What's good in Tarrytown these days?

Looks like an almost unanimous vote! Thanks for your input!

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What's good in Tarrytown these days?

We're going to a concert at Tarrytown Hall in a month and would love recommendations on what restaurants in the area have been impressing you lately.

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Jakes Wayback Burger

That's quite the recommendation, eatwp. What other quick stop burger places have you been to around Westchester and what were they like?

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Scarsdale NY Chinese recommendation- Jade Spoon

Killer scallion pancakes. Agree on walnut and shrimp. Also big fans of the cold sesame noodles.

They always seem to be evolving their menu, which is a relief as some places (like nearby warhorse Seven Woks) haven't changed their menus since the Civil War.

One note: for some reason, they put little red peppers in their Pad Thai, which we are not fans of in this dish. If you aren't either, make sure to order it "mild."

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Strange & frustrating dinner at Kashiwa (Mamaroneck)

With Groupon ready to use on my iPhone, I tool the family tonight to the umpteenth new Asian fusion place in Mamaroneck, Kashiwa. While it was good for the rest of my party, for me, it was rather bizarre and frustrating, It was our first time there, and I am not sure I want to go back.

The restaurant is clearly in a rush to get you in and out as fast as possible, and I felt that way from the second I sat down.

We made reservations for 7:45 pm, arrived right on the dot, although I had to drop my family off first since Saturday night parking in Mamaroneck is ridiculous. I arrived about 10 minutes later, and sat down with my family. The place was busting. I don't think I was sitting for more than 2 minutes when the waitress - Celine - came up to us and said " Are you ready to order?" I replied, no, I just sat down, please come back.

I figured out what I wanted and Celine was back to take our order. I ordered two sushi rolls and the house mei fun. She asked if I wanted anything brought out first or to bring it out all together. I said, bring the sushi out first.

In about 7 minutes, my sushi arrived along with the rest of the appetizers.

Two minutes later, they delivered the main courses -- except mine.

We barely had time to eat the appetizers when the main courses came to the table. It was like they were trying to set a speed record, which I found mildly annoying.

I finished my sushi, which was good, and my family was both finishing their appetizers and starting their main courses.

Several minutes went by -- no mei fun.

I flagged Celine over to ask where my dish was. She said she's be check on it.

She went into the kitchen and came back out twice to deliver things to other tables. I flagged her over again. By the time, my family was more than half way through their meals.

"If the mei fun is not going to be ready in the next minute," I told Celine, "forget it."

I didn't want to be served my meal way after my family had been eating their for a while.

Celine left and came about 30 seconds later, saying in a very straightforward way, "It's not going to be ready. Would you like to cancel the order?"

I said yes, and she proceeded to take away all the dishes in front of me, including my silverware.

I ended up taking the remaining udon shrimp from my son, and chicken dish from my wife. I used my chopsticks and borrowed somebody's fork.

There was never an apology throughout the entire evening.

When we got the bill, I noticed that in addition to the $40 Groupon discount, they took off another $15.

I didn't leave much of a tip.

While the food was good and my family was happy, I found the incredible rush of the service, my missing main course, and lack of apology a pretty big turn-off. With six Asian places down this road, you'd think Kashiwa would have their act together as the last one to arrive on the scene.

I am really not quite motivated to go back there again.

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Don Coqui's over the top reservation policy

The food is good and quite tasty. Some of their portions are so big that there is no way you can eat it at one sitting (like their paella). You can easily split the paella between two people, but seeing how the owners impose their insane rules, they'll probably hit you with their $10 sharing charge. I have been there about four times since it opened a few years ago, but usually with just me and my wife.

However, it seems they go out of their way to strap handcuffs on you and take away the enjoyment of the food. There is like an undertone of "we don't trust you" in their protocol.

First of all, considering the above hoops they made us go through with reservations, the restaurant was not even half full on the Sunday night. A few people from the party did not come at the mandatory 10 - 15 minutes before the dining time of 6 pm on a Sunday night -- and they still sat us! Whew!

They make it mandatory to check all coats, as they explain it's to let the waiters move between the tables. There is no fee to check coats but you know there's a tip bucket there.

Then they slap a mandatory 20% tip on all checks for parties of FOUR or more, which seems pretty absurd. The common rule is maybe six or eight or more, but FOUR?

And of course, Don Conqui itself is located in a place where you pretty much have to get your car valeted, so yep, that is essentially mandatory too.

Dining at Don Coqui is like going to eat in a totalitarian state where the whole enjoyment of eating there is pretty much choked by the ridiculous rules they force their customers to obey.

Oh yeah, if you plan on hearing the people sitting at the table with you, be prepared to yell. No it's not the crowds... they like turning their music up on the high side, even on Sunday evenings. I like Puerto Rican music as much as the next guy, but not blasting over my Sunday night dinner.

I don't see returning to Don Coqui for the foreseeable future.

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Don Coqui's over the top reservation policy

I know restaurants want to prevent customers who don't stick to their reservations, but Don Coqui in New Rochelle has taken this to a whole new level.

We had several people coming to dinner on a Sunday night. After calling up to make the reservation in advance, they asked for a credit card, then texted us to confirm (?) and then sent an e-mail with precise instructions on how far in advance to show up, etc.

Then they called us the day before our dinner to confirm (normal) and said they were going to call us back the next day before 3 pm -- and if a "real person" did not answer the phone, our reservations were being tossed.

Interestingly enough, they never called. But we called them and sent an e-mail back to reconfirm our confirmation from the day before, lest our reservations get deleted.

With such over the top measures in place, you think Don Coqui is having bad trouble with groups of people keeping reservations?

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Has anyone been to the Gnarly Vine in New Rochelle?

Just went tonight with my wife. Let me tell you that the Groupon deal was a super bargain. Since it was Wednesday night, it was $36 for 4 plates and 2 glasses of wine. It was more than enough food for the both of us, and all of it was quite good.

It's a charming wine bar setting with dark-ish lighting. The menu is written up on a big chalkboard in a couple of places. The left half is a list of all the wines being served that night. The right half is the food menu, which is essentially divided into four parts: salads, quesidillas, flat-bread pizzas and miscellaneous (i.e. shrimp cocktail, burger).

With Groupon, we could pick any two glasses of wine except the Zinfandel (no biggie) and any four plates (except the meat or cheese platters, again no biggie).

We started with a goat cheese salad with nuts and arugula. Very good.

Then came the wild mushroom quesidillas -- ditto.

The two pizzas we were just right and each one could have easily fed two people, so imagine getting two of them! We had the regular mozarella/basil one and the unusual combination of pear slices, nuts, and I forgot what else. Whole the mozarella was good, the one with the fruits and nuts was killer.

The service was friendly and nothing took too long. You can easily relax and hang with friends. I was pleasantly surprised.

It is located a few doors down from the Corner Mexican Restaurant.

One things worth mentioning: I checked in on Foursquare and noticed they had a great deal with American Express -- if you spent $10 you, got you back $10 on your Amex card if you use it to pay your bill. If it wasn't for the Groupon, I definitely would have used that. Don't know how long that deal is in effect.

In all, I definitely recommend The Gnarly Vine as a laid-back and delicious place to eat.

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Wood-oven pizza place opening - Hearth in Eastchester

Drove by Post Road in Eastchester and saw the large sign above a restaurant being built a few doors down from Piper's Kilt -- HEARTH. Wood oven pizza.

Yep, Westchester needs another one of those.

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Bosphorus--Hartsdale

Can't believe nobody has commented on this restaurant in more than two months/

I went there tonight with my wife, daughter and mother-in-law. Here are my impressions:

The restaurant decor is really classy and subdued, with what is truly a beautiful ceiling.

That's about the only thing they can't improve upon.

Otherwise, it's hard to believe this place is nearly three months old and hasn't worked all its kinks out yet. They still do not have the act together.

Let's start right off by saying it's a pricey restaurant. Most dinner dishes average considerably over $20 -- most well into the mid-20's. Now, there is nothing wrong with a pricey restaurant is everything justifies these prices. Sadly, they are not there yet.

After we gave our order, the wait staff removed our plates.

We started with a plate of hummus for an appetizer and a skimpy portion of pita bread. Be prepared to order a second helping of the pita bread. The hummus is quite smooth and nice, served with a slice of cucumber. They also bring a plate of olive spread, which is sharp and delicious.

But we never got replacement plates for the plates they removed after we gave our order, so the food was periodically falling onto the table, including the table mats. We thought that was quite strange.

My 12-year-old daughter warned us that she heard the service was slow... and she was not kidding. We arrived at 7:30 pm, the place was not bustling (maybe three quarters full), but we didn't see our dinner until 8:15 pm - 8:20 pm.

Interestingly, the wait staff never asked if we wanted a drink (other than our waters, which they were great about refilling) or even dessert.

My daughter and I split the $32 mixed grill, which was definitely ample food for the both of us and saved us considerable money. We all thought our meals were good -- not spectacular -- but good.

After our meal was cleared, we felt abandoned for about 15 minutes until we finally flagged somebody down for our check. By this time, the place was easily a third full.

There's valet service in front of the restaurant, which seemed to be a first for that stretch of Hartsdale. We didn't use it, as the garage is directly across the street.

One can't help comparing this place to Turkish Meze in Mamaroneck, which we've gone to for a long time and have always enjoyed. They even take off 20% from the bill when you order take out. I think I would have to definitely give the edge to them, because not only are they slightly less expensive, but the food is generally better, they have their act together and it's always obvious they are working their butts off. They are quite nice people there.

I don't anticipate running back to Bosphorus. It doesn't strike me as the kind of place I'd be motivated to return to when Turksih Meze is not far from us.

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Turkish Meze
409 Mount Pleasant Ave, Mamaroneck, NY 10543

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La Herradura in Mamaroneck - service getting worse & worse

For Sunday night dinner, I wanted to go to Little Mexican Cafe in New Rochelle, but the kids didn't want to travel far, so off to La Herradura in Mamaroneck.

Yes, I know the food is just OK, and it still continues to be OK. Definitely not as cheap as it used to be when they opened up, although their $10 burrito dinner is a good deal.

But every time I go there, the service keeps getting worse and worse. The place is far from busy, yet the staff just slacks off. They are never attentive. It takes forever to get through a meal.

Tonight was a perfect example. My wife and I ordered glasses of wine. My wife's wine arrived, mine never did until I reminded the waitress later on. That is, when the waitress decided to make herself known. She was M.I.A. for long stretches of time. At one point, my wife, had to go up to the front counter and tell her wanted to order dessert. Later, I had to get up and go up there to give them my credit card along with the bill.

I don't think there were more than 5 tables occupied in the place.

I left a $10 tip on a $90 bill.

I am wondering how long they can hang in there with mediocre food and lousy service.

I have not had those issues at the New Rochelle outpost -- the food is not much different, but at least their wait staff is alive and awake.

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Little Mexican Cafe
581 Main St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

La Herradura
563 Main St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

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What's with the take-out basmati rice from Malabar Hill?

My wife brought home takeout food from the Elmsford-based Indian restaurant Malabar Hill tonight, really on a fluke. Normally, we don't take out food from there (we live about 15+ minutes away) but she happened to pass by there on the way home from an event she attended for my daughter.

While the food was OK, we noticed the strangest things in the boxes of rice that came with the food: leaves, fairly large cinnamon sticks, and other little objects.

I've had Indian take-out from several place around Westchester, but never did I think I would find a rather aromatic forest mixed in with my basmati rice.

It struck me as strange.

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jakes wayback burger (westchester)

It's next to the Verizon Wireless store, across the street from Petco.

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Posto 22 in New Rochelle - aces!

http://www.nrn.com/article/study-salt-cited-more-often-menus

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Posto 22 in New Rochelle - aces!

Sounds like you like your salt on everything!

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Help! Takeout in/around Mamaroneck

Not only is Turkish Meze excellent, but they take 20% off on all take-out orders.

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Posto 22 in New Rochelle - aces!

So it sounds like Posto 22 didn't get their salt delivery over the weekend because of the hurricane?

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Posto 22
22 Division St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Lunch prices vs. dinner prices

Sometimes I am a little irked when restaurants post their lunch and dinner prices on the same menu and the price differential is huge.

For example, one of my fellow Chowhounders posted the link to the new Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant opening in Hartsdale, Bosphorus. The price difference between lunch and dinner prices on their lamb and beef dishes are anywhere from $6 to $8.

Are these dishes identical portions at both meals or is one substantially bigger than the other?

I see these kinds of menus popping up more frequently.

Has anybody checked out identical dishes at the same restaurant for both lunch and dinner where the prices are far apart such as these? Are the presentations and servings the same or different?

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Looking for updates on Rehoboth/Dewey

Just came back from a 5-day trip to Rehoboth Beach, DE, our second time.

Fins is still outstanding. Yes, you may have to wait for 30 - 45 minutes, but they really do serve quality food with an excellent selection of beers and adept service. Grilled halibut was killer.

Dos Locos, right on Rehoboth Avenue, was pretty good (seafood enchildas was my dish), but I kept thinking in the back of my head that maybe I should have checked out the more Spanish Mexican place on Wilmington, Mariachi. Next time.

Big Fish Grill, right on Highway 1, was excellent. Seen a lot about it written up here on the boards and it definitely lived up to the hype. Excellent Caesar salad followed by seafood with a light tomato sauce over linguini.

Now the last place we went to for dinner was recommended by my masseuse at the hotel I was staying at. He grew up in the area and when I said, I'd like to take the family for Italian tonight, his highest recommendation went to Casa DiLeo, right down Rehoboth Avenue, in the strip mall just outside of Highway 1. When I mentioned the restaurant to the guest services people behind my hotel's counter, one of them said, "That's my go to place for pizza."

These guys were right on the money. Reasonably priced Italian place that seems more locals-focused and even has sort of that Old World red-sauce feel to it (bar in one room, dining in the other).

My family and I split up four slices of pizza first, and boy was it good. First thing you should know -- the pizza slice are huge. Not kidding on this one. They are 1.5 times the size of a normal slice. Thin crust, delicious sauce -- a solid light slice. My daughter and I split spaghetti, tomato sauce and grilled chicken and and we both loved it.

I highly recommend Case DiLeo if you are looking for something a little more homey and down to earth. OF NOTE: Great place to take the family. There were like 12 people sitting at the table across from us and it really was a perfect setting for that too.

SPECIAL MENTION: Case DiLeo takes reservations, and you can't say that about most Rehoboth Beach restaurants.

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Big Fish Grill Restaurant
Highway 1, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

DOS Locos
208 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Casa Dileo Restaurant
721 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

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Posto 22 in New Rochelle - aces!

My wife and I continued on our periodic Groupon/Living Social coupon tour of Westchester and tonight's stop was the most pleasant surprise I've had so far.

With trusty Living Social flyer in hand, we went to Posto 22 restaurant and wine bar in New Rochelle on Division Street, down the block from Coramandel.

You ever enter a restaurant for the first time and you get a good vibe in the first 30 seconds? Doesn't happen too often, right? Well, I got it when I entered this place. Everybody at the tables seemed upbeat, having fun, and a nice chatter in the air.

This is the first thing I liked about this place -- it wasn't a red sauce joint, and it wasn't a pretentious Italian restaurant with waiters in fancy suits. It was just right in the middle -- a modern restaurant where you could dress casually but not feel you're eating at some Old World place where the menus have been around for 35 years.

We lucked out -- turns out wine bottles and glasses are half price on Tuesday nights. No wonder everybody in the place seemed happy!

The wait staff was very nice and serviceable, never intrusive -- and almost all women.

I had a traditional Cesar salad, which was just the right size for $9. I had spaghetti with mini-meatballs (veal, pork and beef), whole my wife had spinach salad with grilled chicken.

You ever see that movie "No Reservations" with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart? After watching it, all I wanted to do was eat spaghetti and meatballs for a long time afterward, that's how good it looked in the movie.

My dish was as perfect as that movie's -- a healthy but not oversized portion of spaghetti, really delicious little meatballs and a really out of this world sauce. I really loved every bit of it.

My wife thoroughly enjoyed her salad and trust me when Is ay, there was nothing left on our plates.

We each had a glass of red wine.

I wish my daughter was there because I would have split a thin crust pizza pie with her -- it was a main feature on the menu and I was dying to try it. Next time.

The bill came to $47 after taxes. And with the coupon, it was something like $4. What I'm telling you is -- the prices were just right too.

I don't go so nuts over restaurants like this all the time, but I have to say that I was so happy we went to Posto 22. After we left, we were thinking of the people we know who we had to take there.

Is it a place for kids? My wife spotted one kid there. And they do have a small kids item list on the back of the menu which looked quite appealing as smaller versions of "adult" entrees (and yes, in a nod to the masses, it had chicken fingers).

But its sweet spot, to me, was a a place to go with friends or other couples, or just you and your better half.

I really had no complaints about my experience there except not having two stomachs so I could try the pizza. And parking was easy -- all the metes go out at 6 pm. We arrived at 7:30 pm and found a spot right down the block on Main Street.

Sorry for the gushing, but a place this good deserves to be written about!

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Posto 22
22 Division St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

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Benjamin Steakhouse-White Plains

Had to go see for myself about Benjamin, so arranged to go with another couple tonight.

In summary -- it was fine.

Nothing great, nothing bad. The place was about 1/3 full at 7:30 pm. The decor and setting are spacious but rather bland -- not much character.

My Caesar salad was pretty good, for starters.

I ordered a filet mignon, no butter, medium, and it came exactly as requested. Not a hell of a lot of flavor, even from charring, so the accompanying steak sauce pepped things up.

Sides of creamed spinach - good... and combo cottage fries/onion rings were good. Again, nothing special, nothing, bad, just good.

The service was quite good.

High prices, sure.

But the whole experience was really just middling -- satisfactory. Nothing outrageously extraordinary, none of the character or flavor of a Peter Luger, or even a Frankie & Johnny's in Rye.

Did I think this was the steak meal where miraculous things happened and the food was so big, I thought it must have been on steroids? No way.

Would it be my first choice of steak house in Westchester? Not unless I had to be there or we were meeting people who wanted to go. I could take it or leave it.

So out of 10, I'd give it a 5, maybe a 6.

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Peter Luger
255 Northern Blvd, Great Neck, NY 11021

Frankie & Johnny Cafe
104 Clowes Ave, Goshen, NY 10924

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Benjamin Steakhouse-White Plains

doberlady -- glad to hear every one of your pennies is being spent on two appetizers. And we know you hope your next experience will be the same.

More importantly, we'd like to to hear from others who have been there and can register their views, whether they agree or not.

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Benjamin Steakhouse-White Plains

I have not heard many positive things about this place at all.

The NY Times gave it a pretty crummy review.

Then the mother of one of my daughter's friends told me she had a nightmare experience with the service there.

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Prophecy in White Plains, any info?

The place is much better known for hosting parties and events than people actually dining there.

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Little Thai Kitchen Scarsdale

Took my 12-year-old daughter there for dinner tonight. Couldn't get too adventurous with the menu because of her taste, so it was chicken satay, chicken pad thai and masamen curry beef.

I was amazed they were able to get several tales in the place, as the previous Rich Chinese restaurant didn't have any tale. So good for LTK to make more profitable use of the space.

Speaking of space, the location is quite difficult for walk-in's , so you had better LOVE the place to make through all the surrounding Scarsdale train station construction going on. Let me make this really clear -- it is definitely NOT easy to get to this place on foot and parking is either around the corner or a block away on East Parkway. I wish them a lot of luck.

They seem to have a decent take out business and some other tables were occupied with folks eating in. These guys are the only Thai game in Scarsdale, so if you're really fixated on that kind of food, you'll make the ridiculous way around the construction obstacles to get there.

I thought these basics that we ordered were pretty good, although a bit surprised to find the traditional chicken satay not served on skewers. The in-house service was a bit slow, but everybody was nice and cordial.

This does not come close to Full Moon in White Plains, which I think is fantastic. But for local Thai, it was fine, maybe a little even moreso. I have to try the other dishes next time, as my daughter forced me on to the basics.

One thing did bug me: the lunch and dinner prices were on the same menu. Assuming the portion size is the same, dinner prices get jacked up $4 - $5 each, which I thought was quite a haul. It would seem like Restaurant Ownership 101 not to put the different prices on the same menu, because there it's definitely a turn-off that you're paying way more for dinner than lunch and they're kind of rubbing it in visually.

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Full Moon Cafe
38 Wells Ave, Yonkers, NY 10701

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

dog friendly restaurants in westchesrer

Your best bet are restaurants that have non-crowded outside seating and don't mind a well-behaved dog laying low at your table.

The one place my family and I have always had a great experience is Amendola's Pizzeria in Hartsdale. They usually put out a couple of tables, never hassle us about our dog staying with us, and have even put out a bowl of water for him.

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Fig and Olive opening in Scarsdale!

Esther:

It's great that you like Fig & Olives so much. What other Mediterranean restaurants have you been to in Westchester and how do they compare?

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Got a copy of China White's Menu

Went tonight and it's pretty easy to see what the whole game plan is.

Very simply, you are paying for a an upscale-ish setting, chill music on the sound system, a one-page menu and organic ingredients or whatever it is they are trying to sell.

With Chinese restaurants and takeout places literally littering Westchester, is it worth spending twice as much as any of those places for what you get?

I don't see it. The food was good, but nothing spectacular to go stark raving nuts and choose this place over any other normal Chinese place.

My wife ordered the tangerine beef, which just about every Chinese restaurant has, but these guys charge $32! Yes, the rice is $2, whether white or brown, but we did not opt for any. The chow fun was fine, a bit spicy, but again, nothing to go nuts for.

You did get unlimited refills, it seems, of your soft drink. And when your bill comes, you get a cotton candy wrapped around a paper cone, a trick done by Lolita's Mexican restaurant in Byrum, CT.

I just can not see how people will forgo their favorite local Chinese places to pay through the nose at this one. It reminds me of the China Grill, which occupied the bottom floor of the CBS Building on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan for many years, except I remember that place had a broader menu.

It's checkbook dining. It's not for students. It's for the wealthy residents of Purchase and Harrison, and probably business lunches for Pepsico executives.

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China Grill
1040B Park Blvd, Massapequa Park, NY 11762

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)

Has anybody been to Massa yet?

One difference. Westchester Magazine labels that section an advertorial.

PlasticMoonRain in New York State (exc. New York City)