As we’ve done in the past, we previewed menus from (a lot of) the 115 Westchester restaurants participating in Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (HVRW) to choose seven spots where you’ll find great value. In case you’re not familiar, from March 12 to March 25, participating restaurants throughout the Hudson Valley will offer three-course pre-fixe dinner menus for $32.95 (plus lunch menus for $22.95, which is, frankly, a better deal). Check out our top picks below.
Located in an 18th-century home on a four-acre farm in North Salem, this seafood-and-produce spot is one of our favorite county restaurants. Chef Michael Kaphan’s HVRW menu stays faithful to the restaurant’s regular offerings with sophisticated dishes like oyster ceviche with root-cellar daikon and key lime; lobster potato-leek soup; Icelandic cod with shrimp-stuffed piquillo pepper, poached egg, and asparagus; and smoked pork chops with charred radicchio.
Benjamin’s Steakhouse
Steakhouses can be a tremendous restaurant week deal, assuming they actually put steak on the menu (no, that’s not a given). At Benjamin Steakhouse in White Plains, the HVRW menu is full of steakhouse classics (lobster bisque, wedge salad, creamed spinach, chicken Parmesan), including a USDA prime sirloin, offered without budget-busting supplemental charges.
This Dobbs Ferry restaurant does something we wish every restaurant would do during HVRW: It offers (almost) its entire menu at restaurant week prices. You’ll find great deals like the massive, crispy pork osso buco; market steak with goose-fat potatoes and greens; housemade mozzarella; and its signature smoked pig’s head donut. The menu is available on prime nights like Fridays and Saturdays, too, but you’ll have to book in advance and eat early or late to score a table.
To get the best bang for your buck, stick with Southern-style dishes at this Chef Matt Karp’s Larchmont restaurant. Start with the deviled eggs with bacon and secret-recipe hot sauce. Follow that with the fried chicken served with sourdough waffles, slaw, and cayenne honey. (At this point, you’ll already be over the $32 mark). For dessert, we like the sound of the coconut cream pie or the fried-to-order donut with cinnamon ice cream.
We’re giving serious props to this Ossining waterfront restaurant for only including selections from the regular menu on its HVRW prix-fixe. Dishes like the rice cakes with spicy tuna tartare, braised mussels, and pan-seared salmon with apple-cider gastrique would be our order. (We’re also big fans of the burger.) Plus, the incredible Hudson River views and nautical-chic interior are included at no extra cost.
Only the second time that this Chappaqua restaurant has participated in HVRW, it’s a great chance to try Chef Matthew Cook’s vegetable-forward cuisine at an affordable price. Dishes like buttermilk-fried clam sliders, spicy mussels steamed in lobster bisque, and braised short ribs over crispy polenta waffles keep things interesting. And the slow-roasted cauliflower with chili, wine-poached raisins, and shaved pecorino is considerably more exciting than the pasta primavera and spring risotto we’ve seen as vegetarian options elsewhere. For dessert, it’s all about the split banana with vanilla ice cream and different temperatures of caramel.
This Mount Kisco gastropub/restaurant has a lot going for it during restaurant week. The menu culls favorites from Chef Michael Williams regular menu like grilled Gulf shrimp over caponata, roasted tomato, and lemon salsa verde; brick chicken with mushroom spaetzle and truffle-cream sauce; and The Dirty Winston, a slice of chocolate-hazelnut layer cake. Adding to the appeal: $5 beers from Yonkers Brewing Co., wine specials, and the cool-trendy vibe of the multi-level space.
