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On a beautiful June evening, the Palisades community gathered to eat, drink and share their culinary specialties with their neighbors to help the Palisades Community Center (PCC) "Raise the Roof" at their SmörgåsBURB! fundraiser.

Fantastic Foods and Flavors (FFF) in Norwood, N.J. brings its unique style of eatery to the Hudson Valley. Since opening in the fall, FFF offers old-world charm with a modern flair. Its website promotes an ambitious, seemingly unrealistic agenda; “Part street food alley, part café, part lounge, part restaurant, part specialty import shop, part artisanal market, part cooking school.” Yet, as this healthy skeptic can attest, what awaits is a vibrant environment where quality food is celebrated, and in keeping with today’s diverse clientele, is both on display and delivered in a variety of ways.

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There’s no shortage of decent sushi bars in our area, but the newly arrived Okinami is next level. Surprising in all the right ways, its calming decor, preternaturally friendly staff and superbly crafted food are tucked into an unremarkable Norwood strip mall like a pearl in an oyster. And, while Okinami’s curated menu takes getting used to, it’s worth the effort - especially if you’re feeling adventurous.

In May of this year, Sparkill added another bright star to its tiny constellation of restaurants. Pocket–sized, packed and often distressingly loud, Lanni’s isn’t a fully successful moon shot, but several dishes hit the mark at this elegant eatery.

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Some took up new hobbies during the pandemic such as knitting, learning a language or playing an instrument. For Palisadian Kaori Shih it was baking… but in the middle of the night. Initially, it was to relieve severe insomnia, but the baking quickly led to a fascination with elegant desserts and the refined art of chocolate making. In three short years, Shih’s exquisite low in sugar, high in flavor chocolates, or bonbons as she calls them, are no hobby.

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Rising Above Bakery was founded in 2021 in Shiri Reuveni–Ullrich’s small Chestnut Ridge home. It all began when Shiri, a pediatric speech therapist and teacher at a Chestnut Ridge school who has baked all her life, started inviting her autistic students to her home once a week to join her in making cookies. At one point when she was out of the room, she noticed a humming coming from the kitchen. “I realized that these students, many of whom were nonverbal, had started finding their voice,” Shiri recounts. The kitchen soon filled with chatter, singing, laughter and verbalizing as students became more comfortable with the work.

I’m not sure how or when it started but for a while I’ve had an – obsession is too strong of a word – urge, let’s say, to grow food. Call it the “Gentleman Farmer” fantasy if the gentleman in question skipped the blazer and breeches and went instead for tattered sweatpants and mismatched socks. And in this area, you learn quickly that almost anything you grow unprotected outdoors will likely feed bugs, birds, groundhogs and deer before it ever hits your table.

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Mazadore Kebab is a happy surprise in dumpy Tappan. Open since August, this takeout spot for classic Afghan street food is a deceptive delight. Yes, there is marinated meat, chicken and fish stuck onto skewers and grilled, aka kebabs, but take a bite of Mazadore’s succulent and aromatic kebabs and you’ve hit the Silk Road. Saffron, garlic, onion, spices and something tart, maybe dill, tenderizes the skewered chunks of lamb and chicken, and infuses every bite with delicate flavor. Nestled in white or brown Basmati rice, or, even better, Kabuli Palow - a divine melange of browned Basmati rice, raisins, carrots and almonds - these kebabs are fabulous, especially when drizzled with Mazadore’s creamy, tart yogurt sauce. The Salmon Kebab ($17.95), a western adaptation probably unheard of in land-locked Afghanistan, is just as good and amazingly moist.

Fall is here, and no matter what sneaky Covid variant comes down the pike, something’s UP in Piermont. After rough years of empty restaurants and shuttered doors, three new eateries are open on Piermont Avenue, and another is slated to open soon. All four are backed by restaurateurs and chefs with decades of experience in the hospitality business and an appreciation for Piermont’s quaint allure.

Restaurant Mazagan
506 Piermont Avenue
845) 580-3600
restaurantmazagan.com

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Foodies fiend for food trucks, and Rockland now has a fabulous one. A brightly painted throwback to the early 70s, this vegan food truck serves up seasonal, plant- based dishes that tease the palate and feed the soul. All ingredients are intensely fresh, and many dishes are raw, but don’t get frightened, this is vegan cuisine everyone can love.

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We all have our favorites, but here are some of the best in the ‘hood.

OLAR
It is astonishing that we have this gem in Rockland. Small, crowded, noisy and fabulous – the best food you’ll have this side of the Hudson. Cash only, a loose reservation system and continual culinary brilliance. (Impress the visitors)
587 Piermont Avenue, Piermont

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The Napa Valley arguably put America on the map as a respected wine producer but 100 years before the first grapevine was ever planted in California, the Hudson Valley and Northern New Jersey area was not only respected for its hard cider but it was considered among the finest in the world. The claim of producing the best cider is not as bold today as it was in early America where the average person consumed 35 gallons annually. Today a renaissance in hard cider-making and cultivating varieties that were once close to extinction is sweeping the region as people are learning the mass-marketed hard cider widely available today is a far cry from the drink of choice by early Americans.

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Piermont’s newest restaurant, Basque, serves up the spicy, smoky, garlic-laced flavors typical of northern Spain, and much on offer is very good, but bland decor and vaguely clinical lighting kill any illusions of Latin romance. A pity since this was once the location of the charmingly funky Portofino. Owner and veteran restaurateur Benny Castro seems to be going for cozy and quaint for his tapas bar/ restaurant, but Basque feels generic, which doesn’t do justice to the food and leaves one longing for a touch of the personal.

If you need reminding that we are in the suburbs (translation: lovely place to live, a stretch when dining out), pay a visit to Ragazzi, an Italian American joint in Norwood, New Jersey. Someone somewhere thought it was a good idea to open another Italianesque restaurant in northern Jersey, but the mediocrity of this place may inspire you to crack open a cook-book because – honestly - you can do better.

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Three bakers have banded together and opened a charming breakfast and lunch spot on Livingston Street where The Greek Village used to be. Café Trois specializes in French style pastries, artfully packaged sandwiches and salads, and a variety of brunch dishes beautifully presented with salad and home fries. There’s also a full array of lux coffees, teas, smoothies and juices.

Sometimes the biggest deterrent to cooking at home is no time or energy for a trip to the grocery store. Particularly in the suburbs where take out and delivered options are limited. Enter Blue Apron (https://www.blueapron.com/). The latest trend in food convenience is a box delivered weekly to your door packed with everything you need for three home-cooked meals.

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This soup is delicious, healthful, and easy to make.

It’s the end of a special chapter in local culinary history. After almost thirty years, on October 26 chef Peter Kelly stepped away from the helm of his critically acclaimed and locally beloved Piermont restaurants Xavier’s and Freelance Café.

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My knowledge of Korean food is null. I’m a spice wimp. I don’t like beer, and I will never appreciate kim chi, the fermented cabbage consumed by the barrel in some parts of the world. But Tappan Sushi, a homey roadhouse in the former digs of Irish bar Finn McCools, might just be one of my new favorite places to go for serious sustenance - Korean style.