Restaurant North is Worth the Wait
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There is good reason why Restaurant North is one of the most difficult places to get a reservation in all of Westchester. Lucky enough to score a table for a recent ladies lunch, the five month old, shining star of an eatery delivered in every regard.
This stunning restaurant with its’ fresh, stylish, austere look is located on Main Street in Armonk, but absolutely worth the 20 minute drive from Scarsdale. Co-owners Stephen Paul Mancini (SHS’98) and Eric Gabrynowicz, wanted to present the sophisticated Westchester restaurant crowd “ with a New York dining experience including educated food from (their own} backyard. The contemporary American cuisine is seasonal from local farmers who grow food specifically for the restaurant. Both friends and business partners, Stephen and Eric received their training from one of NY’s finest restaurateurs, Danny Meyer, and have worked in many of his renowned NYC food establishments over the past decade. Philosophically, their knowledge of the hospitality business is their key to not only amazing food, but also their superior, yet understated, service orientation. Well timed, friendly and appropriately helpful (i.e. which of the many fabulous desserts would you recommend if we only got one?) for starters.
Though only sampling the lunch menu, both their lunch and dinner menus offer a broad selection of mouth-watering choices accommodating 
carnivores and vegetarians alike. They even had a gluten- free selection and an economical prix fixe ($25 for a 3 course lunch). The lamb orrechiette, wild mushroom flatbread and perfectly cooked goat cheese omelet were all a hit as were the heirloom beet salad and tuna tartare. At a neighboring table a diner ordered the Bubba’s burger served on a golden brioche with tasty-looking cottage fries. Though full from our own ample servings, some at our table were salivating. Each dish was beautifully presented and plentiful.
Desserts were nothing short of outstanding. Served in warmed skillets, there were choices of chocolate chip, chocolate fudge or gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies which arrived fresh from the oven a la mode . And if those didn’t get your attention, there were numerous freshly baked delectable’s including apple crisp, a stunning black mission fig crostada or a bread pudding, all worthy of a return visit. Though it was good, the fruit plate was sparse.
Both the lunch and dinner menus change frequently making this a number one choice year round and worth the “reservation dance.”
Restaurant North
386 Main Street
Armonk, New York
914-273-8686
restaurantnorth.com
Photos by Tina Adler
Marble Cheesecake and Blueberry Muffins from Evelyn Stock
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Evelyn Stock might be Scarsdale’s most involved resident. In her 40 years in town, she has held more positions that we can list; which were all duly recognized when she won the Scarsdale Bowl in 1997. On her resume are terms on the Scarsdale and BOCES School Boards, Scarsdale Planning Board, League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, Westchester and New York State, Scarsdale Foundation, and the Board of the Scarsdale Adult School.
When she is not volunteering, she is baking and she even taught two baking classes at the Scarsdale Adult School. Accomplished at all she does, her biscotti recipe is one of 12 finalists in the Journal News Cookie Swap, and she plans to submit her Choco-Oata recipe in next year’s Cookie Swap.
Needless to say, we were thrilled that Evelyn agreed to share two of her favorite recipes with Scarsdale10583’s readers. See below for Evelyn Stock’s Marble Cheesecake and Blueberry Muffin recipes. If you try them, let us know how they came out. And please feel free to send your favorite recipes to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com to share with your neighbors.
Marble Cheesecake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crust:
- ¼ lb. butter
- 2 C. finely ground crumbs from Nabisco Famous chocolate wafers
- ¼ C. sugar
Melt butter over low heat or in microwave. Combine butter with crumbs and sugar in food processer until well blended. Press mixture over bottom and up sides of an ungreased 10-inch spring form pan. (Put tin foil under the pan to protect your oven.)
Filling:
- 2 lb. cream cheese at room temperature
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 oz. Baker’s German sweet chocolate, melted in a double boiler over boiling water
- 1 ¼ C. sugar
- 1 T. dark rum
- 1 ½ t. vanilla extract
- ½ t. instant espresso, melted in 1 t. hot water
- Pinch of salt
Combine cheese and sugar in mixer and beat until very soft, at least 2 minutes. Add rum, vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time, at low speed so as to not add to much air. Mix just until egg is incorporated. Pour mixture (reserving one cup) into the crust. Mix chocolate and coffee and add to reserved cup of batter and mix well. Pour chocolate batter into the center of the batter in pan and swirl through with a knife to marbleize. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes while you prepare the topping.
Topping:
- 2 C. sour cream
- 1 t. almond extract
- ¼ C. sugar
Combine ingredients. Spread evenly over top of baked pie and return to 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place IMMEDIATELY in the refrigerator to cool. This will prevent cracks from marring the top of the cheesecake. Can be frozen. Serves 16.
Note: I do not always have eggs and cheese at room temperature—just bake a few minutes longer. I use extra large eggs and good semi-sweet chocolate.
Blueberry Muffins:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins with muffin liners.
- 1 stick butter
- 2 t. baking powder
- 1 ¼ C. sugar
- ½ t. salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ C plus blueberries
- ½ C. milk
- 2 t. sugar for tops (optional)
- 2 ¼ C. flour
Cream butter and sugar in mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture alternately with milk. Stir in blueberries by hand. Pile mixture into liners, close to the top. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes. Let stand in pan for 3-5 minutes before serving. Makes 12 large muffins. Note: You can replace blueberries with cranberries, nuts, apples or raisins. I like to add cranberries and walnuts.
The Buzz on the Moderne Barn
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The Moderne Barn is a grand, sweeping space that feels more like Aspen than Armonk. With a two story, buttressed dark wood ceiling and oversized chandeliers this large, renovated site, once the home of the Modern Furniture Barn on Route 22 can accommodate 200 diners. The restaurant is the latest addition to the Livanos family empire, that includes City Limits in Westchester and Molyvos, Oceana and Abboccato in Manhattan. It is evident that their well-trained staff can handle the crowds that frequent this happening spot.
Though the restaurant was packed last Saturday night, our party of six was greeted promptly and escorted to our roomy table flanked by a banquette. They offered us drinks from a lengthy list of wines by the glass, by the bottle and ales on tap. The menu presents an appealing mix of cuisines including flatbread pizzas, Italian pastas, several selections of fish and seafood, meat, various cuts of steak and comfort food.
A few of the more appealing appetizers the night we were there were the lobster bisque, a fresh lump crab cake and a tuna taquito with jicama, avocado and salsa roja. As it was one of the first really chilly nights of the year, I passed on the salads and opted for Nonna Meatballs, three generous meatballs in tomato sauce, topped with fresh ricotta and basil. They were a meal in themselves and I wish I had the recipe so that I could recreate them at home.
Among the flatbread pizzas, which looked big enough to share, there was basil pesto with beefsteak tomatoes and house-made mozzarella, black mission figs with boucheron goat cheese, prosciutto di parma and baby arugula or white anchovy with garlic spinach, baby artichoke, oregano and taleggio cheese.
It was tough to pick an entrée as many were tempting. Based on the waiter’s recommendation I chose the cracker crusted Atlantic Cod, which was a crispy piece of cod served over a flavorful fish broth of leeks, potatoes, baby clams and small pieces of bacon. Others at the table tried the lobster Cobb salad, and a few ordered steak, choosing from hanger, filet mignon, New York strip or rib eye, with a choice of green peppercorn, béarnaise, horseradish sour cream, bordelaise or chimichurri sauce. From the pasta selections, were a handmade mint pappardelle with braised lamb shoulder ragu and a rigatoni with a Bolognese sauce made from beef, veal and pork.
For those with simpler taste, the menu included a Wagyu beef hot dog on a pretzel bun with sauerkraut and brown mustard, a prime barn burger with a selection of toppings, roasted chicken and even macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes.
Do I dare admit that we also had dessert? One of our companions was at the Barn for her second visit and swore by the old fashion apple crisp with rolled oats, brown sugar topping and ginger topping. Also on the dessert menu is a sugar-spiced doughnut with bittersweet chocolate and raspberry preserves, and roasted 
pear and mission fig tart with mascarpone cheese in a port reduction. The desserts lived up to their savory descriptions as did the entire dinner. And the price was right. A three-course dinner with cocktails was just over $50. It’s not surprising the place was packed.
The Moderne Barn is a destination worth the drive north. Call well in advance for a reservation as they are not easy to come by on weekends.
Moderne Barn
430 Bedford Road (Route 22)
Armonk, N.Y. 10504
914-730-0001
http://www.modernebarn.com
Lunch: Monday-Friday 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Dinner: Monday –Thursday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday-Saturday 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sunday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Shop the Farmer's Market for Thanksgiving
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This Saturday, the Scarsdale Farmer’s Market will offer locally grown and produced food for your Thanksgiving dinner. Stop by to find New York State fruits and vegetables, pickles, wine, cheese, soups, pies, cakes, breads and more.
For Thanksgiving, there will be fresh cranberries, winter squash, potatoes, beets, and greens. You’ll find apple strudel, Bavarian donuts and baked goods from the Big Girl Bakery as well as Meredith’s jams, breads and biscotti.
The market will be held outside at Village Hall this week, November 20, and move inside for the winter to the Christie Place garage beginning on Saturday November 27. Hours are nine am to one-thirty pm.
Market Lady Carol DeLisa wants to thank Scarsdale residents for their support and respect for the vendors and their products. The market has found a warm and receptive customer base here and looks forward to serving you in the future.
A Taste of Persia on the Post Road
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The vast space that was formerly the family-style Italian restaurant Laguna has now been transformed into a Mediterranean eatery with strong Middle Eastern influences. A bit confused by the mix of lamb kebob and linguine vongole, we questioned owner Par Shakiban about the rationale behind his choices and were treated to an account of his life story and how his past has influenced his newest incarnation.
Originally from Persia, Shakiban came to the United States as a young man to study engineering at Columbia University. Upon graduation he took a job at IBM and quickly realized that he had chosen the wrong field. He made the switch from circuits to real estate and restaurants, eventually opening successful ventures such as Par’s Steakhouse in Armonk, Eclisse in Rye Brook and Stanford, Patisserie Salzburg in Rye, Laguna in White Plains and now Eclisse, White Plains.
He explained that his newest venture features tastes of the diaspora as many Persians fled from their homeland to Italy and the United States, keeping their native recipes while also incorporating ingredients favored in their new homelands. Voila, the menu at Eclisse, which features a mixture of hummus, rakaat, kufteh and dolmeh, next to mozzarella caprese, melanzane rollitini and risotto.
On the three visits we made to Eclisse, we stuck to the Persian fare. We were warmly greeted by the friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff. Due to the sheer size of the space, there was never a problem securing a table. To start, Eclisse offers a tempting array of cocktails and a long wine list. When I didn’t see the rose I like offered by the glass, the waiter was happy to open a bottle and serve me an individual portion.
On our lunch visit, we chose an appetizer sampler and were pleasantly surprised with generous portions of hummus, rakaat – warm cheese rolls with feta, ricotta salata, mozzarella and fresh mint, borani esfenaj, which is baked spinach, onion, garlic, and herbs mixed with yogurt, mast khiar a yogurt cucumber and mint combination plus mirza ghasemi, an eggplant and tomato combination topped with a fried quail egg.
There’s an extensive list of salads and the taboule, a fresh mix of parsley, mint, scallions, tomato and lemon should not be missed.
Main courses include a list of Italian pasta specialties, a choice of kebobs, fish selections and four Persian stews. As we were confused about which way to go, the waiter offered to serve us a tasting flight of the four stews, each unique in flavor.
We tasted Ghourmeh Sabzi a beef stew, flavored with dried lemon plus parsley, scallions and herbs, Khoresh Bademjan a veal stew with split peas and tomato sauce topped with eggplant, Khoresh Fesenjan, miniature meatballs in a pomegranate paste with walnuts – reminiscent of sweet and sour meatballs and Khoresh Gheymeh, stewed veal in a tomato sauce with potato, split peas and dried lemon. Tasting each did not help us decide what to order, as all four were unusual and flavorful.
On several visits, we went for the simpler kebobs which are served in a choice of 
chicken, lamb, Barg (steak) kobideh (ground lamb) or lamb . All are served with your choice of rice, taboule and grilled tomato and were delicious. The regular menu include a good choice of fish dishes, including spicy shrimp tagine, black cod with sour cherries, and chilean sea bass with tumeric and mint. We tried the salmon with zataar, a Middle Eastern spice and couscous, a welcome departure from the usual broiled salmon.
Desserts include baklava as well as a frozen hazelnut parfait, a light and refreshing way to end the meal.
Prices are reasonable with appetizers from $6 - $10 and entrees around $20. At lunchtime, you’ll find the same menu at considerably lower prices.
With refreshing new flavors, a novel menu, easy parking and ample space, Eclisse is sure to be a hit in White Plains. Try them for lunch or dinner, before or after the movies or any night of the week.
Eclisse is open for lunch, Tuesday through Friday from noon to 3 pm, for dinner, Monday through Thursday from 5 to 10 pm and on Sunday from 4 to 10 pm. The parking garage next door is closed, so valet parking service is available.
Eclisse
189 East Post Road
White Plains, NY 10601
914-761-1111
www.eclissewp.com
