Small Bites

The Bedford Post, a hideaway in the Bedford countryside, opened in stages over the past several years: first the casual restaurant, Barn at Bedford Post, then the more formal restaurant, Farmhouse at Bedford Post, and later, a yoga studio and an eight-room inn.

The latest phase? A new bluestone patio, lit by strings of bare Edison bulbs above, opened a few weeks ago, with a water feature on one side and a wood-fired stone oven on the other.

Matt Pizzarusso

Add to that the summer menu that new executive chef Jeremy McMillan has created — Italian inspired, with local ingredients — and you have two brand-new reasons to book a table.

Another reason to visit? The restaurant is really hitting its stride.

The Bedford Post has always been a destination. It’s a stunning property, lovingly renovated in a modern farmhouse-chic style with earth tones, lots of beadboard and cottage gardens around the property that are blooming with hydrangeas this time of year.

And yes, it’s owned by celebrity husband-and-wife Richard Gere and Carey Lowell, along with their partner, Russell Hernandez, and chances are you will catch of glimpse of the actors while you’re dining there.

The food has always been creative — and locally sourced. But McMillan — who trained at the Culinary Institute of America, helped open the Barn and the Farmhouse at Bedford Post in 2008 and worked at A Voce and A Voce Columbus in Manhattan before becoming executive chef last fall — has brought a new, casual sensibility to the menu. It’s simply more approachable now, even if you order the Farmhouse’s five-course tasting menu, which I highly recommend, especially at the bargain price of $65 a person.

Gwenael Goulet, the chef-owner of Buffet de la Gare in Hastings, died last week after a long battle with cancer. I wrote an obituary for the paper on Saturday, and I’ll  post it here. I knew Gwen from covering his restaurant over the years, and will fondly remember him as a kind man with a passion for food and his community. I’ll miss him very much.

If you’d like to share memories or wish the family condolences, please feel free to do so in the comments. Here’s a photo I took of Gwenael and his wife, Annie, back in 2006:

The story, after the break.

Our occasional guest blogger Maria Reina — you can see her posts here — will be doing a few cooking demonstrations at farmers markets and the Rye Sidewalk Sale this week. Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday July 26
Farmers Market at PepsiCo: 800 Anderson Hill Road. 845-520-6502. On Facebook: Farmers Market @ PepsiCo.
11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Grilled Organic Chicken from Gaia’s Breath Farm using a Dijon-Maple Marinade I created with Cascade Valley Winery Mustard

Wednesday July 27
Irvington Farmers Market, in the back lot of the Main Street School (101 Main St.). 914-478-8068. irvingtonfarmersmarket.net
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Pasta Salad with Gaia’s Breath Farm Organic Veal Sausage, Madura Farm Shiitake Mushrooms, Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes

Saturday July 30
Rye Sidewalk Sale in downtown Rye
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Zucchini and Beet Fritters with Baby Greens

On Saturday, August 13th, Culinary Collaboration is organizing a tour of Hemlock Hill Farm by chef Matt Hutchins, below, of Birdsall House in Peekskill, and a 4-course lunch with beer pairing back at the restaurant in Peekskill.  The menu will showcase beef and pork from the farm.

The morning will start at Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt Manor where chef Hutchins will lead a private tour.  The 120-acre farm has been in the DeMaria family for the past 70 years.  All of Hemlock Hill’s offerings, including meat, poultry, vegetables, eggs and cheese, will be available for purchase.

After the tour, it’s a short drive to Birdsall House for lunch, which will be served on their new outdoor patio. Chef Hutchins will discuss his craft of making terrines, sausages, pâté, pickles, and even his own ketchup. The menu will include vegetarian choices as chef Hutchins is happy to accommodate all tastes.

All inclusive price for tour and 4-course lunch with beer pairing is $75 per person. Tour starts at 10:30 in the morning with lunch to follow.  There is a raindate of Saturday, August 20th, in case of bad weather.  Click here for more information and to register.

411 on Birdsall House

Our intern Jenny Kessman has a very timely story in today’s paper: Cool drinks! She visited 6 local spots and recommends her favorites. Take it away, Jenny!

The Miami Vice Smoothie at Beanberry’s Cafe in New Rochelle. Carucha Meuse/The Journal News

The kind of blistering heat predicted for this week — can you say upper 90s? — calls for air conditioning, swimming pools and cold drinks.

We hope you’re covered on the first two. As for the cold drinks??There are coffeehouses and bakeries all over the region ready to help customers stay cool and hydrated, and below, we’ve recommended a few of our favorites.

And here’s a thought: head to one of these spots, enjoy the air conditioning, then set off for your favorite pool — cool drink in hand.

Anthony Goncalves, the chef-owner at 42 in White Plains, is self-taught, and loves to keep learning. He’s always pushing to see what new flavors and textures he can come up with, and is fascinated with avant garde cooking, while still remaining true to his Portuguese roots. To channel that creative energy, he’s presenting a new menu.

Once a week, on Wednesdays, he’s offering what he’s calling Kitchen Fun, or, in Portuguese: “Divertimento da Cozinha.” It’s a tasting menu with 12 or so courses, and he serves it for three Wednesdays in a row before changing the dishes to match the seasons and his whimsy. The menu is only available to the first 20 guests who order it. It costs $95 and the optional wine pairing is $75.

To concentrate on this tasting menu, he’s streamlined his regular menu during the week, pairing it down to one page instead of several. It used to contain many options and tasting menus and a “greatest hits” from his previous restaurant, Trotters. That food is very good indeed: clear, bold flavors prepared and presented with superior skill. But now, if you want to see the envelope-pushing side of chef Anthony’s cuisine —

— you’ve got to go to 42 on Wednesdays. I got a chance to sample the first menu on its last Wednesday back in May — and that’s where these photos are from. This Wednesday, Goncalves is serving his Composition III, called “The Cure.” You can see the menu here on the Facebook page of 42, and watch as the menus progress through the summer.

Readers of the print edition of The Journal News already know: We’ve been running a restaurant column called Restaurants We Love on Sundays for several months now. Our features staff takes turns writing them, so you get a different perspective on the local scene each week. As part of my “I will blog more!” pledge, I’ll post those columns on Small Bites and our local blogs, too.

I’ll try to catch up with older ones as we go along, and I’ll start with the ones I’ve written. Here’s Tavern in Garrison, where I really, really loved my meal. New chef Jason Wood is doing some pretty creative things in his kitchen, influenced by the bounty of the Hudson Valley. He’s been into local cooking for quite some time now — he used to cook at Blue Ridge in Washington and at Savoy in SoHo, among other great places. The buttermilk-fried chicken is absolutely insane.

Take a look:

Restaurants We Love: Tavern at the Highlands Country Club

It’s hard to choose the best season to go to Tavern at the Highlands Country Club.

If you go in autumn, your drive along Route 9D in Garrison takes you past some of the best fall foliage in the Hudson Valley. In the winter, three crackling fires keep you warm and toasty. In the spring, the menu is graced with the first baby greens of the season. In the summer — well, the menu is bursting with local produce, harvested from the restaurant’s own farm up the road.

Tavern has been known for serving locally sourced food since the moment it opened in 2004. And when it was Xaviars at Garrison before that, chef-owner Peter X. Kelly was a pioneer in using Hudson Valley ingredients.

With such a rich history behind it, you might say this little restaurant has been a definitive force in shaping the area’s cuisine.

My back deck is in bloom with flowers in a rainbow of colors.  It’s definitely the perfect spot for some outdoor entertaining.  Patrice Costa, back again, to share this recipe which I feel is the epitome of summer flavors (courtesy of Bon Appétit).  Green and yellow zucchini, sliced as thin as possible, dressed simply with lemon and olive oil, then topped with homemade ricotta cheese (what!? Yes, that’s what I said – HOMEMADE – and trust me, it’s easy).  So, pick up the ingredients this weekend at one of our local farmers markets or a farm stand like Meadows Farm in Yorktown (they have beautiful zucchini and just pulled out of the ground basil) and in about 30 minutes or so, you can have this:

(All photos by Margaret Rizzuto Photography)

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Patrice Costa, back again as promised, to share with you my lunch at Dish.  It most definitely satisfied all my foodie cravings and more.   Dish is tucked away in the back of Mahopac Plaza on Route 6N.  As I pull up in front, I can see that the new owners, Eileen and Georges Zidi, have added some color to the outside with flowers and herbs – a sign of good things to come.

Basil, chives, thyme and more!

My good friend, Barbara, and I were greeted eagerly by our server, Danielle, and we slipped into a corner table in the back of the small dining room (there’s only about 25 seats, but usually no wait for lunch; although I would suggest reservations for dinner).

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Dish in Mahopac recently turned 4 years old, which is certainly a milestone in the restaurant business.  This is a well-earned success for chef/owner Hannah Hopkins who has put her heart and soul into every corner of this quaint little restaurant.

Patrice Costa here, guest blogging while Liz is vacationing, and I know that this milestone doesn’t come as a big surprise for Hannah’s loyal customers who follow her daily specials on Dish’s website and Facebook page.  We love the comforting atmosphere she has created where local, seasonal ingredients dominate the menu.  She was even elevated to somewhat of a celebrity chef last year when she competed on Food Network’s Chopped.  After all this, imagine my surprise when she told me about her plans to sell.  Selfishly, I thought, “Who will satisfy my cravings for crepes, mussels or rosti?”   However, once she shared the details, I knew that Dish (and my cravings) would be in good hands.  Let me tell you all about Dish’s new owners, Eileen and Georges Zidi.

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Last Thursday night, a 65 pound piggy from Hemlock Hill Farm met with the culinary talents of chefs Jonathan Pratt & Nick DiBona of Peter Pratt’s Inn.  The end result was an all out, pig pickin’, finger lickin’, La Caja China pig roast.   Patrice Costa here as guest blogger while Liz is on vacation, and if you’ve never heard of a La Caja China, be prepared to thank me for introducing you to this unique treat.

About 40 pork lovers had the opportunity to experience this pig roast feast which was organized by Culinary Collaboration.  At the beginning of the event, chef Jonathan Pratt explained that the La Caja China (translated “the Chinese box”) dates back to the 1850s when Chinese immigrant workers in Cuba toted this roasting box around to cook their meal as they toiled in the sugar cane fields.  In doing my own research, I found that there’s also a belief that the word “china” comes from a Hispanic word meaning exotic or mysterious.  Honestly, I think there’s something to that since what went on in this unassuming metal box was pure magic.

(Warning: Graphic porky language and pictures ahead.)