His cozy restaurant, which seats 40, opened in February, taking over the space once occupied by Khaled Elkady’s Village Grille. But The Commisary specializes in American Contemporary cuisine and uses local farmers and vendors whenever possible. On Foti’s Spring menu, there’ll be lots of striped bass, for example, which he gets from Cape May.

“American contemporary but using time-honored Italian, French, Mediterranean technique,” Danny said. I asked him to explain. “I offer a few classic pasta dishes — fettucine carbonara, for example — making it the same way it has been made in Rome for the last 500 years.” That’s a long time,

I thought; I bet he’s gotten it right by now. He ought to have. Danny graduated from the CIA (which actually stopped me in my tracks for just a brief moment in today’s scary world. You mean the CIA teaches cooking, too? What? A terrorist comes at you and you throw a noodle at him? But I digress.)

And when he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, he learned about cooking in the real world at Sign of the Dove, the legendary Upper East Side restaurant owned by his Uncle Joe Santo. Uncle Joe also owns Yellowfingers, another famous eating place across the street from Bloomingdale’s. So Daniel Foti peeled potatoes and sliced carrots and learned the restaurant business from his Uncle Joe, working his way up slowly but surely.

The Commisary is Danny’s first restaurant venture; we locals know him best from his ownership of The Baker’s Wife in Tappan. Now he’s just moved up the street a bit. I like that he’s not carpetbagging; he’s lived in Tappan for twenty years and his teenage daughters both attend Tappan Zee High School. He’s got a stake in our community.

Although frankly I was hoping he had been born in Brooklyn, like the best of us — alas, he says Elizabeth, New Jersey is his birthplace. What the what? I expressed my disappointment to him but he wisely did not rejoinder, clearly demonstrating he’s not from Brooklyn.

Now then about the food. Delicious. Shortly after you are seated, foccacia is brought to the table with a wonderful chickpea dip. An appetizer of three different game sausages — boar, venison, and duck — with house-made mustard and red cabbage sauerkraut, was moist, meaty, and flavorful. A trout salad with orange citrus dressing, parsley, fennel and fresh mint, was delicious and a perfect beginner before the entrée.

The haddock with carrot/ginger, swiss chard, fennel and radish was flavorful and tender, and the rib-eye with carrots and herbs was wonderful. But the real star of the show, not just when we have dined there, but speaking to others who have eaten at The Commisary, is clearly the lamb shank, with caramelized onion and broccoli rabe. Everyone raves about it: excellent, juicy, meat falling off the bone — typical of the comments I’ve heard. I think Foti will try to keep lamb shank on the menu, even though he’s changing the menu for Spring, because it’s such a crowd pleaser.

Palisadians Jeannie Boose and Jane Bernick say the shellfish stew, consisting of mussels, clams, and shrimp, with a mildly spicy Moroccan flavor, is excellent and satisfying, served with delicious crispy toast.

There’s a nice variety of desserts, including flourless chocolate cake, banana crepes, and pumpkin crème brulée, (I thought it was too pumpkin-y for my taste). The place gets filled up with hungry guests even mid-week. Until Foti gets his liquor license you need to bring your own whatever, and I do suggest you make reservations ahead. The word is out!

When you go to The Commisary, you’ll probably meet people you know there, as we have. Oriel Kriz, another Palisades pal (now living in Piermont) not only likes the cuisine at The Commisary, but says the restaurant is welcoming, thanks to Dan Foti’s graciousness and desire to please. It’s low key and a great new hangout.

“THE COMMISSARY”
Old Tappan Road, Tappan New York
Tel: 845-398-3232
Open 7 days a week: 5-10 Monday through Saturday; 5-9 Sunday
Reservations suggested.
BYO wine, beer, etc.