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Archive for the ‘Westchester Restaurants’ Category

Chutney Masala

November 19th, 2010 by moffett

House Specialty Curry

Chutney Masala Okra

Back in June, before I moved upstate for the summer to run our Bed and Breakfast Catskill Maison, I dined at Chutney Masala Bistro in Irvington.  I blogged about “Subtle Curry“, and how difficult it is to maintain a balanced flavor profile of curry and how Chutney Masala excelled, and I was impressed.  Tonight I had Indian food at Chutney Masala again, and haven’t had Indian food since I’ve been back in the City and it didn’t disappoint.  I dare to say that Chutney Masala Bistro has the best Indian food in Lower Westchester County (Rt 119 and below as I rarely dine above Rt 119 so I can’t comment on Indian restaurants north of Tarrytown).

I love Indian food, its spicy and flavorful and hot, and I love anything spicy…but often I find that Indian food isn’t that “fresh” and the vegetables tend to be over cooked and sometimes the curries are “over spiced”, meaning that the flavors are really one note with no depth at all…sometimes it’s so bad that all of the curries actually taste the same, (the ultimate disaster), which is why I don’t often eat Indian food in Westchester County.  Chutney Masala is in a league of its own.  First of all Chef/Owner Navjot Arora gets it…meaning that he understands that where you source your food makes all the difference in the world.  I’ve blogged countless times about eating local, and seasonal and knowing your farmer.  When possible Chef Arora sources locally, and he believes in pasture raised and grass fed meat.  The produce is NEVER over cooked, this was very apparent in his treatment of okra in his bhindi masala, it was crisp and flavorful and not slimy at all!  His Chili Chicken was an original play on Chinese chicken but with Indian Spices…Brilliant.  The saag paneer was so creamy and flavorful, the curries (both the chicken tikka masala and the salli boti zardallo) were well balanced and had unique and distinct flavors…and the dal!  We had both the makhani and the tadka and they were very different from each other but both extremely flavorful, the tadka having bolder flavors than the makhani and I’d recommend both.

Chef Arora and his team are doing something unique in this area…they are introducing the farm to table concept to ethnic food, which bucks the new trend in the Hudson Valley where you really only see the locavore concept in New American or French/Italian influenced food.  All in all this dinner was a party in my mouth and I can’t wait to go back to sample more of what Chef Arora has to offer!

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Omakase at Sushi Mike’s in Dobbs Ferry

November 4th, 2010 by moffett

Sushi Mike's Sushi

Toro with Quail Egg at Sushi Mikes

Last night I decided to go to Sushi Mike’sin Dobbs Ferry to have their Omakase.  My Grandmother was Japanese so growing up I ate Japanese food all of the time, so when I want to have an Omakase I want it to be fresh, beautiful and authentic.  An Omakase is basically a Japanese tasting menu, it’s the way for the chef to express him/herself through food.  Ideally you want to be at the sushi bar so you can interact, and its a very personal experience between you and the chef and it shouldn’t be rushed. Unfortunately when we got to Sushi Mike’s last night the sushi bar was full…I should’ve taken my cue and ordered Sashimi or Chirashi, however I haven’t had really good and fresh sushi in months because I’ve spent the past 5 months upstate at our Bed and Breakfast Catskill Maison, and Sushi Mikes has really fresh fish,  so I decided to go against my gut and order the Omakase anyway.  I’ve had the Omakase 3 times before at Sushi Mikes, the first time was for my Grandmother’s birthday a few years back (before she got sick and passed away)…it was WONDERFUL, I was blown away and despite not being at the sushi bar we were given course after course of very laboriously prepared delectable creations, my Nana was thrilled and so was I.  The second time I had the Omakase my grandmother wasn’t there (so yes we all looked American even though my mother and I are part Japanese) and I received this huge platter of sushi that was overwhelming, and it was given to me before I even finished my miso soup…a MESS!  Though the fish was fresh, a huge party platter of sushi isn’t what an Omakase is.  3rd time I went to the Sushi bar, sat down and had a proper Omakase, I interacted with the sushi chef’s and it was great again. 

This time, knowing that (presumably trying to appeal to greedy Americans) if I didn’t specify how I wanted my Omakase I would be greeted with the party platter again, I went to Mike himself and explained exactly how I wanted to have my Omakase.  Well I’m happy to report that they did bring it out in 4 separate small courses of well prepared and extremely fresh fish.  However, it wasn’t a pleasurable experience because the waitstaff at Sushi Mike’s rush you in and out as if you are getting counter service at a 1970′s Woolworth’s!  I completely understand the need to turn tables, and because the fish is so fresh and food is so good on weekends the wait can be really long.  But yesterday was Wednesday and the restaurant was half empty.  We finished soup/salad, appetizers and entrees in less than 40 minutes.  Not really the best Omakase experience…actually not the best dining experience in general.  The servers are nice, and efficient (ok personally I think too efficient); and if your goal is to get some quick albeit very fresh sushi and run this is the spot for you…but if you are trying to have a leisurely dinner, unless you are lucky enough to sit at the tiny sushi bar I suggest going somewhere else.

Ok Nanase here I come!

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X20 Xaviers on Hudson, Peter Kelly’s killer Red Velvet Cake

October 19th, 2010 by moffett

X20 red velvet cake

Part of my family is from the South, specifically South Carolina and New Orleans and in the South we LOVE our desserts.  One of my absolute favorite desserts in the whole world is Red Velvet Cake.  Red velvet is really a dense cake that has a little vinegar, cocoa and a ton of red food coloring, usually it’s topped with cream cheese icing and is served as a “special occasion” cake.  I generally don’t order red velvet cake in restaurants or bakeries, first of all because for any of you who have been to Catskill Maison Bed and Breakfast and tasted our cookies and brownies it’s widely known that my mother is an incredible baker so her red velvet cakes are better than anybody else’s on the planet.  But more importantly I really dislike cream cheese in any way shape or form so the thought of ruining a red velvet cake with a glob of cream cheese really breaks my heart, and all restaurants insist on using cream cheese frosting.  Or so I thought.

I then read the ingredients of the red velvet cake at X20 ( Xaviars on the Hudson), Peter Kelly’s restaurant in Yonkers and his red velvet cake has a mascarpone frosting with a rum creme anglaise, so I decided to give it a try.  OMG!!!!  This cake rivals my mothers, I dream about it, I savor it, it’s huge and so rich and dense and moist and yummy, and not too sweet so it complements the sweet icing perfectly, Bravo!  I hate cakes that are too sweet…I only eat a little while at the restaurant so I can eat it for breakfast two more times.  It’s hands down the best cake (other than my mother’s) that I’ve ever had. 

The Red Velvet cake is special, it’s not currently on the menu (but I’m told that it will be back)…however thanks to Greg the manager who I adore, somehow or another a piece of red velvet appears after dinner every time I dine at X20 (which is at least every other week).  I’m so grateful because a few weeks ago it was my birthday and the cake wasn’t on the menu and I had a mini melt down, so I called the restaurant to ask the hostess where the cake was and she told me that there wasn’t any…I went to X20 anyway and low and behold the cake appeared.  It helps to know people in high places LOL…but for the rest of the mortals out there, I’m happy to report that the cake will be on the menu soon so look out for it because I’m sure that every one would agree with me that it’s the best red velvet cake EVER!

I’m headed to X20 in a few to watch the Yankee game, and rest assured I will end my meal with a piece of that cake, my mouth is watering already!

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Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

March 24th, 2010 by moffett


So it’s my favorite restaurant time of year again…the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week! To me it’s better than the one in NYC, because most of the chefs really take the RW concept seriously and put impressive items on their menus. Of course there are a few that give you the tired chicken and vegetarian pasta and uninspiring fish but most, really go all out and it’s a great treat.

Tonight I went to X20 (Xaviars on the Hudson) – with my Meetup Group “Foodies on the Hudson” which is a restaurant that I frequent regularly and Chef Peter Kelly (who has been featured on Tony Bourdain’s No Reservations and beat Bobby Flay in a Ribeye battle on Iron Chef) and his staff didn’t disappoint. The food was impeccable as always and they had additional RW menu items that weren’t listed for all 3 courses. Rock Shrimp Risotto in Lobster Cream, (which I had and was DIVINE) 1/2 roasted duck with spaetzle, pumpkin panna cotta, and blueberry cobbler…I also had the salmon which was perfectly cooked with a wink and a nod to Japanese cuisine, the only dish that fell a little flat was the pork loin, a little dry, and the brussels sprouts were over fried so super bitter and charred…the Red velvet cake is the same delicious red velvet cake that is on the menu! Bravo to Peter Kelly for FINALLY putting that cake on the RW menu! (and yes I thanked him personally for it, because I’ve been asking for that to be included on the RW menu for the past 2 years) I tasted the Mushroom Custard and it was silky and wonderful, and the duck which was moist and crisp…the pork was a little dry and uninspiring (which was the only disappointment on the menu) and the pumpkin panna cotta was incredible. …everything was great! Peter Kelly always does RW right, and doesn’t make his guests feel like second class citizens.

I have a line up of 6 restaurants to try over the next 2 weeks…wish me and my waistline luck!!!!

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