Zero Otto Nove
- Details
- Hits: 7069
If you’d like to get out of town without risking a flight, drive south, but not too far south to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. I first discovered the neighborhood after a trip to the New York Botanical Gardens. I wanted to find the source of the crusty Italian bread and fresh pasta I often purchase here in Scarsdale. Using my nav, I threaded my way through the Bronx and happened into authentic Italian shops such as Casa Della Mozzarella and the Terranova Bakery. Several times I brought home creamy cheeses, prosciutto and bread, but then I was tipped off to a restaurant that uses these local specialties on their own menu. Why cook I thought, when I could be served a superior Italian meal right on Arthur Avenue?
Zero, Otto, Nove (089) is the area code for Salerno, Italy, home of Roberto Paciullo who is the owner and chef of the famed Roberto’s and his newer Trattoria Zero Otto Nove at 2357 Arthur Avenue that opened in 2007.
When you enter the restaurant you’re faced with a long bar and sometimes a long wait for dinner. The restaurant does not take reservations so go early or be prepared to spend some time at the bar. Hidden in the back room behind the bar is a two-story skylit room, with a balcony centered around a large wood-burning pizza oven. The stuccoed, faux-rock walled eatery is decorated to make you feel like you’re sitting in ancient Rome. When you peruse the extensive menu you quickly forget whether you’re in Italy or the Bronx.
Zero Otto Nove (089) is famous for their thin crust pizza, and you must try a slice. Share a pie with your companions – there’s a long list of choices from the traditional Margherita to a Caprese with mozzarella, cherry tomoatos, arugula and parmesan cheese to the Diavola with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and spicy soppresatta. More adventurous diners might try the Pizza La Cirilo with butternut squash puree, cream of truffle, mushrooms and mozzarella or the La San Matteo with mozzarella, sausage and broccoli rabe. Whatever you try, limit yourself to a slice so that you’ll have room for antipasti, pasta or an entrée.
We arrived on a wet, chilly day and all chose warm pasta dishes. Service was attentive and steaming plates of fresh pasta appeared just as we finished our arugula salad. The Pasta Al Forno, baked fusilli with meatballs, soppressata, ricotta, mozzarella, sliced egg and tomato sauce was creamy, flavorful and irresistible. Malfade, which are curly-edged flat noodles are served with porcini mushrooms, smoked mozzarella and cherry tomotoes and the pasta special that day was rigatoni with spinach and sausage in a parmesan sauce. 089 also offers a whole grilled fish of the day and full selection of seafood dishes including baked codfish, grilled shrimp, squid, calamari and octopus and a zuppa di pesce. If you’re looking for Carne, there are pork chops, chicken scarpariello, Cornish hen, veal cutlet and even steak.
Though we didn’t have room for the tiramisu, cannoli, ricotta cheesecake or profiteroles, we sipped our cappucino’s and savored the relaxed ambience at 089. Even though we were sure someone eagerly awaited our table, we were welcome to stay as long as we liked. The handsome waiters were helpful and charming, and as we left we debated whether or not to share the info with readers of Scarsdale10583.
Trattoria Zero Otto Nove
2357 Arthur Avenue
Bronx, New York 10458
718-220-1027
www.roberto089.com
Lunch: Tuesday- Saturday Noon- 2:30 PM
Dinner: Tuesday-Thursday 4:30- 10:00 PM
Friday and Saturday 4:30- 11 PM
Sunday 1:00 – 9 PM
Roasted Peppers in Mamaroneck
- Details
- Hits: 7756
Roasted Peppers in Mamaroneck offers casual American dining with a Mexican and Spanish influence. At reasonable prices the restaurant serves lunch and dinner-- and brunch on Sundays. The ambience is low-key and perhaps a bit chain restaurant-esque. With brick walls, pictures of roasted peppers, and soft pop music the restaurant is a cross between your local pizza place and a branch of Chipotle. Regardless of the decor, the food was delicious. Recurring flavors include roasted peppers, jalapeno, and tomato. The service was not top-notch-- the waitress seemed unsure of which dishes to recommend and she misjudged the timing of our order so the salads arrived after our entrees-- but the overall experience was very satisfying, for both my appetite and wallet.
Reflecting the theme of the restaurant, bread was presented at the beginning of the meal with roasted pepper hummus. The appetizers, each $8, hit the spot. The cornmeal chipotle fried calamari, was a perfect balance between crunchy and chewy, and was served with a succulent honey jalapeno tartar sauce. Meanwhile, the signature stuffed roasted pepper came stuffed in two ways: one half with romesco and goat cheese and the other with ground beef-- a very filling appetizer (no pun intended) -- and a good dish to share. The signature salad was nothing special and the lime vinaigrette was good but failed to provide a kick. On the other hand, the warm seafood salad was worth the wait. Be sure not to fill up on appetizers, because the entrees and desserts are just as tasty!
The entrees are all reasonable portions for one, except the large serving of paella, which is enough to share. The three red snapper tacos had a refreshing blend of flavors, while the rotisserie organic chicken was simple, not too dry, and served with a nice mole sauce. The paella tasted as authentic as any in Spain. No one at my table chose to taste from the “burger corner,” but I wouldn’t be surprised if the burgers are mouthwatering too.
All desserts are just $5 and melt-in-your-mouth good. The waitress recommended both the jalapeno brownie and the rice pudding. The jalapeno brownie with coconut ice cream sounded like a strange combination, but the subtle jalapeno and coconut flavors complemented the very rich brownie. The dessert would make anyone feel like a kid again. The warm cinnamon spiced rice pudding with bourbon sauce was not as sweet but just as delicious. As we were the only ones left at Roasted Peppers late on a Monday night the restaurant also gave us the sweet Lepe flan to try for free and we recommend that as well.
The overall dining experience made for a fun night and a full tummy and we recommend you try Roasted Peppers soon. For the complete menus for lunch, dinner, and brunch, check out the restaurant’s website at www.roastedpeppersny.com
Roasted Peppers
320 Mamaroneck Ave
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
914-341-1140
914-341-1141
www.roastedpeppersny.com
Lemon Chicken
- Details
- Hits: 3684
Spring is a transition time for me in many ways. My body’s circadian rhythm starts to adjust to the longer days and the warmer weather. I come out of my winter slumber and start thinking about things to change or fix. For me it’s my time for new resolutions because I never seem to have the desire to make a commitment in January like the rest of the world. Get more organized, rearrange the living room, lose weight, change my diet, entertain more. The list can become endless. Its weird but I’ve become accustomed to this yearly routine.
But like all transitions, sometimes it’s hard to figure out what is appropriate for a given situation and what to cook during this time of year. As I question what clothing to wear -- Will it be too cold for short sleeves? Can I get away with wearing white --I also question what I can cook. Will it be too hot to make that stew? Is it too early for a barbecue? Summer’s bounty of fruits and vegetables has yet to show up at the markets and yet I know I need to shed those winter recipes and move on to spring. So, I look for lighter recipes that don’t require a long, slow cook in the oven yet are more substantial than what I would want to eat during the dog days of summer. I’m usually trying to slim down too and lose the weight that I gained during my winter hibernation so it shouldn’t be too rich either
That is why I love this recipe from Joel Robuchon called Lemon Chicken. It’s terrific, it satisfies all requirements and it looks beautiful even before it’s cooked.
I’ve made a slight modification to his recipe, which calls for sautéing the chicken prior to roasting. I’ve left this step out with successful results. You can prep this dish in the morning and leave it sitting in your refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Ingredients:
One whole chicken quartered
3 large onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
Marjoram, Rosemary and Herbs de Provence
2 lemons
Instructions:
1. Thinly slice three large onions and spread in a baking dish large enough to hold a chicken that’s been quartered.
2. Lay the chicken pieces on top of the onion slices.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
4. Thinly slice two lemons and scatter over the chicken pieces.
5. Sprinkle with fresh marjoram, or as I did, herbs de provence. Rosemary would be good too.
6. Drizzle with a little bit more olive oil and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
7. Preheat your oven to 410o F and when ready to bake slide the lemon slices down the sides the chicken onto the onions.
8. Bake the chicken for around 45 minutes or until well done and the skin is crisp and brown.
I like to accompany the chicken with asparagus. So while the chicken is resting and the oven is still on, I’ll toss the asparagus with olive oil and salt and roast single file in a baking dish until tender. Usually 5 to 7 minutes depending upon the thickness of the asparagus. If I have fresh parmesan in the house, I’ll thinly shave the parmesan to serve on top of the asparagus. With a salad of fresh greens, you’ll have a great spring dinner of which you can be proud.
Elia Taverna
- Details
- Hits: 15388
Rui Cunha, former owner of Oporto in Hartsdale has re-emerged in Chester Heights, at the crossroads of Bronxville and Eastchester off California Road. He has migrated south and his cuisine has traveled eastward – from Portugal to Greece at his new hotspot Elia Taverna. He’s teamed up with brother-in-law and chef Michalki Sarris, who hails from Telly’s Taverna and Dimitri’s Seafood Restaurant in Astoria and clearly knows how to run a Greek kitchen.
The restaurant opened two months ago and has been an instant hit. As they don’t take reservations on Friday and Saturday nights, hungry diners have been lining up in the parking lot in the hope of getting a table on the weekend. The good news is that Elia Taverna does accept reservations on weeknights and they are open for lunch. So if you’re determined to get in, you just need to plan ahead.
The restaurant is small but inviting, adorned with posters of the Greek Isles that elicit pleasant memories of trips to Mykonos, Santorini or Paros. You’ll get a warm welcome from the waiter and instantly be served toasted pita and Greek olives. Until they get their liquor license, you are allowed to bring your own bottle – so remember to grab your favorite red or white before you go.
The menu starts with a long list of cold and hot appetizers. We tasted the taramosalata – a creamy caviar dip and skordalia made with garlic and potatos. A sampling plate of skordalia, tzatziki, taramosalata, and melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant dip) is available for $10.95.
From the zesta or hot list, there’s fried calamari, charcoal grilled octopus, kolokithokeftedes (fried zucchini cakes with fresh herbs) and homemade stuffed grape leaves with rice, fresh dill, lemon and Greek olive oil. We tasted a few more– including the garides saganaki – which were sautéed shrimp in a tomato sauce with fresh feta cheese. The shrimp were delicious and the spicy sauce was perfect with pita and rice.
The menu includes gyro and souvlaki, both available as pita sandwiches or on platters with Greek salad, tzatziki and rice. Choose from falafel, gyro, pork or chicken souvlaki or a Greek burger, all reasonably priced at $6.95 for the sandwich or $12.95 for the platter.
For entrées there are traditional Greek specialties like pastichio, moussaka, and spanikopita. From the grill, there’s lamb or chicken kebab, lamb chops, and a mixed grill platter of gyro, sausage, beef and chicken. The chef features fresh grilled fish, including branzino, red snapper, salmon and swordfish and Rui recommended that we come back soon to sample the Octopus, which was too much to eat for lunch.
Elia Taverna welcomes children and has a kids’ menu with hamburgers, chicken tenders and cheese sticks, for those with a less adventurous palate.
If you remember the delicious sangria served at Oporto, you’ll be happy to know that Rui is working on bottling his secret recipe and selling it in stores. For now, we hope that Elia Taverna will get their liquor license so we can enjoy a glass of the fruity blend there.
Our lunch was delicious and fun. I could swear I saw my companion blush a few times as the charming Greek waiter served up compliments along with our food. "We're definitely coming back here for a girl's night out," she declared as we walked out the door.
Choose a quiet weekday for lunch or dinner and find your way down the Hutch to Elia Taverna. If you can’t get a table, take out is available as well.
Elia Taverna
502 New Rochelle Road
Bronxville, NY 10708
914-ONE-GYRO – 914-663-4977
NYC Based Market Coming to Westchester
- Details
- Hits: 4173
“Wow, do I have some good news for you” said my husband, glancing up from the morning paper. “Fairway is coming to Westchester next week.” Good news indeed!
We moved to Scarsdale from the Upper West Side almost 15 years ago and, like a homing pigeon, I return to shop for groceries at Fairway as much as possible. I love roaming the aisles, smelling the coffee and discovering new items. My favorites: olive oil, bread, all the fruits and vegetables (including a good organic selection), flowers, and delicious Murray’s Rotisserie chicken.
Fairway
847 Pelham Parkway
Post Road Plaza
Pelham Manor, NY 10803
914-712-0011
OPENING APRIL 14
