Food

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“For the love of food is my mantra,” avowed Hassan Jarane, owner, proprietor, chef and greeter par excellence at Mint Premium Foods in Tarrytown. “I just love food, and I wanted to create a space where people can come together and enjoy themselves. Hunger is the main ingredient.”  more »

Sicilian family recipes complement pizza preparation – whole pie and slice offerings - courtesy of Sleepy Hollow resident, Frank Occhipinti, at his Viana Pizza & Pasta, which opened in March 2011. He created his full menu, complete with home-made soups and made-to-order entrees, based on his grandmother, Giuseppina’s (nick-named “Viana”) recipes, so you know they are the real deal from Ragusa, Sicily.

Occhipinti owned a delicatessen on Beekman Avenue in the 1980’s, but, he noted,” I always favored pizza. It’s just such an all-time favorite. And, I like dealing with people. I enjoy all the give and take with our interesting local clientele. That adds to the fun of owning a pizzeria.”  more »

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The enticing smell of freshly baked bread wafts down Cortlandt Avenue in Sleepy Hollow these days, with the opening of Arthur Avenue Bakery, whose wholesale operation opened in July. Now, lovers of this crusty bread, baked in all shapes and sizes, can “experience the taste of traditional baking” – the Galiano family’s motto - at their new retail store adjacent to the bakery.  more »

Food, family, and friends – hallmarks of America’s Thanksgiving holiday – all come together on November’s most festive Thursday to make this day one of the happiest on our calendar. But, the hidden joy, in fact, one of the main reasons we all love to cook bounteous numbers of delicious dishes, and in copious amounts is LEFTOVERS! Pumpkin and pecan pie for breakfast accompanying a steamy cup of coffee late in the morning, after a Thanksgiving binge, is the perfect way to begin the Friday after.  more »

As many chefs will tell you, eighty percent of good cooking is good ingredients. With the summer waning, the freshest of produce, eggs, meats, fruits and poultry are plentiful and available at our local farmer’s markets, but the shorter days and the promise of cooler weather give a certain urgency to that old adage. Now is the time to make the most of this opportunity – whole foods can be fun, economical, healthy, and amazingly tasty. And, there are a multitude of simple recipes highlighting late summer’s glorious produce, most of which take approximately 15 minutes to prepare. The key to all of them is letting the ingredients speak for themselves.

High Roasted Broccoli

(with whole Garlic Cloves)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  more »

If you enjoy fresh seafood cooked to order at eminently reasonable prices, watching chefs prepare your meal with flair while you wait, and appreciate the conviviality of a neighborhood restaurant, then Goldfish is the place to visit.  more »

Juniper, in Hastings-on-Hudson, has fast become a popular destination and neighborhood restaurant featuring New American cuisine cooked to perfection. Chef, owner Alex Sze (pronounced “Zee”) has been expanding his seasonal weekly dinner menu over the past 18 months, and now features weekday lunch and weekend brunch, with dinner reservations a must on weekends at his 28 seat eatery.  more »

One of the friendliest new faces on Broadway in Tarrytown is Nick Krasniqi, the new owner of Mr. Nick’s Brick Oven Pizza (the former Cassano’s). If you are a fan of Dom & Vinnie’s Restaurant in Briarcliff, which Nick has owned and run for the past nine years, then you will recognize the same high quality preparation, service and specials. Dom & Vinnie’s was voted Best Pizza in Westchester Magazine in 2004, 2007 and 2010, and now our river town residents can join Nick’s legion of fans.  more »

A group of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow residents met this spring to work with Community Markets on improving and expanding Saturday’s Farmer’s Market in Patriot’s Park . The immediate goal is to make the market a destination for our river town residents.

Community Markets organizes Tarrytown’s market and is eager to increase the number and variety of vendors. In addition, the farmer’s market group is working to add attractions such as music, local chef demonstrations, and children’s activities. Tables will be set up to provide a comfortable venue for enjoying a snack or lunch - providing a comfortable place to sit, chat, and connect with fellow marketers and friends.  more »

How often does a new restaurant open in Westchester that delivers delectable, meticulously balanced, and generously portioned dishes that diners want to order again and again? Well, a visit to the Tuscan-influenced La Catena in Ardsley is just such a place. Owner and host, Emilio Delija, greets his customers with infectious warmth and high-spirits, emphasizing, that,” Everything we do here we do out of passion.” And, after 25 years in the restaurant business , at Peter Luger’s, Spark’s Steak House and Scaramella’s Ristorante, he has fulfilled his dream with both grace and cooking flair.  more »

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Good-Life Gourmet has successfully settled in on Irvington’s Main Street, and residents – that means kids plus adults- are happy chef-owner Eric Korn decided to pick our side of the county for his second sandwich and catering shop. His gleaming, newly renovated, open kitchen bustling with activity, greets customers who stop by for a freshly made sandwich, a few delectable cookies or to pick up a gourmet carry-home dinner. As Korn said, “It’s like having your own private chef at home.” And, he’s had the passion, training and skills plus tech savvy to provide creative take away meals that are “fun, delicious and stress-free.”  more »

It’s almost spring, a time for renovations, new regimens, maybe even spring cleaning. And, several of the river towns’ standard dining spots have experienced renovations, new owners, or revamped menus, so that the old becomes new; the familiar reinvigorated. Three local restaurants. Wasabi in Sleepy Hollow, S B&G (formerly Rioja) at the Sheraton Hotel in Tarrytown, and Rini’s in Elmsford, welcome old customers but with new menu offerings and even one spruced up décor.  more »

Sleepy Hollow is poised to become a new restaurant destination with the latest addition of Moon River Grill helping to bookend dining choices on Beekman Avenue. Tarrytown resident and owner, Bob Ronan, brings experienced restaurant know-how to his seafood-based, down-home establishment with views to the Hudson River.  more »

Valentine’s Day Dining

Choosing a river town restaurant to celebrate Valentines Day with loved ones could be a challenge, given the vast array of choices available close by. But, one thing is certain, reservations are a necessity. Treating your parent or partner, friends or children to a festive dinner is a sure way to let them know you care. And, restaurateurs have surprises up their sleeves to make everyone happy on February 14th.  more »

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December’s cooler weather and holiday spirit make indulging in sweets blissfully enjoyable: fun to eat and fun to create. It’s the time desserts appear at the dinner table more frequently and home-made breads, tins of Christmas cookies, pies and traditional cakes get delivered when friends and family visit. So, it makes good sense to spend time in the kitchen creating holiday desserts from simple recipes that also double as holiday gifts.

While many bakers have their favorite cookie recipes, often handed down from generation to generation, I would like to highlight several confections created by master French chef Jacques Pepin, America’s baker supreme-Maida Heatter, and, of course, Martha.  more »

DIWALI
On Friday Nov 5th, India’s Hindu population and Indian Hindu emigrants throughout the world will celebrate Diwali, or Deepavali (which means “row of lights”), one of the most important and joyous festivals of the Hindu year. Known as the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali signifies the triumph of good over evil and is marked by the lighting of many lamps, the exchange of gifts and the gathering of friends and family to prepare a sumptuous feast featuring a wide variety of sweets and snacks.  more »

Tarrytown’s newest restaurant, Tarry Tavern, delivers another destination eatery to the village’s burgeoning dining scene. Opening at the former Lago Di Como’s location, chef-owner Henry Cabral, has kept the same homey clapboard front on Main Street, but has given the interior a complete make-over. Elegant English red oak paneling, warm and butter-colored walls, and a richly lacquered bar welcome customers into this inviting spot. And, the well-displayed plenitude of copper pots, fall decorations, fresh fruits and dried flower arrangements, give Tarry Tavern the feel of a country farmhouse, albeit one that is sparkling, bright and cheery.  more »

November brings us to the third and final article covering pizza in our river towns: and, Sleepy Hollow provides the grand finale. With football viewing already a national pastime in full swing, pizza consumption is on the rise. And, what other satisfying, easy dinner is there on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (when the kitchen is occupied, when home cooks are exhausted from preparing), then pizza? Going out for a quick family pie, or getting that mouth-watering delivery, or re-heating a take-home pizza is the best way not to burden the cooks and get ready for your traditional yearly Thanksgiving feast.  more »

Westchester

Outhouse Orchards

130 Hardscrabble Road

Croton Falls

(914) 277-3188

www.outhouseorchards.info

Apple picking daily 10 a.m - 5 p.m. through mid-October. ($25 per half bushel bag). Fresh pies, cider, donuts and produce. General store. Open daily 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Stuart’s Farm

62 Granite Springs Road

Granite Springs

(914) 245-2784

www.stuartsfarm.com

Apple picking daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

through first week of November. Nine

different varieties of apples. Pumpkin

patch. Bakery and farm market open

9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Hayrides on weekends.

Oldest working farm in Westchester.

Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm

1335 White Hill Road

Yorktown Heights

(914) 245-5111

www.wilkensfarm.com

Apple and peach picking through  more »

Capri Pizza and Pasta, the south end’s home to 30 different specialty pizzas, is a popular family dining spot that has been cooking for the crowds and catering for four years. Michael Macchia and his co-owner cousins, Angelo Anrolino and Franco Dattilo, have created a bustling full service restaurant that sells pizza by the slice or whole, deep dish Sicilian, Chicago style or thin crust. They know how to do it all, having grown up in the business working alongside Mike’s father at his restaurant, Capriccio’s in Croton on Hudson, and presently at Angelo and Frank’s White Plains, restaurant, Mario’s.  more »

October is harvest time for Westchester County’s bountiful farms. Summer is over, and the frost lies ahead, but this month is a horn of plenty -- our river towns abound with fall specials in local restaurants, making the most of our desire to celebrate before the winter chill sets in. Visit the harvest festival at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills (October 2) and rollick at Oktober fests in taverns up and down the Hudson River. Grocers are featuring specialty items only available in the fall, and celebrations are planned throughout the month. Halloween isn’t only about candy and sweets -- it takes place during that special time when produce is at its peak. And, yes, the beer flows freely.  more »

Back-to-school days can be exciting and stressful for parents and children. With all of the activity, there’s one thing that parents and children seem to be able to agree about: family time at the end of these complicated days is a great time for pizza. It’s the one food that everyone seems to agree on.  more »

Gardeners for over two decades, this year my wife and I cultivated an astonishing 41 tomato plants comprising 22 distinct varieties in our organic Irvington Senior Community Garden plot. Managing it is joyful but demanding and time/energy intensive. I now refer to it, barely joking, as our ‘micro-farm’.

Most readers know something about tomatoes. For instance, that there’s much more to them than the sad facsimiles grocery stores historically offer during winter. Many fancy, and not fancy, local restaurants offer heirloom tomato salads in season. Our groceries and local markets have also come a long way, especially now in late summer with ample fine local/regional produce available.  more »

A cornucopia of fall harvest delights awaits at local farmers’ markets in Irvington and Tarrytown, where stands are brimming with herbs, fresh fruit, beans, squash and late season greens. At home in your own ‘victory garden,’ perhaps the tomatoes have produced a bumper crop of Mortgage Lifters, Chocolate Stripes or some other tasty heirloom variety. Right about now you’re probably wondering what to do with all of this garden bounty? You can’t eat it fast enough, that’s for sure! My advice: preserve it!  more »

Bobby Manzi's Dry Rub for One Large Pork Butt
(Serves at least 12 for pulled pork sandwiches)

Black pepper 1 tablespoon
Cayenne 1 tablespoon
Chili powder 2 tablespoon
Ground cumin 2 tablespoon
Brown sugar 2 tablespoon
Dried oregano 1 tablespoon
Paprika 1/3 Cup
Kosher salt 2 tablespoon
Sugar 1 tablespoon
White pepper 1 tablespoon

Bobby Manzi
River City Grille
6 South Broadway
Irvington, NY 10533
Phone: 914-591-2033
Fax: 914-591-4901
Web: www.rivercitygrille.com

Recipes by Hari Nayak of Orissa Restaurant, Dobbsferry

These recipes are in Hari Nayak's upcoming book "My Indian Kitchen" by Tuttle publishing releasing later this year and are also available on the Orissa menu.

Tandoori Chicken

The ‘King of the Kebab’, Tandoori Murg is the best know Indian delicacy and the tastiest way to barbecue chicken. Marinate tastes better in time. Longer the better, the unique red color by which this dish is known for is optional. At home you can cook them on a charcoal grill for a more authentic flavor.

SERVES 4

2 whole skin less chickens, approximately 1½ lbs each  more »