Westchester County NY?

I'll be spending much of the next couple of months in New York, staying in Chappaqua. Although I plan to commute into the city most days, I'll be eating many dinners out in the 'burbs and spending weekends there. Is anyone familiar enough with the Chappaqua/White Plains area to make recommendations? BTW, I eat pretty much anything except Greek food or sushi.

My GF went to Mulino's (Nothern Italian) in White Plains on a business trip awhile back, and she said it was a really special place. I'm dying to get there, but every time we go to New York, we never seem to be able to get up there for dinner. Here is a link to their site:

http://www.mulinos.us/

hiddenboston wrote:http://www.mulinos.us/

Looks great. I did notice one thing on their website I've never seen before:

"We accept all major credit cards. Please note that no cash will be accepted for dinner checks."

Huh?

I'm out there regularly on biz. A couple of favorites:

F.I.S.H. Fox Island Seafood House in Port Chester. Great fish (duh!) and a pretty interesting atmosphere in a slightly out of the way location. I love this place!

http://www.fishfoxisland.com/home.htm

Cafe Livorno in Rye. Reminds me of the smallish NYC Italian places with close tables and a loyal local clientele. There are some other interesting looking places in downtown Rye which I have yet to try.

Cafe Livorno
92 Purchase St
Rye, NY 10580

Andy's Better Brother wrote:I'm out there regularly on biz. A couple of favorites:

Thanks, ABB. I'll check them both out.

Sunday morning dim sum:

Aberdeen
3 Barker Ave
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 288-0188

OK, it's in the Marriott. So what? The dim sum is made on site, it's good, the cart-ladies keep it coming, and there's lots of variety. Gringos are most definitely in the minority--lots of families with children. I'd go back, certainly.

Geo

Geo wrote:Sunday morning dim sum:
Aberdeen
3 Barker Ave
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 288-0188

Thanks. I probably never would have found that.

Glad to help!

BTW, I probably should mention that it was my sister-in-law from Hong Kong who alerted us to the place, and, indeed, hosted our first visit!

And my Famous Eater of a BIL, David, states, ever so succinctly:

Also Q in port chester with a new location in mount kisco for bbq. Best in westchester. Mount Kisco has a ton of great places. Yonkers now has a new place from peter x kelly. X20? Kittle house is a mainstay in westchester. Go to lohud.com (lower hudson)

I'd trust him!

Geo

It's not Westchester. But, the Arthur Avenue Italian neighborhood of the Bronx is hardly more than a 10-15 mile drive from White Plains.

That said, if you're going to be there any period of time, you'd really be remiss not to have at least one great Italian meal at Domincks. There's no menu. Simply tell the waiter what you feel like eating (there is a chalk board of what's available), heed his suggestions, and in a short while, a veritable southern Italian feast will arrive at your table featuring your entree choice.

The focus is on red sauce here. The neighborhood is a really unique oasis of old school civility in an otherwise rough and tumble borough. There are a couple of things you should be aware of going in: it's cash only, you may be asked to share a communal table with other diners, and if you want dessert, you'll have tp stroll to a local pastry shop down the street (sorry, but names escape me on the pastry shop).

Another favorite, just a few doors down is Emilia's. it has been around for years and is extremely popular for well priced southern Italian.

Dominicks
2335 Arthur Ave
Bronx, NY
718-733-2807

Emilia's Ristorante
2331 Arthur Avenue
Bronx, NY
718-367-5915

YourPalWill wrote:...you'd really be remiss not to have at least one great Italian meal at Domincks.

Sounds wonderful, Will; that'll be at the top of my list.

If you're a foodie, and you wind up in Westchester County, you've got to go to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, in Pocantico Hills (just west of Tarrytown).

Seasonal food, served in a renovated stone cow barn, on a working farm.
Much fancier than that description, Blue Hill is a great experience all-around - you can walk around the grounds, which was Rockefeller's farm, now the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and then have a fantastic meal about as close to the source as possible.



http://www.bluehillstonebarns.com/
http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/

A friend who lives in White Plains advises that BLT Steak has just recently opened in the Ritz Carlton in White Plains.

Omigod, I've just had a BBQ-gasm in Wingdale, NY at Big W's Roadside Bar-B-Q. All I ordered (and was barely able to finish) was the "sensible-size" brisket sandwich. Warren, the "W" in Big W's, personally carved me a meaty, moist, fatty, crunchy, tender heap of smoky, beefy goodness on a soft kaiser that nearly made me weep with each bite. The non-traditional house sauce, made with plums and onions, has a slightly sweet vinegar tang which complements the meat beautifully. The cole slaw, while maybe not my dream version, is laced with a bit of mustard, which seems to balance off the smoke nicely.

I'm going back this weekend to try the ribs, chicken and pulled pork; Warren, who's a real sweetheart of a guy, has promised to show me the smokers. I'll try to get some decent pics. BTW, their complete menu is on their website.

Paul SL -- Wow. Wingdale. I'm comfortable in just about anyplace at all, but Wingdale has yet to shed the vibe of the NY state hospital for the criminally insane (now abandoned). Kinda makes you not want to breathe until you've gotten past the place. Still, I take route 22 to get to my brother's farm. I'll stop in the next time I'm by there and see about the BBQ.

Josephine wrote:Wingdale has yet to shed the vibe of the NY state hospital for the criminally insane (now abandoned).

See if they found my shoes...........

Sure would like to try Big W's, if only for Paul's description - BBQ-gasm.

Second Best --- Xaviar’s at Piermont

The truth of the high-end restaurant biz is that it is not so hard to create a good quality restaurant. A clever chef, able decorator, and well-trained servers should do the trick. Creating a remarkable restaurant that soars and that captures the imagination of diners is another matter. I recently shared a fine meal at Peter X. Kelly’s Xaviar’s, the well-regarded restaurant in Piermont (on the west side of the Hudson across the Tappen Zee Bridge on the Palisades).

Xaviar’s is considered by some to be the second best restaurant in north suburban New York (Piermont is in Rockland county right across the Hudson River from Westchester County), following Blue Hill at Stone Barns. This is not exactly being the second best restaurant in Bakersfield or Toledo. I had eaten at Stone Barns shortly previously, and then at Xaviar’s, and the comparison is not fair. Xaviar’s would surely be the best restaurant in Bakersfield or Toledo. It was good – two stars (of four) good, but not poetic. This need to adjudicate quality is at the heart of the critic’s task. Few restaurants stink (certainly Xaviar’s doesn’t) and even fewer are transcendent.

The word that comes to mind in describing Xaviar’s is pleasant – in truth, not a bad word: a pleasant evening out is to be hoped. The room is not luxe, but comfortable (one can easily judge from the restrooms). The staff is friendly and competent, even if one doesn’t have the feeling of being in the hands of professionals, and the menu is engaging.

If one doesn’t select the chef’s tasting menu (we didn’t), one chooses from a four course menu for Seventy Dollars. At restaurants of this class, one begins with an amuse: grilled mackerel on a kimchee crepe with a miso sauce. Bravo. I was impressed that chef de cuisine Kathleen Egan engaged with kimchee. Although this (mild) heat was not characteristic of the evening, it was an amuse that woke up one’s mouth.



The first course, Seared Maine Diver Scallops with Braised Fennel and Hibiscus Glaze, was a nice starter. Perhaps the glaze was slightly sweet and the scallops were good but not astonishing. Still, the fennel added a surprising and pleasing spicy note. Fundamentally it was a straight-forward dish (i.e., had I the inspiration I could have prepared it), but it was a happy start.



This was followed by the seafood course for which I selected Spaghetti Chittarra with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, Green Onions, and Toasted Bread Crumbs. While the crabmeat was generous and sweet, I found the dish somewhat bland. Too quiet for a restaurant with aspirations. It was less subtle than muted. My companion’s Macadamia Nut Crusted Ahi Tuna with a Cucumber/Seaweed Salad was well-cooked with a lovely tart salad. Not an elaborate dish, but a very satisfying one.



Third course was a brined and oven roasted Hudson Valley Chicken with mushroom wild rice and organic baby carrots. The sauce was an overly thick Madeira/morel sauce. The chicken was nicely moist, although I wished that the skin that was served had been crisp. The wild rice was not distinctive, and the carrots, although fine, could not compete with those of Blue Hill’s farm.



For dessert, I chose the Hot Cherry Souffle with Cherry Sauce and Lemon Sorbet. This was an excellent close. Presented as a soufflé should be, each bite was infused with cherry essence. With the exception of the amuse, it was the highpoint of the meal. The sorbet was a pleasing accompaniment.



Xaviar’s at Piermont is a worthy restaurant. Whether it is second-best in the suburbs north of New York City I cannot say, but it would be in that mid-range of nice Manhattan restaurants. Sadly on this lovely Friday night in September, the restaurant was startlingly underbooked. We were not alone, but the number of filled tables could be counted on one hand. Perhaps Xaviar’s day has passed or perhaps good is simply not good enough in the burg of Piermont.

Xaviar’s
506 Piermont Avenue
Piermont, New York
845-359-7007
http://www.xaviars.com/xaviars/index.html

Vealcheeks