Notable Noshes Nearby from 2019

Notable Noshes Nearby from 2019: Here’s a chronicle of some notable noshes we had in 2019 that we never told you about. They include both hits and near misses, from What To Do’s 2019 local dining season. Here we jumped on some new openings, revisited some old faves and discovered a few that had been hiding in plain sight for years.

Ibiza, Chappaqua

Forbes magazine dining critic John Mariani called Chappaqua’s Ibiza (opened 2019) “a beacon to modern Spanish cuisine.” Mariani has followed chef & restauranteur Ignacio Blanco from Meigas, his first restaurant in TriBeCa, through his continuing ventures with Ibiza in New Haven and Danbury, CT. He has recognized Blanco for the “respect, imagination and vision” he brings to expanding the genre of Spanish tapas.

At Ibiza, Blanco has created one of the prettiest dining rooms in Northern Westchester. A spare, urban vibe with light woods and a steel and glass enclosed full-wall wine chiller. And you won’t find more beautifully plated dishes than those prepared by Chef de Cuisine Vanesa Oreiro and Head Chef Ivan Ortiz. When we were there, we had the most spectacularly grilled sea bream with the lightest, most aromatic reduction. For us, it is now the dictionary image for “heaven”. Oddly, After that, it was hit and miss for us. The date and goat cheese toast was heavily drizzled with balsamic. She liked it. I didn’t. I liked the empanada. She thought it was meh. For dessert, the rice pudding had a novel texture that she didn’t like. I did.

Sometimes these issues are just a matter of a diner’s taste preferences, so, we will return. You should too. Ibiza, open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday, is a “must try” for foodies, coming from anywhere in Westchester. PS everybody loves the Boquerón’s, anchovies, avocado, black olives, tapenade on toast. (76 King St., Chappaqua, 914.458.5044; www.ibizakitchen.net)

Kitchen 273, Armonk

What’s not to like about Kitchen 273 in Armonk. They have all your favorite dishes from Maryland style crab cakes and charred, grilled octopus to Paella, Hanger Steak with chimichurri and shrimp with creamy polenta. Located in Armonk’s Elide Plaza, Kitchen 273 is the place you want to go if you just want to relax and have a good meal. Take your pick from bistro faves from around the world, French Onion soup, pumpkin ravioli in an Amaretto cream sauce, the tri-blended beef 273 Burger, and a beef and veal meatball that Clemenza would love (“leave the gun, take the cannolis”).


273 Kitchen is the fruition of Fatmir Pushka’s long held dream to open a restaurant in Armonk. A 15-year Armonk resident (and former Little League baseball coach) Fatmir parlayed success at his Barn Door Bar & Restaurant in Ridgefield, CT into this spin-off venture close to home. Known for its organic, locally sourced ingredients, the Barn Door shares the spirit and some of the same dishes. Kitchen 273 matches its comfort food menu with comfortable seating, plenty of space between tables, friendly service and a pretense-free vibe. So, leave your culinary dictionary at home. You won’t need it here to enjoy a good meal. Open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch Tuesday to Sunday. (111 Bedford Rd., Elide Plaza, Armonk, 914.273.7909; www.kitchen273.com)

The Turk, Mt. Kisco 

How many times have you driven past this corner restaurant on S. Moger Avenue and thought, “what’s up with that place?” Hundreds for us. Finally, we checked it out and we’re glad we did. The Turk has the best Middle Eastern food in Northern Westchester. If you like noshing on falafel and Baba Ghanoush (or Artichoke Humus and Leeks Pie) – this is your place.

But, The Turk is more than just a Mediterranean finger food and gyro house. They offer an ambitious menu of entrees featuring no less than 15 lamb dishes, including lamb shank (M. H. Reed lauded the lamb shank in his 2016 review for the NYT’s) and Turkish ravioli with ground lamb. They make their own pita and it is thick, hot and chewy. They also brought us their house-baked Turkish Bread – ah-mazing! It reminded us of pretzel bread but they told us – “no, it’s just Turkish bread”. Does it matter? It was crazy good. We have already returned and we brought friends. The space is completely renovated with modern touches that belie its Turkish provenance. Meet the owner. He’s a fascinating guy who has been in all sorts of businesses in Westchester. Open for lunch and dinner. (20 S. Moger Ave., Mt. Kisco, 914.864.1900; www.theturkrestaurant.com)

Locali, Mt. Kisco

We’re suckers for all the restaurants that have inhabited the historic, brick-lined Mt. Kisco Train Station going back to The Flying Pig. So, we were thrilled when we finally made it to Locali Pizza Bar & Kitchen, the newest eatery in Joseph Bueti’s ever-growing Village Social Restaurant Group (Village Social in Kisco, Pub Street/Pleasantville, Locali/New Canaan). Again Bueti is joined by his Group Corporate chef, the talented Mogan Anthony. (See our interview with this former Chopped! star.) Like Village Social and Pub Street, Locali has a great bar scene and the dining room feeds off that, vibe-wise and menu wise. It’s just fun and exciting to go to Bueti’s restaurants and Locali is a great addition to the Mt. Kisco dining scene and a treasure for locals.

That said, despite Anthony’s huge culinary talents, which so impressed us at Village Social – here, as at Pub Street, he seems to be trying too hard to be trendy and concept-driven. Stretching his riffs off his international street food theme, Anthony can overthink his menu. He added hummus to an otherwise lovely beet salad. But all we wanted was goat cheese and citrus. The Wild New England wood fired pizza sported a delicious and earthy blend of wild mushrooms with taleggio, flor di latte and wild porcini oil. Great choice in cheeses but the dough was more like pita than an homage to Neapolitan pizza. It had all the requisite burn marks but without the crisp. Locali is a fun place to grab a pasta dish for a Mt. Kiso meet up. But don’t mistake it for a foodie find.  Go with the right expectations and you won’t be disappointed. (2 Kirby Plaza, Mt. Kisco, (914.242.0100; www.localipizzabar.com)

Tredici North, Purchase

Here’s a fun Italian we finally got to thanks to friends from Armonk who basically call it their second home. Located on Anderson Hill Road in Purchase, it’s a nice “middle of nowhere” getaway that’s just around the corner. It’s also the go-to place for dining near The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College. And it has a storied Manhattan chef who but for an architectural calamity would never be in Westchester. Manhattan’s loss. Our gain.

Chef Giuseppe Fanelli hails from Puglia where his family harvested herbs, vegetables and olive oil. He started his career as a waiter at the renowned Rao’s in East Harlem. When a cook fell ill, he became a line cook, went to culinary school and wound up heading the kitchen at Baldoria, Rao’s sister restaurant in Manhattan’s Theater District. There he mastered the art of Neapolitan home-style cooking and northern Italian delicacies. From there he travelled to Lidia Bastianich’s acclaimed Felidia and the three-star Union Pacific. In 2005 he became the Executive Chef at Tredici in Chelsea and in 2008 he opened Tredici Steak.

But in 2015 when the building next to Tredici was torn down his building collapsed. A victim of unforeseen structural issues, Tredici was actually being held up by the building abutting it for years. A man without a restaurant, he came to Purchase and opened Tredici North. Inside it has the feel a Manhattan vibe – in the middle of nowhere. Tredici North is open Tuesday to Friday and Sunday for lunch and dinner and for Saturday dinners. (578 Andrson Hill Rd., Purchase, 914.997.4113; www.tredicinorth.com)

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