Food

Irvington’s Day Boat Café will open in early March at One Bridge Street, the location previously occupied by restaurant One. “We are still working on the menu,” said chef and co-owner John Durkin “but our signature dish will be a lobster roll and the menu will include Montauk stripped bass, grilled salmon, seafood stew, lobster pot pie, lobster ravioli and three kinds of chowder—New England, Manhattan, and corn and lobster.” For non-seafood lovers, Day Boat Café will offer hamburgers, flank steak and buttermilk fried chicken. Beverages will include homemade iced tea and homemade lemonade.  more »

What would an adventurous and gifted local architect and pulmonary specialist/pharmaceutical researcher do in their spare time? Lucky for the rivertowns, they decided to open an Indian restaurant.

Orissa, which specializes in modern Indian dishes inspired by traditional Indian regional cuisines, has made its debut in Dobbs Ferry. Architect Niall Cain and his scientist wife, Cynthia Caracta, fulfilled a lifelong dream when they realized that their hometown needed an Indian restaurant.

“We wanted to do something for our local downtown,” Cynthia said.  more »

Cooking with pork and seasonal ingredients will be covered in “ABC’S in the Kitchen,” a program offered at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Adam Kaye, chef and vice president of culinary affairs at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, will lead the two-hour tutorial-and-tasting on March 6 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

To attend, a Stone Barns membership level of Forager ($500 annual fee per family) or higher is required. Memberships are tax deductible and provide benefits such as special purchasing privileges at the farm market and free parking. A $75 registration fee per person applies to attend the March 6 class. Call 366-6200, ext. 140 for membership information or to reserve space.  more »

Finally, finally, Finalmente Trattoria Italiana & Wine Bar has opened to great acclaim and crowds out the door on weekends. Sleepy Hollow’s latest destination restaurant – a vibrant addition to Beekman Avenue’s burgeoning dining scene – has been years in the making, delayed by logistics, economics, renovation headaches and almost anything else one can think of. Owner and Tarrytown resident, Dan Damiano, Jr., no stranger to the restaurant business, is now fulfilling “a dream come true,” having grown up during his parents’ stewardship of the three-star “Damiano’s” in Granite Springs.  more »

Reserve early, since Valentine’s Day is second in popularity as a dining destination only to Mother’s Day. (In the article that follows, the prix-fixe costs shown do not include tax or gratuity.)

Who can better defy conventional cooking practices than Chef David Dibari at The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry? What Rod Serling brought to science-fiction TV and movie screens, Dibari duplicates in the confines of his Dobbs Ferry kitchen—the unexpected and the daringly different. Customers accustomed to the chef’s creativity won’t be disappointed by his four-course Valentine Day’s creations.  more »

Winter is finally here, but Tarrytown, Irvington and Sleepy Hollow residents wouldn’t know it from the number of indoor farmers markets that are proliferating in their area this season. Westchester shoppers need not rely on tired produce that has traveled great distances to arrive at our local grocery stores, when fresh local food is being brought to our communities from Hudson Valley farmers.
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Activity has picked up on lower Beekman Avenue in Sleepy Hollow these days, now that Bridge View Tavern has opened, bringing new life to the site of restaurants past. The driving force behind this already bustling food and drink destination is Chris Maceyak, whose family knows a thing or two about the restaurant business.
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December’s holiday festivities encompass many cultures and religions, a variety of traditional dinners, and a multitude of ways to spend New Year’s. Luckily, most of these happy times include wine or champagne in the course of celebrating the holiday spirit. And, fortunately, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow and Irvington each have knowledgeable wine purveyors who have taken the time to pick and feature holiday offerings, highlight unusual sparkling wines, or suggest pairings for those special meals we all enjoy. Whether you are hosting a dinner or attending as a guest, our local merchants will give you expert guidance in your selections.  more »

Thanksgiving and Halloween are the two holidays that make us happiest. That’s according to Facebook’s recent online survey, which documents our attitudes about traditional holidays. While Halloween is all about costumes, candy, pumpkins, parades and trick-or-treating, Thanksgiving encompasses the joys of family and friends gathering for a communal dinner. Halloween is a form of entertainment, while Thanksgiving is about families, shared experience and food. The preparation, planning, cooking and eating are all part of the communal experience, a way for family members near and far to reconnect, and to remind themselves of the joy of gathering for a sumptuous feast in celebration of the harvest.  more »

Wine appreciation classes will be held at Chutney Masala in Irvington on November 10 (Chardonnay) and December 1 (Cabernet Sauvignon) by Andrea Kish and Tony Russo, owners of Aries Wines in White Plains. The classes will cover grape origin, wine making style, wine service, storage, and pairing with foods. Accompanying tasting plates from Chef Navjot Arora’s kitchen will feature Indian appetizers that demonstrate compatible coupling of food with wine. Mild cheeses and crackers will be served as palate cleansers. Class registration and food sampling fees apply.  more »

On Thanksgiving Eve, November 25, 2009, The Cookery will provide complimentary dining for those who are less fortunate and in need of a warm atmosphere with family-like surroundings. Dining times will be at noon and 2 p.m. Local charities and organizations interested in participating are invited to contact The Cookery at 305-2336 concerning table reservations and transportation.

The Cookery’s co-proprietors Chef David DiBari and Michael O’Neill opened the restaurant, located at 39 Chestnut Street in Dobbs Ferry, in mid-March 2009. During a program conducted in August and September, the restaurant donated a portion of its receipts to the charities of choice of customers.

“Welcome to Mima Vinoteca – our menu reflects the freshest ingredients that the market will offer us.” So the menu greets all customers at Irvington’s popular Italian hot-spot on Main Street. Owners John Leggio, cousin Dana Santucci and her husband Armando, with Dana’s brother Robert and father, Phil, have joined forces to highlight the cooking of their “mimas”-- the Sicilian term of endearment for grandmothers.  more »

Cupcake lovers will have a lot to choose from when Jay Muse opens Lulu’s, a bakery and coffee bar, at Hudson Harbor in Tarrytown a few weeks from now.

“We are going to take cupcakes to another level,” Muse said. “This is not just about putting movie-theater candy on top of a muffin. Our cupcakes will be aesthetically beautiful and elegant; they will be crafted from carefully thought-out recipes.”

“But they won’t be chosen just so we can offer a lot of different flavors,” Muse noted. “Each cupcake will have its own clear, defined purpose.”  more »

A new “Home-style Menu” bowed in last month at Rioja featuring familiar classical American dishes such as chicken pot pie and meatloaf. “To ensure crispness, the chicken pot pie’s pastry topping is cooked separately,” Chef Cliff Saladin explained, “and added at the last minute.” The meat loaf is seasoned with a dash of teriyaki sauce and accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Both dishes are priced at $15. Rigatoni Primavera with vegan tomato sauce ($13), short ribs with fried onions ($18) and chicken noodle soup are also on the menu. Desserts include chocolate Bundt cake, key lime pie and an apple pie/apple cobbler served with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. All desserts cost $6.  more »

Slow Food USA, a national organization that advocates for food that is good, clean and fair, is organizing a National Eat-In on Labor Day, September 7, called “Time For Lunch.” On that day, people in communities all across America will gather with their neighbors, municipal and school leaders, and families for potlucks and barbecues to send a message to their legislators: It is time to give the country’s public schools the resources they need to serve healthy, nutritionally balanced, real food for lunch.  more »

Family friendly Italian dining is giving Cassano’s Pizza Trattoria instant hit status in Tarrytown. Brothers Chris and Steve Cassano opened their first trattoria in Hartsdale in 2005, and decided to bring their home-style traditional Italian cooking to the rivertowns last April. The place has been hopping ever since.  more »

Alaroma’s patrons keep coming back for owner-chef Jose Robles’ Chicken Scaparo, served with chicken on the bone and prepared with white wine, vinegar, garlic and a touch of butter. “We can add cherry peppers to kick it up a notch,” notes co-owner Donna Troiano. With a side of pasta in the regular or marinara sauce or vegetable of the day or French fries, the cost is $15.95. A boneless version is available at $16.95. Call 592-4213.

A’Mangiare’s most popular dinner entrée is Pollo Scarpariello—chicken sautéed with sausage, potato and vinegar pepper in a garlic, white wine sauce. Spaghetti, ziti, salad or potato croquettes is included. The cost is $16.95. Call 345-3200.  more »

Vibrant farmers’ markets have been appearing in community after community here in Westchester and throughout the country. Why? Because Americans are eager to eat “real food,” to connect with the farmers, cheese-makers, millers, bakers, wine-makers and other food producers who are devoting themselves to giving consumers whole foods and value-added products that not only taste good, but are packed with the vitamins, nutrients, wholesomeness and texture that food in this country used to possess.
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In “You Bet Your Life,” the 1950s television quiz show hosted by Groucho Marx, a make-believe duck with $100 in its bill dropped from the ceiling whenever a contestant mentioned a secret word known only to Groucho and the audience. While duck doesn’t fall from the ceiling at Tyrnda Thai Restaurant in Sleepy Hollow, it comes from the kitchen in so many different and delicious ways, Groucho would be delighted. Duck rolls, an appetizer, are a highly satisfying combination of moo shu duck and slivered vegetables amplified by hoisin sauce and wrapped in duck skin ($7.95). Duck salad ($10.95) mixes duck with onion, scallion, tomato, cashew nuts, pineapple and lime dressing.  more »

Tyrynda Thai Restaurant, which recently opened in Sleepy Hollow, offers diners the traditional and authentic regional Thai dishes that rivertown residents have counted on enjoying over the years. Owners Darunee and and Sunny Soncharoen, together with Sunny’s brother, Chef Tichai Soncharoen, have brought their own flair to the location that was formerly Thai Garden. So, diners can still experience the glorious hot and sour, sweet and salty tastes that are the hallmark of Thai cuisine.  more »

Irvington’s newly opened Cupcake Kitchen is a cheerful, family-friendly breakfast and light-lunch destination. Owner, Jennifer O’Connell, was an intimate-apparel fashion designer for 17 years, and this is her first venture into the restaurant world. She calls Cupcake Kitchen the summation of a long-time dream. Blue, undoubtedly, is her favorite color: the restaurant’s walls and the T-shirts worn by the staff are soft blue, and the menus are printed entirely in blue ink. Cupcakes are iced with vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, pina colada or other delicious frostings; the flavors change every day.  more »

Irvington’s new farmers market began on Wednesday, June 24 and plans to continue operating at the Main Street School parking lot through October, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. A major effort, quickly established, the market is being managed by Pascale La Draoulec, a Hastings resident who also manages the Saturday Hastings Farmers Market. Jennie Bernard, also a Hastings resident, will help manage the Irvington market as well.  more »

Sweetgrass Grill, Tarrytown’s latest addition to a burgeoning restaurant scene, has opened with a bang, seating crowds of happy diners at lunch and dinner, and leaving them with a new appreciation of how seemingly simple preparations can still be inventive, surprising and deeply satisfying.

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On Monday through Wednesday, the three-course, prix-fixe dinner at Goldfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Ossining is easily one of the best values to be found in Westchester. Appetizers include shrimp tempura, sautéed mussels in a garlic lemon broth, and fried calamari. A baker’s dozen of main courses are available including New York strip steak, pan seared salmon, and seared sea scallops. Enticing desserts such as ricotta fritters makes the meal complete, and the tab is only $15.  more »

Dan Barber, executive chef/co-owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, won the prestigious Outstanding Chef Award at the James Beard Foundation’s dinner on May 5. That same week, he was also featured in Time magazine’s “Time 100,”an annual list of the world’s most influential people. Since the spring of 2004, Barber (who is also a board member of the Stone Barns Center) has worked tirelessly, both in his writing and in his kitchen, to bring principles of good farming, healthy eating, and support for local growers directly to the table and the nation’s conscience.