westchester ny – Delicious Food Chronicles from a New Yorker

Le Jardin Du Roi in Chappaqua, NY – Fantastic Sunday Brunch

This is #FrenchRestaurant post number 4 this week. To read the other posts, click here for number 1 La Sirène in downtown Manhattan, number 2 Les Halles on 29th and Park, and number 3 Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte in New York.

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Le Jardin Du Roi in Chappaqua NY is a cute little #FrenchBistro. I had been to this restaurant many times prior but have not returned since I moved back to NY. Finally, I took the time to revisit the place with a friend on a cold December Sunday morning. I was very pleasantly surprised by how good the brunch was.

A simple bread basket and good butter. Good bread and good butter. A great way to start the brunch.

Omelette au Saumon Chevre: With smoked salmon, goat cheese, and sautéed onions, served with home fries and a side salad. My friend ate so fast and was very happy with her choice. Her omlette and salad looked so good to me across the table that I was tempted to reach over and ate her portion.

Œuf du Roi: Poached egg on a goat cheese potato cake over ratatouille. This was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps I was very hungry after the morning jog but it was more than that. Each ingredient on the dish was connected and balanced. I really liked the egg, and the goat cheese potato and the ratatoulle. Wait, that’s everything on the plate. 🙂

I highly recommend this place. It was a happy eating experience. The food was delicious. As a bonus, the sun shone through the windows and made our food look beautiful and brightened our mood.

This experience took place at

Le Jardin Du Roi

95 King Street
Chappaqua, NY
914-238-1368

Metro Deli in Scarsdale, NY – Not So Impressive. A Tongue Sandwich!

Best joke of the day: “Would you like to try my tongue?” This happened while I was at the Metro Deli in Scarsdale, NY with a somewhat tasteless tongue sandwich and trying to share. We found ourselves at the Metro Deli after a Breast Cancer Awareness walk, hungry and dehydrated. The food was really mediocre – if I were to be nice. The grilled cheese was worse than what I could do at home. The meatball pasta was tasteless according to my 11-year-old. The burger was ok – and for that they got a mediocre rating.

Bland grilled cheese

Big fatty meatball with a lot of bread and not enough meat. Bland pasta.

The infamous tongue sandwich. Thank you for the joke. The tongue was also tasteless.

The burger was acceptable.

I don’t understand why they were so busy on that Sunday morning. I think the location is ripe for a much better restaurant to take over the brunch crowd, given how bad the food was. Anyone interested?

This experience took place at

Metro Deli & Catering
4 PALMER AVE
SCARSDALE, NY‎ 10583
(914) 472-4760‎

Kalbi House in White Plains NY – Korean Dolsot Bibimbap

I have been jonesing for some Bibimbap, one of my favorite Korean dishes. Spending a month in Taiwan this Summer never led me to a Korean restaurant. You would think that at least the geographic proximity would make the cuisine more popular but not so. I had to come back to New York to get my fix. This Sat I went to the Kalbi House in White Plains to try the stone pot Bibimbap or Dolsot Bibimbap.

The side dishes that automatically accompany a meal in a Korean restaurant. All very yummy and if the American salad were more like this, I could eat it everyday. The Korean side dishes have umami when compared to most of the American salads that always make me feel like a horse eating hay.

Dolsot Bibimbap: This is how the Bibimbap looked when it first came. Isn’t it beautiful? Look at the egg!

Dolsot Bibimbap: Here is how it looked after I mixed everything together and added the chili pepper paste. Because the rice is in a stone pot that came hot, the rice was crispy and slightly browned at bottom. The rice was also in chunks. When you mix the rice, you get both the softness of the rice and the brown and crunchy pieces from the bottom. I absolutely loved it!!! 🙂

Jo Gae Tang: Clam and vegetable in broth casserole. Look at how big the clams are and how fresh.

Nabeyaki Udon: Because we were in a Korean restaurant, Japanese food were also on the menu!(?) I really don’t get this fusion approach. It really confuses the issue. Please stick to what you do best and don’t give a bastardized version of the Japanese Nabeyaki Udon. In all fairness, it was not bad but it was not authentic.

Overall, I was very happy with this experience and will definitely return to try the famous Korean BBQ, their broiled fish, Korean pancake, rice cake in broth, and nakji bokkeum (stir-fried mini octopus in red chili sauce)! See how I already picked up my five meals at the Kalbi House. Thumbs up!

This experience took place at

Kalbi House
291 Central Ave
White Plains, NY 10606
914-328-0251

Red Plum in Mamaroneck NY – Reliable Old Shoe Asian

Looking for a reliable Americanized Asian restaurant for lunch? Try Red Plum in Mamaroneck NY. The decor is modern; the menu is just like the other three Asian restaurants on the same street; the price is good for the wallet. Red Plum offers standard Fusion Asian or in Peilin Corbanese’ speak: Americanized Asian food / bastardized Asian food. I went today with a friend and we both ordered the Maki Lunch Special. Upside: the green tea they served was pretty good!

This photo is a bit fuzzy but shows the miso soup. It is ok – slightly better than the packet powder version.

Here is the salad that comes with the lunch. Good for fiber and pedestrian for taste.

Here are my two rolls: salmon avocado and eel cucumber. They are better than what I could do and decent for the price.

Here are my friend’s rolls: salmon avocado and tempura roll.

The great thing about this place is that you can be loud and still hear your friend across from you. You can laugh your hearts out and no one would bug you. The waiters and waitresses leave you alone but are very attentive if you look their way. They know how to treat their customers. The restaurant was not too busy nor too empty. Just right for a quick get away from the office.

I had a great time with my friend whom I have not seen in over half a year and lunch was the side-show. I highly recommend the place if your primary purpose is not eating great Asian food but to enjoy the atmosphere and the company. Cheers to friendship!

This experience took place at

Red Plum
251 Mamaroneck Ave.
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
Tel: (914) 777-8696 | 777-6888

Masala Kraft Cafe in Hartsdale NY – Heavily Salted

Between Chinese School and Acupuncture this Sat, I was in Hartsdale NY getting a quick lunch from Masala Kraft Cafe. The restaurant is conveniently located right across from the Hartsdale Metro North station and a weekend farmer’s market. I was very hopeful because I was there once before and had a decent experience. When you first walked in the place, it smelled aromatic and filled with spices that transport you to a different continent. It made me smile. 🙂

Unfortunately, my good experience was not meant to be repeated. We ordered three dosas. Here is how they turned out.

This is the Masala Dosa. The presentation was impressive. The crepe is thin and has a nice consistency. The filling of spiced mashed potatoes and onions was a little salty.

Here is the Bombay Dosa for me. The filling is curried potatoes with vegetables. It was extremely salty. I was very hungry but could not ignore the salt. It was so heavily salted that I wondered if it was double salted. I left my dosa half eaten. I think the filling would have been great with only plain rice – a lot of it!

The cheese dosa. Bleh. Plain and wished it was a French crepe instead. It was also salty!

Masala Kraft’s menu for your reference. Probably should have tried other items instead of putting all my eggs in the dosa basket.

Do not recommend the dosa. I did buy two bananas from the farmer’s market afterwards though. It was not a complete waste.

This experience took place at

Masala Kraft Cafe
206 E. Hartsdale Avenue, Hartsdale, NY 10530
Phone: (914) 722 4300

Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry, NY – A Sunday Afternoon Treat

A friend and I on a whim decided to go to Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry, NY, for a late Sunday lunch partaking in the gorgeous Hudson River view. Today was particularly sunny for NY and when the sun hits the river, it created this shimmering effect on the river. What a glorious afternoon sitting on the deck looking at the water flowing by and discussing the importance of being true to self.

The view of Hudson River flowing south. The photo cannot adequately depict the feel of the sun on my skin, the calmness of the river and a good friend’s company. It really was much better than the picture.

The bread basket had little fatty mini corn muffins, croissants and French orange jam. Nice!

I was extra hungry today because I felt I earned my big lunch after a long workout this morning. This is the Crew’s Ration; this is as lumber jack as I get. It was fine but I believe the view really enhanced the taste quite a bit.

My friend ordered a Caesar Salad with Shrimp. A safe and healthy choice. She was pretty happy with it.

The best part was the view. The food was absolutely the secondary focus. This is a great place to take a date to, especially for those who need to impress a new friend. 🙂

Bon Appetit! Wish you all had a Sunday as great as mine was today. Love to ALL!

This experience took place at

Half Moon on Hudson
1 High Street
Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
914.693.4130

Trattoria Vivolo in Harrison NY – A Delight Every Time

My friend Lisa and I usually go to Trattoria Vivolo when she meets me at work for lunch. Trattoria is a fine Italian restaurant by the Harrison Metro North train station. Lisa is a friend of the owner and each time we are there, two glasses of wine are always waiting for us. Today was such a special day that I drank!

Back to the food. The food has always been excellent and consistent. It’s down to earth Italian food. Fresh, simple and satisfies. Trattoria Vivolo takes away the need to home cook Italian.

This is the beet salad, with almond chips, green beans, cherry tomatoes, onions and mozzarella cheese. It was so good that both Lisa and I wanted to recreate it at home.

Here is the spinach wrapped in eggplant. Much much better than how it may look.

And we concluded the meal with a always cheesy and thin Pizza Margherita.

Cheers to a happy and content life! Let’s embrace life with the same freshness and simplicity Trattoria Vicolo demonstrated. Salute!

This experience took place at

Trattoria Vivolo
301 Halstead Ave
Harrison, NY 10528
914-835-6199

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