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Published: 10 September 2012

Created: 10 September 2012

Last Updated: 10 September 2012

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There seem to be a lot of new Mediterranean restaurants in the area, but one we enjoyed was MP Taverna in Irvington. They are located in the former site of the Day Boat Cafe on the Hudson side of the railroad tracks. The dining room has kept a similar look from previous incarnations (I definitely have been to at least three different restaurants there … hope it’s not one of those cursed locations), with a sleek, elegant style. And though we went on a crowded Friday night you could actually hear your dining companions. The restaurant has a good cocktail menu and we tried one infused with cucumber vodka and elderflower liquer that was really special.

Chef Michael Psilakis hails from New York City, where he created Anthos after operating other restaurants including Kefi on the Upper West Side. This is his first venture in Westchester and we welcome him to the burbs. The thoroughly Greek menu has lots of choices in the appetizer department including traditional dips with lovely warm pitas, salads and a variety of meze including meatballs, calamari, sausages, octopus, mussels, ribs and a few other choices. I highly recommend the meatballs which were delicious and very hearty (served with fresh tomatoes and olives) and although we didn’t have the octopus (every party has a pooper and that was me!), it comes highly recommended. The eggplant was an unusual presentation of sliced eggplant with separate tomatoes and seasonings that at first glance disappointed us -- but blended together for a great taste. The mussels were also a different kind of preparation with “gigantes” large beans. We weren’t sure the dish needed the beans but the sauce and the mussels were great. The “meze” dishes are filling and you could certainly make a dinner of those with some side salads… but try to save room and try at least one entree.

Onto main courses where we shared a fresh grilled dorade and the Greek paella, Psilakis’ The chef’s take on traditional paella was made with orzo and lamb sausage, -- and though it was a little soupy it was an interesting variation. Everything was prepared to order and although we had to wait awhile, it was worth it. The food is well-spiced and carefully prepared. Some of the other choices include a pork chop, a lamb shank, mixed grill and fish options. Prices are on the reasonable side with most appetizers costing from $8-12 and mains ranging from $15-22. There’s an extensive wine list that unlike many other places gives you lots of choices and price points; you can order by the glass, half glass, bottle and half bottle. And for beer drinkers, there are over 20 brands including craft beers and ales.

We were full but had to sample desserts since the waiter reported they are made on site. Opting for the parsnip walnut cake with ice cream, we were not disappointed. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience, were pleased to find an elegant restaurant with reasonable prices and plan to go back to MP Taverna soon.

MP Taverna
1 Bridge Street
Irvington, NY
914-231-7854

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Published: 26 September 2012

Created: 26 September 2012

Last Updated: 26 September 2012

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Scarsdale’s own Cooked and Co. made it into the NY Times this month in an article called “Sinful Ways to Start the Day.” Author Alice Gabriel was taken with the Nutella Banana Crunch Muffin, which she called “A sizable molten core of Nutella, and lofty summit strewed with streusel and hazelnuts.” If you want to know more about the muffin click here to read what we published about it on Scarsdale10583 this summer.

But don’t bother to try and recreate it yourself, because lucky locals can stop by Cooked and Co. on Garth Road for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner to go.

For breakfast they bake a delicious array of creative muffins, and serve frittatas, breakfast wraps and oatmeal. Meet a friend for lunch and enjoy pizzas, soups, sandwiches or their salad bar at one of their tables by the window– and while you are there, pick out something fresh to take home for dinner – turkey meatballs, roasted fall vegetables, and chicken martini were just a few of the selections available this week.

Cooked and Co., 128 Garth Road, Scarsdale, (914) 205-3939

City Limits has reopened after a major renovation. The 50’s style diner is back and better, with a completely redesigned interior that’s reminiscent of the past but cleaner, brighter and modern. The restaurant includes an expanded bar in the front as well as a bakery that sells fresh breads and colorful cakes and farm fresh produce. The menu has been updated as well -- small plates include Greek and Chinese selections like keftedes (Greek meatballs) with tzaziki and lobster wontons – and there’s a Middle Eastern vegetarian sample plate as well as Mexican offerings including nachos and quesadillas. There’s a dizzying range of choices including sandwiches, ten different burgers, wraps, salads, pizzas, pastas and entrees like roast turkey with cranberry sauce, stuffing and giblet gravy. Can the kitchen do all of this well? We can’t say, but the turkey and brie sandwich on raisin walnut bread with arugula, tomato, honey Dijon mustard and field greens was yummy – and the two halves proved to be enough for lunch and dinner that night.

Loyal customers seem pleased that City Limits is back. The parking lot was full the day we visited and a traffic man was attempting to manage the chaos.

City Limits, 200 Central Avenue, White Plains, NY (914) 686-9000

On Sunday at the Newcomers Picnic in Chase Park in Scarsdale, we chatted with Zamir, owner of the Taiim Falafel Shack in Hastings-on-Hudson. He is busy with construction on Boniface Circle in Scarsdale Village where they are renovating the former site of Vaccaros Shoe Repair where he will operate a wine bar as soon as they can open. On Sunday, Zamir was offering samples of their famous spiced hummus including masabacha, fresh basil, spicy red pepper and fava bean. He explained that customers at the Scarsdale location will enjoy a wide selection of wines accompanied by falafel, dips and other Middle Eastern specialties. Can’t wait! For now, try them in Hastings-on-Hudson at 598 Warburton Avenue – (914) 478-0006.

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Published: 04 September 2012

Created: 04 September 2012

Last Updated: 04 September 2012

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It’s always a mistake to let the world in on your latest find, a restaurant where it’s already hard to get reservations and after I write this will become impossible. But the owner of this ordinary bistro with extraordinary food worthy of the highest temple of cuisine is from Scarsdale, so I write this in the hope that we can keep it a secret in the 10583 zip code.

La Mangeoire isn’t in the most convenient part of town, that is, not in the theatre district, not near Lincoln Center, not even near New York City’s best shopping, but it is, as the Guide Michelin says of restaurants it awards three stars, vaut le detour.

Gerard Donato, of Scarsdale, has run this Provencal jewel for 30 years -- at least three lifetimes for a New York restaurant -- but he has now been joined by Christian Delouvrier, whose previous turns in the kitchen were (no less) with Alain Ducasse at the high temple of cuisine in The Essex House, and at the equally luxe Maurice at Le Parker Meridian. He also presided over Lespinasse.

But M. Delouvrier was looking for something different and at the same time, M. Donato tells me, he was looking for a chef. And what a chef he found. This inspired collaboration allows Mr. Delouvrier to bring the finesse of haut cuisine to a comfortable, unfussy bistro environment with what I like to think of as real French food – the kind of country cooking that he learned at the knee of his grandmother.

He reproduces the home cooking I used to get in Dijon, where the mother of the family that took me in was, I thought, probably the best cook in France --and where I gained fifteen pounds in one summer, even while bicycling all over the country. Perhaps it was there that I learned the real meaning of the word cochon.

And believe me, you may be tempted to eat like a pig at this mangeoire. The word is translated, literally, as the feeding trough.

Here, the roast chicken is succulent, a juicy whole bird with crusty skin served on a bed of pommes frites that seem never to have touched any oil. It would be a bargain at twice the price of $60, which serves three! My 10-year-old epicurean son adored the very simple salad that is included in the price – just lettuce and vinaigrette -- and he kept trying to find out what made it so delicious. (He wants me to get the recipe for the dressing.) I go for the chicken every time, but each evening there’s a plat du jour – lamb one night, pork another – so you’ll never get bored with the selection no matter how often you go back, which I’m sure you will. And don’t stint on the country pate with your aperitif. Served with perfect bread, it’s divine.

Wines that pair well with the cuisine are carefully chosen with attention to price as well as taste, and are available by the glass as well as by the bottle.

Although I’d had my fill by the time dessert was offered, the rice pudding intrigued me and I was sorely tempted -- until I remembered those fifteen French pounds. I respected my waistline this time but, typically accommodating, they came up with an off-the-menu hot fudge sundae for my delighted son.

Scarsdale has a grand restauranteur. Don’t tell anybody! Please.

La Mangeoire
1008 Second Avenue
New York. N.Y.
212 759-7086
http://www.lamangeoire.com/

Marilyn Berger is a journalist, epicure and author of This Is A Soul, the story of an amazing American doctor who saves lives in Ethiopia.