Small Bites

News on the dates — and a few of the participating restaurants —  for next year’s Hudson Valley Restaurant Week: March 15-28. So far signed up in our area:

121 Restaurant & Bar in North Salem.
42 in White Plains.
Casa Brusco in Eastchester.
Cathryn’s Tuscan Grill in Cold Spring.
Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry.
Harvest on Hudson in Hastings.
Hudson House River Inn in Cold Spring.
Il Portico in Tappan.
Il Sorriso in Irvington.
Iron Horse Grill in Pleasantville.
La Lanterna Restaurant in Yonkers.
Legal Sea Foods in White Plains.
Marc Charles Steakhouse in Armonk.
Niko’s Greek Taverna in White Plains.
Opus 465 in Armonk.
Restaurant X & Bully Boy Bar in Congers.
X2O Xaviars on Hudson in  Yonkers.

After the jump, the press release:

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2010, March 15-28, is the perfect time to indulge in world-class dining at bargain prices while exploring New York’s scenic Hudson River Valley.
For the first time this year, this much-anticipated Hudson Valley dining event will include two full weekends, making it even more tantalizing for those looking for a tasty getaway. Participating restaurants will offer three-course prix-fixe dinners at $28 and three-course lunches at $20.

This culinary extravaganza, now in its fourth year, shows why the Hudson Valley has become one of the nation’s most talked about dining destinations, according to Janet Crawshaw, Hudson Valley Restaurant Week organizer and publisher of The Valley Table magazine. The Valley Table is the re cognized print authority on all things food-related in the Hudson Valley and the go-to publication for dining, culinary, farm and agri-tourism information.www.valleytable.com.

“The Hudson Valley food scene is vibrant. The Valley is home to the country’s foremost cooking school, a nationally recognized center for food and agriculture, celebrated artisanal cheese makers, world-class wineries and distilleries, and some of the best chefs in America,” says Crawshaw.

A weekend jaunt to the region can easily become a gastronomic adventure. To whet the appetite, visitors to the Valley during Restaurant Week can enjoy relaxing in an elegant spa, antiquing in quaint river towns, sampling wines and beers at local vineyards and breweries, tasting cheeses and other locally-produced foods at regional farms, and catching the first sap run at maple-sugaring operations. Many will want to include a fascinating tour of the Culinary Institute of America on their itineraries.

Because agriculture is still the Hudson Valley’s biggest industry, the use of locally produced ingredients on Restaurant Week menus is key to the event’s popularity. “Chefs go all out to use ingredients produced in the Hudson Valley, from venison, duck and heritage pork to artisanal cheeses,” says Crawshaw. “Chefs find inspiration and amazing ingredients in the surrounding farms.”

During Restaurant Week, Hudson Valley travelers can dine in a wide variety of wonderful settings. Consider Tavern at Highlands Country Club in Garrison, offering an elegant country atmosphere with antique tables and a blazing fireplace. Or experience the Village Tearoom in New Paltz, located in a landmarked building where hand-hewn beams lend antiquity and charm to the dining experience. At the acclaimed Restaurant 42 atop the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in White Plains, diners can enjoy new American cuisine and spellbinding 360-degree views. A new participant this year is American Bounty at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where the world’s premier culinary college offers imaginative global cuisine in an award-winning restaurant.

If it’s spectacular river views and great food you crave, choose from among the many restaurants offering riverfront dining, such as Harvest on Hudson in Hastings, Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry or the dramatic X2O Xaviars in Yonkers, with 25-foot vaulted ceilings and views down the river to the Manhattan skyline.

Overnight accommodations are available on the premises of some of the participating restaurants. Among them is the gothic-style Thayer Hotel at West Point with breathtaking river views, the Kittle House, a 12-room historic landmark inn in Chappaqua, and the historic Hudson House River Inn in Cold Spring. The Thayer, along with other hotels in the region, will be offering special rates for Restaurant Week. Unique lodgings can also be found at www.vintagehudsonvalley.com.

The 2009 event drew more than 125,000 diners, who discovered new culinary experiences at 87 restaurants in this wonderfully scenic region north of New York City. To consult the growing list of restaurants participating in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2010, go online to www.HudsonValleyRestaurantWeek.com.

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