Adobe Stock / Diana Taliun
Saunter down to Town House, New Rochelle’s Main Street newcomer, for a fresh and inventive brunch experience.
There are a few sacred pillars of a traditional brunch bash: bacon, booze, and brioche. Chef Chris dos Reis is making his offerings to the gastro-gods by holding church, er, brunch on the weekends at Town House, a welcome addition to an already exciting menu in New Rochelle. Each bite is a complex aria that shimmies and swirls along every taste bud on the palate with a new flavor to feel. For dos Reis, building the menu was a siren song of nostalgia.
“The approach for the brunch menu was to base it off of things we as a staff missed eating,” explains the New Rochelle native. “As a team, the kitchen brainstormed food that we had growing up, that many of us remember eating or would love to revisit now in the context of a professional chef. Some items got major facelifts such as the B.E.C [bacon, egg, and cheese] sandwich, while others were us striving to perfect something as simple as pancakes.”
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There’s also a touch of dos Reis’ upbringing in menu items like the Spanish tortilla, an iteration of the Spanish omelet he grew up eating. Dig your fork into the potato chip tortilla drowned in green gremolata and salsa rioja and understand how such a dish can have a hold on someone over a decade later.
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Other standouts from the menu Town House serves include the tuna rösti (tell me that crispy potatoes are ever a bad idea) with a delicate touch of chili and aioli, thick-cut slab bacon with a house-cured pastrami style served with a generous helping of apple butter, and kimchi tempura green beans with just the right amount of kick.
While these apps are easy to lose yourself in, the mains deserve the same level of fanfare. The pastrami bacon, egg, and cheese served on brioche with gribiche mustard frill is an elevated take on a beloved favorite that offers both silky and salty bites in every mouthful. Brunch purists will delight in the shakshuka offering, as well as the hearty French toast drenched in strawberry curd and crème fraiche. For adventurous eaters looking to go out on a limb, reach for the Korean fried chicken sandwich– a ‘wich doused in a heavy pour of spicy and sweet sauce that doesn’t deduct from the crispiness.
If the food menu that Town House serves has you floored, the bar program will make you hit the roof. Head bartender Julio Enriquez works diligently to find fresh ingredients with out-of-the-box takes, like “When Doves Cry,” a twist on a classic paloma that includes celery root, grapefruit, ginger, and, of course, tequila.
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Sitting among waxed-coated wine bottles, decorated from holding candles burned many a service ago (unique, empty wine bottles that were kindly donated by patrons, might we add), there is a palpable levity in the atmosphere. The ability to share a meal, a laugh, and an afternoon with people who make everything brighter, in a place designed to both comfort and wow, is a rarity. For dos Reis, that joy of eating and spending time with friends is what it’s all about. “It’s meant to be fun, familiar, and delicious above it all.”
Town House
559 Main St, New Rochelle
Related: Here’s Where to Find the Most Flavorful Mexican Food in Westchester
