Small Bites

Judith Hausman, not wanting to be left out of Restaurant Week, has also generously offered to be a guest blogger. She set out to Le Fontane for a solo lunch. Here’s what she came back with:

I was dining alone at Le Fontane, but don’t pity me. The solicitous staff made me feel welcomed, gliding by often to ask me — and all the guests — if we were happy with their Hudson Valley Restaurant Week lunch. I couldn’t do limoncello after my meal on a workday, but it was charming offer.

It’s a sunny spacious room with all those Italian touches: arches, tiles, a fruit basket mural, columns and plaster busts. You almost want to burst out in an aria.

There were lots and lots of choice on the special menu: mussels, eggplant rollatini, fresh mozzarella with roasted peppers and prosciutto, and the yummy, crunchy (if poorly focused) string bean salad I tried. Loved the good olive oil, bright lemon, chopped tomatoes and a grilled portabello on top:

Here’s the lamb ravioli I ate next. Don’t let that “traditional ragout sauce” fool you. They overdid the simple marinara some, but the pasta was firm and the lamb filling was lightly seasoned and delicate.

Shrimp and clam risotto, grilled salmon, a chicken dish and a pork chop scapariello with sausage were the other ample options. I tried the poached pear in red wine. (The photo, alas, did not come out well.) You could even trick yourself into calling it light — oh, a little ice cream and a dab of whipped cream don’t add many calories.

Restaurant Week finally got me to Le Fontane and I’ll be back. I think they took the event seriously and gave it their best shot with generous, varied choices for a great price. I’ll sit outside on the covered terrace, try some fish from the regular menu — and I’ll say yes to the limoncello next time.

Le Fontane, 137 Route 100, Somers. 914-232-9619. lefontane.net

Photo Caption: 20080318lefontane02.JPG