Do they have restaurants in Yonkers?

[Fat Guy]

Let's say someone had a mission to eat at the best restaurant in Yonkers. What would that restaurant be?

Not necessarily fine-dining; just the best restaurant.

[Jason Perlow]

10 years ago I could have helped you, there were a few old guard italian joints that were really good but I think they are all closed now. Youre going to have better luck in White Plains.

I'm gonna say Nathans on Central Ave. :) Or Pizza and Brew just up the road to White Plains, if its still there. Used to make some pretty good basic Italian American food.

[Stone]

Just north of Yonkers in Dobbs Ferry is a great family Italian restaurant called "Scaramellas." Take HH north, get off at Ardsley/Dobbs Ferry exit (11?), turn left over the bridge and immediately left into the little strip mall.

I haven't been there in a while, but I recall big, delicious veal chops served in a number of styles. Good calimari. Fresh swordfish. Very nice people. They are Yankee fans, though.

Edited November 25, 2002 by Dstone001 (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Yep, I used to live in Irvington in the early 90's. Scarmellas is great.

[Biscotti]

Valentinos in Yonkers used to be good although I haven't been in at least 5 years.

Also, I think Hunan Village, also in Yonkers, is the chinese place that wins best of Westchester year after year. I could be wrong about this though. Does anyone know?

Edited November 25, 2002 by ArynT (log)

[Stone]

Valentinos in Yonkers used to be good although I haven't been in at least 5 years.

Also, I think Hunan Village, also in Yonkers, is the chinese place that wins best of Westchester year after year.  I could be wrong about this though.  Does anyone know?

Is Hunan Village the white detached building on Central Avenue? If so, it was one of the first Hunan style restaurants in the area, and I recall it was very good. Haven't been there for years.

[Fat Guy]

We went to Scaramella's. It was acceptable. If the restaurant opened up around the corner from me in Manhattan I'd eat there once in awhile. It's not a destination restaurant, though. Perhaps it has seen better days; everything felt a bit tired and worn around the edges.

Directions-wise, the Saw Mill and I-87 run parallel and adjacent to one another through Dobbs Ferry. If you're coming on the Saw Mill (from the Henry Hudson), follow Stone's directions. If you're coming on I-87 (in other words you took the Deegan from Manhattan) you want Exit 7, the first exit after the toll. It's a little bit confusing when you get off I-87 because the exit tries to turn you around a bit. Basically, you need to keep going north in order to get to the bridge that takes you over the Saw Mill. Once you get over the bridge the restaurant is right there on your left.

The restaurant is in a run-down shopping center alongside a Dunkin' Donuts. The dining room features tromp l'oiel windows overlooking hillside vineyards. All the customers are wearing tee-shirts and/or Polartec fleece jackets, and all the waiters are wearing cheap tuxedoes.

We were three and the fourth seat was occupied by the whiteboard on which were written the specials. A big point in the restaurant's favor: Specials were clearly written with prices and the specials prices were entirely proportionate to the regular menu prices -- a rarity at an old-school Italian restaurant.

The one dish I'd characterize as noteworthy was the pork chops alla paesana. Two juicy pork chops in a vinegar-based sauce come on a huge platter and are buried in an avalanche of thinly sliced crisp fried potatoes and sauteed sweet red peppers. A delicious and dramatic dish -- old-guard Italian-American cooking at its best. The other two in the group had the swordfish and it was mediocre. Actually one piece was much better than the other.

Clams casino were credible, and the Caesar salad had an appropriate anchovy kick. An appetizer of portabella balsamico was just bizarre, with small slices of portabella mushrooms in a goopy brown sauce.

The tiramisu was poor while the cannolis were very good and probably stuffed to order because there wasn't a hint of sogginess to the shells. Espresso was surprisingly well made Segafredo.

The wine list offers hardly anything worthwhile, though it's possible to eke out some of the safe generic middle market Italian wines you'd find at the average liquor store.

Service wasn't great but it was entirely friendly.

[Stone]

All the customers are wearing tee-shirts and/or Polartec fleece jackets, and all the waiters are wearing cheap tuxedoes.

I told you -- they're Yankee fans.

Sorry you didn't have a better meal. By the way, if you turned right at the bridge you head into Ardsley, and on your right would be the world's second Carvel. Tom himself lived high up the hills to the right. He was a whale of a guy. I myself grew up on the hills to your left.

That's about all the memorable sites in Ardsley.

[Fat Guy]

We actually noticed that Carvel and it prompted a mini-debate on the quality of Carvel ice cream.

[Steve Plotnicki]

s say someone had a mission to eat at the best restaurant in Yonkers. What would that restaurant be?

This is a joke right? As long as you are driving out of your way to eat in Westchester, how about Pinocchio on the Post Road in Eastchester? The owner used to be a waiter at Dominick's on Arthur Avenue (in fact his father is still a waiter there.) I haven't been there for years but it used to have better then average N.Italian/American fare.

[Fat Guy]

I don't even know where Eastchester is. Is it East of Westchester? Sorry, sorry.

Don't worry: If you mean "to" as in "for the purpose of" that's not the situation I faced. We had to go to Yonkers for another reason and were going to be there anyway. Our trip involved dropping something off, waiting for it to be dealt with, and picking it up again. So we needed a couple of hours of feeding that wouldn't take us far from Yonkers.

[Jason Perlow]

A delicious and dramatic dish -- old-guard Italian-American cooking at its best.

As I said, youre not going to find haute cuisine in the Yonkers/lower Westchester area, but if you can find the old-guard Italian restaurants, and stick with TRADITIONAL, simple stuff, it will be good.

[Fat Guy]

I never doubted you. Not for an instant.

[Justin Burk]

This is off the topic of Italian restauarants in Lower Westchester (and I think Scaramella's is representative of them in general - competent in the basics, but nothing spectacular), but on the original topic of the best restaurant in Yonkers, I would nominate Ya Hala, a Middle Eastern (Lebanese I think) place on Broadway about 2 miles north of the Bronx border. I'm not an expert on Middle Eastern, but their hummus & falafel is tasty and their grilled meats are very well done - the chicken in particular is very tender. Plus, even though it's in a sketchy area, it's not a hole in the wall; the dining room is OK to spend an hour in.

[Suvir Saran]

I would nominate Ya Hala, a Middle Eastern (Lebanese I think) place on Broadway about 2 miles north of the Bronx border.  I'm not an expert on Middle Eastern, but their hummus & falafel is tasty and their grilled meats are very well done - the chicken in particular is very tender.  Plus, even though it's in a sketchy area, it's not a hole in the wall; the dining room is OK to spend an hour in.

Ya Hala surely sounds promising.

Thanks for this great lead. Look forward to reading more of your posts.

Hummus and falafel if made well, are certainly two delicious dishes. And I also use them as a great way of rating a Middle Eastern restaurant. While both dishes are quite simple and common, not many restaurants seem to care to prepare them correctly.

[menton1]

Right by the Hastings train station, just 3/4 mile from the Yonkers northern border, along the Hudson River, is one of the best restaurants in the region: Buffet de la Gare. Everything here, the look, the food, the service, is first rate. Go there!! (It's one of our "special occasion" places!)

[Brad Trent]

Oohhhh, if only I had checked in earlier!!!

Fat Guy 'splained: "...So we needed a couple of hours of feeding that wouldn't take us far from Yonkers..."

Just a stone's throw (10 minutes, tops!) from Yonkers is Scarsdale, and il Cigno, a super Italian joint with a KILLER wine list. Steve, the owner, was featured in Wine Spectator a few years back and a number of us NYC Wine Geeks have done our best to help get rid of his older, dustier bottles!

BeeT's (I gotta pay more attention to this board...)