Westchester’s All The Trend

by Katie Schlientz
golden knives challenge

You could, of course, venture into the city for dinner. With the best chefs and restaurants in the country a mere Metro-North ride away, it’s an easy option. But why waste the time when we have some of the tastiest resources in our own backyard? We’ve got chefs not only on trend, but setting them…

Pop Up Restaurants. Have you heard of the Golden Knives Challenge? Chefs Eric Korn (Good-Life Gourmet, Irvington) and Carl Van Dekker (The Village Dog, Tarrytown) teamed up to created the pop up restaurant challenge that allowed chefs to flex their culinary muscles (and diners expand their palates). The next challenge is schedule for spring 2014, but you can make reservations for their pop up restaurants featuring different Westchester chefs in various locatons occurring monthly. Check out the menu next event. Um, YUM!

golden knives challenge

Food Trucks. Check out Chef David DiBari’s (The Cookery, Dobbs Ferry) latest creation—DoughNation, a food truck equipped with a wood-burning oven to serve up artisan pizzas. The best part? DoughNation donates a portion of their proceeds to a local charity. A mobile pizza truck that gives back? Sounds like heaven. Find the truck at the Rivertown Farmer’s Market or follow @CookDoughNation.

Tea is (Apparently) the New Coffee. Just ask Bonnie Saran, owner of the Little Spice Bazaar in Mount Kisco. Starting with The Little Kebab Station, she’s practically taken over the whole block with her trifecta of “little” marvels (The Little Crepe Street opened last fall). The Little Spice Bazaar carries teas from around the world and with flavors like coconut truffle and ginger citron mint, how can you go wrong?

Farm to Table. Executive Chef Eric Gabrynowicz creates innovative dishes from the finest local ingredients at Restaurant North in Armonk. The furthest your produce will travel from farm to plate is 75 miles. Now that’s local! Love supporting local farms? Plenty of restaurants are offering seasonal menus with goodies from the greater Hudson Valley region: Tarrytown’s Sweetgrass Grill, Tarrytown’s Village Dog, Harper’s Bar and Restaurant in Dobbs Ferry, and Bistro Rollin in Pelham.

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