The Cookery
39 Chestnut Street
Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522(Map it!)
Attendees: Jeffrey, Pat, Reid, Shelley, Sylvia, Andrew
We couldn’t have picked a better place to have a holiday breakfast. This place is classy and delicious. Located in the middle of Dobbs Ferry, parking was easy enough. We circled the block just once but we found a spot within acceptable walking distance. The place opens at 11am on Sunday. We got there a smidge early, so we had to wait outside. It was cold, but in the end, the slight discomfort was worth it.
Inside, the place had an old classic tavern feel to it. We looked around and saw only small tables, which might have been a problem since we were a group of six. Then the hostess led us to a very cute six-person table by the window. The nice big table aided in our little Secret Santa endeavor. We ordered our food. Then we exchanged gifts. Then the food came.
I ordered the prix fixe, which included an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert. I decided to go with the fresh made mozzarella, the pork and potato hash, and some sort of white chocolate bread pudding. I’m not sure if that’s what the dessert really was. I’m sure I’ll get an editor’s note for this one. (Editor’s Note: Yes, that is what the dessert really was.) Well, the mozzarella was served on top of some toasted baguette slices. It was DELICIOUS! I love cheese. I just really love cheese, and the fresh mozzarella ignited my taste buds. Next came the pork and potato hash. There were parts of the dish I had no idea what I was putting into my mouth, but the whole thing was great. The pork gave a nice texture and the potatoes were mashed up and reformed into a disk of goodness. Last was the bread pudding. A dense corner piece of bread pudding, it was so delicious. My only complaint was that I was too full to finish it off, but man, was it delicious.
Final price for the prix fixe, I think we all put in $30 a head, which included tip. It was totally worth it. It was a very good holiday meal.
What I Had: Crustino of Ricotta with truffle honey and thyme, French Toast Panino with mozzarella and maple syrup, salad, Butternut squash cheesecake with candied pecans
What It Cost: $30 with tax and tip
Worth It: Yes
The Rating: 4.5/5
The Details: We’ve had a bad run lately at the Westchester Breakfast Club. The last few months we’ve visited a spate of mediocre, greasy breakfast joints that were barely worth waking up for, let alone traveling 30-40 minutes to visit. But the menu (and price point) of The Cookery, an intimate eatery in the heart of Dobbs Ferry, promised something more. We’ve been fooled before by menus (see: Juniper’s service) and prices (see: Olde Stone Mill). Would The Cookery join the ranks of disappointing brunches?
The answer is a hearty, happy, no. The Cookery fits firmly within the upper echelon of breakfasts I’ve had with the WBC, and, if you choose to visit, you’ll find some fantastic breakfast options made with the highest quality ingredients.
A glance at the menu would seem to indicate that The Cookery doesn’t feel entirely comfortable with breakfast offerings. Their brunch menu has just six or seven dishes that could clearly be defined as within the spectrum of breakfast (three or four egg dishes, one pancake dish, two that include the words “french toast”). As part of my three-course prix-fixe, I started with a crustino covered in fresh ricotta and drizzled with truffle honey and thyme leaves. It is as delicious as it sounds. I could have used a hair more honey and a hair less ricotta (one of my two pieces had a very generous dollop of ricotta), but really it’s a minor complaint. My entree was the french toast panino, which is, as far as I can tell, a grilled cheese sandwich made with mozzarella and pieces of french toast as the bread, doused in maple syrup. It was delightful, but the salad that came along side it was even better.
I made an ordering mistake for dessert, going with the delicate flavors of the butternut squash cheesecake, which was far less sweet than my entree, and thus my palate couldn’t really discern any flavors besides a general “not really sweet enough.” The candied pecans that came with the cake, however, were simply wonderful. I would have preferred a bowl full of those and some fruit.
All in all, the meal was outstanding, the service was good, the coffee flowed, and spirits were high. Give it a shot. It’s worth the trip.
The Bottom Line: TRY IT!
The Case: The Cookery v. The WBC
The venue: Dobbs Ferry
The Facts: It seems that I took a little too long to get to this, because I honestly can’t remember anything specific about what I ate at the Cookery. (Editor’s Note: The Editor was sitting next to Reid, and does remember what he had: fresh mozzarella, which the Editor also had; some sort of pasta; and the bread pudding. The Editor cannot, however, comment on Reid’s opinion of his food.) I do remember enjoying my Secret Santa gifts (thanks Jeff) and that Andrew is a big jerk who brought everyone a gift but me.
The Verdict: I do remember enjoying it more than many of the places we’ve been.
Happy Holidays everybody!
The WBC was ready to exchange Secret Santa presents, and we chose The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry to serve as the backdrop. The Cookery is a small restaurant tucked away on Chestnut Street, right off of Main St. The interior is cozy, with dark wood floors, inviting wood tables that look like they’d be in your friend’s kitchen, and large windows that brighten the whole place. We were seated next to the window. Adding to the feeling of sitting in someone’s kitchen, above our table was a rack that had various kitchen utensils hanging from it–a whisk, some ladles. And then there was the music. Like at The Cookshop in NYC, there was a stretch of several songs that made me think, once again, that someone had hooked up my ipod for the background music. Must be something about restaurants with “cook” in their names.
Anyway, on to the food.
We each received two menus, one featuring a la carte items, the other listing the $24 prix fixe brunch menu. For the prix fixe, you get an appetizer, a choice of either an egg, pasta, or grill/griddle item, and a dessert. Everything looked so intriguing, I had to go with the prix fixe so that I could sample several dishes. For my appetizer I chose fresh mozzerella with olio novella and grilled tuscan bread; for my main course I got the pancetta, egg, and cheese sandwich; and for dessert it was “pumpkin stuff,” as I called it. Brunch also comes with a choice of a complimentary mimosa or bellini. I opted for the mimosa this morning.
The pacing between courses was perfect; we were never left waiting for too long without food. While we were still reviewing the menus we were brought slices of Italian bread served in a metal container with wax paper printed to look like newspaper. Cute. Our beverages were brought out promptly and before we knew it the appetizers arrived. The mozzerella was delicious, obviously fresh as advertised on the menu. The grilled bread that accompanied the dish provided a pleasing crunch. The mozzerella absorbed the flavorful oil (a blend of regular olive oil and balsamic oil) at the bottom of the dish.
On to the main course. The egg sandwich was large, served on a long piece of grilled tuscan bread. I had selected provalone as the cheese for the sandwich, and had requested that my egg not be too runny. I was a bit disappointed to see that there was still quite a bit of runny yolk at the bottom of my plate, but it wasn’t enough to make me send the sandwich back. I wasn’t as excited about my sandwich as I was about the appetizer. The provalone was a bit too sharp for me for my first meal of the day and the egg itself did not have any distinguishable flavor. The pancetta was lighter than bacon, but wasn’t especially flavorful or memorable. The sandwich was served with a side of mixed greens which were tossed in a sweet vinegarette. That was a nice addition to the dish.
Finally, it was time for dessert. Dessert was delicious. The “pumpkin stuff” was really a pumpkin tortina, which was a delicious, moist, soft, warm, delicious (did I say that already?) pumpkin cake, served with some vanilla gelato on the side. The cake was spiced perfectly, the pumpkin flavor came through strongly and wasn’t lost under too many other spices. It was a warm, comforting dessert, great for a winter day and a wonderful way to cap off the meal.
For three courses, the price of brunch was completely reasonable. The quality of the food, the freshness of the ingredients, the excellent service, and the nice atmosphere all combined more than justified the price. The Cookery is one of those hidden surprises in Westchester, the kind of place that once you discover it, you’re eager to return to. It serves high-quality food but in a relaxed setting. It’s a great place for a cozy meal with family, a group of friends, or significant other.
Merry Christmas! For our special Christmas gathering, the WBC dashed over to Dobbs Ferry to visit The Cookery for some breakfast and our Secret Santa exchange.
The Cookery is a very cozy little restaurant located down a side street in Dobbs Ferry. So cozy, in fact, that the coat check is located in the vestibule; but don’t worry, it is a glass-enclosed vestibule with full view from the dining area. We got what must have been the largest table in the place. It seated six of us comfortably.
We were presented with two menus. One was a prix fixe menu, the other was a la carte. The difference between the two were minimal, so I went with the prix fixe ($24 not including tax or tip). I started with crostino of fresh ricotta, honey truffle and thyme; my main dish was the Tuscan french toast (originally with nutella and banana, but as we were pondering the menu, our server told us it was butternut squash and candied pecans today); and my dessert of choice was the butternut squash ricotta cheesecake with candied pecans and maple cream. What can I say, I love butternut squash, and really don’t get much opportunity to enjoy it in anything but soup or roasted form.
In addition to the food, I also had some coffee and a few sips of the Bellini which came with the prix fixe. It was good. They were not shy with the sparkling wine, which made it a bad idea to drink fresh off a run with no rehydration inbetween.
The crostino was delicious. I could have used a bit more thyme in it, since I didn’t really get much until my last couple of bites. The ricotta and the honey truffle were really good. I kept trying to mop up any wayward drips of the honey off my plate.
The Tuscan french toast was very good. I feel like they only serve one type of bread in this place, but it doesn’t matter because that bread was delicious in all forms presented. For this dish, it was a large slice of bread, french toasted and topped with delicately cubed pieces of butternut squash and drizzled with maple syrup. It was very good, except I still wonder how amazing nutella and bananas would have been.
The butternut squash ricotta cheesecake was great. It wasn’t as sweet as it could have been. It could probably have used a bit more maple cream, or been served with a dollop of ice cream maybe. In terms of sweetness, it was right up my alley, and I think the addition of the butternut squash tempers the overall sweetness of the dish, but unfortunately didn’t add much else to it.
The czar says: Make reservations (over the phone; even though they say you can over e-mail, you cannot) and enjoy! If you are a larger party (more than 4), definitely make reservations ahead of time, since the place is very small, and there are only a limited number of tables available to accommodate you.
From the large, antique wooden tables, to the hanging utensil and pot
rack with lights built in, I felt like I wandered into a cozy country
kitchen… with a full bar and a row of bar tables with tall stools. I
was not hear for my usual liquid breakfast, but for brunch. I started
with a plate of assorted cured meats, which were delicious for being
various cuts of salted and cured cuts of fatty pork belly, but no more
or less delicious then your average selection from your local butcher.
From cured pork belly I moved onto grilled seabass and arugula salad.
The seabass was perfectly cooked with a nice olive oil glaze and sea
salt. the natural fish oil and olive oil and salt accented the arugula
salad nicely, perserving the crisp texture of the arugula and
tempering the bitterness of the leaf with salt and oil mix. I guess
I’m not surprised the seabass came out so well, The chef was the
executive chef at Eastchester fish Gourmet.
The bread pudding was delicious and a wonderful finish after the fish.
it was warm, soft and not too sweet. each bite was like a warm
inviting blanket and before you knew it, it was all over.
What I liked most about the cookery is the even flavoring of all the
dishes, no one dish over powered any other ones, each dish was well
presented and tasted as good as it looked. I would definitely give a
recommendation for this place.