Antipasti

Chrissie wanted to go and I didn't. Chrissie needed to complete her Westchester wine bar trifecta. I would have been happy going back to Mima if what she wanted was a restaurant that caters to wine drinkers. Chrissie's opinion is infinitely more important than mine when making reservations so we called for an early Saturday reservation because I'd read that the dining room packs up very quickly at the prime seating hour.

I'd been apprehensive to go to Antipasti because I've seen both very positive and very negative reviews about their food. It appeared to me that Antipasti was going to be a love it or hate establishment.

We arrived early for our six thirty reservation and were greeted by a flock of valets to park our car. Antipasti is located on the business end of North Broadway in White Plains, making the valet parking a necessity. Necessity aside, it is still convenient and a nice touch.

Entering the restaurant you are greeted by a design scheme that is very metropolitan. Red accent lights illuminate an exciting bar. On the opposite side is an antipasto bar with its variety of dishes on display. A short stairway to the dining room rises next to a small glass room with hanging cured meats and cheeses on display. Chrissie commented that it would not have looked out of place in Manhattan. I replied that this is the changing face of a White Plains. Not only is White Plains the cosmopolitan city center of Westchester, it is where I was raised and I find the transformation over the last fifteen years incredible.

We were greeted by a hostess who told us they were setting our table and invited us to sit at the bar. There was no one setting our table. She was clearly directing us to the bar in order to get us to start drinking. If only she had known that is what we intended to do she could have asked us if we'd like to begin our evening at the bar instead of employing upsell subterfuge.

The bar and the bartender were easily highlights of the evening. He not only mixed a nice martini, but he went through the entire performance of icing the glass and filling it with cold water in preparation for the cocktail. Chrissie's excellent glass of Californian house Chardonay was served in a quartino decanter. The bartender poured small servings into her glass and attentively refreshed when needed. We made sure to pay our tab at the bar to ensure he got his fair portion of the tip.

The dining room was very large. We were seated at a four top close to the entrance and more than one other couple noted the size upon entering. We weren't sure if we were going to order in our regular progression or vary it up and have a meal of small plates. We wound up going an entirely different route than either of us expected. I had an appetizer, Chrissie had two antipasto dishes, and we both ordered pasta, something that rarely occurs when we are out to eat. I think we were both frightened by the prices of the regular entrees. The menu only had two dishes under thirty dollars. The pasta decision was our way of testing the waters.

I began my meal with the ragu of grilled polpo and manila clams. The pasta and the broth were outstanding. The polpo was acceptable. The octopus was almost at the correct texture, but didn't add much to the dish. My suggestion, if cooking it properly is too difficult for the kitchen, is to leave it out of the dish. As a sixteen dollar appetizer, almost the cost of a full entree, I want my pulpo to be the highlight of a dish, not a curiosity for the uninitiated or a price inflater for the menu. That said, the rest of the dish was very successful and I enjoyed the textures and flavors of everything else in the dish very much.

Chrissie's small antipasto dishes arrived in the traditional fashion before my appetizer. She ordered the fried rice balls and the bruschetta del giorno. Chrissie raved about the bruschetta and how fresh the flavors were. I agreed. We both found the rice balls to be very bland. The tomato sauce they were served with did little to enhance the flavor and was the only component that could be tasted when employed.

Overall, we were so far enjoying the food. More impressive to me was how efficient and attentive the waitstaff was. I ordered a bottle of Malbec from the by the glass section of the wine menu. When the maitre de/sommelier came to open it he said, "I see you've ordered a bottle of our Malbec." When I answered that you've got love Argentina right now for wine value he made me feel informed rather than cheap.

I liked the wine list. It has many choices by the glass, covers the globe, and hits price points, with a varied selection, between thirty and three hundred. Our Malbec was tasty, affordable, and went nicely with what we were eating.

For pasta entrees I ordered the saffron mafalda and Chrissie had the egg garganelli. The pastas were both executed very nicely. Chrissie really liked the seasoning on her dish, which means others might find it a little salty. My dish was very earthy and lacked the vibrant flavor profiles of my appetizer. It was still tasty, but it did not inspire plate cleaning. The slow cooked duck in my pasta dish could have been any meat, but I still enjoyed it.

The portions were the perfect size for eating, but small for pasta dishes that break the twenty dollar price point. I would have liked to have some to take home.

For dessert we employed the maitre de again to help us select three chesses. He wanted to help, but I don't think he knew the cheeses well because he came armed with a prewritten selection instead of taking us through the various cheeses on the menu. I don't fault him for that at all. At least he had the foresight to ask someone for advice before coming to the table. We'd told him when he opened our wine that we'd be asking for his help with cheese at the end of our meal.

High points-

• Service that matches the price point. The waitstaff was ever present, but never in the annoying way where they come by every few minutes asking how everything is. If something needed to be done, it was done.
  
• Ultra modern bar makes you feel like you've left the suburbs for a moment.
• The menu offers a tremendous amount of dining flexibility
• Ingredients all tasted very fresh
• Wine list offers a nice mix of affordable wines for those who don't want to spend one hundred dollars on a bottle

Low Points-

• Pricing that matches the upscale flavor of the new downtown White Plains

Will we go back? I doubt we will return to Antipasti. It isn't that anything was bad. It is more that the value ratio was off. While I wasn't offended leaving my two hundred dollars at the table, I felt it could have been better spent somewhere else. If you like modern takes on traditional Italian cooking, you are into trying new wines, and you feel at home in a swanky establishment, then Antipasti might be a great choice for a night out. We at A Man Has to Eat don't subscribe to those criteria strongly enough to go back.

Antipasti is located at:
1 North Broadway
White Plains, New York 10601