Café Mirage-a tasty dining oasis in Port Chester

Café Mirage is a small restaurant located on the border of Connecticut and New York along the bank of the Byram River. This former garage doesn’t look like much from the outside but inside is warm and welcoming thanks to friendly staff and cheery Tuscan yellow walls. Décor isn’t fancy—a few lovely prints, simple tables and chairs, and a wall lined with refrigerator cases housing an impressive and tasteful beer selection. The pleasant view of the little river makes you forget you’re right off busy Route 1 (Post Road) heading from Port Chester to Greenwich. And since Café Mirage is open until midnight, it’s a great alternative to diner food if you’re in the mood for a late bite.

We stopped in for a quick Friday lunch and found an affordable, interesting menu featuring a mix of seafood (mussels, fresh oysters, fish and chips, conch fritters), comforting burgers and sandwiches, and varied entrees including barley risotto, Coconut Curry Shrimp over soba noodles, Sesame Crusted Seared Yellow fin Tuna. The dinner menu offers more options and even includes an exotic sounding ostrich dish.

The $4 soup sampler was a treat—a trio of small cups of different hearty soups—the highlight being scrumptious lobster bisque. The smoked duck & goat cheese quesadilla with Chipotle dipping sauce ($7) was very tasty and had a nice kick and was served on a bed of dressed mixes greens. The mixed green salad with jerk chicken (large portion salads are served with a choice of sliced steak, seared shrimp, Jerk chicken) was also tasty, nicely portioned, and served in a rustic wood bowl. Service was quick and friendly and we look forward to going back to try to explore the dinner menu.

531 North Main Street
Port Chester, NY 10573
Phone 914-937-3497

Open noon to midnight Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays.

http://www.cafemirageny.com/intro.htm

Hunan Village, Yonkers, NY

Consistently rated best Chinese restaurant in Westchester by the likes of Zagat, NY Times etc. and it's true. Absolutely the best in the area with an inventive, unique menu presented in an elegant style not usually associated with Chinese restaurants. Unfortunately, the presentation includes the French tradition of expensive small portions on large plates, so dinner for four can get a little pricey. Decor is upscale and service is top-notch. Highly recommended.



P.S. Hunan Village has taken over the space in Hartsdale of the now defunct K Fung, haven't tried that location yet.

Malabar Hill Elmsford,NY

Vindaloo Vindication
After a two year hiatus from this Indian eatery-reason:my friend found two live roaches in his nan-I was able to overcome my reservations(pun) and give this place another try. The new management has made great improvements to the decor and the new menu was inventive and enticing. They also have interesting vegetarian selections, and vegan choices which don't use ghee. The spicy Chicken Vindaloo and the Tandoori basket were both great, with none of the Indian food hangover typical of so many places. A full page beer menu includes choices from Belgium, Germany, and some interesting choices from Asia. I tried the Indian Taj Mahal, a good pilsener which was able to calm the gentle fire unfolding from the Vindaloo. Service was excellent as well.

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

Some excellent Hudson Valley restaurants are participating in "Hudson Valley Restaurant Week", which runs from March 9th through the 21st (which is more than a week, I'm confused.)

During the 12-day celebration, participating restaurants are serving up three-course prix-fixe lunches for $16.09 and/or three-course dinners for $26.09 Sunday through Friday. Beverages, tax and gratuity are additional.

Some of my favorites, like Sonora, Pacifico, X20, Restaurant X and Equus are on the list. This is a good chance to sample some high-end eats for less $.

For more info, go to www.hudsonvalleyrestaurantweek.com

More About Antipasti

The beautiful stone and marble decor made it very difficult to hear and engage in conversation, even with the person sitting right next to you.

When we asked our group how long this restaurant has been open, one of our group said: "Too long."

Antipasti, White Plains, NY

A consumer could be forgiven for having high expectations of a restaurant with entrees priced above $40 and wines costing four figures. But at Antipasti, the experience didn’t add up to the price tag.

Service was so-so from the get-go. Four members of our party of seven entered from the plaza side and wandered through the restaurant looking for the rest of the group. No one approached to ask if they could help us. Once we found our table in the chilly dining room, we sat for a long time without menus. Though there were dishes of olive oil on the table (one of them surrounded by drips on the tablecloth) it took several requests before we got any bread to go with it.

The size of the table presented a problem for the servers. One guy jostled between the chairs to deliver slices of bread from a massive basket, straining to reach the far side. Another dragged his sleeve through the cheese garnishing a salad while stretching to refill water glasses.

Two of us ordered the daily special. Ten minutes later the waitress came back to say she’d forgotten that they were out of it. When the food arrived it was barely warm and not particularly flavorful.

Antipasti even had a problem getting a simple cup of tea right. The tea selection was presented in a wooden box that was far more attractive then the mundane types of teabags it contained. The half-full cup of tepid water arrived with a nice-looking chocolate biscotti on the side. When I requested hotter water, the dish was returned biscotti-less. Eventually I was able to get the server’s attention to ask for a replacement. She brought two, but by the time they arrived the tea was cold again.

It’s a gorgeous space, with soaring ceilings and an abundance of stone, wood and marble. It would make a fabulous gallery or designer’s atelier, but the so-so food and service keep it from being much of a restaurant.

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