Dining
Your guide to eating out in Port Chester, Rye Brook and surrounding areas.
Out & About
Outdoor eating options rise to forty-three this year T
he number of Port Chester and Rye Brook restaurants offering outdoor eating in 2017 has increased by seven since last year, with seven brand new restaurants on the list, one having moved to a new location and two back after a hiatus. Two places that were listed last year have closed. Those additions and deletions bring the total to 43. In addition, one pub and restaurant that had outdoor eating in 2016 has created a sidewalk presence for the first time this year. Some locations have a few simple tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk, and maybe an umbrella, while others have fancy decks or patios with lush plantings and even heat lamps that allow for the extension of the outside eating season. From April to October, restaurants providing outdoor seating are in demand. The phenomenon caught on locally in 1997 when the Port Chester Board of Trustees encouraged sidewalk cafés through special legislation. Over the years, savvy restaurateurs have decided to create an outdoor venue to drum up more interest and therefore increase business, make room for overflow crowds or just heighten visibility. Some spaces have table service while others just allow customers to take their food and eat outside. Usually we feature outdoor dining in July when I often can find nary a person eating outside due to the heat and humidity. This past week, however, has been perfect for plein air eating for enthusiasts like me, and I’ve appreciated the excuse to take advantage of it. No doubt the month of September and much of October will be the same, with some chilly nights sprinkled here and there.
B
esides bartaco, my favorite spot for dining al fresco in town is the enclave outside 325 North Main St. that was created especially for nessa ristorante before Argana Restaurant & Bar took over the location in March. The brick patio, located between Argana and Piccolo Italian Gourmet next door, has been planted with specimen trees and shrubs and now features an ornate black wrought iron fence and gate at the entrance which is flanked by lanterns. Tables covered with gold cloths and a few varieties of black metal chairs are nicely spaced throughout the garden setting. Once it’s dark, the candles in the lanterns as well as a few torches are lit to produce a romantic atmosphere. Cut off from the outside world, you’d never guess you were
You would never know you’re in downtown Port Chester when you eat at the enclave outside Argana Restaurant & Bar at 325 North Main St. Richard Abel|Westmore News
A packed Village Beer Garden at the Port Chester train station on a balmy late summer evening. Jananne Abel|Westmore News
By Jananne Abel in downtown Port Chester. Here you can enjoy Moroccan staples like tajine, couscous and b’stilla, authentic Moroccan Harira soup, briout, puff pastry stuffed with ground beef flavored with Moroccan herbs and spices, just to name a few of the dishes. There are also delicious salads and appetizers and amazing house made desserts including the scrumptious napoleon you mustn’t leave Argana without ordering. These can be served with sweet Moroccan tea or spiced coffee. A 3-course family-style menu is served on Sundays for $25 per person. Argana is the creation of Moroccanborn Nordine and Soumia “Mia” Achbani of Greenwich. She developed the recipes and is the head chef while Nordine manages the front of the house. Behind the patio is a bocce court that dates from the 1960s, was refurbished by the owners of nessa and has been brought back into use for Argana customers. Argana is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, Sunday for brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner thereafter. Besides Moroccan specialties, the lunch menu includes salads, sandwiches and panini, and not one dish costs more than $20.
I
n June, my husband and I and our friends enjoyed being among the first customers to eat on the lovely stone deck that extends the length of Brandi Trattoria at 108 Abendroth Ave., which had opened the month before. You can sip cocktails on comfortable blue, gray and white wicker couches or eat dinner at white and gray marble top tables with gray metal chairs overlooking bustling Abendroth Avenue right across from the free marina parking lot and adjacent to the free temporary parking lot that just reopened. I haven’t seen them open, but a few navy umbrellas are deck side should they be needed. Brandi is the first franchise of the Naples, Italy pizzeria which invented the Margherita pizza. And, believe me, you’ve got to try one of their 10-inch pies that Italian-born pizza maker Flavio Garelli cranks out from the restaurant’s 700-degree stone oven in 90 seconds. Besides the 10-inch pizzas, there is a full menu of Italian specialties including delicious pasta as well as meat and seafood dishes and daily specials. I was especially taken with the Gnocchi Gorgonzola. Brandi is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday and starting at 12 noon Sunday.
P
anka Peruvian Bistro, which opened Jan. 1, 2016 at 167 Westchester Ave., put two black tables and benches topped with red and white patterned cushions out front on the sidewalk this year. Each is behind a silver and black barrier printed with the Panka logo in white lettering. This upscale Peruvian eatery stands out from the nine other Peruvian restaurants in Port Chester in the quality of the ingredients, attractive food presentation and the variety of offerings. Panka specializes in seafood, especially ceviche which is a cut above many others I’ve had. Other specialties are Lomo Saltado, Pollo a la Brasa (rotisserie chicken) and Seco de Cordero, a lamb shank cooked for hours until the meat is falling off the bone with red onions, cilantro, dark beer and Peruvian peppers. Attractively presented and made with sirloin steak and hand cut fries, the Lomo Saltado, a traditional Peruvian specialty, is like none I’ve had before. Lomo Panka is the same dish made with New York strip steak. I can also recommend the Pulpo a la Parilla appetizer, grilled tender Spanish octopus with roasted potatoes and sausage in a slightly spicy sauce, the Causitas appetizer, three pieces of lime infused mashed potatoes stuffed with shrimp, octopus and chicken topped with avocado and a mildly spicy savory sauce, and the Tallarines Verdes con Bisteck, grilled sliced skirt steak with a nest of thick spaghetti cooked in a basil, spinach and cheese sauce and a side of Papa a la Huancaina (boiled potatoes in a creamy yellow aji pepper cheese sauce). Panka is open seven days from 11 a.m., closing at 10 p.m. every day except Sunday when it closes at 9 p.m. Lunch is served from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday when there is a less pricy menu with fewer options than the dinner menu.
R
ela Café, which opened at 25 South Regent St. in January, has a large outdoor eating area on the sidewalk out front under a red awning that seats 64. It has fans and heaters, shades in the front and looks attractive from the outside with its flower boxes with colorful blooms and greens climbing trellises all around, but it doesn’t allow in much natural light. Customers sit at light wood tables set with placemats in comfortable, high-backed beige cloth chairs. Owned by Ben Gashi of Stamford, who hails from Kosovo, started in the restau-
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Lush plantings embellish the large stone patio for al fresco dining adjacent to T&J Restaurant & Pizzeria’s new location at 10 Pearl St. Richard Abel|Westmore News
Customers enjoy lunch under the large red awning that protects the al fresco sidewalk dining spot outside Rela Café at 25 South Regent St. Jananne Abel|Westmore News
The lit awning casts a romantic glow on the sidewalk café at Frankie & Louie’s Pizzeria & Restaurant at 414 Willett Ave. Jananne Abel|Westmore News
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