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Openings, Closings, Kitchen Changes, Food Events
Celebrated chef Neil Ferguson, formerly of Monteverde at Oldstone in Cortlandt and highly touted Allen & Delancey in Manhattan, has landed at Thyme (3605 Crompond Rd, Yorktown Heights 914-788-8700; thymerestaurant.net), a new steak and seafood restaurant, in which he shares the cooking duties with co-chef and owner Tom Costello, formerly the owner of Bow Noodles and the Sunburnt Cow in Manhattan. On the menu: a double-cut pork chop, skirt steak, red snapper, and grilled tuna (most entrées range in price between $18 and $36). Thyme is open from Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, plus on Sunday for a $23.95 three-course brunch
New gastropub The Pine Social (36 Pine St, New Canaan, CT 203-966-5200; pinesocial.com) has working in its kitchen Adam Truelove, former executive sous chef at Tarry Lodge, who also cooked at L’Escale in Greenwich, Connecticut. Entrées include a Berkshire Farms pork chop with roasted autumn root vegetables and horseradish-apple sauce; pan-roasted halibut with baby bok choy; and house-made pasta dishes such as tagliatelle with white veal ragu, and butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and scallops ($14 to $28). The dinner-only restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday
Greyston Bakery (104 Alexander St, Yonkers 914-375-1510/800-289-2253; grey stonbakery.com), provider of brownies to Ben & Jerry’s, has teamed up with the Vermont ice cream producer to offer the makings of a brownie sundae all in one package. The new item, dubbed the Ultimate Brownie Sundae Kit, includes two ($28.99) or four ($35.99) ice cream bowls, four of Greyston’s Do-Goodie brownies, an ice cream scoop, and a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s
If you need any more evidence that burgers are the plate du jour nowadays, here goes: Westchester Burger Co (106 Westchester Ave 914-358-9399; westchesterburger.com), a 95-seat restaurant devoted exclusively to patties. Operated by the owners of White Plains’s Blue and Graziella’s, Westchester Burger Co offers 19 burgers ($7 to $16), plus a small selection of other entrées, such as meatloaf, hanger steak, and sloppy joes ($11 to $21). Among the burgers: the Balboa (grilled onions, bacon, and Swiss cheese on garlic French bread); the Kobe; and the Bada Bing (hot Italian sausage and chopped meat patty with sautéed broccoli rabe). Westchester Burger Co is open every day for lunch and dinner. Note: Parking is available behind the restaurant up a narrow ramp
Laguna has closed and in its place stands Eclisse Mediterraneo Cucina (189 E Post Rd, White Plains 914-761-1111; eclissewp.com). Despite the restaurant’s name, most of the menu lists Persian dishes, including khoresh fesenjan (a stew of teeny meatballs, pomegranate paste, and walnuts); dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves); mirza ghasemi (baked eggplant with tomato and a sunny side up quail egg); and six different kebabs. Main dishes range from $15 to $29. Wine selections focus on small producers from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Lebanon, Greece, and France. Lunch is served Tuesday to Friday; dinner every day
Atypical pizza pies, e.g., broccoli rabe and sausage, Philly cheesesteak, and frittata (peppers, onions, eggs), are baked in a coal oven at 800°F at the first New York location of Anthony’s Coal-Oven Fired Pizza (264 Main St, White Plains 914-358-9702; anthonyscoalfired pizza.com). Also on the menu: oven-roasted chicken wings with caramelized onions, pork ribs with vinegar peppers, and an Italian tuna salad sandwich. Pies cost from $11.50 to $18.95 and sandwiches and entrées from $8 to $16. The pizza shop is open every day for lunch and dinner. The chainlet, co-owned by ex-NFL quarterback Dan Marino, has 21 shops in Florida, two in Pennsylvania, and one in Delaware
A few doors down from City Hall in White Plains is pizza and panini eatery La Piazza (255 Main St 914-948-2500). Among 13 individual pizzas offered are the marinaro with clams, the mixed grill veggie, and the Nutella ($9 to $14). Panini include the grilled chicken with pesto and the Calabrese or hot sopressata and caciocavallo ($8 to $12). Gelato is also offered. A 40-seat patio opens in warm weather
Set to have opened by press time in the space of that once-popular singles hangout Mighty Joe Young’s is the first sibling of midtown Manhattan’s Benjamin Steak House (610 Hartsdale Ave, Hartsdale; benjamin steakhouse.com). Owned by ex-Peter Luger staffers Chef Arturo McLeod and Benjamin Prelvukaj, the 200-seat Benjamin Steak House offers dry-aged steaks and chops plus Chilean sea bass and grilled yellowfin tuna. Entrée prices are $25 and up
Chef Carlos Aviles of Peruvian restaurant Viru (1727 Central Ave, Yonkers 914-620-6142) has added dishes to the restaurant’s already extensive menu including pan-seared salmon with quinoa risotto and fish marinated in yellow chili paste.
Also new: suggested wine pairings for every dish // Seventeen-year-old Rustico in Scarsdale has been completely transformed—with a new menu, new décor, and new name, ZaZa (751 Central Ave, Scarsdale 914-472-4005). ZaZa has no set menu; Milanese Chef Vincenzo Melodia each day cooks up specials. Entrée prices range from $14 to $26; ZaZa is open every day for lunch and dinner
Frankie and Fanucci’s Wood Oven Pizzeria (202 E Hartsdale Ave, Hartsdale 914-725-8400) is opening a second location this month across the street from the legendary Sal’s. The start of a serious pie war perhaps?
Kudos to goat dairy farm Rainbeau Ridge (49 David’s Way, Bedford Hills 914-234-2197; rainbeauridge.com). Its Meridian cheese placed first at this year’s American Cheese Society Judging and Competition Awards. And its five-inch round pasteurized ChevreLait earned a second-place ribbon. The farm’s cheese can be purchased at Mount Kisco Seafood, Bedford Gourmet, and Blue Hill Café at Stone Barns
Café/caterer Myong Private Label Gourmet will open a second Mount Kisco site in mid January at 487 Main Street (the space once housed the second Q Restaurant & Bar). Myong’s new 75-seat branch will offer full-service lunch, dinner and weekend brunch
Chocolate bakery Bread & Cocoa (2110 Boston Post Rd, Larchmont 914-834-6463) has introduced house-made shortbreads, biscotti, and meringues ($1.25).
Caption: (Top) Pine Social’s beet salad with warm goat cheese “croutons” and walnuts
