Page 38 - 2025 Westchester Relocation & Moving Guide

PCrawdaddy’s Creole Kitchen
Pleasantville / crawdaddyscreolekitchen.com
leasantville’s new restaurant gastro bedpost, but its importance Crawdaddy’s Creole Kitchen echoes generations into his past. brings Big Easy cooking to the “My mom is Sicilian, and my dad is heart of the county. Brooklyn-born Lebanese, but by way
Grabbing you by the hand like an of Haiti through my grandfather,”
Augustine’s Salumeria
CMamaroneck / augustinesny.com
hef Mark Taxiera came to the Westchester culinary scene swinging. Previously
the executive chef of the famed Russian Tea Room, Taxiera has mastered how to bend flavors to crescendo across the palate. Marry that (literally) to wife Brianne Myers’ successful restaurant management career as the GM of Eataly, BLT Steak, and Loring Place, and you get
a creative menu with local ingredients and a bar program that’s anything but basic. And don’t let the restaurant’s name set your expectations—this is not your nonna’s Italian food. It is, however, an homage to Taxiera’s grandparents: From the kitchen of a restaurant named after his grandfather, he concocts fresh takes on
the Italian comfort food his grandmother made for him growing up.
Currently living in Manhattan, the couple had Westchester squarely in its crosshairs for a while. “I grew up in Ossining, so Westchester was always in my mind,” says Taxiera. “We’ve been in the city for 25 years. We wanted a new backdrop, and Mamaroneck was the perfect canvas for
our debut. The culinary scene here is amazing, with so many talented chefs and great restaurants.”
Pastas are made in-house, including the mafalda paired with stewed, grass-fed, longhorn beef from Walking
R Ranch (where Taxiera and Myers source their ethically raised beef), red wine, tomato, and whipped goat ricotta. A must-have main is the pan- roasted Cornish hen with f•ngerling potatoes, turnips, and harrisa salsa rosso.
“We are so blessed that we have planted the flag here, and the reception has been amazing,” says Taxiera.
old friend, the rich aromatics wafting out onto the street give you no choice before pulling you over the threshold into the vintage-painting-peppered walls of Crawdaddy’s Creole Kitchen. Your fate past that point is completely up to you.
Delicate wouldn’t automatically be the word summoned to your head when thinking of Southern comfort food, but Chef Michael Boulos could balance his authentic flavor prof•les on the tip of a paring knife—each intentionally curated with a conscious hand on the seasoning, and a heavy pour from the heart.
“When it comes to working with the flavor prof•les of New Orleans, it’s all about depth of flavor, balance, and not compromising with the butter,” says the chef and owner. Let your mind wander too far and you might swear you’re in the Big Easy. The seafood gumbo is an “everybody in the pool” moment, as shrimp, mussels, oysters, and crawf•sh backstroke around tender andouille sausage, fluffy rice, and a nutty smoky broth with a fat content that is never questioned but gentle enough that it doesn’t steal center stage.
The shiny new restaurant (a few doors from Boulos’ The Raconteur) could easily be a notch on the chef’s
the famous John “Frenchy” Boulos of National Soccer Hall of Fame pedigree. “We had a lot of Haitian and French influence growing up. I became obsessed with Southern food as a
kid on trips to the Carolinas,” he says. Paired with a lifelong fascination with New Orleans, “Crawdaddy’s has been my dream for almost 15 years.”
With all the hallmarks of a good time, from buttery velvet seating to mesmerizing neon, let your mischievous side take over when perusing the menu. Crunchy hushpuppies come with a side
of blueberry butter for a kiss of sweetness, silky crawf•sh étouffée melts in your mouth, and the shrimp and grits transcends the barbecue flavors you’re used to f•nding in someone’s summertime backyard. Massive peel-and-eat Gulf shrimp linger in a spicy shellf•sh sauce for
a bite you won’t mind getting your hands dirty for. Wash it down with
a Hurricane or a Louisiana beer like Abita, and you’ll be humming jazz as the good vibes take over
The f•nal layer in Boulos’ atmosphere is the simplest, yet it’s often scant in kitchens. “This is food for the soul,”
he says. “You can’t cook it right by just following a recipe; you need to put love into it.”
36 LIVING IN WESTCHESTER AND THE HUDSON VALLEY | RELOCATION & MOVING GUIDE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CRAWDADDY'S CREOLE KITCHEN
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