Kalbi House - Korean in White Plains

Trying a new ethnic restaurant can be interesting for a variety of reasons – it of course offers us a new place to try and of course if the food is good, it adds one more place to the family dining collection. If you have little ones like us, a new style of food can also afford an opportunity to talk about the Geography and other cultural snippets of the cuisine that we are trying.  It was mostly a combination of proximity and adventure that drew us to Kalbi House, actually a while back and we have been back a couple of times since. Actually, we even tried little Korea in NYC and I shall tell you at some other about that experience.

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Jade Garden - A potentially viable Dim Sum option

Before we discovered Aberdeen and Central Ave Seafood, there was a restaurant we used to go to called David's Jade Garden. The place closed down they had something else in there and looks like they are back to being a Chinese and Dim Sum joint.
I am not sure about the management just commenting on the nature of the restaurant. There is something comforting about small plates, irrespective of the cuisine, something that sort spells relaxed and experimental without being overwhelming.
The place is very spacious and as our local Dim Sum restaurants go, pretty decent in terms of decor. The colors are lighter and brighter. The general think that we really liked was that despite being reasonably crowed, we did not feel crowded in.
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Happy New Year - A stop in Ardsley

 In the midst of everything we have started a year, in fact, "the holidays" are over! I had initially not really thought of a resolution. For some reason, I gave up that idea last year. However, as they say ideas exist to be changed. This year as I end the weekend and get ready to brave the new year in earnest, my resolution is to enjoy and be grateful for the simple pleasures of life. The ones that we sometimes take for granted. 

The year thus far already promises to be filled with a lot of them.

Late last year, just before Christmas, Anshul and I made a stop to a relatively new Indian place in town called Calcutta Wrap and Roll. A restaurant named after the town I was born in is naturally worth a visit just based on its name, however once I was there I think the place deserves to be visited for a whole lot more reasons.

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Peniche on a Monday Evening

There is something about our household and eating out on Mondays. What I mean by this is that for some unbeknownst reason we plan on getting out, this too with the kids down in bed and realize that, we have picked a Monday. The problem with Mondays is that a lot of restaurants close down that day to recover from the weekend chaos.

Well, this Monday a few weeks back, the destination of choice was Peniche in White Plains a place serving Tapas, the delightful Spanish style small plates. The mood in the restaurant on this pre-holiday Monday evening was similar to what many other bloggers have described. Rather than being crowded the spacious restaurant had one large table a couple of smaller tables filled but was definitely quite, in fact, to the point the chatty waitress was entertaining herself chatting with us. She was rather funny rather than being annoying.

Now down to the food and drinks, we tried a cocktail called the portonic, which was an interesting cocktail made with port wine and tonic. Moving onto to the smaller bites, they had a selection of Pizza like flatbreads, rather unique and interest. We had a cheese and fruit platter and small mushroom and white truffle dish and absolutely delectable salt cod fritters. We also had an unusual quinoa dish, that was pleasing in its simplicity.

All in all a very pleasant experience, just the place you want to get to on a night where you want to eat, drink and be merry.

Peniche Tapas

175 Main St.

White Plains, NY

914-421-5012

Simple Seasonal Perfect - Harvest on Hudson

There are days when you want go out and have a special meal, but want simplicity in the cuisine, well heeled but country styled settings,. particularly when the whether has this nip in the air. This is when you want to head off to a tested a tried place like the Harvest on Hudson.

I have eaten there a few times and this picture was from a meal about a year back. I was just was waiting for the right time to write about my wonderful experiences here.

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Kathleen's Tea Room

LT on Whole Wheat Toast

Earlier this year, when the whether was cooler, I ventured one lunchtime to try out Kathleen's Tea Room. I think my love for tea competes very strongly with my love of wine. This visit turned out to be a fairly costly one, since I actually ended up with a ticket for parking incorrectly. Fortunately, the tea room was a lovely place to visit. A small place somewhat bring forth the appearance of an old english cluttered service room.

There tea selections were not very extensive but adequate, their service came in mismatched (as in different cups and plates for different tables) completing the atmosphere of a down home feeling.

In general, had this place been closer it would have been a good place to take a book and read on a quiter day. The tea was brewed in piping hot water (one of the most essential elements of brewing black tea). Actually a simple fact that most people overlook.

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`A somewhat lopsided view of what the place looks like.

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Stone Barnes Agricultural Center and Cafe

While we all know about the Blue Hill Restarant at Stone Barnes, there is also a little cafe with a small but quite satisfying selections of salads, sandwiches, crostada's, light baked items all of which are made from the amazing bounty of the agricultural center. If like us you want a good weather day outdoors, please to venture out to the agricultural center.

While I love to talk about food, it is one of the many attractions of spending a day here. Whether permitting you can get good exercise all across the campus, seeing animals, flowers, beautiful happenings of a working farm. The deal here is that I feel like I earn my meal.

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Onions on a conveyor belt



Hanging out with the turkeys

The above are just some snippets of a beautiful summers day with the kids and friends. It was wonderful feel like we had a picnic without having to tote a bag full of food.



Breakfast at the Market

General view of the market, walking from the station

My son loves pickles, believe it or not!

Picked up a whole bunch of peaches, made some peach crisp,

Loved these streaked squashes, wonder if they have a special name.

Cheddar cauliflower, I steamed some for dinner.

Now this cofee place was wonderful, a new addition this year, drank their iced coffee with a peasant roll from bread alone.

Thanks to all the wonderful veggies in the garden, I have not needed to get to the markets this year, I did stop a couple of weeks back at the Pleasantville Farmers market to get some breakfast and meat.

D Thai Kitchen

When is a good thing, just too much to handle?

Possibly if you are an absolutely lovely emerging little restaurant that receives a, “worth it” review from the times.
A couple of Fridays ago, we went over to the D Thai Kitchen and I have to tell you that despite the extreme chaos, resulting from having just way too many customers to handle the food was just so amazingly good. Interestingly enough, amidst the chaos and commotion we ending up chatting quite a bit with dinners on the adjacent tables something that we rarely do in restaurants.
The food in this charming little place was wonderful. It would have been a beautiful night to sit outside, but it was just too packed. The restaurant manager (the chef’s wife) was amazingly poised calm and composed and smiled amidst all the chaos.

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Lalibela - Mount Kisco

Sometimes a good dining experience, is all about time and expectation. We had so been missing a good Ethopian restaurant in the Westchester area, to the point we actually ended up trekking all the way in a deep snow snow storm when we were in the Washington DC area, earlier this year to U-street area and eating Ethiopian. Now all of this changed a couple of months back with the opening of Lalibela, I remember seeing this video, a couple of months back.  Well, this Saturday, I packed the husband and we headed to Mt Kisco. Our GPS has a bad habit of stopping a good 2-3 blocks before the destitination, so when I parked he had no clue where we were heading and looked rather skeptically at Cosi across the street.

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A brunch we enjoyed - Half Moon

This post has been sitting around for almost 4-5 months, for some unknown reason, but I did want to share it with people, partly because this was a really nice meal, relaxing and festive all at once. Other than telling about the restaurant - Half Moon, in Dobbs Ferry, I did want to highlight our source for deciding on the place. This has not been the first time we trusted Small Bites, actually whenever there is a holiday and we are at a loss, I am thrilled to have a source to turn to - a predictable, reliable and trusted source.

So here we were - all four of us, for their lovely jazz brunch. The waitress seated us in a quite table on the second level, which offered us beautiful views of the soft snow that was out side and the tables of diners. We could not quite see all the musicians which might be a good thing, since my son might have been tempted to try to join themWhat we ate was a really nice New England Clam Chowder, full of clams rich but not unnaturally thick. They also had an apple and butternut squash soup, the picture does not do the soup justice. It was light but and had a gentle tang.I had - yes, you guessed it eggs benedict, in fact, that is what reminded me about this post in the drafts, because I just made eggs benedict this morning.They also has some nice pan-fried fish with mango salsa and blue potatoes.

We actually had creme brullee for dessert, just do not have the pictures. With summer right here this restaurant would be a great place to check out and enjoy!

Half Moon is located in Dobbs Ferry, New York

The Half Moon

1 High Street

Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522

914 693 4130

http://harvest2000.com/hmn/

Craving and Nostalgia - So Dam Hot

The last time I stopped by So Dam Hot, our little downtown in Valhalla was at least 4 years ago at about 11:45pm. It was the only place open and we were hungry...
Well, today I was walking downtown as you can see well after 2pm and I had not yet eaten lunch. I suddenly got the spicy wings craving...
A strange one, since I hardly eat this kind of stuff every day, but today, this was calling my name.
Maybe after I recently saw this post.
The place has actually gotten a little more formal since my last stop there, also added some interesting touches like the hot sauce rack, which makes for an interesting brouse while you are waiting.
They have also added a whole bunch of stuff to their menu, beyond the

wings and chili that I remembered.
Actually, I debated between the pulled pork sandwiches and finally settled for the wings and fries with chili. The wings medium hot were plenty. I wanted these to go, so while I waited I actually had fun checking out their clothes line displayed on the wall.
These wings were great, spicy and crisp with a rich blue cheese sauce. Actually the chili on the fries seemed a little too tame, when paired with these fiery wings.
So, if you have a quick spice craving and want to stop by a spot with some punch and character do check out this place in our little downtown.

The 411 on the joint (as liz would say)
So Dam Hot
10 Broadway

Valhalla, NY 10595
(914) 328-6051
http://www.sodamhot.com/

Hunan Ritz at Thornwood

There are a few basics that you should be able to count on in your neighbourhood chinese restaurant - such as the colorful fish tank and the flashy bar and maybe staples like chicken with brocolli and mu shu pork. Now, if the restaurant is Hunan Ritz in Thornwood, you can count on some respectable sushi as well.

The restaurant was suprisingly empty this Saturday, when I made a quick stop to pick up food for all of us. They were very prompt and worked on my order of assorted Sushi while I watched the fish. I have tried a bunch of items on their menu and the food is predictably interesting, good but not great. However, they are very convienient and I have stopped their often.

Yes, I know, I know Sushi is not Chinese, but a lot of Chinese restaurant now have a Sushi chef around to cater to customers like me who are not terribly fussy when they are running late and need a quick pick up. They actually have a really interesting role (we love it in our household!) called the Thornwood roll a nice assortment of asparagus, avacado, crab and shrimp. Their orders came with salad and wonton soup. Now the wontons were a little dissapointing, in that they were rather doughy.

Backyards, Concepts, Sheep Shearing and fun...

A few weeks back I was a little disappointed that I could not attend the press event launching the book - Over the Rainbeau, a lovely coffee table book about Rainbeau Ridge farm written by Lisa Schwartz, Judith Hausman and Karen Sabath, but I knew I was planning to go up to the farm for their annual sheep shearing event, so I figured I would be able to get the book at that time.

The sheep shearing event is a really fund day for the kids to see nature in action, all while the farm is in operation. Other than a very cold day, which did not make the outdoors very conducive, it was a fun thing to do on a Sunday. One of the sheep that the kids watched, decided to kick up a ruckus in the middle of his beauty regiment, this thrilled them to no end.



There were other crafts and fun things for them to do. The highlight of it for them of course, was to decorate a sheep cookie, which entailed licking loads of icing.

The farm is a simple concept that is quite a small social enterprise right in our backyard - a concept of a working farm, that supports itself and its operations. A concept that cannot help but appeal to a business minded, green loving foodie like myself. If you travel around the facility it feels just like you are in someone's backyard - a large, peaceful, lovely backyard, that inspires you to get closer to nature. If you have actually tried their cheese, this is not a difficult thing to do.

Over the Rainbeau is a lovely hardcover volume, that has a little bit of everything for the food lover, memoirs, seasonal ideas and a section of lovely recipes. I have not yet tried any of them, but a "goat goddess dressing" using goat milk and a quiche with sorrel leaves are rather intriguing and shall the first on my list to try.

The book begins with a lovely dedication to, re-discovering the pleasures in our own backyard, somthing that I cannot tout more myself. Vividly illustrated by the third author and Lisa's sister the book has a plethora of natural and stunning pictures. The book tells a lovely story, a story of success and following a dream, the story of the Rainbeau Ridge farm. It would make a lovely gift for the food or nature lover in your life.
The book is currently being offered at a 20% discount on the Rainbeau Ridge website. It is also worth checking out the impressive line-up of book talks and attending one of these.

Back to the kids and the farm today, they also saw the llama's and would like one as a pet. As if the cats are not enough for us. I shall just have to put my foot down on this one, since even if I knew where to get a llama, our backyard is not not quite the farm they would like to think it is.

Valhalla Crossing

In the past more than a decade, I have seen so many versions of a restaurant in the corner of the train station of my little village. It does look like Valhalla Crossing might be here to stay. I had not really checked out the place, until recently but I have to tell you, I definitely love it. Good comfort food, generous portions, warm atmosphere and friendly service.

I had been camera challenged this time when I went there, so unfortunately I could not photograph the food. However, I had ordered the fish and chips sandwich, which they actually let you switch some of the fries for the onion rings. There onion rings are just perfect, crisp and nicely coated and fried to a perfect crisp.

My husband was better than me and ordered a cobb salad, which was very nicely done, simple and fresh. They have a happy hour most days, have themed events around holidays and special occasions and of course a sunday brunch. So, it you are in the area please check it out.

Restaurant Details

Valhalla Crossing

2 Cleveland Street

Valhalla, NY 10595

Zitoune - trusting instincts

Today was a really nice day, the weekend had been rather long. I woke up predictably late, we had a simple yet with just enough richness to have a nice mellow comforting flavor. I shall tell you more in a recipe about the soup and you can tell me what you think.

I wanted to try out this place, since we were going to be in the neighbourhood, however I was a little disappointed by the somewhat lukewarm buzz about the place here.

I decided none the less, it had a good informative

website, so I thought I would venture over. We went for lunch. The place is spacious, very beautifully decorated, but was completely empty. The owner appeared to be busy on the Internet, trying to pass some time. We ordered a couple of dishes - a lentil tagine, a duck B'steeya (that the owner seemed very proud of)

with a lemon co fit salad. The food was very good, in fact, I now want a tagine. I hate buying kitchen toys like this and keep wanting to make my husband buy them for me. He has sounded a moratorium on them, telling me that I need to clear up some space before I get something new.
Anyhow, the salad absolutely stole the show. The simple dressing with the freshness of the lemon, seemed quite heavenly.
The B'steeya was interesting in that it was a savory pastry dusted with cinnamon sugar, the flavors blended however. The phylo dough was good too light and flaky, rather than the richness of puff pastry which would be too rich for the meat. The duck was moist even in the pastry.

They has a good wine list, that I did not have the time to try. Well, next time. The menu for people who might be interested is a good balance of flavors, lots of vegetarian entrees and most dishes would be something adventurous kids would like. By the time we were leaving the place began to start getting visitors - I guess their standard clientele preferred to eat their lunch later.

Zitoune - Morrocan Cuisine

1127 W. Boston Post Rd.Mamaroneck,

NY 10543

Phone: (914) 835-8350

Website

Chaves - A food find and a good food day!

We ended up this afternoon in Mamaroneck by sheer chance, by way of a birthday party visit. It is but a town we have breezed by one or two times over the last decade and a half, nonetheless on this exceedingly chilly day, it held the charm of a land not discovered...

decided with my partner in crime, we should not spend the 11/2 hours of birthday party time indoors drinking apple juice and eating crackers but rather, exploring what the big bad world had to offer.

So, we set out at 11:58pm sharp to head for Carnival time, or the site of our redemption. Here we did the niceties, handed over the gifts and them gleefully made our escape... We had lunch somewhere, this I shall tell you later, but I was very excited at this find right on the corner of Mount Pleasant and Stanley... called Chaves - a Portuguese Ida. I unfortunately cannot tell what an Ida is, but it appeared to be a cross between a sophisticated Bodega and a bistro.

Well. this is a great joint to pick up a bunch of Portuguese ethnic offerings, a quick bite - they had a small but diverse selections of soups and stews, coffee and tea, parties and savory samples. Their grocery aisles consisted of several jars of pickled vegetables, peppers, canned fish, chorizo, and some frozen offerings...

Lots of bread, and in this compact space at least 2-3 shelves of beautiful hand painted pottery and serving ware. Not a place where you can spend a day, but definitely somewhere you can end up feeling thrilled and excited on a leisurely hour in the afternoon...