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Hi,
I've been lurking for a while and have found this site incredibly informative but wanted to ask a question I haven't found an answer to. My husband and I have been sort of exploring the idea of moving to the 'burbs (we're in Brooklyn) and have ventured out to Westchester as well as North Jersey several times over the past few months. We've been to the river towns, as well as Larchmont and Mamaroneck. A few weeks ago, we tried to find lunch/brunch in Irvington. It was Sunday, the town seemed empty, all the waterfront restaurants were closed, one little cafe open in town was nearly empty too. On a different weekend, in Mamaroneck (which, compared to the river towns was absolutely bustling), we stopped by a highly recommended French place for lunch. There were 3 other families/groups there and we were by far the youngest and the only ones with kids. Same thing in Montclair, we stopped by for dinner on a Friday night, again, the place was nearly empty. I realize that there are just not as many people in the suburbs relative to Brooklyn but is that a local cultural difference we're not aware of? Do people just not go out to eat as much outside the city? Do families with kids generally not go out as much? Or are we just completely missing the popular and family friendly places?
Go to Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains. Lots of restaurants there.
Why wasn't MP Taverna in Irvington open?
I'd love to know that myself. They have a beautiful waterfront there in Irvington, with at least three restaurants. All were closed. There were plenty open in Mamaroneck but very people were eating in them.
Were you at Le Provencal in Mamaroneck? For lunch? With kids? Yeah, I wouldn't call that a lunch place, or a kid place. Try Frankie and Fanucci's next time, or anywhere else on Mam'k Ave really. Molly Spillane's is usually bursting on the weekends at lunch if you want a family friendly pub.
But you bring up a good point that my husband and I have noticed - people around here are older. Parents with young kids are older, and we think the younger parents are still in the city. We always feel a little on the young side to be out here. Most of my son's friends at school have parents that are older than us, and I was 32 when I had my first so I'm no spring chicken! And you just will not find the same amount of people here as in the city. You can't compare.
It's also the summer - tons of people are out of town, and I think businesses and restaurants adjust their hours accordingly. Try again on a weekend in late September.
Eating out in Westchester is generally a wreck. While in NYC, great restaurants are a dime a dozen and priced accordingly, here, it always seems you are paying through the nose for crap. There are good, reasonable restaurants in Westchester but they are few and far between.
In NYC if you want Indian food, you can walk down 6th street and get an amazing meal for two for $30 almost anywhere. Here, we found one place for about triple the price but then it changed hands and menus. Honestly, if we find ourselves going out to eat here it is typically to a chain because the food is made and priced consistently.
Eating out in Westchester is generally a wreck. While in NYC, great restaurants are a dime a dozen and priced accordingly, here, it always seems you are paying through the nose for crap. There are good, reasonable restaurants in Westchester but they are few and far between.
This is why we don't eat out too much here. We go out only for few branch buffet or use Groupons.
Were you at Le Provencal in Mamaroneck? For lunch? With kids? Yeah, I wouldn't call that a lunch place, or a kid place. Try Frankie and Fanucci's next time, or anywhere else on Mam'k Ave really. Molly Spillane's is usually bursting on the weekends at lunch if you want a family friendly pub.
But you bring up a good point that my husband and I have noticed - people around here are older. Parents with young kids are older, and we think the younger parents are still in the city. We always feel a little on the young side to be out here. Most of my son's friends at school have parents that are older than us, and I was 32 when I had my first so I'm no spring chicken! And you just will not find the same amount of people here as in the city. You can't compare.
I know nothing of the river towns, sorry.
It was Le Provencal! Thanks for the tips, will definitely check out the other places next time. Going out to eat is such a big part of our city lives here, it's going to be a huge adjustment not being to do that frequently.
Yeah, you can't compare the restaurant scene here with NYC. In the city great restaurants are everywhere and eating out/ordering in is just part of the lifestyle.
Here your choices are limited. Well, in your local geographic area you are probably limited. If you consider the entire county of Westchester there are tons of great restaurants, but that doesn't help you if you decide at the last minute that you want to go out for a bite.
Since we have kids we generally hit the diners or any of the restaurants on Mamaroneck Ave (we save Le Provencal for dinners sans enfants). We frequently get take out from Rani Mahal and Zitoune. We used to be regulars at CPK on Central Park Ave. We used to live in the city so I know the feeling - you're going to have to lower your standards out here a bit and get used to cooking more (groceries are MUCH easier to come by and cheaper!!!) and frequenting the same kid friendly places in your 'hood. It's just different.
It was Le Provencal! Thanks for the tips, will definitely check out the other places next time. Going out to eat is such a big part of our city lives here, it's going to be a huge adjustment not being to do that frequently.
We eat out a minimum of three times a week, usually 5 (including weekend breakfasts and lunches). There are certainly fewer good reasonably priced places than in the city and it takes more research to find worthwhile places. It was a change for us when we moved up from Brooklyn, but we have a large number of places we love within a 15 minute radius of our house. Now and then we get bored and venture further afield, but the restaurant scene in upper Westchester has boomed in the last decade and there are a lot more interesting and moderately priced places than there used to be. We still go into the city for more unusual cuisine, but at least we now have great Ethiopian and Himalayan right near home. (And we've never been to a chain restaurant).
The forum on chowhound is a good way to learn about places, as are blogs like Small Bites, Westchester Eats, and Eat Drink Post. And the NY Times reviews a place each Sunday.
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