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11 2022 | HOOK If you follow the Mississippi you come to iconic New Orleans – but if you follow the Hudson River to Newburgh, voila! You can find Mama Roux, Sterling Knight's own blend of New Or- leans funk, Country French, Southern and Cajun dishes – in- cluding the best Southern Fried Chicken this side of heaven! Sterling – she goes by her first name – grew up in a New Or- leans family featuring plenty of hospitality – there was always cooking, friends and new people coming around for get togethers, good 7mes and good discussion – later, when she was a model traveling the world, she laughed that she acted like den mother, a'er photoshoots, cooking din- ners for the other models and trying out local ingredients and seeing what meals she could make of them. A'er moving on from that modeling career, she realized she wanted to be in the hospitality field, so a'er training and s7nts in Australia resorts and then Chicago, she knew she wanted to start her own restaurant – high end but friendly and realis7cally priced, and not hemmed in by a strict New Orleans menu – instead, it would be crea7ve and fun to explore, and a place to hang out at a real bar, a nearby bank of tables and rus7c orange banque8es for dining, and even an outdoor cabana for total relaxing with food, drink and good com- pany. A sensi7ve people per- son, Sterling knew she had found the perfect Master Chef who also had grown up in the South, loved and learned to cook, then also traveled the world, seeing what was out there to create with. Add Pa8y Lowden, drinks magi- cian, and the rest of the servers and staff — and you get a Mama Roux "family" who are inspired to try some- thing new and delight patrons at every visit. When you enter the elegant red door to Mama Roux, you see an intriguing décor of teal blue and warm golden wood, Art Deco accents, Art Nou- veau silvered wallpaper and Restaurant Par Excellence Story by Sheila Hollihan-Elliot Photography by Andrea B. Swenson A mainstay, Mama's Fried Chicken with sweet potato mash, cider-braised collards, buttermilk biscuit; Cigar Bar (Mama Roux's play on an Old- Fashioned) and garnish with a cinnamon s.ck lit "cigar" .