Page 54 - Westchester Magazine - January 2011

Birdsall House
Peekskill
(914) 930 1880 birdsallhouse.net
At Birdsall House, two super-hot trends are united in a single restaurant: craft beer and locavorian cuisine. In fact, Birdsall takes it one more step—its taps feature locavorian beer (most of the brews are sourced from within a day’s drive). Yet our favorite hipster hang—full of plaid shirts and guys with facial hair—also serves some thoughtful, Hudson Valley cuisine. Look beyond Birdsall’s checked linoleum and high, wooden beer pews for locally raised produce whipped into hearty, yet elevated, fare. Sláinte!
that really kills. The restaurant sits Hudson-side on the for- merly industrial Bridge Street
in Irvington, and it takes every advantage of its waterfront view. Come warmer months, you can dine outside on ground level—or skip the entrées and opt for grab- bing a drink on the 50-seat roof- top cocktail bar.
RIVIERA BAKEHOUSE
Ardsley
(914) 693-9758 rivierabakehouse.com
If there’s one reason to head just
past the main drag in Ardsley, it’s the sweets offered at this “whimsi- cal bakehouse,” as its cookbook is called. The muffins, scones, lemon bars, cookies, and rugelach—
all made from scratch without preservatives—are reasons to stop in every day. But the shop really shines with its special-occasion cakes. The bakers can make intri- cate designs, cakes in the shape of other objects (like a 3D Coke can), and the coolest, most colorful, off-kilter tiered cakes that look like they came straight out of the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
SONORA
Port Chester
(914) 933-0200 sonorarestaurant.net
Rafael Palomino is the area’s authority when it comes to Nuevo Latino cooking and, at his Port Chester restaurant, his dishes span Latin American cuisines through Mexico, Peru, Spain, Portugal, Ecuador, Argentina,
and his native Colombia, among others. We keep returning for
his spicy ceviches—and his drinks, which include the best Capirinha that can be found at a Westchester bar.
STAR DINER
White Plains (914) 684-8702
The Star Diner doesn’t have free Wi-Fi—in fact, it doesn’t have a website. You can’t get yellowfin tuna salad here, and the coffee is not from Stumptown Roasters. That’s what’s so great about it— it’s a diner for diner lovers, not gourmands. It’s where you go when you want to sidle up to a stool in front of a shiny counter and order no-frills eggs, toast, and pancakes—at any time of the day and at throwback prices (we’re talking $3.50 for a cheeseburger).
STEW LEONARD’S
Yonkers
(914) 375-4700 stewleonards.com
Sure, the barn-like supermar- ket—perched on a hill overlooking the Thruway—may seem like a huge carnival, with all the bells and whistles like costumed char- acters roaming the aisles. But, once you look past the gimmicks, you’ll realize Stew Leonard’s offers a carefully selected stock of 2,000 items, each one specially chosen for freshness, quality, and value. In other words, you come here for the food, not the animatronics. Plus, it stays true to its dairy-store roots, selling the best super- fatted, pasteurized heavy cream we could find in the area. Tip: not only has the store been lauded
in our pages as a great place to shop, but it also landed on our
list of the top 10 places to work in Westchester.
SUSHI MIKE’S
Dobbs Ferry
(914) 591-0054; sushimikes.com
Crazy, man! Sushi Mike’s is no hushed temple to raw fish— it’s an all out sushi party where anything goes. Look for Chef
Mike Suzuki’s Out of Control Roll
52 / JANUARY 2011 / WWW.WESTCHESTERMAGAZINE.COM
PHOTO THIS PAGE BY CATHY PINSKY