Tacos, ice cream and lots of newly opened restaurants

Jeanne Muchnick, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·4 min read

"Some of the best memories are made in flip-flops." — Kellie Elmore

How much are you willing to pay for a meal? The answer may (or may not) surprise you in my reporting on how skyrocketing inflation is affecting both restaurant owners and diners. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

A lot of diners said they're now looking for deals, such as Taco Tuesdays or Wine Wednesdays. You can add Restaurant Weeks to that list. Mount Kisco and New York City are both starting theirs July 18 (with varying discounts). Suffern will host its version (details still being ironed out) August 14 to 18 and August 21 to August 25.

Taco time

I've been eating out a lot lately. I'm a "summer gal" who loves warm weather and dining alfresco so this is my time. Lately, I've been chowing down on tacos in the spirit of research. Hopefully you voted in our Westchester taco poll. I was bombarded when I asked readers last week about their favorites. That list was then culled down to six finalists. In the end, Westchester Taco Grill in New Rochelle won with 67% of the vote. Taqueria La Frontera in White Plains came in second.

What food poll should we do next? I'm open to suggestions so email me at JRMuchnick@gannett.com.

What's next

As for what I'm eating next: Here's a hint. National Ice Cream Day is July 17 — and I've got a long list of places to go (including the one-year celebration of Ice Cream Social in White Plains Saturday) so look for a lohud story online Friday.

I'm also excited about all the new restaurants that have recently opened in Westchester and Rockland. Reilly's is a new fave in Piermont where Bernie Reilly gives everyone who wants one a welcome shot of Roe & Co. Irish Whiskey from Dublin (he's from County Galway). This is a family-run business — owner Anne Reilly has owned Connolly's in New York City (there are two locations) since 1992 and now has her adult kids involved (as well as her aforementioned husband). Diners can expect true Irish hospitality where "you come as a stranger, leave as a friend," (direct quote from Anne Reilly).

Another place I've been and plan to go back to is American Prime in Rye Bridge where co-owner Edi Hima has been in the hospitality business for more than 25 years, both with (now closed) Nino's in South Salem and Blackstones Steakhouses in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Aside from the excellent steak and service, it was fun to see Hima's 1976 Lincoln parked outside (and yes I had to pose for a photo!). I'm also eagerly awaiting the opening of both Ottos' Full Service in Piermont, a former gas station turned restaurant and Freddys' in Pleasantville which features elevated comfort food inspired from Chef Matt Safarowic's Italian and Jewish heritage (I'm hoping his matzah ball soup is on the menu and hint, hint, Chef. I'd also love brisket!).

Know of something new coming to your neighborhood (or something closing)? Keep me posted.

Notable Bites

(Things I ate — and loved — this week)

  • New York strip steak at American Prime in Rye Brook. I love everything here, from the service, to the decor, to the menu selection. My steak was cooked to perfect and was so filling, I took half home.

  • Branzino with a glass of Wölffer Estate rosé at Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry. I also splurged and had the ice cream sundae. The view alone makes you want to linger, especially on a warm summer night. Stay, if you can, for the sunset as from this perch (and with wine in your hand), it's spectacular.

  • Roasted codfish with English peas, fava beans and lobster bisque and green bean tempura with togarashi and wasabi at Town House in New Rochelle. I also loved my husband's burger which was topped with port jus (I had to steal a bite!). The wine list is also spectacular — and fun. Mostly Portuguese and Spanish wines I'd never heard of before. I tried a wine called Humus (admittedly because I love hummus and thought it sounded cool).

  • Prosciutto pizza, fish tacos and mini lamb chops with chimichurri at Reilly's Public House in Piermont. I also love the branded beer glasses and the flight of Irish beers that include Guinness stout, Smithwick's red ale, Harp lager and Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale.

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Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @lohud_food or via the lohudfood newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Tacos, ice cream and new restaurants