A Fiesta of Mexican Food at Rancho Grande
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- Written by Judie Dweck
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Cinco de Mayo has come and gone, but the festive atmosphere at Rancho Grande continues to please its guests throughout the year. The celebratory upbeat feeling embraces its guests at every meal.
For over eight years, Rancho Grande has stood proudly overlooking Central Avenue in The High Ridge Shopping Plaza in Yonkers. The fiesta like flavor of Mexico permeates the food, as well as the atmosphere. The addition of Executive Chef Angelo Magno to their kitchen, prompted me to visit with high expectations. Chef Magno has graced the kitchens of the now defunct Tango Grill, and Milonga and most recently at the upscale Gaucho Grill. His culinary skills light up the kitchen. His wish is," To one day be a chef that everyone in the industry knows." He is well on his way. "I find my work new and exciting. I cook real food for real people. "With his memorable presentations of traditional Mexican dishes, many from his roots in Puebla, a meal at Rancho Grande is a fine experience.
The truly "grande" space seats about 320 
guests in its several dining areas and expansive bar. Artifacts from Mexico, mirrors, paintings, photos and eye-catching murals of Mexican scenes adorn the brick, stone and wood walls. Enter through the impressive heavy wood and wrought iron door, one of the dining areas looks out onto Central Avenue and in warm weather the floor to ceiling windows open for a pleasant setting. Every other Friday evening, a trio performing Mexican music adds to the joyful scene. Also enticing are happy hours, discounts for seniors and free meals for young children at certain hours.
Rancho Grande is owned by Mary Maloney, and managed by Jose Perez, who hails from Puebla and pursued his restaurant career in Nevada, Briarcliff and Chappaqua before arriving in Yonkers. With so many Mexican restaurants, Perez believes that, "Ours is special in its authenticity. It really gives one the feeling of being in Mexico. We combine classic dishes with creative touches and we are always improving in food and décor. I give my heart to the business and our goal is to fill our tables and become a popular destination."
Many dishes here are based on the tortilla, a pancake of unleavened corn or wheat flour. It is the bread of the people. At Rancho Grande tostadas, chimichangas, enchiladas and quesadillas all have tortillas as their base. Warm tortilla chips of many colors arrived with a bowl of homemade salsa, just spicy enough to tease the palate. A friendly member of the wait staff appeared tableside with a large molcajete and tejolate {mortar and pestle} and all of the ingredients necessary to prepare fresh guacamole to order, spicy, mild or somewhere in between. Just the right amount of cilantro, jalapenos and onions, made this classic dish hard to resist. Botanita Grande, a sampler of appetizers followed. A large platter of cheese flautas, nachos with sausage and jalapenos, crispy chicken tacos and quesadillas shared the plate with additional guacamole. It was a lovely prelude for the dishes to come. Coctel de camarones boasted halved large shrimp and a delightful lime and cilantro cocktail sauce. The glass it arrived in was embellished with crisp fingers of plantains. To cleanse our palate, a special salad of arugula, assorted fresh berries, apples, mango and gorgonzola tossed in a light vinaigrette was most refreshing. In addition to many salads that can be topped with chicken, steak or shrimp, black bean soup, seafood or chicken vegetable soup are all good choices. Entrees are extensive. We savored the enchiladas tres amigos. The trio consisted of cheese filled and topped with tomatillo sauce, beef filled and topped with tomato sauce, and my favorite , chicken filled topped with a complex and excellent house-made mole sauce. The garnish of this dish was a trademark of Chef Magno, a nest of fresh mashed potatoes topped with plantains, greens and fresh rose petals. A mountain of shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro,, cheese and sour cream blanketed a crisp corn tortilla stuffed with shredded chicken resulted in a tasty dish, as well. Rice and beans accompany the entrees.
From the grill, we loved the carne asada poblana. Here, thinly sliced skirt steak was nicely marinated and grilled to tender perfection. It arrived with a chicken mole enchilada, guacamole and pico de gallo. Chef Magno noted how much we loved the mole and our next dish was mole poblano. The bone in chicken breast was cooked in the classic sauce that is unique in including unsweetened chocolate as one of its ingredients. This sauce has its origins in ancient Mexican history. Pork filled tamales, the pork encased in cornmeal and wrapped in corn husks and steamed and chiles rellenos, where the roasted chile poblanos are dipped in batter stuffed with cheese and served with tomato sauce, were each divine. The vegetarian in your group can dine on vegetarian fajitas, vegetarian paella, spinach burritos and vegetarian crepes. On my list of future possibilities are Pescado Veracruz, Mariscada Don Francesco and salmon with mango.
We barely had room for dessert, but Chef Magno's tres leches cake, a perfect flan and a tableside preparation of rum flavored fried bananas with whipped cream added fireworks to our finale. A variety of margaritas with enticing names, sangria and beer can accompany your festive Mexican meal at Rancho Grande.
Rancho Grande
1789 Central Park Avenue
Yonkers, NY
(914) 337 3056
Click here to read more about Rancho Grande
TAQUITOS AL CARBON {grilled skirt steak tacos} 4 taquitos
1 pound skirt steak, diced and salted to taste
1 cup chopped onions
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 lime cut into wedges
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves
8 scallions, grilled
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1 cup olive oil
¼ tsp. ground cumin
4 corn or flour tortillas, warmed
Marinate the diced beef in a mixture of oil, cumin, garlic and salt to taste for 1 hour. Sauté the marinated steak in a pan over medium heat with the onion and tomatoes. Toss with the cilantro. Divide the mixture among the 4 tortillas that are warmed. Roll each tortilla up and garnish with a grilled scallion. Serve with lime wedges.
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.
Scarsdale Gets Fresh
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Scarsdale will soon have two new options for fans of fresh-pressed juices, cleanses, smoothies and healthy foods. Pure Raw Juice is opening on Harwood Court and Organic Pharmer on Garth Road.
This will be PURE's second location in Westchester, with another on Fisher Avenue in Tuckahoe. The site will offer juice blends with vegetables, raw nuts, coffees, and natural foods and snacks such as burritos and chia pudding.
Scarsdale will also be the second location for Organic Pharmer which is now open in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center. Both Pure and Organic Pharmer are backed by medical professionals, with Chiropractor Dr. Joey Amato behind Pure and Dr. Susan Blum guiding Organic Pharmer.
Amato is the author of "The Absolute Truth & Common Sense!" which outlines his theories about the ties between emotional and physical health and the importance of eating raw fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Susan Blum believes in a vegan diet without gluten, soy, dairy, corn or eggs. Organic Pharmer offer cold-pressed juices, protein shakes, smoothies, leafy salads, soups, vegetables and grains.
Watch for these two healthy food alternatives in town soon.
Scarsdale Goes Green For Arbor Day and Y.E.S. Office
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Pictured here are volunteers Ronny Hersch, Marian Green, Diana Kwong, Lian Wang, Lauren Rimland and Susanne Jones helping to sort and distribute plants.
The Scarsdale Youth Employment Service (YES) Office celebrated Mother's Day with their annual plant sale fundraiser. The YES Office is located at Scarsdale High School and staffed by parent volunteers. The office matches students with local residents and businesses to find suitable part time employment.
Scarsdale Named Tree City
Scarsdale plants tree in celebration of Arbor Day
Scarsdale was named a 2015 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of its commitment to effective forest management.
The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with the Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a million member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. For more information about The Arbor Day Foundation click here.
Scarsdale achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program's four requirements:
- a tree board or department
- a tree-care ordinance
- an annual community forestry budget of at least 2 dollars per capita
- an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
"Tree City USA communities see the impact an urban forest has in a community first hand" said Dan Lambe, President of the Arbor Day Foundation. " Additionally, recognition brings residents together and creates a sense of community pride, whether it's through volunteer engagement or public education".
Trees provide multiple benefits to a community when properly planted and maintained. They help to improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home coding costs, remove air pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat, among other benefits.
Click here for more information about the program
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Option D - Save Greenacres and Let Everybody Win
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Greeenacres Resident Jamie Kayam:
Some of us may have already met, as I have served on the Village's Board of Architectural Review for two years now, and have just committed to a new term of continued volunteer service.
Like many of you, I live in Greenacres. My wife and I have three children who will soon be entering the school system over the next few years.
Regarding the future of Greenacres School, to date, I've been observing a debate of opposing voices that support a very limited set of options the Board of Education has provided, but from all sides, I just see people digging into positions as if the debate is over.
Village Hall and the BAR have no official or legal affiliation with the Board of Education on the matter of school construction, however, as a concerned citizen and a member of the BAR, I feel I have a perspective worth sharing. At BAR meetings we are challenged to scrutinize hundreds of projects in the village with a mandate to keep Scarsdale's character and quality-of-life preserved as much as possible.
For Greenacres there are many issues we could all come together on, yet the public argument continues to circle a small range of mediocre options. This just isn't the best way to view the situation.
Let's start by reviewing some issues we can all likely agree on; we all want:
- The best school environment.
- The most green space.
- Preservation and curated change that makes sense for our neighborhood.
Now consider what the BOE has offered us:
- Option B. Build an extension on the current structure. This will include a disruptive and potentially dangerous process to deliver a cramped addition on a crowded lot.
- Option C. Build a new school in the middle of a valued green space to gain more parking spots and an under-developed building. This design ignores many options that would maximize its effectiveness as a public structure. The proposed design has no basement, it lacks multiple large spaces and it has a sprawling footprint. At the time of my review, this design also included an inaccurate plan for a new green space in place of the demolished school that did not account for ground elevations that will result in a loss of usable space.
Options B and C are lacking in quality and do not offer change worthy of our community. A professional posture would immediately suggest more options be made available.
Let's keep this simple so everybody can win.
Some process suggestions:
- Demote the current firm from exclusivity to design the future of Greenacres School.
- Open up the design process so as many ideas as possible can flow in from as many sources as possible.
- Require new designs to present a complete and accurate vision for the future of Greenacres School.
Don't get caught up in the urgency of the matter — we have time to create a better product.
My personal design suggestions:
Build a larger, more useful institution on the north, west, or east side of Greenacres Field, with a fully-functioning basement level, and more large rooms, and courtyards, and rooftop greenhouses, and lots of other good stuff, and yes, include a parking lot and delivery lot as well.
Permanently close the current Huntington Avenue passage and consider a relocation of the passage to accommodate a new design.
Present a new design for the south side of the field that includes a drop in the elevation where the existing old school would be demolished, complete with a retaining wall to present a leveled, usable green space that will replace the lost space on the north side.
Present a plan that keeps Greenacres Park open and available to the public during construction.
I realize this is a busy time for the BOE and all residents, and I applaud the extended effort everyone is making to move the process forward. During the first rounds of the BOE's presentations and meetings, I had reached out to the BOE to volunteer to help as a concerned resident, and although I have not been called upon, I continue to offer to help.
As time permits, I am going to post designs of how I envision potential new concepts. Click here to view my designs:
On a closing note, I recently brought my oldest son to Greenacres School for kindergarten orientation. This is an exciting and wonderful time for all young families and neighbors, and I know we can all work together to continue the tradition of excellence in Scarsdale.
Thanks for your time.
New Paver Initiative to Fund SHS Construction, PTA Calls for Donations to Scholarship Fund
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Pavers will be installed in a checkerboard pattern in a new courtyard garden with benches and trees.
To date, the Schools Foundation has raised over $1.6 million in capital funds toward their goal of $2.6 million. But they need the support of everyone in the community to reach the finish line.
Pavers are designed to be personalized -- honoring graduates, teachers, families, teams or others -- and are available for $250 and $1,000. The pavers will be displayed in a "paver garden" in a redesigned courtyard at the high school, adjacent to the new Design Lab. Called the Bander patch garden, the pavers will be incoroporated into a large chessboard design in a garden with benches and trees.
Mark Bezos, the Education Foundation's board president, noted, "We are very pleased to invite everyone in the community to help us with this vital project. We know that a Design Lab and new Fitness Center at the high school will improve the educational experience of our children and have a very positive impact on the entire school community."
A similar initiative took place more than a decade ago to raise money to install the high school's first turf field. Contributors purchased pavers inscribed with their names which are now at the entrance to the high school track.
Residents will receive a mailing about the "Pave the Way" initiative this week. Watch for it and consider doing your part to fund the Health and Fitness Center and Design Lab at Scarsdale High School. Click here to buy your paver today.
http://www.scarsdaleschoolseducationfoundation.org/
PTA Scholarship Fund Calls for Donations:
As the school year winds down, the SHS PTA Scholarship Fund for College finds that they have many applicants but are below their annual goal for donations received. This will directly impact the number of grants they are able to make, as well as the amount they can give to each student.
Please help them make sure that the door to higher education is open to all students. The Fund provides one-year grants to graduating SHS seniors who need financial assistance in order to attend college. They rely on donations from Scarsdale residents, as well as local businesses and organizations.
This year there are 19 retiring teachers/staff in the district, including:
Edgewood: Ellen Anders, Wilda Savarese
Greenacres: Nancy Closter, Maggie Hoffee
Heathcote: Dassi Citron
SMS: Margaret Fox, Dorothy Golden, Andrea Tripodi, Sharon Waskow, Sarah Whittington
SHS: Roger Capucci, Sandra Cisco, Tom Conrad, Ann Liptak, Sue Peppers, Beth Schoenbrun, Paul Sheehey, Ihor Szkolar, Laurence Brown
What better way to thank them for their long-standing contributions to our schools than to make a donation in their honor!
If you have already given this year, the committee thanks you for your generosity and for your commitment to the young people in our community. Donations can be made to SHS PTA Scholarship Fund, PO Box 147H, Scarsdale, NY 10583 or online here.
