Jane D.
Yelp
We stumbled across this charming restaurant wholly by accident when we detoured into Armonk, to break up a drive back to the city. The restaurant's pretty, festively lit outdoor area and gas-lit torchier at the front door caught our attention from the street, and the lovely smell of a wood-burning brick oven greeted us when we walked into the door. Boy did we feel like we'd hit the jackpot.
You can't go wrong with anything made in that oven. A starter of wood-fired cauliflower (goddess dressing, chili crisp; $12) was perfectly browned, sprinkled with crunchy bits of Calabrian chili. The spice was fairly intense even for the adults and we didn't think our 7-year old could handle it. But she's going through a Superwoman phase and casually tossed a few pieces back, declining the chaser of water we offered afterwards. I wasn't super fond of the green goddess dressing as accompaniment, but it was easily avoidable.
Wood-oven fired branzino (seasonal panzanella, meyer lemon, EVOO, croutons; $37) came with a generously portioned, fresh filet, the skin nicely blistered and browned in the oven. I loved the bed of thinly shaved fennel bulb underneath, the slightly bitter slices of what I think was cured meyer lemon.
Wood-oven fired pizzas appear to be a specialty and crowd favorite for good reason. The two pizzas we ordered came with perfectly baked, gorgeously blistered crusts -- neither burnt nor underdone -- a tough balance to strike since the chef does not have more than a few seconds of wiggle room in either direction. It was just the right thickness for a NY style pizza, glutinous, chewy and substantial, exactly the sort of crust we go for.
The Original Famous Ray's with pepperoni ($19) featured suuuuper stretchy cheese, with a generous application of little cups of crisped pepperoni. San Gennaro pizza ($19) came with a large (but not overwhelming) amount of sausage, roasted peppers and onion, sesame, and high quality fresh mozzarella. Huge, empty cans of tomato sauce serve as pizza stands, which we found to be a charming touch.
It's a rustic, cozy space with high ceilings, lots of wood planks -- very Vermont-like in feel. Service (from Treva) was attentive and courteous. As soon as we took our first bites, the Pardner bookmarked the place for a return visit.