L C.'s Profile

Zephs' has been on my list "to-try" for a year and a half.  We finally got there last night to celebrate my birthday.  Zephs' was a perfect shelter from the cold, rainy night.  Quiet, warm, and cozy, the tables are spaced so that your conversation stays private.  My only gripe in this intro is that the crowd is old, which gives it a bit of a stuffy vibe-- but this is a gripe of most upscale places in Westchester.  The waiter and busboy were wonderful.

We started off with a large triangle of phyllo dough wrapped goat cheese and pear, served with field greens and grapes.  Each entree comes with a mixed salad; we chose the pomegranate walnut dressing.  (Goat cheese and pomegranate in the same meal?  Does it get better than that??)

The menu is very eclectic, but constant throughout is the featuring of fresh fruits and vegetables.  My duck confit came out with a crisp golden skin, tender and moist inside, and was complemented by a cranberry chutney, a thick slice of thinly layered potatoes and carrots, and a medley of brussel sprouts, broccoli, and other greens.  C's swordfish had a Moroccan bent, and was also replete with enticing vegetables.  The entrees are in the $20s-30s and the portions are generous without being overwhelming.

While we were almost too full for dessert, we decided to try the lemon cloud cheesecake with lingonberry.  The airy, glossy cake was snow white and subtly flavored, given a kick by the tart lingonberries.

Zephs' is a perfect winter restaurant, though I imagine the bounty of summer fruits shows up on the menu in delicious ways too.  For us, it won't be an every week event, but it's perfect for a special occasion.

Batali comes to Westchester: this has to be THE most hyped-up restaurant in the last year.  At first, reservations were extremely hard to come by, but as the luster wears off, so does the need to reserve far in advance.

Right off the bat, let me say that the four stars is for the food, which was excellent.  However, I totally, totally agree with Paola C. that there is a weird vibe.  Our waiter was really condescending and pretentiously made references to "how Mario envisioned" the meal to flow.  Look, I don't give a flying flip about what order Mario Batali wanted me to eat or how he wanted me to eat it.  He wears Crocs, ergo I do not trust him.

Waiter, yuck.  His attitude really put us off.  BUT, the reservationist was LOVELY, and the hostess very agreeably moved us to a table on the first floor.  I was not aware that there are stairs to climb for other dining levels, and my mom had just had knee surgery.  They really should mention this when you call as I'm sure there are plenty of people with mobility issues for whom this would be a problem.  They were able to immediately accommodate us in the "cafe" area, which is simply a more casual seating area off the bar.  

Unfortunately this meant that we had to endure what I'm sure was a very exciting soccer game based on the crowd of 10 waiters, bartenders, busboys, and hostesses that were riveted by it.   The volume was off, at first, but as it got exciting, the bartender turned the volume on and it was really annoying.  This wouldn't have been an issue if we had been able to take our reserved table, but it was annoying nonetheless.

I do know that MARIO knows pizza from what I had at Otto, so I was really excited to try the guanciale, truffle, and sunnyside up egg pizza.  But first, we ordered a few antipasti and some salads.  Oil is used heavily to dress the salads, which is fine with me.  The sweet peppers were delicious, as was the shrimp with melon (what a combo-- who'd have thought?  MARIO, I guess).  

My dad asked for more bread, to which our obnoxious waiter responded, "I'm sorry?" as if it were so odd that we would like more bread. "Can we please have more bread?" my patient father asked. "Oh, more flatbread/foccaccia/ whatever the hell artisan/specialty bread Mario envisioned?" "Yes, more bread." Why not just say, "Sure!" and get more bread? Why be obnoxious about it?

Our main dishes were all excellent, from my pizza as mentioned above, to my mom's pistachio and goat cheese, and C's meatball jalapeno (spicy kick to it!), with no flop at all.  Crisp, thin crust and well dressed with toppings.  Pork jowl never tasted so good.  One is good for two people as an appetizer.  I took half home and it was JUST as good reheated.

My sister's pasta dish was boring, as she is, but my dad's lasagna (the specialty of the day) was toothsome and served with an enormous, delicious meatball on the side.  

We shared some gelato for dessert, which was very good.  When asked if we could have the sour cherry sauce on the side as not everyone (GASP!) likes cherries, the waiter became visibly pained by this AUDACIOUS request-- "MARIO WOULDN'T WANT IT THAT WAY," I could almost imagine him screaming-- but I'm glad we did because it was a very overpowering flavor that was better as a dip than a dressing.  

I would definitely return but if you live nearby I would opt for take out so you can enjoy the food in the comfort of your home without the onus of Mario's decree.

If you're hankering for quality theater in Westchester, WBT is a good option.  I beseech you, though, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, get a show/dinner combo ticket.  Buy a ticket for just the show.  This limits your options in terms of showtimes, but the food is abysmally bad.  It is a complete rip off and my fish was so horrible and dry that I could not get it down, hungry as I was.  The only thing that was passable was the penne vodka on the side.  My rating is just for the show, which definitely merits 4 stars in Westchester.

Tickets begin at $73, which is not cheap, considering the disgusting dinner they are serving, but my parents insisted on taking us and we actually really enjoyed the show.  Phantom is currently playing, and I generally am not a fan of musicals, but they do a lot with a small stage and the acting is pretty good.  (Towards the end, the melodrama was getting on my nerves a little.)

It attracts an elderly crowd.  I have two stories to illustrate this claim.
1) Within 5 minutes of entering the theater, I was run over by an elderly woman who lost control of her motorized wheelchair.  The renegade wheelchair slammed into me from behind, nearly knocking me off my feet.  For the record, she did not apologize.   Bitch.
2) The show had to take an early intermission because someone either started choking or had a heart attack.  I'm going to go with the heart attack, since the food is so mushy (I guess because of all the old people) that there's no way you could choke.  Anyway, in the middle of the show people started screaming for a doctor.  I thought it was part of the show at first, but then we realized it was for real.  A few doctors rushed over to resuscitate the guy, and the paramedics ended up coming and taking the poor guy away on a stretcher.  He survived.    Show owner comment »

Gorgeous goat cheese in both regular and extra-creamy spreadable versions.  I made a grilled pizza with their cran-walnut spreadable goat cheese and caramelized onions-- yum-- but I think it's best enjoyed on its own so you can really savor the creaminess.

They can be found each week at the Pleasantville Farmers' Market with many, many samples.

The Barn-Cam on their website is pretty entertaining!

Overall, this is a very un-Westchester like place in Westchester, minus the kvetching children that we encountered upon entering.  (They left soon after; thank god, because they might have had someone else kvetching on their hands otherwise.  The last thing a teacher wants to deal with on a night out is children kvetching.)  In short, the prices are reasonable, the service is professional, and the food is honest and well-sourced.

We were put off by the unfriendly reception when we entered-- i.e., basically being ignored for 5 minutes.  I was about ready to walk out when finally someone took notice of us and very slowly found us a table.  In the restaurant's defense, a large party was just breaking up, but I was pretty insulted that we were just standing there while numerous people clearly saw us but ignored us.  Our waiter, on the contrary, (actually the same one photographed in the NYT review), was on point.

We tried the ricotta crostino with honey, featuring creamy house-made ricotta (amazing) and the porchetta, very thinly sliced pork belly served with matchstick slices of red pear (more up my C's alley than mine, but interesting) for appetizers.  

For entrees, I had the cauliflower ravioli with cripsy breadcrumbs on top (loved the textures and flavors of this) and C had the ziti with guanciale and lentils, which was hearty and rustic.  

Hearty and rustic: those adjectives describe The Cookery quite well.  As we overheard a waitress say, this is not the type of Italian place where you'll find fried calamari, nor is it the kind of place where you will find overly fussy, intricately plated food.  A+ for the pasta dishes, and priced so reasonably (around $13 each), they are really such a great value.

The generous wine pour is really equivalent to 2 glasses of wine, so that was another plus. As the waiter noted, the sauvignon blanc went well with the ravioli.

The valrhona chocolate bread pudding was the only dish I wasn't crazy about other than the porchetta, and that's because I really dislike molten chocolate cake and all its incarnations and think it's a real cop out dessert. Call it what you will, but this was molten chocolate cake-- fine, but boring. My fault for not properly translating the menu description. I wish we had gone for the fried dough with nutella. Oh well, next time!

A great spot to have in Westchester!! It was sooo crowded, which is nice to see! We liked the noise level. Lively, but not deafening.

http://events.nyt...

YAY!  An 'ino for Westchester!  This place is great.

I was more interested in the food than the wine, but they do have some reasonably priced glasses and bottles. They also have an interesting beer list. As for the food, WOW!

*White bean dip with warm, chewy, crispy flatbread. Wonderful.
*Sicilian sliders-- flavorful meatballs on tiny slider rolls. Moist, with a nice sauce, and extra on the side for dipping.
*Chickpea fries-- my boyfriend loves chickpeas, so he loved these; they come with a tangy feta dipping sauce. If you're into chickpeas, a must-try.
*Bruschetta-- tomatoes and the usual fixings piled high on crisp, chewy bread
*Panini-- the bread (from Sullivan St. Bakery) is fabulous. The panini are a little thicker than the very thin ones at 'ino-- not a criticism, just an observation. The texture of the bread is amazing with beautiful grill marks, and the fillings generous and tasty. We got the prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, and pesto, just wonderful. Chicken also got rave reviews.
*Nutella panino for dessert-- this is their "only" dessert (as the waiter said) so far, but they need to talk this up a little more, because it, too, was just perfect. The same bread used for the savory panini, stuffed with nutella, grilled, wow.

We loved, loved, loved the food. Prices of apps do not surpass $10; panini $11.  There are comfy chairs. If you're a messy eater like me, the low tables present a challenge. There are quiet corners and noisier larger tables, so choose your seat depending on what you're looking for. HIGHLY recommended!!!!

The Tavern at Highlands Country Club reaps the benefits of local farms, proudly listing on the menu the nearby sources of their ingredients.  I have definitely become more conscious of where my food comes from, so Tavern seemed right up my alley.  

Located within a country club, I imagine that during the warmer months, the Tavern is bustling with golfers and their families.  But on a freezing winter afternoon, the Tavern was peaceful.  We opted for a table in the ballroom, which is off the main dining room.  The main dining room is even tinier than it looks in the photo on the website.  The ballroom, which is bright and airy, provided a scenic view of the snowy grounds, which I'm sure are gorgeous in the summer months, but we loved sitting by the crackling fire in the stone hearth.  

We ordered beer off their extensive, mostly NY state, beer list, while we decided what to order.  The gentleman who served us was full of suggestions, which we gladly accepted.  I knew straightaway that I wanted the burger, and C ordered the turkey pot pie.  

Both were excellent.  Check out the picture of the presentation of my burger.  The giant burger was served with a sheen of Cheddar, atop a brioche bun (the burger was so juicy it could have used a firmer roll, but I can't complain because I love brioche), with beautiful onion slices, pickles, and greens resting atop the top half of the bun.  (Now that I think of it, no tomato was served with the burger, which makes sense given that tomatoes are not in season.  It was not missed.)  The fries were doused heavily in salt, pepper, and rosemary-- delicious.  

C's potpie was also gorgeous in presentation.  Served in a small ceramic baking pan, it was topped with a golden square of flaky puff pastry about 2 inches high.  Inside were moist, tender strips of turkey, along with brussels sprouts and other veggies.  We agreed it was the perfect cold weather meal.  

For dessert, we pondered the options for a few minutes.  When pressed for details about the brown butter bourbon waffle, our server informed us it was his favorite.  We agreed on it, and I ordered hot chocolate too.  I was so happy we went for the waffle and not the brownie sundae-- the waffle was incredible.  The waffle itself was made with browned butter and simply melted in our mouths.  It was topped with crushed pecans and a scoop of Ronnybrook vanilla ice cream, and served alongside it was a tiny pitcher of bourbon-maple syrup sauce.  Oh.  my.  god.  Not to mention the hot chocolate, which was the richest, most decadent hot chocolate I've tasted in a long time-- richer than Jacques Torres.  It was crowned with thick, billowy whipped cream.

I'm reserving a star to award on a future visit, because I know I will be back.  It's only about 25 minutes from mid Westchester, and well worth the drive for us.  If you are a city dweller, I would wait for the warmer weather and make a day of it-- Garrison and environs are just picturesque once everything blooms.

Note: They will be participating in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week!