Dining preview: Casual, neighborhood restaurants are on tap this fall(11)
Myong Private Label Gourmet: At a 3,500-square-foot space once occupied by Q restaurant in Mount Kisco, chef-owner Myong Feiner is serving her healthy, Asian-influenced cuisine. Some highlights: Hudson Valley duck breast, braised short ribs, "Deconstructed Lobster Macaroni and Cheese" and Pacific Northwest wild salmon. The attractive restaurant, which seats 50, has an upscale, modern vibe with a bit of Asian influence. Paintings by chef Myong herself have been hung all around the well-decorated dining room, which offers a cozy atmosphere for patrons. But if you'd rather take your food to go, there's still a cafe section of the business that offers the healthy gourmet items that Myong is famous for. $$$. Asian. 487 Main St., Mount Kisco; 914-241-6333; www.plgourmet.com.
Nellie's Cafe: There are so many delicious — and interesting — aspects of the new Nellie's Cafe in Peekskill, it's hard to know which to choose. Owner Ginael Alexander — her grandmother called her Nellie for short — says the cafe is a dessert shop, where you can buy individual-sized desserts, cheesecakes, chocolate tarts, pound cakes and more, and she hope people will come in after dinner to enjoy dessert, or take some home.?But there's also the karaoke. Sing a song for $1 at the public machine in the front dining room, or rent a private room, decorated as comfortably as your own living room, to throw a karaoke party with friends. And, as a companion of sorts to the karaoke and the dessert, Alexander ties everything together with a delicious pairing: a champagne punch bowl. She'll mix champagne with juice and sorbet, the flavors of which changes depending on the season. $$. American. 1008 Main St. Peekskill. 914-930-7821.
Nemea Greek Taverna: The kids are all right. As in the sons of the owners behind Niko, 's Greek Taverna on Central Park Avenue in White Plains. Brothers George and Nick Kringas, shown left and right at right, who used to work side by side with their parents at Niko's, are now the proud partners (Nick's the manager, George is the chef) of their own piece of Greek paradise: the recently opened Neméa, named after the Greek region where they have family roots and where most of Greece's wine production originates. The brothers have formed KSXC Restaurant Group — together with the Skeadas family (formerly of Mighty Joe Young's), Demetri Xistris and Spiros Chagares (Artie's Steak and Seafood on City Island) — and completely renovated the former The Post Bar & Grill. The new décor includes exposed brick, subdued lighting, outdoor seating and a sophisticated but comfortable ambiance ideal for sipping the house wine and nibbling on pita bread. The menu is true to its Mediterranean origins with spanakopita (spinach pie), keftedakia (meatballs), souvlaki (chicken breast or pork loin skewered, then grilled) as well as delicious from-the-vine salads. There is also a wide selection of seafood, sandwiches and comfort classics. The restaurant supports farm to table and sustainable ingredients when possible. $$$. Greek. 599 E. Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck. 914-698-6600, www.nemeataverna.com.
