Ducasse Studios, the restaurant consulting firm headed by renowned restaurateur Alain Ducasse, was hired for Pinch (Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, 810 Yonkers Ave, Yonkers, 914-968-4200), the 250-seat American-classics-with-a-twist restaurant scheduled to have opened by the start of this month. The executive chef is Fabienne Eymard, previously executive sous chef at the now-defunct Adour in The St. Regis Hotel in New York City, and formerly at the three-star Michelin-rated Taillevent in Paris. Tamber Weiersheuser, a veteran of Ducasse venues, will be pastry chef. Entrées, priced between $16 and $26, include seared scallops in a clam-chowder sauce, hand-chopped Black Angus beef tartar, and Atlantic cod brandade. Sandwiches and 8-ounce Black Angus burgers ($12-$18), raw-bar items, ceviche, and grilled steaks also are on the menu. Pinch will feature a 1940s diner-style décor, an open kitchen, pastry counter, growler station, six booths with self-serve beer taps, and a tap wall showcasing 100 tap heads of the craft beers on offer
The debut of Pinch follows the recent opening (March) of Dan Rooney’s Cafe & Bar (Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, 810 Yonkers Ave, Yonkers 914-457-2531; danrooneyscafeandbar.com), an Irish pub and sports bar (35 flatscreens) with an open-flame rotisserie carving station and a dueling pianos show every evening. The executive chef is Christopher Lee, a Michelin-starred chef who formerly worked at Aureole and Gilt
Open in the space that once housed Mauro’s is the Keenan House Kitchen & Tap Room (199 Main St, Ossining 914-236-3393; thekeenanhouse.com), a 45-seat gastropub with 12 taps and 95 brews (the majority of which are craft) in bottles. The New American menu includes meats butchered and smoked in-house, plus house-made pizza dough, pastas, dressings, and sauces. Braised beef short rib over Parmesan polenta, Korean-style marinated skirt steak, meat lasagna with red oxtail ragu, and spice-blend grilled salmon are entrées ($18 to $27) to try. A selection of pizzas, sandwiches, and burgers also are offered ($12 to $16.50). Order a bottle of wine on Wednesdays at half price. Keenan House is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, plus brunch and dinner on Sunday
This month, the owners of The Tavern at Croton Landing plan to open next door The Side Car at the Tavern (39 N Riverside, Croton-on-Hudson 914-862-4027), a 1,000-square-foot gourmet market/weekend supper club. The space has an island demo kitchen where the Tavern’s Chef Ralph Croteau will prepare special dinners (paired with either wine or craft beer) Friday and Saturday evenings for up to 25 guests; a raw bar will be offered weekend days. Some of the Tavern’s most popular menu items will be sold as prepared-to-go items in the space as well: seafood stew, chili, from-scratch soups, Dave Tuttle’s celebrated pies, quiches, bake-at-home thin-crust pizzas, and assemble-at-home deconstructed lobster rolls
The Iron Tomato owners have taken the space where Gryphon’s Pub was and plan to open by this month The Iron Shaker (49 Mamaroneck Ave, 914-358-9291; theironshaker.com), a 78-seat international small-plates lounge
In May, Restaurateur/Chef Rafael Palomino opened a tapas eatery Palomino (141 Chatsworth Ave, Larchmont) in the space that once housed Pascal’s
Westchester Magazine’s Third Annual Wine & Food Weekend (914-345-0601, ext. 112; westchestermagazine.com/wineweekend) will be held June 6 – 9, and includes a Burger & Beer Bash at the Kensico Dam Plaza, Grand Tastings, wine seminars, cocktail clinics, and celeb chef demos at the Grand Ballroom in The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, as well as a Winemakers Dinner plus Sunday brunch at 42 The Restaurant
The John Jay Homestead Farm Market (400 Jay St, Katonah; johnjayhomestead.org) opens for its third year on June 22. The market, located on the 62-acre John Jay historic site, features 30-plus vendors, most of whom are Westchester producers: Amba Farm of Bedford Hills, Cabbage Hill Farm of Mount Kisco, Mobius Fields of Waccabuc, Mt. Holly Farm of Katonah, Tiny Hearts Farm of North Salem, Ladle of Love of Mount Kisco, and Red Barn Bakery of Irvington, among others
Vermont-based Graze Delivered (grazedelivered.com), a home food-delivery service specializing in sustainably produced foods from the Green Mountain State, is now servicing 14 Westchester towns
Renowned caterer Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill Mansion (914-631-3030; abigailkirsch.com) has debuted its newest menu with such creations as truffled duck pastrami, watermelon lollipops, mini lobster rolls, ice cream cupcakes, and a deconstructed banana split
Many of the sweets and breads produced by Three Dogs Gluten-Free Bakery (510 N State Rd, Briarcliff Manor 914-762-2121; threedogsgfbakery.com) are now available at ShopRite in Thornwood, Scarsdale, and Bedford; most DeCicco’s Marketplaces; Fratelli Market in Stamford, Connecticut; Daisy Hill Farm Stand in Mount Kisco; and Hilltop Farms Market in Croton. The Melting Pot in White Plains and Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua also offer some of Three Dogs’ baked goods
Gold Medal winner at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition Lucky Dog Vodka (luckydogvodka.com) is now carried by Peekskill-based distributor D. Bertoline & Sons, Inc., and is available at the Rye Roadhouse in Rye, Keenan House in Ossining, Chappaqua Wine & Spirits, and Grape Exchange in New Rochelle, among other Westchester locations
Heading up all culinary operations for the 146-room The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester (3 Renaissance Sq, White Plains 914-946-5500; ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Westchester/Default.htm) is new Executive Sous Chef Kennardo Holder. Previously, Holder was at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Colorado, where he also served as executive sous chef
Kevin Garcia, previously at ‘Cesca and Del Posto, is the new executive chef at Morello Italian Bistro (253 Greenwich Ave, Greenwich, CT 203-661-3443; morellobistro.com).
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