodka distilled from locally grown apples. But the food is only part of the pleasure — indeed, even if no eating were involved, the place would likely still be chock full of visitors happy just to roam the grounds, shop at the onsite farmers marker, take cooking lessons, visit the many resident farm animals, and converse with the informed, cheery staff in the welcoming barn-turned-dining room.

630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, 914-366-9600, bluehillstonebarns.com

Le Bouchon

In recent years, Cold Spring has become a favorite weekending spot for New York City lovers. Its handful of cozy bed-and-breakfasts offer a way to get away without renting a car — the idyllic little Hudson town is about 10 feet from the Cold Spring MetroNorth stop.

Le Bouchon, a quaint French restaurant in one of the town’s cute 19th-century buildings, is just a two minute walk from the station. The juxtaposition of European flair and old-fashioned American architecture make it feel a lot like a New Orleans haunt — the lovely trellised front porch, the idyllic garden, and the deep red walls inside play up that effect. Owner Pascal Graff, former sous chef at Manhattan’s closed La Caravelle, cooks up French fare made from all organic ingredients. (Mr. Graff also recently opened another restaurant, Tonique, in nearby Beacon). His steak tartare is one of the best north of the West Village’s Employees Only, locals rave about the duck, and the steak frites, velvety grass fed meat with a lump of melting butter on it and garlic mayonnaise for the fries, is not to be missed. The whole meal is likely to be a lesson in indulgence, capped off with a warm apple tart or an oozing molten chocolate cake. It all makes small-town living look awfully sweet — just ask the residents who came up to stay for a weekend at the Pig Hill Inn across the street and then never left town.

76 Main Street, Cold Spring, 845-265-7676, www.restaurant.com/lebouchon

City Limits

The idea of traveling out of the city just to go a diner might strike some as odd, but the City Limits diners — one on Central Avenue in White Plains and the other in the Westchester Mall — have more than their share of Manhattanite regulars. The White Plains location is a five minute walk from the train station, just a half-hour ride from Grand Central. Owned by the Livanos family, well known for their more upscale restaurants in Manhattan, Oceana and Molyvos, the large, relaxed restaurants are reminiscent of a bobbysoxer’s favorite hangout. But although they have the Deco style — and to-die-for egg creams — of a traditional diner, they also have an open kitchen, a full bar, and food that’s served with more panache than many more expensive restaurants. What’s more, the meats are smoked in-house, and the breads baked fresh each day.

City Limits’s touch with seafood is superb, especially at lunchtime — check out the fresh yellowfin tuna sandwich on potato rye and the peerless grilled salmon sandwich. Expect upscale meals at non-NYC prices, served with the crisp service, generous side dishes, giant sodas, and bottomless coffees that make diners hard to beat.

200 Central Ave., White Plains, 914-686-9000; Westchester Mall, 125 Westchester Avenue, White Plains, 914-761-1111, www.citylimitsdiner.com