10-13 Benefit, Porter House, White Plains

On Sunday, June 27, 2010, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., The White Plains PBA will be hosting a fund raiser held at the Porter House Restaurant in White Plains.

On Saturday, June 12, 2010, Police Officer Michael Perry of the White Plains Police Department died of a heart attack after a foot chase and apprehending a perpetrator.

As a result of his line of duty death, he was posthumously promoted to Detective.

Cost is $25, and there will be a 50/50. Funds will go towards a scholarship fund for his twin sons.

Mark Your Calendar! 3/21/10

Cochon 555: The only competition in the US featuring heritage pigs from local farms, chefs, butchers, and family owned wineries.

Masala Kraft Cafe, Hartsdale

This Saturday we decided to check out Masala Kraft Cafe, located in the snug downtown area of Hartsdale.

To call Masala Kraft Cafe a "cafe," is sort of misleading. Those who are fond and knowledgeable of Indian food would call this a "chaat house." Chaat being the small or portable snack type things usually found in road side vendors in larger metropolitan areas in India (such as sev puri, samosa chaat, chana bhatura, dosas, etc).

To call it a "chaat house" is not a way to denigrate this fine establishment. I make the distinction to put a finer point on what type of place this is. It would be on par with a deli, sandwich shop or coffee shop, offering a limited menu of items for early to mid-day meals or snacks, rather than an establishment to go for a multi-course dinner.

Masala Kraft Cafe is very thoughtfully appointed with a modern, yet nondescript type of atmosphere. It is clean, modern, and accommodating, with some nice decorator touches, but without the typical decorations one would expect from an Indian establishment. Even the stoneware dishes the food is served upon has the personal touch, as each are emblazoned with the Masala Kraft Cafe name.

The restaurant itself is fairly small with about six tables and a long granite snack bar with high bar stools which face out onto the busy main street to accommodate a small amount of patrons at a time. The place was just about full when we arrived.

Parking is conveniently (and if you're not familiar with the downtown area, it's deceptively) around the corner in a municipal parking garage, we happily parked our car and walked in the cold for what we hoped would be a great lunch.

We placed our order and settled into some bar stools up front to "people watch" until our food arrived.

Masala Kraft Cafe has been open for roughly seven months, and business was bustling for a Saturday, especially one where the temperature outside was near freezing. I can only imagine how busy this place will be once the weather warms up. I gladly snagged one of their take out menus, and intend on enjoying their food by way of take out, rather than fight the crowds with a stomach grumbling.

Service was good. The person taking our order was helpful with suggestions, and the person delivering the food to where we sat was pleasant and unharried.

My husband ordered pao bajji which was on the specials menu (pao = bread; bajji = vegetables cooked on a grill with spices), however we had the option to have it served in a dosa (a crispy south Indian crepe made from fermented rice and white urad, a type of lentil), which came with coconut chutney and a vegetable sambar (a south Indian brothy soup/condiment thing made with thoor dal, another type of lentil, and south Indian spices and tomato). I ordered the channa bhatura, which is a type of channa masala (spicey chick peas with a tomato gravy) with a deep fried biscuit. Both of our items came to us hot, and made to order.

The bhatura was delicious and decadently crispy, almost too brittle for me to wrap around the channa to eat traditionally (barehanded), so I'd tear off some of the bhatura and spoon the channo on top, but I wouldn't even call the brittle-ness a complaint. Every last morsel was eaten gladly.

The dosa containing the "pao" bajji was delicious, and reminded me of a masala dosa. The chutney was fresh and intensely coconutty, and the sambar was traditional, authentic and tasty. Typically dosa is eaten by pinching off a fingerful and dunking in the sambar and then put a bit of the chutney on top for the "perfect bite."

Each component, the dosa and the sambar were delicious independently as well as together. I didn't let a drop of the sambar go to waste. When my husband finished his meal, I slurped the last few spoonfuls of his sambar down. Speaking as an American who is well-versed in south Indian cuisine (I even make my own sambar), I feel sambar could play the part of a (stand alone) soup quite nicely, especially given the cold snap we are having. Sadly, their menu does not appear to have sambar vada (vadas are deep fried fritters made from a batter of rice and lentils). I wonder if I asked for it, if it could be made as a special request.

We topped our lunch off with a faluda, which was served drink style in a tall glass. Faluda was a milky type sweet drink, flavored with rose water, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some cooked vermicelli and I believe basil seeds. I believe this is something more adventurous Americans would have to acquire a taste for. I love rosewater in sweets, but the notion of the cooked vermicelli is a little odd. But all in all a deliciously unusual treat. (At my own wedding we had faluda, as it's one of our favorite items.)

Though a tidy and limited menu, they seem to offer nearly everything you could want in the "chaat" subset of Indian food. It's all vegetarian, and all made to order. There are daily specials and a wide array of beverages from which to choose. There are interesting twists on their offerings such as their Salad Dosa, Masala Taco, and Bombay Roll; as well as an assortment of traditional items such as Masala Dosa, Papadi Chaat and Dal Vada.

Portion size, quality of food and price are all exceptional.

One last modern convenience: You can place your order online.

I wonder how far they will deliver to? Hmmm?

City Limits, White Plains

City Limits, White Plains

This isn't a review for a specific day, more over a collective opinion on the vast amounts of times I've been to this place.

Without a doubt, it is one of my favorite "go to" places when I'm in the mood. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I have never been disappointed (well, we WERE disappointed when they took their fried chicken off their menu a few years back) in all the times we've gone there.

Breakfast has a huge amount of offerings. For the longest time their boar sausage quesadilla was frequently ordered and has now been replaced on their menu w/a chorizo quesadilla. I'm overly fond of their veggie frittata, and on occasion have splurged w/their crab cake eggs benedict. All their baked goods are baked fresh on the premises, so any meal involving that is worthwhile.

Usually for lunch, I'd opt for their BLT on foccaccia or their burgers; the husband enjoys their shrimp wrap sandwich. A friend of mine who I meet with frequently for breakfast or lunch is fond of their ruben (which I've had at least once and loved its massiveness:) on potato bread.

Dinner for me usually is either their hanger steak, or their chicken paillard salad, or something off their prefixe menu. My husband usually gets their Bell and Evans chicken or their soba noodles, or tagliatelli. All delicious, and hearty sized portions (we love leftovers in our house).

Their service is top notch, and from what I can tell (in all the times I've been going there and a "regular" since 2001) they don't have a tremendous amount of turnover in their wait staff or their runners, so their service and quality is consistently good.

Location is convenient, and even on days when they are jam packed, there is "spill over" parking on Central Ave (metered) as well as a municipal lot across the street (also metered).

I tend to shy away from there on Friday or Saturday nights (especially if there is a big event at the County Center across the street); however, now that City Limits has a feature where you can place your order online, it's no problem to call in an order after leaving work and picking it up on my way home. I love this feature, as if there is a substitution to be made or an omission (as in no dairy for the husband), it's clearly in black and white, and rarely have we had a problem where we get home to discover there's cheese or sour cream on something that shouldn't. Very little margin for error this way. And on the rare occasion where after I've placed an order online and they ran out of something, they're very quick to call the number I provide, to let me know, and to arrange for an alternative. Terribly convenient!

I was sad to learn they closed their location at the Westchester Mall; but was immensely grateful that the Central Avenue location is open for business as usual. It truly would break my heart if this place closed up. If not for any reason I've listed above, but their chicken soup is the only thing that makes me feel better when I am sick, and is usually the first thing I attempt to eat after being sick.

Given how fond I am of this Livanos Restaurant Group endeavor, I'm now curious about Molyvos, which is in the neighborhood I frequent for appointments every two weeks. Perhaps I can convince the husband to meet me there for dinner one of these days. I have no doubt it'd be just as good!

Chiboust, Tarrytown

Chiboust

Not too much to say just from a brief lunch at Chiboust. Will post again once I've experienced more from their menu.

However, that being said, a few weeks back, I was in Tarrytown, showing some friends around, and we stopped at Chiboust for lunch.

Though I cannot comment upon the deliciousness of my friends' lunches (one had the Waygu Burger; the other friend had the soup of the day); I can only comment on what I ate.

Lunch on this particular day was the Roasted Beet Salad from their "Small Plates" section of the menu.

It was what I have come to expect for a basic beet salad: beets, walnuts, greens/micro greens (in this case, mache and arugala), goat cheese and a vinaigrette.

In short order, lunch was delicious.

The location is great for foot traffic on Main Street in Tarrytown, and is across the street from the Music Hall and the local yarn shop.

I am hoping to go back again, and taste more items off their menu, such as: the petite tarte of spinach/yellow bean/asiago, and truffle essence, the Pate of chicken liver and pistachio, the pulled pork spring roll, and possibly the pan seared squid Santorini style.

To be blunt, I think it's a bit on the pricey side, but the service is nice, the location is convenient, and the quality of the food (granted my limited experience thus far) is enjoyable.

I'll be back to taste more, and I'm hopeful that my next visit or two will be similarly enjoyable.

Strike Two: Full Moon Asian/Thai Restaurant, White Plains

Against my better judgment, I tried my luck and ordered lunch from Full Moon Asian/Thai Restaurant. Let's just say, my gamble "crapped out."

This time, someone whose first language is English answered the phone and took my order. I knew I would have trouble when I ordered the fried squid (which was supposed to come w/pineapple, ginger, peanut and sweet chili sauce). I specified twice, nearly thrice, that I wanted the FRIED appetizer.

OVERALL IMPRESSION THUS FAR: DISAPPOINTED; WON'T RECOMMEND TO ANYONE.

I had a reasonable expectation of some squid rings and tentacles to be either lightly battered or merely dusted w/cornstarch and deep fried, not to mention the pineapple et al in the appetizer I ORDERED. You guessed it, the order was INCORRECT, and I ended up with the GRILLED squid appetizer, no pineapple, and was unsettled by the pork patty. There had to have been enough rings and tentacles from two small squids. They were cooked until barely opaque (stay tuned if I get sick from this), and it wasn't as substantial as I hoped. As a result, I had to raid the vending machine here at work.

I also ordered up the Tom Khar Gai, a chicken soup w/coconut milk and fresh lime juice. Flavor wise it was nice enough; the color was murky (as if it were made perhaps YESTERDAY), and despite me asking for it to be "spicy," it was dishwater bland. Tasty, but blandish for tom kha gai. This was the least expensive thing in today's lunch, at $5.

COST: $$: The squid appetizer mix up was $9, not inexpensive for an appetizer. Their spring roll selection is just as pricey--$7 for the least expensive spring roll type appetizer. For $9, I hoped to have gotten a hopper of fried squid deliciousness dripping in chili sauce and studded with pineapple and peanuts; and let's just say I got the antithesis of that.

When asked how business has been their first week since opening, the gal (who rang me up) quipped about business being poor, and suspected it was due to the Jewish New Year holiday. Funny thing is, where the restaurant is located is in the heart of a rather depressed part of White Plains, as it's near: transitional housing, family court & probation, Open Arms men's shelter; a few blocks from the old "drop in center" around the corner, and about two blocks from the projects.

They obviously have not done any market research in: what their projected clientele would be (subtext: predominantly business folks, and city/county/and state workers within walking distance); and they haven't searched out what the market should bear in regards to pricing the items on their menu.

White Plains is not completely without Thai food; as on Broadway we've got Reka's, an established Thai eatery (plus Reka gives instruction via classes thru the local college etc, or HAS in the past), with quality products, good service. I would visit Reka's MORE; however, I'd need to drive to get there from my office.

If I am going to pay $15 (like I did just for this soup & appetizer I had for lunch), I'd just assume to go Reka's for one of their $9.95 COMPLETE lunches (price might be higher, as I have an old menu on hand here), which includes: Soup of the day or Rekka's Green Salad, a main course, dessert of the day, and hot tea or coffee.

Despite their intention to make the restaurant itself really beautiful--and IT IS quite nice to look at while you're in there; the kitchen hasn't gotten its act together.

The only GOOD thing I can say about today's lunch experience is that it got me to take my take out menu out of my file, and I think I'll be going to Reka's this week to enjoy some truly wonderful Thai food, and to rinse the Full Moon disappointment out of my mouth.

On second thought, I think my time and money would be better spent patronizing businesses which are established, respected and present delicious food (and are not affected by constructive criticism). Here are a few spots I will continue to spend my money:

Reka's Thai Restaurant
(914) 949-1440(Thai)
2 Westchester Avenue, White Plains

Siam Orchid Thai Restaurant
(914) 723-9131(Thai)
750 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale

Swaddee House Of Thai Food
(914) 769-8007 (Thai)
886 Franklin Avenue, Thornwood

Thai House . . . (914) 674-6644(Thai / Vegetarian)
466 Ashford Avenue, Ardsley

Mix It Up: A Salad Boutique, White Plains

Though I had designs on having Thai today for lunch, that fell through, so I had to get something reliable from an established eatery. I ran some errands and popped into Mix It Up on Mamaroneck Avenue in the downtown area of White Plains to get a salad.

Normally there is a crowd/line right up to the door, but today, I lucked out and there were about six people ahead of me in line. Luckily at my "knit night" last night, my friend and I were discussing local eateries for lunch, and Mix It Up came up in conversation. So I already had a taste for their City Center salad (arugala, dry cranberries, goat cheese, grilled chicken). While I stood in line, I decided I wanted a few more add ins: candied walnuts, croutons, red onion, and their raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

I've been to Mix It Up more than one or two dozen times. They're consistently good salads with fresh ingredients.

Cost:
I'd put it on the higher end (for salads locally). My City Center salad with the extra add ins (3) and one peanut butter cookie cost me nearly $13. I don't have it in my budget as an every day expense, but it's nice that it's available.

Quality/Quantity:
They offer a good variety of "designer" salads (i.e., chef; "bistro"--which is a take on a traditional Nicoise; Calabrese, Cobb, and Greek, to name a few) or you can design your own with the assortment of greens and add ins and dressings. All delicious. Quantity, to me is a great selling point. I have often joked with friends and co-workers that these are some hefty salads. I've threatened to bring my kitchen scale into work one day just to WEIGH one of these salads. Easily I guess there's about 1-2 lbs of stuff in each salad. I could be wrong, but they are really hearty portions.

Offerings:
Salads are their primary focus, however, I do believe there are paninis and even soup on their menu. Some baked goods are offered up by the front register (i.e., choc chip, oatmeal or peanut butter cookies, as well as their chocolate cheesecake brownies, which I have on good authority are quite good). Today I ordered up a peanut butter cookie and it lived up to my expectations.

Location:
The "boutique" is conveniently located on Mamaroneck Avenue, easily accessible on foot for the many folks who work in the downtown area, and there's metered on street parking in front. The decor isn't much to speak of, but a nice attempt was made to make the interior cheerful and modern. There are about two tables located as soon as you enter the boutique, so needless to say their focus is heavily on take out customers.

Note:
This place is only open during the day, and appear to close up towards the late afternoon. So their focus is on the lunch rush.

Overall opinion:
Good solid, dependable, delicious, hearty. This is a place I have gone to many times in the past, and plan on continuing to keep it in my "lunchtime rotation."