The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

dining

Bistro 146: Creative & Elegant

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Story and Photo By Karen Talbot

bistro 146

Marcelo Cheque’s goal when he started his cozy Bistro 146 three years ago, was to bring creative and elegantly prepared seafood dishes to the Pleasantville area at affordable prices, and he seems to have succeeded well on both fronts. Originally from Ecuador, Marcelo is a consummate chef who manages to find the best seafood and freshest produce from local sources. He creates interesting menus that vary with the seasons.

Two notable soups recently on the lunch menu were Butternut Squash Soup with Lobster and a New England Seafood Chowder, filled with halibut, mahi-mahi and scallops in a light cream base with potatoes and fresh herbs. Other excellent choices are the Roasted Beets and Almond Crusted Brie Salad with poached pears and baby spinach in a champagne hazelnut dressing, topped with a piece of grilled salmon cooked to your specifications (which is a nice touch that most restaurants don’t offer). Another creative dish is the Parmesan Crusted Jumbo Shrimp with cherry tomato confit, basil and roasted pepper aioli with buffalo mozzarella and porchini balsamic glaze.

For the Holidays, Marcelo is considering Veal Chop Bordelaise, Colossal Scallops with a pistachio buerre blanc sauce and Broiled Lobster Tails. Marcelo believes that his dishes consist of many balanced flavors, which is how he expresses himself in his cooking style. Bistro 146 also offers a prix fixe lunch with three courses for $19.50 and a prix fixe dinner with three courses for $33, with a free glass of wine. This menu changes every other week.

For non-seafood lovers, there is a unique Domestic Lamb Duo with slow braised meatballs and marinated grilled lamb chops, Pan Roasted Chicken Breast, and an Open Face Steak Sandwich with gorgonzola cheese.

146 Bedford Road, Pleasantville
914-495-3992
bistro146.com

Karen Talbot is a Westchester-based personal shopper and restaurant reviewer. The love of cooking runs in her family! Karen’s son Alex and his wife Aki Kamozawa started a food blog “Ideas in Food” in early 2000, and they have just opened “Curiosity Donuts” in the Stockton Market in Stockton, New Jersey.

Chappaqua Station: A New Farm to Town Café

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Story and Photo By Karen Talbot

chapp station

Taking advantage of great architecture and its historical setting, this is a brand new casual café owned by husband and wife, Peter and Erin Chase and Chef Alan Ashkinaze. Chappaqua Station honors regional farmers, trade fair cooperatives and a sustainable approach to agricultural and dining. The restaurant believes “food, art and education are powerful mediums that connect and unify a community.” Chappaqua Station wants to be the gathering place for people living locally to gather and dine. The menu changes every week as Peter and Erin visit the local Farmers Market and purchase fresh produce for the week’s offerings. It is open every day except Sunday, from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Some popular breakfast choices are homemade cranberry muffins, a farm fresh egg sandwich and omelettes made with fresh vegetables from the Farmers Market. The lunch and dinner menus are the same, featuring some favorites: flatbreads such as the fig marmalade, Maytag blue cheese, almonds and arugula or a salad with curry roasted cauliflower with raisins, pine nuts, capers and peppers. For a heartier entrée, try the Tuna Takaki {seared rare} with a sesame–ginger vinaigrette served with your choice of one of their ten healthy and creative salads. Customers can order food, then sit down at a table and be served. Chappaqua Station is all about using local fresh ingredients.

Some unique things about this eatery: every two months a local artist will be featured and his or her artwork will adorn the walls. Currently Francesco Mastalia’s intriguing black and white photographs are on display. local distilleries from the Hudson Valley as well as from Long Island and Brooklyn are used here. House-made syrups are used to make all of the sodas…such as a peppermint–spiced soda that will be available for the Holidays. And jazz artists from New York, will play most every Saturday night. A featured Holiday cocktail will be Rudolph, consisting of: cranberry infused white whiskey, ginger syrup, lemon juice, a dash of bitters and Blanc de Blanc. The Chappaqua Garden Club will also be decorating Chappaqua Station festively for the Holidays.

1 Station Plaza, Chappaqua
914-861-8001
chappaquastation.com

Karen Talbot is a Westchester-based personal shopper and restaurant reviewer. The love of cooking runs in her family! Karen’s son Alex and his wife Aki Kamozawa started a food blog “Ideas in Food” in early 2000, and they have just opened “Curiosity Donuts” in the Stockton Market in Stockton, New Jersey.

Café of Love: International Influences Abound

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Story and Photos By Karen Talbot

cafe of love

Café of Love is an eclectic bistro reflecting a wide range of cultural influences, run by the Executive Chef and owner, Leslie Lampert. For 10 years, Leslie was the Senior Editor of Ladies Home Journal Magazine, where she produced and wrote food features in the test kitchen of the magazine and helped develop recipes. She has created all of the menus and recipes at the Café, which change with the seasons. All meats, fruits and vegetables are locally sourced and she takes pride in being community oriented.

Café of Love is the main focus of Leslie’s culinary business in Mt. Kisco that also includes “Ladle of Love”…a 12 year old farm-to-kitchen gourmet food shop right around the corner, “Love on the Run…which caters Holiday parties and customized special events and “MarketLove”…prepared foods such as soup and stews sold at retail natural markets including Mrs. Greens, Union Market and Hudson Milk. The restaurant has a wide-ranging menu with a lot of international influences and new interpretations created by her talented Chef de Cuisine, Hector Coronel. An example is the Peruvian Ceviche with cod, shrimp, Jalapeno, lime and orange juice, cilantro and sweet potato and the very popular Farm House Salad consisting of English cucumber, beets, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, avocado, bacon, carrots, radishes, hard-boiled egg, walnut raisin croutons and white balsamic vinegar (shrimp, chicken or salmon can be added to this salad). For dinner, the John Fazio Duck is a favorite consisting of pan-roasted duck, and confit, served with roasted potatoes, figs and sauteed mustard greens. The duck and the always popular Seafood Boullabaise remain on the menu year-round. Two appetizer specialties are the flatbreads and the Truffled Chick Peas. The restaurant is currently serving a Fontina, Hen-Of-The-Woods Flatbread with sautéed onions, arugula, pomegranate molasses and scallions.

For the Holidays, the kitchen is working on a “7 Fishes Dinner,” Christmas goose, and caviar and oyster surprises.

38 Main Street, Mt. Kisco
914-242-1002
cafeofloveny.com

Karen Talbot is a Westchester-based personal shopper and restaurant reviewer. The love of cooking runs in her family! Karen’s son Alex and his wife Aki Kamozawa started a food blog “Ideas in Food” in early 2000, and they have just opened “Curiosity Donuts” in the Stockton Market in Stockton, New Jersey.