Pax Romana: Roman Style Dining in White Plains
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- Written by Judie Dweck
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The Roman style of casual dining at Pax Romana is a most pleasant way to enjoy a meal. It has been said that," A meal without pasta is like a day without sunshine." Add sunshine to your meal by dining at Pax Romana where passion, pride and authenticity infuse each dish. Pax Romana is the new restaurant to occupy the space that recently housed Taleggio. Completely redecorated, it now has a rustic casual look with dark leather chairs, dark wood floors, beautiful arched windows and lots of plants and antique accessories which give it a vintage look. Fresh flowers grace each table. At the entrance, note the gelato showcase and keep it in mind for the finale to your meal. In the dining room, there is a pasta table seating eight, where you can watch the chef prepare your pasta. The rear wall is an authentic looking fresco -- a graffiti wall with Italian sayings on it. Pax Romana is owned by Paul Russo and Brothers Alfredo and Christian Runco. Heading the kitchen staff is Cristian Petitta, most recently of La Bocca in White Plains. In the true Roman tradition, simplicity and fresh ingredients are qualities of his dishes. Russo describes Pax Romana as," rustic, modern, authentic with homestyle Italian cooking. Very important ingredients in our dishes are love and good energy... In the near future, we hope to conduct classes in pasta making and serve Sunday brunch, as well." Russo was only four years old, when he visited Disneyworld and upon looking at its hotel he knew that this was the career route he wanted to follow. This led to culinary school, work at The Castle in Tarrytown, and several years at a well-known golf club in Rockland. "At Pax Romana, it is all about team work. We are like a family and work together for success. My family taught me to put in time and energy into my work and show respect."
The menu here uses Italian names for the dishes with English translations which lends itself to authenticity. We started our tasting with a modern presentation of the classic suppli ar telefono. Here the tomato risotto balls were log shaped. This breaded delight revealed a mozzarella filling. When bitten into, the melted mozzarella resembled telephone wires, thus its name. Served in a mini deep frying basket and wrapped in butcher paper, it was accompanied by a skewer of meat filled breaded and fried olives, a delicious beginning. A puree of cannellini beans served as the base for tender grilled octopus. The cooking process of braising, grilling and massaging the octopus, resulted in a fine texture. Other interesting starters include chicken wings with Italian herbs, braised artichokes with mint, garlic and white wine and pecorino flan.
Free form pizzas arrived in several varieties. The dough for the crust is prepared from imported Roman flour which is fermented for 72 hours before preparation. Pax Romana is one of the few restaurants to import this flour. Our pie topped with Roman chicory, homemade sausage and mozzarella was excellent. The sausage is lovingly prepared by Giovanna Runco, mother of Alfredo aand Christian. Future visits may include the classic margherita or porchetta pie with roasted pork, greens and sun dried tomatoes.
One of the highlights of the menu is the large selection 
of freshly made pasta. Many of the recipes are based on old family favorites of the owners and the chef. The Gnocchi Sorrentina are hand formed and baked in a light tomato sauce with mozzarella and fresh basil. The cheese melted into these delicate morsels and the tomato sauce was just rich enough to compliment these cloudlike dumplings. The maccheroni con ragu de sarsiccia was a winner. The tubes of pasta, like all the other pastas at Pax Romana are prepared from scratch in their kitchen. A hearty crumbled sausage ragu bathed the pasta and the dish was topped with a meaty pork rib on the bone. The dish was reflective of the home style dishes of Rome. Very unique was a dish of pappardelle with a wild boar ragu. The pappardelle was infused with cocoa. I always thought of chocolate as part of an entrée in Mexican mole sauce and was surprised to see it as a pasta ingredient. The thick ribbons of al dente pappardelle were sturdy enough to pair with the rich sauce. The cocoa in the pasta dough added a very subtle flavor to this dish. Yet to be tried is the spaghetti carbonara. The strands of pasta mingle with egg yolk, pecorino cheese, black pepper and guanciale (pork cheek), rather than pancetta. Whole wheat penne with pesto, chittara with smoked salmon and zucchini and oxtail ravioli are also on the list for our next visit.
Entrees include veal, seafood, steak and chicken in classic preparations. We enjoyed branzino trasparenza. It arrived like a gift wrapped present. Bass, clams, mussels and shrimp and a julienne of carrots, zucchini, onion and fresh mint were encased in heat resistant plastic and baked. Our waiter used a pair of scissors to cut the package open at the table as the aroma of the delicious broth lofted around the table. It was lovely in taste and presentation.
Homemade desserts include apricot tart, tiramisu, and dark, milk and white chocolate mousse, but it was the display of about two dozen varieties of homemade gelato that tempted me. Would it be pistachio, mixed berry lemon or Nutella? We chose hazelnut, mint chocolate chip and coffee, topped with a homemade pizzelle prepared by Paul Russo's grandmother, Graziella Fante. Russo indicated," Grandma gets joy in preparing them. She lives to feed you."
If Rome is not your vacation destination, take a ride to Pax Romana, where the authentic dishes of Rome are offered right here in White Plains.
Pax Romana
189 East Post Road
White Plains
(914) 437 5791
Italian Basil Pesto Genovese
Ingredients:
1 or 2 cloves of peeled garlic
3 ½ ounces fresh basil leaves
1 ½ ounces pine nuts
3 ½ ounces grated parmigiana reggiano cheese
7 ounces pecorino Romano cheese
3 ½ ounces extra virgin olive oil
Touch of heavy cream* optional
Instructions:
Quick blender method
Place all ingredients except cream into blender container. Blend on high speed for one minute. Remove lid and using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides. Check the consistency of the mixture. It should be thick and creamy. If you think it should be a bit thinner blend for a few more seconds, but don't overdo it. Some cooks add a bit of heavy cream but that is not essential.
Judie Dweck has been writing about restaurants and food for many publications. She teaches creative cooking to children at Scarsdale elementary schools. Through the years, her articles have appeared in Jack and Jill Magazine, Spotlight, The Pleasure of Cooking and The Scarsdale Inquirer. She balances her restaurant tastings with daily ballet classes.
SHS To Form New Volleyball Team for Boys
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- Written by David Love
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For years Scarsdale has had a strong girls' varsity volleyball program and now boys will have a chance to try the game too. Scarsdale High School has finally decided to start a boys varsity volleyball team, the first in Westchester County. Now that the district budget has passed there is funding available for the program to begin this fall. Despite interest in the past, support for boys volleyball never picked up enough momentum beyond interest at a club level. However, under the leadership of Scarsdale High School's new Athletic Director Ray Pappalardi and the girls varsity volleyball coach Ann Marie Nee, boys' volleyball is now a reality.
A volleyball program will add opportunities for boys during the fall season. "Until now, the only fall sports offered for boys were football, soccer and cross country. Volleyball offers an experience very different from those choices", said Mr. Pappalardi.
Pre-season for the team begins on August 22, 2016 at noon and will serve as tryouts for the fall season. Practices will be held every day directly after school, once school begins. The boys' team will share facilities with the girls' team, however, they will not practice together.
Some of the other schools nearby that have boys varsity volleyball teams include Suffern, Clarkstown North, and Clarkstown South. Scarsdale High School expects to have one varsity boys team, however if there is enough interest then it is possible that a junior varsity team will be formed as well. For some of the less skilled players SHS is offering clinics and an intramural league.
SHS is currently holding open gyms from 7:30-9:00 pm every Monday and Wednesday night for the remainder of the school year for all high school students. The Scarsdale Village Recreation Department is also offering co-ed clinics for current 8th graders at high school on Mondays and Wednesday nights from 7:30-9:00 p.m. These open gym times and clinics are a good opportunity for incoming freshman and any current high school students who might be interested in giving volleyball a try.
There will be an informational meeting on Tuesday, June 7th at 3:05 pm in room 383 at Scarsdale High School for all boys interested in trying out for the inaugural boys volleyball team.
Greenacres Celebrates Colonial Day
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On Monday, May 16th Greenacres 4th grade students learned what it was like to live in the colonial era when Scarsdale was founded. Students, parents and teachers celebrated their annual Colonial Day by dressing up in traditional colonial clothing and participating in various activities including churning butter and colonial dancing.
The fourth grade teachers Ms. Cooper, Ms. Deppert, Ms. Erigo, Ms.Mcdermott and Ms.Witmer did a wonderful job planning Colonial Day by having many different events for the students to participate in.
In one of the 4th grade classrooms students were able to see and participate in the processes of churning butter and spinning wool from a traditional sewing machine. Outside the classroom students were led through different colonial games and introduced to colonial dancing. A guitarist accompanied the dancers playing music of the era. Overall the day was a success as students had fun and were introduced to colonial culture.
What You Should Know About Sexual Assault On Campus
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According to American Association of University Women (AAUW) one in 5 women are a target of sexual assault. The last thing students and parents want to think about is sexual assault .... but unfortunately it's an issue that has become prevalent among high school and college students – affecting girls and boys alike. To address this sensitive issue before the class of 2016 heads off to college, the SHS PTA organized a panel of experts to speak on the issue on Thursday May 19th. Included were Laura Murphy from Westchester's DA office, Chief of Police Andrew Matturo, Sarah Dougan from Fordham University's undergraduate admissions office and SHS principal Ken Bonamo.
Murphy is the Chief of Sex Crimes and a prosecutor in the Westchester County District Attorney's office. All sexual assault cases that occur on college campuses in the county come through her office. After years of experience at home and in the office Murphy said, "I am more frightened for my 15 year-old son then I was for my two older girls". She explained that she has seen a lot of cases where girls appear and act older than they are so boys believe that are 17 or older and can therefore give legal consent to engage in sexual activity. However if the girl is underage, boys can be prosecuted for sexual assault. Laura also warned that if a girl is drunk or unconscious, she may not remember giving consent and suffer the consequences afterwards. According to Murphy she frequently encounters cases where victims do not remember what happened to them at the time and later want to file for assault. She says these cases are devastating because the victims often have blacked out from drinking and can't remember if they gave consent. Though you need to be 17 years old to give consent, under New York State law you only need to be 16 to be prosecuted as an adult. She also cautioned the audience that even though people think they have deleted photos on Snapchat, Instagram or other social media sites, these photos can be recovered and used as evidence in a lawsuit.
Sarah Dougan, the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission at Fordham University spoke specifically about sexual assault incidents that occur on college campuses. She pointed out that 100% of sexual assault cases that have occurred at Fordham have involved alcohol. Sexual assault occurs the most during the "Red Zone" period between the beginning of freshmen year through Thanksgiving break. She explained that people typically drink more alcohol than usual during these first few months and so there is more sexual assault on campus. Alcohol serves as "confidence juice" for kids who are thrown into a entirely new atmosphere. Sarah suggested that when underclassmen visit prospective colleges, they ask tough questions about sexual assault and how it is handled.
Scarsdale Chief of Police Andrew Matturo discussed how the Scarsdale Police handles juvenile cases. He has been in the force for over 32 years and served as the detective youth officer. He encouraged those in the audience to feel safe about coming to the police with issues involving sexual assault. When it comes to juvenile cases the police take many factors into consideration including; the nature of the crime, age, criminal record, availability of social services, and recommendations from the victim, and the department focuses on changing an assailants behavior rather than on the punishment. Matturo encouraged the community to utilize the 411 hotline created for anonymous information for people to share or report on any troubling activity.
Last but not least Scarsdale High School Principal Ken Bonamo gave his insights into sexual assault at SHS. He focused on three popular student activities: senior spring beak, road rally, and prom activities and the dangers they pose to students. This year the SHS administration sent an email to parents about spring break to make them aware that not all students go to the Bahamas for spring break and parents should not feel pressured to send their kids to "Baha". In regards to Senior Road Rally, Bonamo received a list of the activities that students participated in last year to gain points. He learned that students who participated were required to photograph sexual and illegal activities. He was concerned that these photos could get released and have personal and legal consequences. Despite his best efforts to end this tradition, the event continues to take place. If it continues this year, he vowed to take further steps to prevent it from happening next year. To keep students at the Prom safe, the school has mandatory supervised busing for students to prom along with a school-run pre-prom event. These two changes have made the prom safer and the administration will continue to look for ways to improve it. Bonamo said that parents have varying ideas about alcohol consumption but it is clear to him that sexual assault at the High School is connected to the use of alcohol.
For more information on this topic visit the links below.
Links for sexual misconduct information/crime victim sites:
www.knowyourix.org
www.notalone.gov
www.ny.gov/programs/enough-enough-combating-sexual-assault-college-campuses
www.victimrights.org
https://www.ovs.ny.gov
Links for digital disrespect/sexting issues/dating violence:
An Outdoor Art Gallery in Fox Meadow
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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If you've driven down Hampton Road lately, you probably noticed some interesting artwork adorning the front lawn of a house at the corner of Hampton road and Olmstead road. No, it's not holiday decorations or pumpkins, the lawn sculpture is the work of artist, Simone Kestelman, who recently moved to the home and has enhanced both front and backyards with her work.
She calls the large, ceramic orange orbs, "The Beginning" and says they signify the seven days of creation in Genesis. And what about the string of white spheres hanging from the tree? Kestelman says these are a necklace, saying that "pearls for some are just what you wear when you want to look classy." For her the "pearls embody wisdom acquired through experience and are symbols of faith, love, harmony and new beginnings". The seven pearls that are unattached from the others are symbols of love, endearment, the holy day of rest, creation, blessing, females and the bride. Kestelman says the sculptures are weatherproof, but also fragile and strong at the same time.
If you're lucky enough to be invited behind
the house you'll find the secret garden Kestleman created for her 11 year-old daughter. She made an "art" garden with ceramic flowers that bloom year-round and built a tree house that would be the envy of any child. Kestelman says, "creating art gardens with children means involving the kids in the design and evolution of the garden, working together to produce something unique. Nature facilitates more creative and imaginative play and creates a capacity for learning. More and more children today have less and less contact with the natural world. We had this problem since we came from a country (Brazil) where we had to have bullet proof cars."
Kestelman's work extends far beyond her home. A multi-media artist, she works in glass, ceramics and photography using casting, fusing and a variety of finishing techniques. She has a studio on Westmoreland Avenue in White Plains that was converted from an old dairy farm. She recently showed her work at the Context Show on Pier 94 in New York. There she displayed two large works to raise awareness about violence against women and children. The work, "A Fairy Take Bride" will be included at the Glass Art Society at the Corning Museum, and she has upcoming shows at the Gutfruend Cornett Art exhibition who creates shows to highlight art as activism and at St. Mary's College Museum of Art.
Kestelman is a native of Rio de Janeiro, where she received a BA in economics. She trained in working with glass at the Corning Museum and has 30 years of experience working with glass and ceramics. Her work is currently in the permanent collection of the Newark Museum of Art and in private collections in Brazil and Europe.
The artist is represented by Glenn Aber Contemporary Art in Greenwich. Learn more about Kestelman and see her work here. 
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