Restaurant North

I took the train up to Armonk last month to try out Restaurant North. Executive Chef at North Eric Gabrynowicz started out working at Gramercy Tavern and grew up in the Union Square hospitality business so I was pretty excited to see how his flavors translated to his own place. This small little restaurant has a lively but homey feeling right when you walk in the door. From the blue and white checkered shirts on the wait staff to the crip white linen tables I knew we would be in for a treat and it started with the bread basket.

(Sorry the pictures aren't the best- it was dark in there).  Small loaves of pumpernickel bread arrived to our table piping hot with some seriously delicious apple butter on the side. My first thought- we’re not in the city anymore. This beginning really made me feel like I was out in the country enjoying a farm to table dinner. Perfect presentation and flavors going on here. For my appetizer I began with the Creekstone Farms Beef Carpacchio.

I’ve had a lot of carpacchio’s in my life but none quite as flavorful as this. Little pieces of white anchovy, garlic and parmiagianno studded the top and brought a nice spin to the beef. My friend ordered the Tuna Tartare appetizer and this was amazing as well.

The ribbons of tuna were perfect but the addition of avocado and yuzu really brought this to a whole new level. This appetizer was so big I would probably split it with someone if I came again. Onto entrees I ordered the Scallops with Celery Root, Jerusalem Artichokes and Coco Butter.

Unfortunately this dish didn’t fare quite as well as the appetizers. The scallops were slightly overcooked and I didn’t like the hard little pieces of cauliflower and brussels sprout on the plate. The textures were all off for me on this. A nice creamy mashed potato or polenta would have made a little more sense.

I didn’t have very much of the Veal Cheek entrée but it was tasty. For some reason it seemed a lot lighter than veal cheeks I’ve had in the past which is nice since they usually are so heavy and rich. Onto desserts- “North’s Famous Skillets”.

We got two- one Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese -Pecan Whipped frosting and one Snickerdoodle with Jane’s Ginger Ice Cream. What’s not to love about these? Cookies and cake baked hot right in the skillet with crispy warm edges and some cooling cream on top. It was a loving way to end the meal.  But wait- a little treat for the next morning!

So although my entrée wasn’t the best overall I really enjoyed North. The service was incredibly friendly and it was great to see Chef Eric working away and even bringing some dishes out of the kitchen himself. Beware that even those it's outside the city these are still city prices.  With a bottle of wine and two coffees it ended up being right around $100 each.  Certainly not cheap but definitely delicious. North is the worth the train ride for sure.

Restaurant North