The Year in Food 2016

The Year in Food 2016: In case you missed our restaurant coverage in 2016 … here’s some highlights you will want to know about.

Siegel Bros: Mt. Kisco’s new Upscale Grocery With an Old-World Vibe: Get ready for a new upscale food market in Mount Kisco. Siegel Bros. Marketplace, scheduled to open in mid December, will offer locally raised products to cater to foodies and special occasion shoppers. The market will feature artisanal meats, market-fresh seafood, local and imported cheeses and charcuterie, along with a wide variety of prepared foods, meals to go and takeout foods. And, just a few steps away, Siegel’s wine store will focus on affordable wines and wine pairings. Read more.

Hot Brisket Alert at Thee Little Pigs in Hawthorne: Armonk’s Mark Mazzarulli re-invents himself After twenty years at Opus 465 in Armonk, Pleasantville’s Chef Mark Mazzarulli has “gone Talladega” and reinvented himself as an authentic Southern BBQ smoke-master. So consider this your hot brisket alert!

In September, Mark opened up Three Little Pigs in a former pizza parlor just north of the Hawthorne train station. The “intimate” space seats about 18 at three picnic tables and they specialize in take out, delivery and catering. Sandwiched between Burke Heat and S&L Collision, Three Little Pigs has The Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins & Dives written all over it. And so does the bark on Mark’s smoked barbecue brisket. Read more.

Vox: A summer dining oasis in North Salem The North Salem horsey set has three go-to dining options. Each has it’s own notoriety that extends beyond the boundaries of the Bedford Riding Lanes Association trails. Purdy’s Farmer and the Fish has a countywide reputation for it’s 18th century farmhouse and unique farm (and sea) to table cuisine. Award-winning Chef Beck Bollender’s fun and appealing 121 Restaurant has established itself as one of northern Westchester’s top American bistros.

The French bistro, Vox, is a laid back local favorite that draws diners from Katonah to Ridgefield, CT. Winter or summer it has the ambience of a country inn in Bordeaux and the bourguignon sauce is spot on in any season. In the summer, when an outdoor table is at a premium, Vox becomes a destination that anyone in the ABC towns should put on their bucket list. Read more.

Anytime Dining at Mt. Kisco’s Exit 4 Food Hall: They’re eating all day long (and nighttime too) at the new Exit 4 Food Hall in Mt. Kisco. This new one-stop dining hall from Isidore “Isi” Albanese, the former owner of Bellizzi, and partners is like a school cafeteria for foodies serving up “something for everybody” from sushi to pizza to BBQ and raw bar from a variety of local chefs.

Exit 4 is not only the place to go when you’re not sure what you want to eat; it’s also your answer to anytime dining. If you hate walking into an empty restaurant “between shifts” you’re never late (or early) for lunch or dinner at Exit 4. We were there at 2pm on a Wednesday during Winter Break, 9pm on a Tuesday and 4pm on a Saturday and the place was bustling every time with couples, families, the suit and tie crowd and lone wolves eating solo. Read more.

Koku – more good news for Armonk foodies!!! The new Koku Japanese restaurant in the CVS shopping center in Armonk is more good news for Armonk foodies – maybe for everybody in the ABC towns and beyond.

Let’s get right to the point. This is not your average Teriyaki and Tempura house. While you can find the Japanese classics on the menu like your standard Bento Box, Koku serves up, in the words of owner Eric Cheng “modern Japanese cuisine.” Some might call it fusion. Either way the menu is smart and sophisticated and the food is laced with herbs and spices, cuts of meat and fish and preparations you won’t find at your local hibachi grill and sushi bar. Read more.

Worth The Trip: Saltaire Oyster Bar Port Chester: Fans of historic preservation will find the ambience of the new Saltaire restaurant, in a hundred year old grain warehouse along the banks of the Byram River in Port Chester, worth the trip. Pure foodies in the ABC towns will want to motor up for the raw bar and fish happy menu that recently earned Saltaire the New York Times’highest Excellent rating.

The restaurant is divided into two spacious, fully bricked rooms. The well-timbered dining room sports a wood paneled cathedral ceiling, high-backed wood banquettes, original wood windows and four double wagon wheel chandeliers. Adding to the historic ambience is a black metal sprinkler system that we thought was the building’s original heating system. One way or another it belongs in a museum. Read more.

Two Prime Armonk: Steak? Pasta? Mishegas?

Is it a steak house, as the name Two Prime would suggest? We put that question to the manager. “Yes. Steak is our specialty.”

Okay, we thought. “It’s a low testosterone “neighborhood” steak house without the meat wagons, muscled up mahogany and photographs of Joe DiMaggio.

“And pasta. That’s our specialty too.”

“Whaaaat?” We wanted to shake him. “Make up your mind,” we thought. And then, in the back of our minds, there was the old saw, “jack of all trades, master of none.” We began to wonder if we were going to get an article (and a tax write-off) out of this meal.

It is what it is … sort of! (Or was) Well, we kind of called this one. As it turned out Two Prime’s dual identity was more Mishegas than steak or pasta and it’s dual identity was something it never overcame. Alas,Two Prime recently closed its door … another Armonk restaurant dream dashed.

Coming Soon The Seafood Grill Takes Over the Two Prime Space! Michael Mazzella, formerly of Crabtree’s Kittle House and Campagna at The Bedford Post Inn, will be opening his new Seafood Grill in the Two Prime Space (formerly Opus 465) by the end of January. We’ll be sitting down with Michael next week and we’ll give you the detes before they open … and a review soon thereafter. What we can tell you is they promise dock to table fresh seafood with Asian and Latin inspired preparations. Follow us in 2017 more foodie fun.

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