{By contributing writer: Jeanne Muchnick}
Westchester Burger Company is the perfect crowd pleaser. It has burgers (obviously). It has salads. It has seafood. It has chicken. And it has deals, including a $25 prime rib meal on Wednesdays which includes choice of soup or salad, and homemade bread pudding for dessert. Not to mention a $10 lunch special which guarantees you’ll be in and out in an hour.
There are now four locations: White Plains, Mt Kisco, West Nyack, and Rye Brook, all owned by Angelo Difeo, Vincent Corso, and their families, who have have longtime roots in the restaurant business (the group matriarch, Gracie Difeo [and the boys] ran Graziella’s in White Plains for many years). Long story short: they know food as a recent to their Rye Brook location proved.
First, let’s talk burgers. This is definitely one of the main reasons you’ll want to eat here. There are 21 varieties with fun names and interesting combinations like the “Balboa Man Up,” complete with 10 ounces of bacon, Swiss cheese, and frizzled onions on a garlic toasted brioche bun, or the “Graziella Burger,” 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, pancetta, beefsteak tomato, pesto and balsamic glaze on a brioche bun, or, what my friend got the night we went: the “Ba Da Bing,” 8 ounces hot Italian sausage blend, broccoli rabe, provolone cheese and balsamic glaze on focaccia. Her entrée sweet and flavorful and she ate the whole thing, including some of my fries (hers came with a side salad).
I ate my entire meal as well: the Meatloaf Burger special of the day. It was just as it sounds: a meatloaf-sized patty with mashed potatoes and gravy on top.
As I said before, there’s something here for everyone in an atmosphere that appeals to all moods and menageries. Come early in the evening and you’ll see families with small kids; later at night you’ll see office pools congregating at the massive bar (they have amazing drinks here; among them the Sparkling Berry Cosmo, shown here), as well as couples, dining foursomes, big group parties and ladies like me grabbing a bite with a girlfriend.
I love that the appetizers are fun to share. Because I introduced myself to the owner, Vincent (he noticed me taking photos), he sent over an assortment of some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes. I’m not normally a “fried” kind of girl but I highly enjoyed the crispy pickle chips (pickles deep fried and served with a remoulade dipping sauce), the mac-n-cheese balls (soft and gooey mac-n-cheese rolled into what looks like a fried meatball), and – most amazing of all — the cheeseburger spring rolls filled with bacon, cheddar and chipotle ketchup, the perfect combination of crunchy and meaty.
For dessert, we split one of the most decadent things on the menu: the Cinnabon sundae, a warm cinnamon topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel, whipped cream and cinnamon.
Add to all that a casual, airy lodge-like atmosphere, plenty of seats (including a private dining room) and an expansive bar, and this should be next on your list of restaurant destinations.
{IntoxiKate Tip}
The $10 lunch special includes a 6 ounce burger with fries and choice of soup or salad. There is also an NFL Happy Hour special with $3 Heineken drafts, 50 cent wings and $5 select appetizers. The Rye Brook location also features live local entertainment every Friday and Saturday in the bar from 8:30 pm to midnight, as well as an a la carte brunch every Sunday 11-2.
{Westchester Burger Company, 275 S. Ridge St., Rye Brook, 914-305-6095, westchesterburger.com}
