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Photo by Michael Molinoff
The limited-edition Pink Goddess Salad at Chop’t consists of grilled chicken, pickled red onions, avocado, black beans, Cotija cheese, and romaine and mesclun lettuces.
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The former site of the Captain Video store in the Astoria Federal building in Ardsley is now Downtown Restaurant (731 Saw Mill River Rd 914-693-5800; downtown731.com). The 99-seat casual eatery serves such traditional American fare as steaks, burgers, salads, and sautéed salmon as well as many Greek standards, e.g., kebabs, souvlaki platters, and moussaka. Look for house-made desserts including bread pudding, baklava, and double-crust apple pie. Main dishes range from $10 to $24. Downtown is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner; breakfast items available on Saturday and Sunday // The owners of the Westchester Diner and Pastels Cafe & Restaurant, both in Peekskill, have opened the traditional American restaurant Table 9 (92 Roa Hook Rd, Cortlandt Manor 914-737-4959; tablenine.com) in the space that formerly housed Reef N Beef. Main dishes to try include lemon chicken piccata, rigatoni Marsala, oven-roasted turkey, seafood paella, and marinated pork chops (entrées range from $13 to $26). A long list of specialty cocktails also is offered. Table 9 is open every day for lunch and dinner // Gyu-Kaku (gyu-kaku.com), the Japanese chain with more than 700 locations worldwide that features do-it-yourself Japanese barbecue with mini-cooking pits at the center of every table, is scheduled to open this month at 2 William Street in White Plains // Also in White Plains, the first county branch of Pancheros Mexican Grill (38 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains; 914-997-8520; pancheros.com) recently opened. Pancheros is a Mexican franchise with more than 50 locations nationally, serving fresh-pressed tortillas, customized burritos, quesadillas, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads // A roster of more than two dozen Westchester, Hudson Valley, and Lower Connecticut farms, chefs, vendors, purveyors, and restaurants will offer tastings and pairings at the 2nd Annual Taste Our Local Harvest (foodbankfor westchester.org), October 9 at 6 pm at Westchester Country Club in Rye. Among the participants: Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt Manor, Chef March Walker of Birdsall House in Peekskill, Kitchawan Farm in Ossining, Chef David Starkey of Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown, Longford’s Own-Made Ice Cream in Port Chester, and Wave Hill Breads in Norwalk, Connecticut. The event costs $60 and benefits the Food Bank For Westchester, Slow Food Metro North, and the Chefs Association of Westchester and Lower Connecticut // The 8th Annual Pelham Rotary Tastings, a fundraiser and silent auction to benefit a child from Kosovo in need of heart surgery, takes place October 14 from 4 to 7 pm at the New York Athletic Club in Pelham Manor. Vendors include Bistro Rollin, Eastchester Fish Gourmet, Blue Moon Mexican Cafe, Elia Taverna, P.D. O’Hurley’s The Waterfront, and the French Wine Shop. Pelham Jazz Ensemble will provide background music. Tickets cost $60 and can be purchased at pelhamrotary.tripod.com // Desserts from The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, are available online at the new Crème de la Crème Sweets landing page (ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Westchester/Cremedela Creme Sweets/Default; 914-467-5812), an online gallery for purchasing cupcakes (sugared strawberry shortcake, lemon ice box, blackout, coconut, and chocolate peanut butter); macarons (piña colada, mocha, blackberry, strawberry, and Key lime); whoopie pies (chocolate peanut butter, grasshopper, and classic marshmallow); and specialty cakes // Chef Neil Fusco of Mount Kisco-based specialty Italian foods company Cucina Antica Foods Corp. (914-244-9700; cucina-antica.com) has created an unconventional pasta sauce: Tuscany Pumpkin ($7.99, 25–oz jar). The well-balanced, earthy sauce contains pumpkin, San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, sage, honey, cinnamon, and a touch of cream and is best over risotto, ravioli, sautéed vegetables, or as a base for pumpkin soup. The sauce can be purchased at any Whole Foods store // To honor National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, $1 from the sale of every Pink Goddess Salad and Pink Goddess Sandwich ($10.49-$10.99) sold in October at Chop’t Creative Salad Company (116 S Ridge St, Rye Brook 914-908-4184; choptsalad.com) will be donated to Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation’s Pink Pony Fund. In addition, Chop’t will match every dollar raised to increase the donation.
