9 new restaurants to try this spring

A While we were hibernating during the long cold winter, some of the area's newest entrepreneurs were busy renovating run-down bars, painting old delis and bringing warehouses and bakeries back to life — all in the name of great food.

Spring has sprung, and so has a new season for dining out.

While we're still waiting for some of the flashiest places to open — The Moderne Barn in Armonk, owned by the Livanos family of Oceana fame (looks like late May); Johnnie's Pie on the waterfront in Rye, owned by John Ambrose of Seaside Johnnie's (probably mid-May); Bar Taco in Port Chester, a causal Mexican joint owned by the partners who have the Barcelona chain in Connecticut (also May) — we've already seen some great additions to the food scene.

There's a cafe with a Spanish accent in Nyack, and a bistro with Irish influences in Haverstraw. A gastropub in Peekskill; a fish shack in Irvington. You'll find new Greek food in Chester Heights, and new American in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Here's a look.

Birdsall House, Peekskill
Owners John Sharp and Tim Reinke put in a lot of elbow grease to get this old tavern — it used to be Connolly's — looking ship-shape, and it's paid off. Most of it feels Art Deco, with original (and gorgeous), deep red-brown mahogany bar and mahogany paneling. Three antique glass globe lights hang down over the bar from chains, the floor has black and white tiles, and there are booths along the east wall.

The place is comfortable and inviting in a very masculine and old-fashioned kind of way. You half-expect guys to walk in wearing trench coats and tipping their fedoras, and women to have their white gloves by their side.

Not to say this is a fancy place. Sharp and Reinke, along with their chef, Matt Hutchins, have found a way to convey the serious nature of the menu without getting all taken with the formalities. There's a big, juicy burger, made with local meat; a housemade charcuterie platter; a soft-cooked egg on top of a bowl of local polenta; and 20 (mostly local) craft beers on tap. They're hoping to open an outdoor beer garden this summer.

Juniper, Hastings-on-Hudson
Chef Alex Sze has great kitchen cred: he's worked at Michel Richard Citronelle in Georgetown and at Fiamma, Adour and 10 Downing, all in Manhattan. But he was ready to get out of the city, so he and his wife settled in Eastchester. Good for us: he opened Juniper, a gem of a restaurant in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Sze (pronounced Zee) calls the space, the former Sushi Express and EuroDeli before that, "quaint." It has an open kitchen, dark wood furniture, marble countertops and walls decorated with photos of vegetables from farmers markets the chef has been to.

For now, the cafe, which has 24 seats, is serving mostly lunch, such as a burger with roasted tomatoes, Gruyère and mustard aioli; and a butternut squash sandwich with onion marmalade and goat cheese. There are also salads and two daily soups.

For dinner, which he's serving only Thursday, Friday and Saturday, he cooks with influences from both France and Italy. A duck dish comes with a seared breast and a confitted leg, braised cabbage and sherry-glazed pearl onions with a spiced orange jus. Cauliflower veloute is made with brown butter, preserved lemons and capers. And grilled calamari is served with piquillo peppers and chorizo.

He also has baked goods, such as brownies and scones. And on the weekends, he serves brunch, with a menu of French toast, pancakes, quiche and other breakfast-y dishes. The restaurant is BYO.

Antoine McGuire's, Haverstraw
Antoine McGuire's Oyster and Ale House opened two weeks ago in the old Mardoff's Bakery building on Main Street in Haverstraw. It's a fun, kind of kooky concept, says chef Anthony Accomando, who owns the restaurant with Peter McGuire: Irish pub meets French bistro.

"It just sort of evolved," he says. "McGuire is Irish and I cook classic French, and so half kidding I said, Antoine McGuire's!" And it stuck. The concept is pub food, but with a French twist. "Within two steps you can go from Dublin to Marseille," laughs Accomando.

The concept is first reflected in the décor. There are red banquettes and candlelight (tres Francais) and a marble bar with rustic wood and an exposed brick wall (Irish, indeed). Anthony's grandfather's old wine kegs are behind the bar, and they used all the old Haverstraw brick as they could find, salvaged from previous renovations.

The Irish-French mix continues on the menu. A signature dish is called The Raw Deal, and it's, says Accomando, the "blue collar, roll-up-your-sleeves version of a seafood tower." It's oysters — West Coast, East Coast and Southern — clams, mussels and shrimp, served in a galvanized tin bucket.

A few other mixed dishes: Le Petit Dirty Water Hot Dogs, which are small franks served in lion's head crock filled with sauerkraut; Lump Crab Meat Refrigerator Cake, which is crab and lemon-toasted panko with fresh herbs, served in a mold; Corned Beef Gratin, which comes with sliced potatoes, bechamel and Gruyère; Le Shepherd's Pie, which is red wine-braised lamb topped with a puff pastry crust; a Hanger Steak Sandwich; Fish and Pommes Frites; and Antoine McGuire's Burger, which is served on a challah roll with brie, caramelized shallots, lardons and a port wine glaze.

The wine list is designated by price: $25/$35/$45; and the beer list is more like a wine list, with descriptions of the tastes and origin of the beer. (There's a lot of New York beer, too.)

The restaurant is open daily for dinner, and open for lunch on the weekends. It's also serving a late-night menu between 10 p.m. and midnight. Accomando says he encourages late diners and industry people to stop by for a "bistro pubby kid of warm meal, late night."

Cafe Barcel, Nyack
A bright new spot in the Nyack dining scene has opened on Main Street, in the spot where Change used to be. There is a wall of windows that open to the street, floors made of dark wood, walnut tables and a Jacobean wood bar.

If you remember Change (and before it, Hunter's), you won't recognize the place. The tiled bar is gone, and a new bar has been installed to the right when you walk in. The fireplace is gone as well. And those new windows will really open the restaurant up to the outside in summer.

The menu is New American with Spanish and Latin influences — and entrees cost $20 or less. For example, the CB Burger is $12 and comes on brioche with Comte cheese with roasted sweet onion and adobo fries. The menu changes often, but one dish that's been on since the beginning is an outrageously good Pan-Seared Mozzarella Speidini with White Anchovy and Caper Sauce. It's a plate of little toasts — crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside — with melted mozzarella as a little present inside. The contrast from the briny sauce makes this a grilled cheese that's all grown up.

Kevin Reilly, the chef, was most recently the executive chef at The Water Club in Manhattan. Before that he was the tournant — or relief — chef at Union Square Café and sous chef and executive chef at Zoe in SoHo. Reilly also was chef de cuisine at The China Grill and executive chef at The Silver Leaf Tavern.

Nidia Alexander, the owner, lives in Grand View. She is of Puerto Rican and Spanish descent and left the corporate world to open the restaurant. The name comes from the Spanish city of Barcelona and the Puerto Rican town of Barceloneta, where Alexander's family once lived.

Elia Taverna, Eastchester
Pale olive-green walls, olive trees from Greece and olive stencils on the windows: Elia means olive in Greek, and owner Rui Cunha and his brother-in-law, chef Michalaki Sarris, are taking that as a license for creativity in décor at the new Elia Taverna in the Chester Heights section of Eastchester.

The restaurant, which seats 55, used to be Babbone and Spaghetti Western (and La Lanterna before that). There are doors that open to the sidewalk, and, soon, custom-made tapestries, too, which will make for a comfortable, inviting place to order a quick gyro sandwich or enjoy a leisurely meal with a whole grilled fish as its centerpiece.

As Cunha puts it "people can dictate what they want to pay when they come in here." Expect lots of appetizers and small plates, everything from octopus to tzatziki, gyros and souvlaki, and a rotating list of whole fish, including branzino, red snapper, red mullet, dorado, sardines and fangri, a fish Sarris says is from New Zealand. Sarris used to cook at Stamna Taverna in Bloomfield, N.J., and before that, he spent six years at Telly's Taverna and Dimitri's Seafood Restaurant, both in Astoria.

Orissa, Dobbs Ferry
Orissa, a sleek, contemporary Indian bistro with minimalist décor, opened over the winter in a former insurance office in downtown Dobbs Ferry.

Owners Niall Cain and Cynthia Caracta (he's an architect; she's a pharmaceutical researcher) have completely renovated the space. There are bamboo walls, luxurious fabric on the banquettes and thoughtful details like good lighting and nice flowers. Bottles of wine are displayed in lighted shadow boxes built into the walls.

The menu has both traditional Indian dishes and classic Western dishes flavored by Indian influences. A steak is rubbed with Indian spices, lamb is infused with fennel and served with tomato chutney, and there's a bison burger on the lunch menu. There's also paella, tamarind shrimp, and familiar dishes such as chicken tikka masala. The wine list has 35 to 40 wines from around the world, including India, and 8 to 10 of them are served by the glass.

There's also a boutique within the restaurant. Small decorative, food-related items such as cork stoppers, napkin holders and trays imported from India are for sale.

Day Boat Cafe, Irvington
A New England fish shack has opened in the spot where One and Innovo used to be at the foot of Main Street in Irvington.

The restaurant, which is in the old Lord and Burnham warehouses by the river, still has the original wood ceilings and beams of the building, but otherwise has been completely renovated. It's now casual, friendly and modern, with white plank floors and tile and lots of grey and black accents. The wait staff will wear black polo shirts and black Converse sneakers. There are nautical lights at the bar and red oars hanging from the ceiling in the dining room, but otherwise the restaurant isn't theme-parky.

The signature dish is a lobster roll and French fries. The menu will also include steamed lobster, lobster pot pie, crab cakes, steamed mussels and a raw bar with oysters and clams by the piece. There will also be whole fish, roasted and grilled.

"We're trying to stick with locally sourced stuff," says chef-owner John Durkin, who owns the restaurant with Gus Panopoulos; Vas and Jennifer Mylonas, who own Frankie & Johnnie's in Rye; and Russ Panopoulos, owner of Frankie and Johnnie's in Manhattan. And by that he means tuna from Montauk, Long Island wild bass and other local fish. Durkin also owned the Day Boat Cafe in Roslyn, Long Island. The restaurant was lost to a fire, but after the partners open in Irvington, they will rebuild.

Gus Panopoulos says during the renovations, the partners also ripped up the floor to install a draft beer system at the bar.

Commissary, Tappan
Dan Foti, the man behind the former Baker's Wife in Tappan,has opened Commissary, a New American restaurant, in the spot where Village Grill used to be in Tappan. The restaurant hasn't changed much — there are still deep orange walls, white tablecloths and wooden chairs. With floral centerpieces on the table, lace curtains in the window and a delicate design of ivy with peach flowers around the rim of the dinner plates, the place feels feminine, like a tearoom or a parlor.

The seasonal contemporary American menu belies the setting. It's creative, with bold flavors, and uses lots of locally sourced ingredients. And the chef pays attention to a good balance of flavor and texture. A few dishes appearing on the spring menu include lamb shank with braised white beans and gremolata; tagliatelle pasta with chanterelles, asparagus and thyme; seared Atlantic snapper with caramelized fennel and orange segments; and marinated hanger steak with braised chard and pomme frites.

Viru, Yonkers
Upscale Peruvian has come to the former Fuji Buffet on Central Avenue in Yonkers. Owner Lukasz Przybylek — he's Polish, and his wife is Peruvian — have transformed the space into an inviting respite with orange-yellow walls, flickering candles and Peruvian décor, including textiles in different patterns and colors and shelves displaying handmade, decorative vases.

The menu has traditional Peruvian dishes such as ceviche (there are between five and seven types daily) and pollo a la brasa (roast chicken), but focuses mainly on seafood. A signature dish is Parihuela Viru, a bouillabaisse -like fish soup with chili and tomatoes. There's also a grilled lobster with seafood and vegetables, served with Cusco corn, a variety not grown in North America. Appetizers include Parmesan clams, and Causa Solterito, a stuffed mashed potato cake colored pink and infused with shrimp, octopus or crab. Adventurous eaters may want to try Anticucho de Curazon de Pollo Criollo, which are brochettes of spicy chicken hearts served with grilled yucca, Cusco corn and peanut sauce.

Przybylek says he opened the restaurant because there wasn't a Peruvian option in the immediate area. "I know there's some in Port Chester," he says. "But we wanted to bring the experience to a broader population."