Curled along the Hudson River 150 miles north of Manhattan, Troy made shirt collars that could be detached and washed, back when such fashions were in vogue in the 19th century. When that look faded, Collar City hit a rough patch. But new stylish restaurants, quirky boutiques and a craft brewery in a downtown rich with Victorian architecture are helping Troy, population 50,000, become the latest Hudson Valley address to mount a comeback. A former department store is giving way to the Tech Valley Center of Gravity, a start-up incubator, which joins the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, a Beaux-Arts stage for comedy, bluegrass and Bach.

Lucas Confectionery Wine Bar

This elegant two-year-old hideaway, the creation of the husband-and-wife team of Vic Christopher and Heather LaVine, pairs French pinot noirs with inventive dishes like six-minute eggs with confit mushrooms and shallots, while a bathroom-door sign, “Troylet,” cheekily owns up to the city’s derogatory nickname. The adjacent Grocery, owned by the same couple, offers fresh sandwiches, and next-door’s Peck’s Arcade, their more formal three-month-old restaurant, spins records nightly.

12 Second Street; 518-326-3450; lucasconfectionery.wordpress.com

Rare Form Brewing Company

This spare but cozy craft brewery opened last May after the owner, Kevin Mullen, relocated from Seattle. Here locals sip Sabbatical Session, a rye-based ale, in full view of the silver tanks that produced it while nibbling on Chevrot goat cheese and smoked goose and duck prosciutto carved by their bartender ($6 per snack; pints, too).