Southern Westchester Food and Wine

Scarsdale, NY Sowefwf.com For those of us who enjoy eateries and have a palate open to every style of cuisine, the Southern Westchester Food and Wine Festival September 22 was a great event. A sampling of tasty cuisine from restaurants throughout the county ranged from crepes of Grenadine of Dobbs Ferry, to shepherd's pie from Molly Spillane' to braised veal stew. Dessert options included Longford's ice cream and a wonderful plum tart from Patisserie Salzburg. All this festivity does not even touch upon the wine tasting which offered a huge variety of bottles attended by knowledgeable pourers. The crowd was thick, music enjoyable, and weather delightful at this must return event.

Grenadine

Dobbs Ferry, New York
GrenadineCreperie.com

This delightful establishment offers sweet and savory crepes with carefully selected ingredients, healthful juices, and a variety of interesting beverages including Grenadine. Those of
us who grew up feeling very special when we were offered a Shirley Temple as children will appreciate the delicious red drink known as Grenadine, which is a specialty of Normandy. It was in this region that the two french proprietors grew up. Fortunately for us, they came to live here, met
at a local eatery, and have now opened this authentic french creperie.
Favorites of mine are the Roquette, which is a generous crepe wrapped around arugula, gorgonzola, sliced pears and honey, and the Blueberry Crepe with lemon curd. Creative new combinations are offered in the Crepe of the Week. On hot days such as these, the mint tea, lightly sweetened, is very refreshing. Bon Appetit!

Juniper in Hastings on Hudson

It is a special occasion when our family is all together at home.
So on Friday night, we went out to our favorite restaurant- Juniper!
The meal began with two appetizers. The soft shell crab was a dream- cooked perfectly with a moist center and crispy shell, it was served with vegetables and a light cilantro and mint dressing. The firm and flavorful pasta carbonara with english peas was so fresh it brought us to think of our travels in Italy.
My entree of the Dorade with smoked potatoes and vegetables was pan seared and served over a light and flavorful broth dousing the smoked potatoes and vegetables. Just perfect!
The other entrees we had were skate, grilled chicken and pork with fava beans. All were excellent.
For dessert the panecotta with strawberries and rhubarb was amazing. The bread pudding was served with delicious and rich chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream. Outrageously good!
We are so lucky to have such a great eating spot nearby.

New England Pollock

I was so pleased to see "fresh unfrozen" fish offered at Stew Leonard's yesterday. I inquired and learned that the fish, a reasonable $6.99 per pound, was pollock from New England. It was a heavy white fish looking a bit slimmer than tilapia so I had to try it. How delicious! When I encrust it with a pecan coating it crisps nicely in the cast iron skillet. The side dish prepared above is red onion sauteed with portobello mushrooms and spinach. I also added french salt my good neighbors brought back for me from southern France, and lemon at the end. Yum. Pecan crusting is just awesome, but the fish has to be heavy.
This was ideal. Good for Stew's!

The Chocolate Shoppe

Nyack, New York
www.chocolaterie-nj.com/

I happened to step into this adorable shop two weeks ago and the wonderful aroma of chocolate is still fresh in my memory. I'll be going back for stocking stuffers. They have these wonderful chocolate and caramel cocoa sticks. You stir the hot milk with the chocolate and.or caramel stick and, voila! hot chocolate.
There is also a wonderful assortment of fresh chocolates as well as imported chocolate bars, which include lavender and earl grey.

For anyone having trouble feeling the joy of the holiday season, a trip to chocolaterie is a sure remedy!

Lanterna Tuscan Bistro

lanternausa.com
Nyack, New York

It is always a special pleasure to be greeted by a proprietor when stepping into a restaurant for early lunch.
Rossano greeted me as I perused the menu outside, and offered me all the answers I sought to whether he is continuing cooking classes, and what could please me from the menu. I chose the Insalata Campagna and was very impressed to find the quality of care at a lunch which could compare with high end dinner dining.
The salad was perfectly prepared, with the chicken grilled to perfection and not too heavily salted. The arugula could have been picked than morning, it was so delicious and fresh. The accompanying portobella was tender and delicious and a perfect complement to the red roasted peeper and goat cheese. The fresh bread and olive oil were both well selected. That perfect combination of a crispy, hearty Tuscan bread, and a quality olive oil win high points with me. But service and a friendly, caring proprietor are the attributes I seek in fine food establishments, so I will surely return. Grazie, Lanterna!

Juniper

Yesterday was my husband's birthday and the joys of Juniper continue to amaze us. My meal offered sirloin steak so perfectly prepared that we spent a good bit of conversation figuring out why our own oven or grill could not create the same. The side was the smoked potatoes infused with olive oil and topped with an herb, I think chives, and course salt. These potatoes are just another world to me. I had them first the last time I visited, and actually tried to recreate the flavor at home, stirring in ham and fresh French salt my neighbor brought me. I enjoyed my own creation, but it could not compare. These Juniper potatoes infused with olive oil are a new frontier to this Irish girl who prides herself on her own mashed potatoes.

In addition to that was the mushroom soup- delectable,  wonderful, another treat to remember. Our neighboring table patrons were friendly and shared their similar regard for the excellent talent of this chef.
Their mushroom appetizer was delicous, and the pan seared cod was devoured in no time at all by our neighbor.

Our conclusion of the meal was, why even consider eating anywhere else in the Metro region for a high end meal? It is never as good. We had a wonderful meal for our anniversary at a romantic high rated place in New York City last week. We had a wonderful time, but all in all, the food was too rich, and none at all compare to the talent of the chef at Juniper.