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Food Writer Julia Sexton's List of Five Favorite Recent Dishes in Westchester: September 2012

Here are the five best things that Julia Sexton, Westchester Magazine restaurant critic and food blogger, has eaten in the past 30 days.

(1) Lemon-ricotta pizza from The Cookery’s DoughNation pizza truck. In February, I wrote an extensive cover article about pizza in Westchester. When it was published, Chef David DiBari informed me that he would be debuting a new pizza truck with a wood-fired oven in June. Game change! Don’t miss DoughNation’s unexpected lemon-ricotta pizza, where chili flakes and oven-tamed lemon slices offset ricotta’s mild, milky density.

(2) Delaware Phoenix Distillery Rye Whiskey. The bad news? I’m on a rye whiskey kick. The good news? I can’t afford to buy it. Cheryl Lins’s spicy delight of aromatic, earthy grain flavor is locally small-batch, pot-distilled in Walton, New York. At a party to celebrate Pour’s receiving a Slow Food Metro North Snail of Approval, I sampled a tiny NyQuil cupful of Lins’s Delaware Phoenix Rye. Now, I just can’t shake it from my mind. Thankfully, Delaware Phoenix Rye is: A) impossible to find, and B) about $24 per 375mL bottle. Phew.

(3) Pecorino, guanciale, pesto, and onion flatbread at Italian Kitchen. This column has an unfortunate ability to air my private addictions. When I first saw this pizza at Shea Gallante’s new Italian Kitchen in Ardsley, I was skeptical. I’ve never really believed that grilled pizzas were actually, officially pizza, but there is something about this char-striped oval’s exterior crunch and chew that makes me a believer. Plus, my idea of heaven exists in the delta of salty/funky pecorino and gently rendered guanciale fat.

(4) Green Cleanse at Cooked & Co. Lately, when not on the job, I find myself craving simple flavors of raw, unmanipulated food.
At Cooked & Co., a Scarsdale prepared-food store/restaurant, I Hoovered up this delicious take on a “mean green”: kale, apple, celery, spinach, parsley, and lemon juice. Sure, it was $12 for a single serving, but it felt like a palate-cleansing snap to attention. Plus, it seemed to be an entire week’s worth of nutrients in one go.

(5) Gazpacho Anti-Griddle Lollipop from X2O. No one has ever accused Chef Peter Kelly of being stupid. At the Best of Westchester Party held in July (on a humid, 100-degree day), Chef Kelly served this bright, iced mouthful of tomatoey gazpacho. The disc offered a shivery burst of salty/tart deliciousness, and was just the right thing on a steamy day.