5 Can’t-Miss Spots for Good, Old American Food

Coming back home for some classic cuisine.


Xaviars on the Hudson

I can’t believe it, but I’m coming down the home stretch and looking forward to some good, old American food. 

The impressive views atop the pier at X2O Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers are worth the trip all their own. Then you mix in the eclectic range of menu options, with influences from Spain, France, Italy, and Asia, and you are well on your way to an experience like no other. According to
chef and owner Peter Kelly, “Our menu offers something to satisfy anyone from a world-traveled gourmand to a Brooklyn expatriate, but can also accommodate and sate the strictest lovacore or your meat-
and-potatoes uncle.”

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The always-bustling and charismatic Red Hat on the River, an American-with-a-French-twist bistro set along Irvington’s dazzling waterfront, has a staff that is super helpful and knowledgeable, especially when it comes time to pairing the perfect wine with Red Hat’s moules frites (Prince Edward Island mussels, steamed with garlic, white wine, shallots, and served with frites). For the record, the white bordeaux, La Mouliniere, makes for a tasty accompaniment.

Inside the recently renovated Mamaroneck Train Station is a relative newcomer, the Club Car Restaurant. The cuisine is described as New American, but it definitely has international influences. The menu is extremely diverse and offers a unique twist on the ordinary, such as a lobster cocktail from the raw bar menu that features half of a chilled lobster. The setting is both classy and historical–it’s a nice restaurant with the added touch of knowing what was once housed there.

It would certainly be fitting for me to end my around-the-world culinary experience with a stop at the iconic Walter’s Hot Dog Stand in Larchmont. I don’t even normally like hot dogs, but Walter’s puppies (a smaller version of the original dogs) are so good, I find myself waiting in line with the rest of the faithfuls. I also strongly recommend the sweet spuds (fried sweet potatoes) and a creamsicle shake, because you might as well go all out.

To conclude this mission in style, I decide to make my way to Pocantico Hills, where Blue Hill at Stone Barns is located. There are no menus at this one-of-a-kind restaurant, which doubles as a Center for Food and Agriculture. The chef’s preparations are always reflective of the farmer’s hard work. Two dining options are offered: The Farmer’s Feast, which is an eight-course menu, or The Grazing Menu, which is 12 courses. Both can be paired with wine for an additional fee.  The meal is magical, and on this night, there truly is no place like home in the culinary world!

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