Liz Johnson

Pens in my junk drawer!

It's Sunday, yes, but it's Memorial Day weekend and it's almost 5: Mint juleps! In the pewter cups I had engraved as a gift for my husband.

Also in Cold Spring: Le Bouchon. Delightful. I've never been, but John Novi's Dupuy Canal House in High Falls is legendary. A cornerstone of "New American" that Craig Clairborne gave 4 stars to for nouvelle cuisine in 1970. This was 35 years ago, but... I've heard good things still.

I can't remember exactly about Tango Grill. I wasn't working (for once) so I didn't take notes. I think I had a pasta and it wasn't as good as my husband's steak. The best dish at our table was a chicken piccata-type dish... breaded chicken pounded and pan fried — something I never, ever order. But it was delicious. There's a fancy flambeed dessert there but I don't remember it being special. I guess my advice would be to stick with old fashioned classics instead of modern-sounding dishes. Trotters is named for the owner's interest in horse racing. It's hard to describe the food there except to say that it's very well thought out and executed. It just works. There's some Portuguese and Italian influence on the menu, but saying that doesn't do the food justice. I highly recommend the pork dish. I think it's served with chorizo and cockles. Here's a link to my paper's review. They also have an ambitious wine program, and they offer a cool deal where you they group four wines by the glass for a set price and you can have unlimited amounts of any of the four, ie: one glass filled twice and three other glasses; one glass of each; two glasses of two... whatever. I like this place for the nostalgia. It's been open since the '40s.

Is that in WP or Mamaroneck? I thought I'd heard of a new sushi place in M'neck but I can't remember.

You should go to Trotters. 175 Main Street. 914-421-5012. It is fancy, but the food is very good. I've heard good things about Tango Grill, but I didn't order right when I went there. There's a thread here on Blue. Mixed opinons.

No, it was just like a regular mojito, but with basil. It was muddled in the bottom of the glass with lime juice and then the rest of the drink was built on top. MMM those were good. I recently had the rhubarb cosmo, too, and it was great.

I had a purple basil mojito at Blue Hill at Stone Barns last year and loved it. Reported about it here.

Hmm. Because Blue was on my mind, I went there for a drink with a colleague. No mint, so no mojito. I asked if they could make it with basil instead, but no go. Then they said they didn't have the NZ sauvignon blanc that was on the menu, so I chose the pinot noir. They brought me the sauv. Weird. Thank goodness my friend was drinking whiskey. Sorry I can't report on the food.

Last year's Journal News review.

True. They may not be getting their produce locally. But their supplier is probably getting asparagus a little further south where it is in season. Nyack's first farmers market is Thursday so I'll let you know!

I'm sorry... what do you mean? ← I'm just guessing, and wouldn't want to speak for anyone else, since I haven't been in White Plains recently, but there is a school of thought that fresh foods that were once seasonal such as asparagus, might actually be better if they were still seasonal, and not shipped in from Mexico, Chile, or California. If you wait a few weeks, you could order it and ask whether they have a local supplier. ← asparagus are currently in season around here.. ← Yes, that was my point. They are in season.

I'm sorry... what do you mean?

I've only been for drinks and apps but I liked the asparagus with a walnut sauce (like noci... made with cream...).

Oooh good idea. Perhaps you should set the first one on St. John!

I love the champagne mangoes, too. As sweet as I've ever found here. What kind of events did you hold? This is fun reading. And your photos of St. John's are amazing. I'm so envious! When were you there? For how long?

Something lemony? Limoncello, vodka and soda, topped with this and a sprig of thyme garnish? How about a lemon-thyme gimlet? While we're speaking of liqueurs from Provence, how about lavender liqueur? Any ideas?

More like Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, no? --DW ← Acutally for me it was peach wine coolers!

I used to "politely correct" people — as drinkboy puts it — that the proper name is "cocktail" when I was writing a weekly cocktail column. And when people made the effort to invent names for their creations instead of adding 'tini' to the end of a flavor — I always lavished praise. But after while, I decided drinking sweet drinks out of cocktail glasses and calling them something-tinis is really no different of an introdcution to the world of cocktails than white zinfandel is to the world of wine. It's an starting-point, and it gets people curious. We should encourage curiousity, not squash it with snootiness.

Not any different than I told you above: Mitsuwa. Did you go last time?

Wasabi in Nyack. Modern Japanese. Video Guadalajara in Spring Valley. Good tacos. Freelance Cafe in Piermont. American bistro.

Thank you! I neglected to mention in the article that they do "walk-in Wednesdays" from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. I think people in Westchester are aware of such things. After all, it's right near an organic grocer. This is key. IMO, this is why these places will work. It's better than the frozen food from the grocery. :wink:

Hi Angela, Thanks for reading! Yes, you make it up there and then take it home to freeze, then cook. (You could also cook one that night without freezing it.) And it's only an entree. You stick a little label on top of the carton that has cooking instructions, and this label also offers advice for sides: ie, salad, green beans, potatoes, etc. Liz

I hadn't thought about that. My editor compared it to the build-a-bear stores... it's *like* you're making it yourself, but you're really not.

I think what SK says below is the key to this. People are afraid of cooking. This is right on. It's not for people who like to cook. And for the first time, people go together either because they're nervous or because they want to make it social. But afterward, they realize that they can get in-and-out a lot faster without gabbing with their friends, and they start to do it alone.