If you’re looking for great spots to grab something fresh and healthy, northern Westchester has you covered. From vibrant bowls and energizing smoothies to filling salads, there are plenty of local gems serving up nourishing dishes with lots of flavor. Whether you’d like a crisp, satisfying salad, a new take on comfort food, or a refreshing smoothie, we have a list of top spots to satisfy your health-conscious cravings. These local favorites are all about tasting good and feeling great.
Green & Tonic in Chappaqua offer a blend of health-conscious bowls and dynamic flavors. Their signature Green Guru smoothie is a huge standout. A vibrant green concoction packed with kale, ginger, and an earthy richness, this smoothie is thick and filling, making it a great remedy when you’re feeling under the weather. The ginger adds a warming element that works wonders. While the kale flavor is strong, the ginger and creamy texture make this smoothie healthy
and comforting.
Armonk Country Kitchen’s salad game is on point. We ordered a chopped salad with romaine, hearts of palm, avocado, edamame, and cucumber, all topped off with white balsamic vinaigrette on the side, and it was fresh & delicious. The hearts of palm added a light, tangy flavor that balanced perfectly with the crisp greens, while the creamy avocado brought smoothness to the crunch of the lettuce and cucumber. The edamame added a nice pop of texture, and that dressing is enough to have us coming back for more – it tied everything together with a perfect punch of flavor. Chopped just right, every bite had a little bit of everything. We recommend adding chicken to this salad if you are looking for protein or something more filling.
Lulu’s, a new addition to Pleasantville’s food scene, has quickly become a must-try spot for anyone craving classic American comfort foods. We often struggle at restaurants deciding whether to order a salad or a burger, but this perfect Cheeseburger Salad lets us have the best of both worlds. Here, you can have all the savory flavors of both a burger, and a salad! The salad is on the heavier side, making it a better choice for dinner rather than lunch. Additionally, by mimicking the burger flavors, we would put this salad as a less healthy option. The crispy lettuce adds a refreshing crunch, complementing the juicy, crunchy burger patty that tastes just like a classic cheeseburger. It’s a satisfying and flavorful option, and if you’re in the mood for something hearty but lighter than a traditional burger, this is a great pick.
We continued our journey for refreshing smoothies and healthy foods at Bobos Café in Chappaqua, a local favorite. We tried the Maui Wowie Smoothie, and while the first sip was very refreshing, the taste of banana was hard to miss. The smoothie was incredibly sweet, thanks in large part to the pitaya, which added a beautiful color and a burst of natural sweetness. It was a refreshing treat, and we believe ideal for a hot day. While we found it a little on the sweet side, the balance of flavors was spot on, and the texture was smooth and creamy. In our opinion, this is more of a summer drink, but if you’re craving a taste of the tropics year-round, the Maui Wowie fits the bill. If you are a fan of bananas and sweet drinks, Bobos is definitely the place to try!
If you’re looking for a bowl that’s both super filling and feels light and healthy, Exit 4 Food Hall in Mt. Kisco has a cauliflower rice bowl that is absolutely delicious. This salad bowl consists of creamy avocado, crisp peas, bright scallions, edamame, and crunchy carrots, all drizzled in the tangy yuzu sesame sauce. The best part! The cauliflower rice actually tastes like real fried rice. It’s salty, refreshing, and the perfect balance of flavors and textures in every bite. It’s got that savory kick you crave, without any of the heaviness. Beyond just being a delicious, light, and healthy meal, it is allergy friendly as it contains no gluten and is vegan–Definitely worth a try!
Ultimately, northern Westchester is filled with local spots that cater to every health-conscious craving. There’s no shortage of delicious, nutritious meals to explore. These local favorites ensure that eating healthy doesn’t mean sacrificing taste!
Teaching Children Values Through Sowing Seeds
Mount Kisco Child Care Center (MKCCC), a non-profit providing nurturing support and equitable access to high quality childcare for working families in Westchester, has a program called Feed Me Fresh, which is their seed-to-table nutrition education curriculum. Dawn Meyerski, Executive Director of MKCCC, provided insight into this program, through an enlightening interview.
Dawn outlined the program’s commitment to teaching children about organic and whole natural foods, emphasizing how they incorporate them into their daily diet. MKCCC has set up gardens in the children’s playground, where they learn to grow and harvest their own vegetables. From planting to picking, cleaning, cooking, and eating what they have grown, the Feed Me Fresh program is flourishing. The aim of this program is to not only feed the children well, but to teach them where their food comes from.
To help the children find interest in eating healthy foods, MKCCC incorporates cooking activities into their lunch period. For example, the children have learned to make spinach and cous cous from scratch. This program has allowed children at a young age to get connected to and build a love for vegetables and natural foods. They have found children are willingly trying broccoli or spinach, foods typically challenging for younglings to eat, when they grow them and put them into recipes. Dawn remarked, “Although not all children would rather eat kale than cookies, most of them enjoy the kale!”
The Feed Me Fresh curriculum was inspired by Alice Waters, a woman who ran a food service in California using edible schoolyards. Initially, MKCCC was skeptical about adopting this program, but in 2002, after moving to a new building they implemented garden beds and began their journey to mirror the service in California.
Over the years, Susan Rubin, the farm educator at MKCCC, brought a similar seed-to-table program to the Mount Kisco Elementary School. Dawn added that MKCCC school age children had a “higher food IQ” because of the program in the preschool. These children stand out where they are more knowledgeable about growing different vegetables and crops, as well as being passionate about eating fresh vegetables.
In the summer months, MKCCC summer campers, which range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade, work in their own playground gardens and grow any crops of their choice. They also manage their own farmers’ market, selling their fresh produce on the front porch of MKCCC. This program not only teaches children about nutrition and eating healthy but also helps them learn to market and research prices for their products. The money the children earn is split: half goes back to expanding their gardens, and the other half is donated to a charity of the campers’ choice, teaching the children the importance of giving back to the community. Donations have been made to the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY, the Mount Kisco Food Pantry, and a Louisiana strawberry farmer who lost his crops due to weather conditions.
The children’s favorite crop to grow is the three sisters’ garden: corn, beans and squash. In this garden, the three plants work together and grow around each other. The crop symbolizes cooperation, and the children learn valuable skills in teamwork, both in the gardens and the kitchen.
“While we live in a world where anything is accessible in 30 seconds, the children learn about patience and gratitude as they wait for their gardens to prosper. They learn to manage their frustration and slow down, understanding that not every plant grows. These children learn the natural process and cycle of growth, realizing that you can’t make a carrot grow any faster than a carrot grows.” Dawn explains that this hands-on program teaches the children to “not be afraid to eat spinach.” MKCCC has high hopes for the future of the program and are looking to maintain and expand it.
Wicked at the Burns Celebrates the Magic of Friendship and Self Acceptance
Some stories are so iconic, they defy gravity. As the highly anticipated Wicked movie made its way to the Jacob Burns Film Center, the town of Pleasantville was all in on the celebration! In fact, Pleasantville has gone Wicked Wild, with pink & green decorations, food & drink specials, Wicked merchandise and a general warm wicked feeling permeating the village. Indeed Wicked has cast a spell on audiences nationwide and smashed several box office records in its opening weekend. The movie event of the year raked in an impressive $164.2 million worldwide, with $114 million in the US, according to Universal Studios.
Gleaming green lights illuminated the outside of the movie theater and inside hats were hanging from the ceiling that felt as magical as Elphaba’s spells! The Take 3 Wine Bar & Café offered Wicked-themed cocktails – green for Elphaba and pink for Glinda. Such a fun & festive touch.
The movie begins as Glinda, the good witch, floats into Munchkinland in a giant, pink bubble, declaring that the wicked witch of the west was dead. Glinda, brilliantly played by Ariana Grande, takes us back to Elphaba’s childhood. She paints a marvelous picture of the struggles that Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo in a captivating performance, is forces to deal with.
Glinda and Elphaba meet at Shiz University, where they unexpectedly become roommates. The two get off to a rough start and we see that their incompatible personalities spark conflict. Glinda, with her bubbly, popular nature, and Elphaba, with a stunningly fierce attitude, misunderstood manner and drive for independence, clash at every turn.
The good in Glinda shines bright as she helps Elphaba out of an embarrassing moment at a school event. Glinda joins Elphaba on the dance floor as the other students laugh at her strange style of dance. She transforms a cringy solo into an extraordinary duet and turns the moment around marking the start of their special bond.
As their journey unfolds, we have a front row seat to their blossoming friendship. Grande’s show stopping vocals and choreography in the song Popular are the solidifying moment that establish their close-knit friendship. The two become inseparable. “Elfie” helps Glinda, get into the Madame Morrible’s sorcery class, which is her dream. Although the other students view Elphaba as strange and make fun of her green skin, Glinda doesn’t care what others think and sticks by her side.
Wicked does a great job of demonstrating the theme of embracing individuality and acceptance. Glinda’s realization that true friendship is more important than conforming to social expectations promotes the idea that loyalty and self-acceptance can break down superficial barriers to make room for genuine human connections regardless of judgment.
As Elphaba impulsively decides to take Glinda with her to Oz, my heart was racing watching the intense scene as they walked towards the wizard. Nothing is as powerful as Elphaba’s moment of realization of what she must do to survive. The singing and stunts during the song Defying Gravity, performed by Erivo, were spectacular! Wicked leaves you on the edge of your seat with a large “To Be Continued” title across the screen to ponder what will happen next. I left the theater with my jaw on the floor thinking that I need to see this movie again!
Wicked is not just a movie, but an unforgettable experience that draws you into the enchanting world of Oz. The production was vibrant & striking, and the sets & costumes were like nothing I’ve ever seen! The overall message of friendship and the importance of standing up for what you believe in, even if it means going against the majority, and not judging someone solely based on appearance, leaves the audience feeling good and eager for more. I can’t wait for part two!
Anna Weber – Artistic Leader at the World’s Most Iconic Concert Venue
Living a stone’s throw from the cultural mecca that is New York City, it is no surprise that residing amongst us is someone who ensures the world’s most renown musical institution runs smoothly. Managing just about everything at Carnegie Hall, the premier destination for the world’s finest musical artists, is our very own neighbor, Anna Weber.
Carnegie Hall has hosted performances in its three iconic concert halls by the world’s finest musicians since 1891. From Tchaikovsky to the Beatles, the musical talent that has graced its stages is unsurpassed in its excellence. It has transformed from the 1950’s into a meaningful part of people’s lives through a commitment to music education and staging exceptional, world-famous musical performances. Weber, as the General Manager of Artistic and Operations, oversees the planning and implementation of 700 concerts and events each year, as well as the operations of the Resnick Education Wing.
Discovering A Career in Arts Administration
Growing up in nearby Harrison in a musical family, with a grandfather who was a professional musician playing in the big bands, Weber and her four siblings each played the piano amongst other instruments. Weber played flute in her high school marching band and orchestra, before moving onto other interests.
After college, Anna landed a job at the New York Youth Symphony, discovering her passion for arts administration. She navigated public relations, logistics, and the intricacies of orchestra operations. She later worked at the New York Philharmonic for nine years, eventually becoming Director of Operations. There, she organized subscription concerts, the free Parks concerts in all the boroughs, and their national and international tours.
Dream Job
Coming on board to Carnegie Hall almost 25 years ago, she began to make her mark managing productions and artist logistics. Now, as General Manager, she organizes performances at the Hall, festivals, and Carnegie Hall Citywide, a series of performances presented in venues across all five boroughs. She also oversees Ensemble Connect, a fellowship program for post-graduate musicians looking to make a real difference through music.
“I work with a phenomenal team that makes work inspiring and fun,” shares Weber. “Much of the role involves realizing an artist’s vision, scheduling, contracts, budgeting, problem-solving, logistics, and handling front of house and back of house operations.”
PHOTO BY CATHY PINSKY
There is no “typical day” for Weber. With concerts and rehearsals happening, and her team planning future seasons, she juggles multiple responsibilities. “It’s living in the present, living in the future, and trying to manage all of that,” says Weber. “It’s not your 9 to 5 job. There are evening concerts, and I get to hear great music. It doesn’t feel like work at that point. That’s a great perk of the job.”
Influences & Relationships Along the Way
“I have a phenomenal leader in Clive Gillinson, (Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director) who is not only a leader but a mentor for me,” says Weber. “He’s a real visionary, someone who leads with integrity, kindness, and humor – something that I try to emulate in what I do and how I lead.”
“Anna has led our artistic planning and implementation team at Carnegie Hall for over 20 years and she is the best person I’ve worked with in this role,” says Gillinson. “She is passionate about the Hall’s artistic and education mission and delivers on every aspect of her job with total commitment and a meticulous attention to detail… Her dedication to her work and her gift for friendship enable her to forge superb, collaborative relationships with artists, staff, partners, and the community. We are very fortunate to have Anna as part of our leadership team.”
Weber’s team, spanning different generations, also serves as a mentorship for her. “I’m constantly learning from my team members on how they think, solve problems, and how they are engaging with work.”
Anna has been most influenced by her mother, who earned advanced degrees, worked, and served on the Board of Education while raising five children. “I have no idea how she did it. She is a huge inspiration for me.”
“As a Trustee of Carnegie Hall for more than 25 years, I have had the pleasure of knowing Anna. Capable, calm, and always eager to help, she is a gem and a key player on the senior staff. Respected and adored by everyone, Anna shines with energy and joy,” says Susan Rose.
Living in the Byram Hills School District
Weber and her husband chose to live in the Armonk area as it allowed them to be close to family living nearby. Engaging with the Byram Hills schools, taking advantage of the beautiful outdoors at Cranberry Lake, enjoying the local restaurants, visiting the Armonk Art Show, and participating at CBY Synagogue have all contributed to Weber’s love of this community. Both of Anna’s daughters were devoted young soccer players and she enjoyed being a “soccer mom” and taking part in the athletic programs of the community. Although she loves the city, she enjoys coming home to the quiet suburbs.
Realizing a Vision for Carnegie Hall
Weber is passionate about bringing music beyond the concert hall. Carnegie Hall Citywide partners with neighborhood organizations and cultural institutions across the city to reach new audiences. “Music has the ability to impact people’s lives in so many ways and I think Carnegie Hall is not just a concert hall, but it is a place that is trying to use the power of the institution to bring music to the widest possible audience,” says Weber.
In pursuit of this vision, the hall has the free Citywide concerts, a digital channel, and the Weill Music Institute – the Hall’s education and social impact arm engages people of all ages in multiple ways, including working with the juvenile justice system. Annual citywide festivals such as last year’s focus on the Weimar Republic and this year’s celebration of Latin culture take audiences on immersive cultural journeys through music, dance, theatre, and literature.
For upcoming events at Carnegie Hall and more information, go to carnegiehall.org.
Bill Gorlin – Inside the World of A Theatrical Engineer
Bill Gorlin is an award-winning structural engineer and Vice President of the prestigious McLaren Engineering Group’s Entertainment Division. He has called Briarcliff home since 1998 and wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves the access to NYC, the woods and rolling hills, the great schools, and proximity to family in southern Westchester.
“I grew up in Westchester; I love the progressive attitudes, the excellent schools, and the vibrant culture. You have Tarrytown Music Hall, Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, which is an absolute jewel, The Jazz Forum, a world class jazz club in Tarrytown, Purchase College, and ArtsWestchester, an incredible organization that produces fantastic events supporting the arts,” said Gorlin.
From Blueprints to Spotlights
Bill had many influences that shaped his career path including working with an amusement ride manufacturer, different theatre scenery shops, sets of iconic concerts like The Rolling Stones, various TV & film productions, and many live events.
He developed the Entertainment Division at McLaren Engineering in 2000, where he still is today. “In my world, success is based on: Did the show or event happen on budget, on time, and was it enjoyable for the audience? As opposed to: Did I save 3% on the weight of steel? Which is a more relevant question when building a high-rise,” Bill explained. “If I get hung up on a certain engineering issue, I may lose sight of the big picture.”
Crafting the Magic
Gorlin described a difficult project he worked on last holiday season for the Christian Dior holiday display on Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to suspend an eight-story display over the building’s façade. “When the audience, the people in the street, looked up, they saw the flowers, the lights, and the beautiful parts of the display – the steel framework we installed was imperceivable. The eye sees what it wants to,” Gorlin said.
In essence, engineering is the “magic” in a magic trick, and this is especially so in Gorlin’s line of work: entertainment engineering. They say a magician never reveals his tricks, and that is certainly the case in entertainment where much of Bill’s work is a tightly controlled trade secret. Back to the Future – The Musical (on Broadway now) has a fantastic mechanical effect with a flying DeLorean but unfortunately, we can’t talk about it,” said Gorlin.
Vision To Reality
“A good design of a bridge, for instance, celebrates the structure. The Mario M. Cuomo bridge is a very functional design that’s also very elegant,” Bill said. The difference between entertainment and function is just that – Gorlin’s clientele wants to suspend their disbelief, rather than suspending lanes of traffic! Think of an engineer as the rhythm section in a Broadway musical – they are in the background so that the soloist can look like they’re shining effortlessly. But take the rhythm section away and you find out just how important they are to the magic of the show!
“Sometimes clients want us to help market an event. For instance, House of the Dragon (a Game of Thrones sequel now on HBO) had a promotion where a huge dragon ‘landed’ on the spire of the Empire State Building. We were involved with the engineering, and they encouraged us to promote it on social media to create more buzz,” Gorlin shared. He stressed how important the secrecy and discretion of most projects can be in creating happy clients and excited audiences.
“Virtual reality and CGI can always defy physics, whereas engineers have to deal with it straight on. If we’re doing a physical performance with real people and real equipment, we can’t make something fly the way you see it on screen,” said Gorlin. With Back to the Future, Gorlin’s team and the special effects vendor had to create something from the ground up, rather than simply trying to emulate the special effects in the original movie.
In the show, the DeLorean time machine, from the classic ‘80s blockbuster, flies above the stage of the theater, as opposed to in the movie where it’s limited to the 2D screen. Gorlin’s job as an entertainment engineer required him to transport the audience through the fourth wall of the movie screen to pull off an effect meant for live theater goers only.
The Overweight Production
When live entertainment shut down during COVID, the small screen was all we had, and the scale and beauty of performance disappeared. One of Gorlin’s first projects upon the return of the live entertainment industry was the long-awaited revival of The Music Man. “That was an important show because it was a big musical with big stars that was coming out right after the pandemic ended,” said Gorlin. Unlike a movie premiere where the final film can be done months prior to the opening, The Music Man came in right under the wire.
The show was set to open at the Winter Garden Theater (the same theater as Back to the Future) and when Gorlin and his team came on, he was astonished to find out that the show equipment above the stage had exceeded the venue’s weight limit by a whopping 40,000 pounds. Gorlin had upgraded the weight limit of the theater nearly a decade prior, and even still the production was almost doubling the limit. Back to The Future got to take advantage of the upgrades constructed to support the heavy Music Man set, and so will the next show, and the next show after that. There’s a lot of momentum in the Broadway culture of paying it forward,” Bill said.
Migrating Elephants
Bill was recently involved in another very high-profile project. This is one of largest outdoor installations in NYC, ever! If you’re walking around downtown Manhattan, you might stumble upon a herd of 100 life-size elephant sculptures in the Meatpacking District – The Great Elephant Migration.
These elephants are on a special mission to raise funds for non-profit conservation organizations and to create awareness about the challenges that wildlife face. Bill’s team was responsible for anchoring each of the five types of elephant structures to the ground so they could withstand such environmental issues as wind and earthquakes. “The anchoring consisted of stakes and/or ballast (weights) that were unique to each site, depending on local weather and seismicity and the supporting grade and soil composition,” explained Bill. Each of the sites for this installation has different challenges. Next the elephants head to Miami Beach!
Success & Happiness
Gorlin was chosen for the 2024 “Backstage Legends and Masters” Award Winner by the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project. “After three decades of providing engineering support for 200+ Broadway productions and renovation work on 40+ Broadway theaters, this recognition was truly a lifetime achievement,” Bill said.
For now, Bill seems to have found the perfect mix of engineering and entertainment. “I love my job because I get to solve challenging problems and create designs incorporating science, art, 3D spaces, and human interaction,” Bill shared. “I get to collaborate with talented people who are intensely driven to create something meaningful.” The work of engineers is all around us, but it’s rarely visible or the center of attention, and that’s exactly the way it should be.
