02/23/09

News from the Frontlines

Well, folks, the news is bad and getting worse in the restaurant industry, where Westchester’s sulking, shell-shocked diners are sitting home and licking their financial wounds instead of eating out on the town. This spells doom for a lot of local spots, who endured a lackluster holiday season followed by a soul-sucking January and early February – and they can’t run at a loss much longer. According to Chef Phil McGrath of Iron Horse Grill www.ironhorsegrill.com, who just earned a well-deserved “Excellent” in the currently “Excellent”-happy NY Times, at least 20% of our local restaurants will go belly up in the next few months.

Now, McGrath’s okay over there in...

Posted at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1

02/16/09

Recessionista Eats

Pardon the platitude, but every cloud has a silver lining, which means that while the restaurant industry is going into a death spiral, there are great deals to be had for savvy diners. And, seriously, we need to consider our friends in the restaurant business—most are small business owners who borrowed a whole bunch of money and staked it on a dream, guaranteed only by their backbreaking labors. If you, as diners, appreciate the creativity and nerve it takes to open a restaurant, then walk away from your Stouffers and start hitting the scene. They could use ya. And P.S. there is a moral imperative now to drink wine – expensive wine—and lots of it. It’s a win-win. You get the buzz, they get life-line profits.

Posted at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2

02/09/09

Our Favorite Westchester Burger

Dare we? Dare we? Yup—we’re going there. We’re going to discuss our favorite local burger.

In honor of our March Westchester Magazine cheap eats piece, 20 Meals Under $20.09  -- whose meals, BTW, I’m still digesting – we’re going to announce our favorite burger. Of course, this is a massive can of worms, as local foodies know, and likely to get me beat up if I wander down the wrong alley late at night.

But first, let’s discuss our criteria for a great burger. I’m looking for an intense beefy/steaky flavor that celebrates that this thing walked on hooves – no bland,...

Posted at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments: 6

02/02/09

The Greatest Dining Room in Westchester

After five years of wistfulness, we finally attended Blue Hill at Stone Barns annual Sausage and Beer dinner – and it turned out to be an auspicious night to suck down a few locally-brewed beers. The event marked the public debut of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture’s party space, the Hay Barn, which holds a lucky 270 guests. (Prior to the debut, BHSB events were held in an intimate space -- max 64 guests -- located behind the 100 seat restaurant.) The Hay Barn lies across the plaza from the restaurant, and is operated jointly by the Center and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Readers might be familiar...

Posted at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0