River City Grille—In 1998, well before any big-name chefs or waterfront restaurants hit Irvington, this New American eatery began serving creative plates such as Korean barbecue beef tacos, spicy cumin lamb with ginger bamboo rice, and pan-roasted shrimp and sea scallops with Tuscan kale and white beans.
Rip Van Winkle Bronze Statue—This $53,000 life-sized sculpture of Rip Van Winkle awakening from his 20-year-slumber is a tribute to the fictional character’s creator, Washington Irving. The author (and village’s namesake) lived at his nearby riverside home, Sunnyside, from 1835 until his death in 1859.
Irvington Town Hall—The third floor is home to a 432-seat Classic Revival-style theater which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1902, the theater features six gold-leafed boxes, Victorian chandeliers and sconces, and a 42-foot-high skylight, where The Clocktower Players, a 2014 Best of Westchester pick (see page 87), perform. Louis Comfort Tiffany also designed a reading room here.
Mima Vinoteca—You can’t go wrong with any of the house-made pasta dishes at this wine bar/trattoria that’s a true love letter to your grandma’s (or mima’s) cooking.
Tra La La—Original and fun furniture, bedding, toys, and accessories (like personalized growth charts and framed fabric memory boards) can be had at this children’s shop in a charming, hundred-year-old building.
Irvington Public Library—The library was moved in 2000 from a cramped space in the town hall to the 10,200-square-foot ground floor of the Queen Anne–style Burnham Building, formerly home to Lord & Burnham, builders of boilers, private greenhouses (including the country’s first steel-framed curvilinear greenhouse at nearby Lyndhurst), and major public US conservatories.
Chutney Masala Indian Bistro—This Indian restaurant, in a transformed 19th-century lumber-dealer warehouse, offers sophisticated South Asian fare using house-made chutneys, antibiotic- and hormone-free meats, spices ground in-house, and wild-caught seafood.
MP Taverna—Chef Michael Psilakis’ contemporary version of a traditional Greek tavern; order the gyro-spiced beef sliders, grilled branzino, and smashed fries.
Eileen Fisher—The corporate HQ of the women’s clothing retailer, as well as its namesake founder and designer, reside in Irvington.
Red Hat on the River—The go-to spot for Hudson-side patio dining or rooftop drinking in Westchester is this bistro located in the former Lord & Burnham factory.
