Chef David DiBari to Debut New Dobbs Ferry Restaurant

PLUS: Lidia Bastianich to sign new children’s book at Port Chester’s Tarry Market; look out, kale: its mean, green sarson ka saag at Chutney Masala

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Chef David DibariStop the interwebs, every last one of ’em! We’ve just gotten word that Chef David DiBari of The Cookery and the DoughNation pizza truck will debut a brand new Dobbs Ferry restaurant this summer. While he has not yet decided the name of his new venture, DiBari has already taken possession of 14 Cedar Street, a space that been until recently Orissa, Dobbs Ferry’s Indian-fusion restaurant. In a recent conversation, DiBari observed that the remains of high-style Orissa are now “piled up in the middle of the floor” and are ready for haulage. According to DiBari, he’s shooting for a July opening.

As in the DoughNation truck, DiBari’s new restaurant will serve Neapolitan pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. The new restaurant will also serve some of the pies developed in DoughNation—in particular, the truck’s beloved lemon-ricotta, polpetti, pig and fig, and margarita pies. Many of The Cookery ingredients now included in the DoughNation pies will appear on the new restaurant’s menu: expect to see The Cookery’s house-made sausages and buttery, hand-formed mozzarella. The new venture’s pies will be as highly seasonal those at the DoughNation truck, with many of their ingredients sourced from local farmer’s markets. There will be sixteen pies on the new menu.

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Unlike The Cookery, which DiBari debuted in March of 2009, the new pizza themed venture will serve neither pastas nor mains. However, unlike DoughNation, the new restaurant will serve starters. Look for six, mostly fish- and vegetable-based appetizers. “We’re going to be doing some of them in the wood burning oven—so razor clams out of the oven, ramps out of the oven, things like that,” says DiBari.

The big news about DiBari’s new restaurant is that it’ll challenge the restaurant convention that dictates that wine is served from bottles and beer is poured from taps. All of wines chosen by DiBari and The Cookery’s GM, Ralph Rubino, will be poured from taps while all of its beer will come in bottles or cans. Look for five wines at the new restaurant (two whites, two reds, and one sparkling) to be offered in three sizes: 33- and 17-ounce carafes and six-ounce glasses. “Our wines will be extremely affordable,” says DiBari. “There’s a flavor in these wines—you know, they’re a little frizzante—that takes me back to the wines that my neighbors made in their homes in Verplanck. I like that these wines are easy and totally without pretension. They don’t have a bottle or label—they come in a carafe, which goes on the table. Of course, we wouldn’t serve them unless they were delicious.” Craft beer is also a large part of the new restaurant’s beverage program. DiBari and Rubino are planning to offer 20 to 30 craft beers from local, domestic, and European sources.

According to Chef DiBari, the design of the new space is also a collaboration of The Cookery team. ”Everyone is putting in their ideas. We have a general contractor, but we’re not hiring a designer. Basically, we’ll be stripping the space down to its elements just as we did at The Cookery. We don’t care if we expose a pipe or two—we want to get down to the brick.” The team plans to install an island around the oven where diners can be seated. Also, DiBari is hoping to install a glass façade that, in warm weather, can be raised like a garage door to open the restaurant to the street.

There is much speculation about the new venture’s name, with yours truly offering all sorts of unsolicited and unwelcome advice. Stay tuned for more news on this as it develops.

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HotDate

Meet Chef Lidia Bastianich at Tarry Market
May 18th, 11 am
FREE
You might know her as the warm, motherly host of several PBS television shows, but, in fact, Lidia Bastianich is as serious as a heart attack. Not only did she escape war-torn Istria as a political refugee, but Bastianich is the self-made woman and restaurateur often personally credited with popularizing authentic Italian food on these shores. She’ll be signing copies of her new children’s book, Nonna’s Birthday Surprise, at Port Chester’s Tarry Market. The book promises 18 child friendly recipes geared to get your kids in the kitchen and eating healthy food.

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HotPlate

Sarson Ka Saag at Chutney Masala
Imagine a silky purée of leafy greens that’s so delicious that you’ll skip both fried and sugary foods just to get one more bite of its spicy, B vitamin-soaked goodness. We recently caught this delightfully rich Punjab classic at Chutney Masala where Chef Navjot Aurora laughingly called it “real Indian soul food.” In a later email, Aurora continued: “In India, it’s traditionally made mustard leaves, white goose feet, and spinach. My mom used to add radish leaves as well, but here we use broccoli rabe because it’s the closest in taste and it’s easily available.” Look for the biting broccoli rabe to be mellowed with starchy cornmeal and a luxurious dose of ghee. 

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