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Hudson & Packard
29 Academy Street, Poughkeepsie When you think of Detroit, the cuisine is probably not the first thing that comes to mind, but the Motor City
does have its own signature style of pizza. Detroit pies are not pies at all, but rectangles with a thick, chewy, crispy crust. Shelve your New York skepticism for a moment and head to the newly opened Hudson & Packard in Poughkeepsie, where you may be surprised by the deep-dish gooey goodness chef-owner Charlie Webb is serving up. In 2019, the Michigan native and CIA alum launched the Hudson & Packard brand as a weekly pop-up based out of the Underwear Factory. This past October, he opened his brick-and-mortar, where his Detroit style combines with the elevated palate of his culinary training. Pick from selections like the Ford Funghi, a blend of roasted cremini, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms, caramelized onions; goat cheese, tr
After an eight-year stint in the army, which ultimately landed him in Syracuse working as a recruitment officer, Webb reached a decision point to decide whether he would be a career military man or transition into something else. When Webb had traveled around the country for work he had rarely been able to find his beloved Detroit pizza, so he started making his own, which got him thinking. “I thought I’d be happier working in food. Particularly pizza,” he says. “I was 27, I didn’t have time to go through the industry and spend three to four years coming up through a line and learning that way.” So, he took advantage of the GI Bill to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.
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Photos by Hudson Photo Co.
Don’t call it Sicilian! At the Hudson Valley’s first Detroit-style pizzeria, crispy cheese and square corners is the Motor City mantra.
Though the Detroit-style pies are familiarly rectangular, light, airy and tall, don’t call the pizza at Hudson & Packard Sicilian. “I always tell people it’s sort of like a hybrid,” says owner and Michigan native Charlie Webb of the style. “The dough started out a Sicilian that someone put in these really deep, blue-steel pans.” Made with the same industrialized steel used in Detroit’s many auto factories, the pans are key to the style’s addictive, golden, crispy, caramelized edges. “Instead of forming a crust, we take the cheese and push it all the way to the edge of the pan, so it forms this fried cheese crust,” explains Webb.