By Samantha Garbarini
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is so 2015. At Penny Lick Ice Cream Company in Hastings-on-Hudson, the warmly spiced Drunken Pumpkin ice cream is spiked with imperial ale. In Chappaqua, sherry b dessert studio sandwiches pumpkin ice cream between layers of pumpkin cake. (For some of our other ice-cream sandwich recommendations, click here.) And, at The Blue Pig in Croton-on-Hudson, look for a rotating selection of seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice, pumpkin salted caramel, and pumpkin with spiced pecans.
PHOTO COURTESY OF RACHEL CLEARY
Even though Munich’s famous Oktoberfest ended earlier this month, Westchester’s celebrations are just gearing up. Empire City Casino transforms into a biergarten on October 15 with authentic German dishes, all-you-can-drink wristbands, and a polka band; pick up a souvenir Oktoberfest stein at Crabtree Kittle House’s celebration on October 22; or get your tickets now for The Cookery and Captain Lawrence’s perennial sell-out event, Cooktoberfest, on October 30.
Cooktoberfest at Captain Lawrence Brewery
Local tomatoes, strawberries, and peaches are long gone, but autumn brings its own bounty. Check your local farmers’ market–Pleasantville’s has a particularly good variety of vendors through fall–for heirloom apples and dusty pumpkins. But don’t stop there. Seek out hard-to-find mushrooms, fall-only varietals of juicy grapes, a rainbow of cauliflower, and squash of all sizes and shapes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PLEASANTVILLE FARMERS’ MARKET
Sure, picking apples is the quintessential fall activity, but let’s be honest, we’re really there for the doughnuts. This fall, make it your mission to try them at a few places (for comparison’s sake, of course). You’ll find them at local orchards like Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm in Yorktown Heights, which is celebrating its 100th harvest this year; and Harvest Moon in North Salem. But also further south (and without the pick-your-own apple trees) at Stew Leonard’s in Yonkers and at The Kneaded Bread in Port Chester.
Changing foliage isn’t the most anticipated thing about fall—it’s the return of football. And at no time of year is it more socially acceptable to consume massive quantities of wings than between now and February. Whether you’re grabbing a seat at the bar at Scarsdale’s Candlelight Inn for the county’s most famous wings or picking up a couple of orders Westchester’s spiciest (the Waiver Wings at NY Firehouse Grille in Peekskill) to eat in front of the big screen at home, it’s not football season without saucy fingers. Some of our favorites: a pint and a platter of the unassuming wings at the Rye Roadhouse, or a couple orders of sweet-sriracha wings to go from The Wooden Spoon in New Rochelle.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WOODEN SPOON
