La Panetiere

The time commitments of the last weeks of school kept Chrissie and me in since the middle of June. We decided to go somewhere celebratory to mark the end of a long year and the beginning of what will hopefully be a rejuvenating summer. Chrissie, armed with her Zagat and a desire to try local fine dining, decided it was time to visit La Panetiere in Rye. I called to make reservations and chose six when offered that or nine o'clock.

La Panetiere is located on a tremendous piece of property by the water on Milton Avenue. We arrived ten minutes early and encountered one of the few missteps of the evening when the valet parking staff was nowhere to be found. I waited for a few minutes, watching the kitchen staff play soccer in the lower lot, before I parked my own car. I understand we were a few minutes early, but I was unsettled to find the staff putting on their ties and jackets as we entered the restaurant. A valet ran to us and claimed he had to park my car. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be annoyed when I told him that would no longer be necessary. I did not mind taking the early reservation, but I did mind not having the restaurant ready for our arrival.

The interior of the restaurant is very classic. I commented to Chrissie that it seems like a more feminine version of La Cremaillere. They began our meal with bread sticks presented in a Champagne flute. These were fun because they looked to be crunchy, but were in fact flaky and soft. We ordered drinks and slowly other couples made their way in. The waiter brought menus over after letting us linger over drinks for half an hour. I normally enjoy a long cocktail hour, but this made me wonder why I was led to such an early reservation.

The menu has three options. Meals can either be ordered as two or three course dinners or as a six course tasting menu. Chrissie and I, in the spirit of celebration, went with the tasting menu. I ordered mine with the wine pairing.

The meal began with a three shots of chilled soup. From left to right on a platter were a gazpacho, which was well balanced and very good, a cantaloupe soup, which was sweet and fresh, and a pea (I believe it was pea) that we both found bland.

As we had our soups we encountered the second misstep of the evening. We had been the first table seated. We made our reservation more than a week in advance. We arrived at the designated time for our reservation. With all of this in mind, I can't comprehend why we were seated adjacent to both tables of a high school graduation dinner. Two six tops of diners came to celebrate a young man's completion of school and acceptance to Princeton. They were not unruly or rude, but were a party of thirteen split between two tables that happened to both be next to mine. Had we arrived late and it had been the only table in the restaurant I could have overlooked the inter-table conversation and the occasional rump in my face as celebrators mingled in the early minutes of their party, but we were placed where no couple enjoying a romantic meal should have to be seated.

The party eventually settled into two distinct tables and the food that followed helped me forget about the slight, intended or not, that the maitre de had administered. A plate of foie gras and tuna came out that was nearly perfect. The sear on both the fish and the meat was excellently accomplished and the contrast in textures and flavors of the two principal components reset my appetite and appreciation for the restaurant. Chrissie, our resident foie gras expert, held this presentation in very high esteem.

The next dish was a beautiful soft shell crab. Normally I am not much of a fan of the soft shells. I find them more of a curiosity than a delicacy. These crabs were the perfect size to exploit the slight resistance the molted shell gives to the teeth. Barely bigger in body than a half dollar, the single crab on the plate was accompanied by asparagus and a puree whose origins I cannot recall.

A refresher course of passion fruit soup and sorbet was served to cleanse the palate before the main courses, two duck dishes in succession, one a confit of leg and the other a breast, were brought out. The breast was presented first with perfect skin and meat that was cooked just past medium rare and was incredibly succulent. I found myself very impressed by the kitchen's ability to put out perfect sears and crispy skins. The confit that followed was equally impressive. Chrissie and I both thought we would have rather seen the two dishes paired on a plate and followed by a meat course, but we understood what the chef was trying to expose in his back to back duck dishes.

To conclude our meal we both had the souffle. I ordered the Grand Marnier and Chrissie had the chocolate. Both were delicious, perfectly cooked, and incredibly decadent in both flavor and size.

High Points-

• Outstanding food
• Leisurely pace
• Three menu options offer a wide variety of meals
• Perfect searing, browning, and internal temperatures

Low Points-

• No couple, or table for that matter, should be forced to sit in such proximity to a large party when out for a fine dining dinner
• The front of the house must be ready to accept patrons at five to six if they have a been given a six o'clock reservation
• I found our waiter condescending. We were clearly the youngest couple in the restaurant and his job is to explain the menu, but he began the evening by gesticulating and using monosyllabic words to explain both a crepe and a souffle before he settled down. I didn't find this endearing.

Will we go back? We will go back. Despite the few flaws in the front of the house, I found this meal to be one of the best prepared I've had in Westchester. In fact, had we not been seated in a triangle configuration with the two tables from the graduation party I probably would have overlooked parking my own car and the random ramblings of a waiter who might have explained what a duck is had I given him license. I think we will definitely try La Panetiere again in the fall or winter to see what the kitchen does with heartier fare.

La Panetiere is located at:
530 Milton Road
Rye, New York 10580

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QuickBites- June

This month I decided to set a goal for our dining. I wanted to eat out only at neighborhood establishments that promise interesting food. The one objective condition was that the most expensive item on the regular menu could not cost more than thirty dollars. Thinking about the cost of of gas and the eventuality of a down payment for a house, I knew we could choose restaurants that offered a delicious compromise between pub/chain food and those establishments that promise a near fine dining experience.


While our latest experiment has been going on, we at A Man Has to Eat have been out twice to places we frequent with family. Enjoy these QuickBites.

Meson Los Espanoles

My aunt and uncle vacation in Spain every year and frequently gravitate to the Spanish culture and cuisine. Since Solera closed the doors to its Irvington location, they have been on a quixotic endeavor to find a replacement in Westchester. Very few establishments that promise authentic Spanish food have been left untested.

Meson Los Espanoles, located on Post Road in White Plains across from the Tango Grill, is one they have found that consistently pleases. While neither as sophisticated nor as progressive as Solera, Meson Los Espanoles offers a traditional Spanish menu in an atmosphere that is conducive to conversation and enjoyment of food (read: Aunt Nancy and Uncle John don't like eating in a place that is too crowded or loud).

Everytime we go someone orders, without fail, the pulpo a la Gallega and the boquerones con pimientos. The pulpo are served thickly sliced over potatoes with olive oil. The boquerones are bleached herring (anchovies) cured in vinegar. Both are a perfect start to a fulfilling meal.

Most of the dishes are grilled or served in a cazuela. The best way to summarize Meson Los Espanoles is as a traditional restaurant that reminds me most of coastal Spanish cooking (though their menu does certainly branch into other Spanish traditions). It doesn't offer the promise of cutting edge Spanish cuisine, but comfortably puts out dishes that replicate the foundation upon which those culinary leaps were built.

Encore

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has been reading this blog that my father asked to go to Encore for his Father's Day dinner. I'd been involved in a discussion thread on the trisate board at Chowhound recently whose focus was on places to eat in Larchmont and Mamaroneck. The usual suspects, deservedly so, all came up, but no one mentioned Encore. I threw this gem into the mix and the only person who engaged me wrote about how Le Provencal is better. My take is that Le Provencal and Encore are two very different restaurants. In my opinion, Encore defines bistro dining. That they execute it well only makes me love them more.

Last night's meal was one of the best yet. At our previous visit they were introducing new menu items, one of which was a whole baked snapper. It was just a little under done last time, but I wrote I expected it to be much better when the kitchen had a chance to get used to it. I was correct. The fish was perfectly cooked and the pineapple garnish provided a wonderful acid. Balancing out the dish was a hint of heat that I do not recall last time.

I started my meal with the grilled calamari. My mother enjoyed it last time and wanted to share the dish with me. I agreed because she is my mother and because I had grilled calamari less than a week ago at Solmar and I wanted to compare the two while the flavors and textures were still fresh on the tooth and palate. I'm not sure which flavors I liked more. The Encore plate employs a tremendous amount of garlic in a rich sauce while the Solmar plate utilizes oil and sun dried tomatoes. On Encore's side is the fact that my dish came out fresh from the oven. One of my only complaints about Solmar was my lukewarm appetizer.

Chrissie and my father split, as they usually do, a dozen escargots. I would never order this, but I enjoy having bites of theirs, especially dips of baguette into the buttery cells of the cast iron plate. I'm of the opinion that enough butter and garlic on anything will taste good.

A more pleasant surprise than doneness of my fish was the inclusion and execution of quail as a nightly special on a Monday. Both my parents ordered this dish last night and both of their birds were perfectly cooked. I would have ordered it myself had I not been on a mission to re-evaluate the snapper.

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Solmar

On Thursday we had to go to an eight o'clock ceremony in Tarrytown so we decided to try Solmar, the new Portuguese/Brazilian restaurant. Solmar fits our latest search for neighborhood dining that is affordable and interesting. Located across the street from the Tarrytown Music Hall and next door to Chiboust, Solmar offers a menu that never breaks twenty five dollars.

The only disappointment of the evening was that they do not yet have a liquor license. I learned this the hard way when I ordered a cocktail and was met with an apologetic denial. After ordering soft drinks and waters we took a look at the menu. As we ate warm, crusty bread and contemplated dishes, a tray of cheese and olives were brought to the table.

My mother-in-law had a portobello mushrooms with hearts of palm. She was pleased to discover that it was a warm appetizer, sauteed in garlic and oil. Chrissie had codfish fritters that were served over a small salad. I ordered grilled calamari that were prepared with minced sun dried tomatoes. I discovered that I rather enjoy my sun dried tomatoes finely chopped. It adds the essential flavor and gives an interesting texture, but avoids the overpowering bite I sometimes feel sun dried tomatoes add to a dish when not properly balanced. So far all of the portions were generous and the food was good. The surprise appetizer of the evening was my father-in-law's. His shrimp and mussel soup was excellent and by far the best tasting dish at the table. The perfect amount of spice, acid, and ocean were blended in this tomato based soup. I usually don't order soup, but each time Larry does I enjoy his. I may have to start doing so more often.

Chrissie ordered the feijoada completa for her main course which, according to the menu, is Brazil's national dish. Before the table side presentation of the her pork, sausage, and black bean stew, a tray of accompaniments arrived that included sauteed collard greens, vinaigrette, some sort of grain meal (I wasn't paying close enough attention), and a citrus spread. The stew was delivered to the table in clay pot from which the waiter served Chrissie's initial portion. The covered pot was left table side to keep the second portion warm. Chrissie really liked the dish.

My mother-in-law had the special of the evening, a stuffed chicken. I found that I liked her dish the best. It had an incredible flavor that I was surprised by because it did not look or sound as interesting as it tasted.

I was pleased to find Solmar has grilled sardines as a regular item on their menu. When we went to Spain a few years ago I fell in love with sardines. The restaurant at the beach we went to had a grill set up in the back and the duties of grill tender and parking lot attendant were taken on by a gifted cook who grilled his sardines on stakes standing almost perpendicular to the coals. Five large fish were served with this dish. I'm not sure if the serving size was tremendous or if the lack of alcohol allowed my body to better tell me I'd been sated, but I could not finish the plate.

I usually don't take environmental considerations into mind when eating out, but I wish more places would offer fish lower on the food chain like sardines. So many of the big fish that restaurants serve are being over fished or are farmed and a pale imitation of the wild variation. I imagine it will take the typical American diner some time before he is comfortable with whole fish on his plate that he must fillet to enjoy. When this practice becomes more acceptable a new spectrum of aquatic bounty awaits.

The stuffed sole my father-in-law had was very well executed. I'm not a fan of stuffed sole. I find the stuffing, lemon, and butter make the fish an afterthought. I could tell his dish was properly made, it just wasn't the version that turns me into the guy who orders it next time.

High Points-

• interesting menu
• very fair pricing
• grilled sardines and octopus show that they are not looking to dumb down their cuisine
• ethnic, neighborhood dining that promises a nice meal and does not pretend to be something greater than it is.

Low Points-

• no liquor license (but one is in the works)

Will we go back? We will definitely go back. When Chrissie and I were first dating we would go to Caravela and Aquario all the time. Solmar offers a more casual alternative for the flavors that are a foundation of our relationship. Chrissie was the most excited I've seen her about a restaurant in a while. Since Thursday she has been raving about the food, service, and philosophy of Solmar. Next time we're going to a show at the Music Hall, Solmar will be a top contender for pre-theater dining.

Solmar is located at:
12 Main Street
Tarrytown, New York 10591

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