Food

Sweetgrass Grill Opens - At Last!

Another Stellar Restaurant Destination in Tarrytown

by Linda Viertel

Sweetgrass Grill, Tarrytown’s latest addition to a burgeoning restaurant scene, has opened with a bang, seating crowds of happy diners at lunch and dinner, and leaving them with a new appreciation of how seemingly simple preparations can still be inventive, surprising and deeply satisfying.

 Chef Tom Lasley and owners David Starkey and Theresa McCarthy in front of natural wood bar.

Owners David Starkey (owner of Tomatillo in Dobbs Ferry) and Theresa McCarthy have struck gold in hiring Chef Tom Lasley, a 2007 Culinary Institute graduate and former Blue Hill at Stone Barns line chef. Another sterling addition to the kitchen staff is Amos Bigler, former executive sous chef at the Crabtree Kittle House. Their reasonably priced “casual American” cuisine is “focused around Tom’s talents and tastes,” said Starkey. Seasonality and local produce are founding principles that help to make each dish shine with Chef Lasley’s touch.
 For starters, a tempting mound of tempura fried sweet baby shrimp or large and succulent pan-roasted Blue Hill Bay mussels in a lightly spicy broth brimming with peas and croutons are already favorites. And, there’s plenty to share. “Pigs in a blanket,” much more than traditional cocktail fare when made with flavorful, juicy artisanal sausages in a flaky pastry, are accompanied by tarragon mustard. Dips and spreads- roasted eggplant, an ethereal whipped ricotta and smoked onions make complementary presentations. The freshest and tastiest salads, thanks to Stone Barns farmer Jack Algiere, are perfectly dressed to show off his greens’ delicate flavors. Baby watercress with grilled asparagus and mushrooms should be sampled in their prime this spring. And the spinach salad enhanced by a poached Stone Barns Farm egg, homemade pancetta and lentils will likely be one of Chef Lasley’s signature dishes. A big surprise, and not to be missed, is the simmered chicken and parmesan chowder,  full of rich flavor, tender chicken, a hint of cheese, and redolent of dill, parsley and tarragon.
 There’s nothing more comforting or a better test of a kitchen’s expertise than a perfectly cooked roast chicken, which you will find at Sweetgrass served with pine nuts, broccoli rabe and a soothing loose stuffing made from the restaurant’s fennel-flecked focaccio. Smoked Berkshire pork ribs with potato croquettes and grilled scallion salad hint at Chef Lasley’s North Carolina roots, but reveal his extensive culinary skills in the perfect potato croquette. Homemade toasted gnocchi, accompanied by ricotta, asparagus and ramps is simply a knock-out; rich, savory, light, bright tastes and textures all melding together.
 Burgers served with house fries have fast become a Sweetgrass feature, and it’s perfect symmetry since not only bison but steer feed on sweet-grass. Sausage made from Stone Barns pork is created especially for Tom in Mamaroneck, and, paired with a side of his sweet potato fries,  you can’t go wrong. Kids get their own menu: pasta with marinara sauce, cheese quesadilla, mini-sweet grass burger or a hotdog. But, the entire family will fight over fresh doughnuts with white chocolate mouse, or the warm caramel fudge brownie with dark chocolate sauce and brown butter panna cotta.
 A bar menu is available from 10 to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Unusual draft beer specials are always listed, including Captain Lawrence, a local beer brewed in Pleasantville. Wines are very reasonably priced by the glass or bottle. While many are from California, Chile, Portugal or Italy, Sweetgrass has just added the 2008 Millbrook Tocai Friulano, another example of Starkey’s deep interest in buying local.
 Brunch is now available from 11 to 3:30 on Saturdays and Sundays, and is served with a complimentary mimosa or Bloody Mary, coffee or tea. For those lucky enough to have gotten a table at Sweetgrass Grill on Mother’s Day, you will be happy to know that that special brunch is now standard fare every weekend. Chef Lasley makes his own sourdough bread for the French toast, as well as his own granola and yogurt, served with dried fruits and beignets. His Southern roots are on deft display at brunch time with his buttermilk fried chicken accompanied by biscuits and marmalade, as well as his “Eggs a la Chef Tommy” – eggs fried in croutons, with braised pork, greens and mustard.
 In creating the restaurant’s interior, Starkey and McCarthy uncovered the building’s front door and exterior windows replete with original shingles on the shutters plus hinges, which they’ve carefully preserved. It’s fun to realize you are seated in 24 Main Street’s former front yard, which is actually a light and airy interior that has the feel of an informal Savannah, Georgia balcony. A rotating selection of artworks from Tarrytown’s Eyebuzz and Tappan Zee galleries is always on view. In addition, decorating the restaurant’s  natural brick wall and shelf space are exquisitely woven sweetgrass baskets made by Rwanda women, many of whom are genocide widows or wives of imprisoned perpetrators. They are from the Rwanda Basket Company; working to change the lives of impoverished women in Rwanda, the company’s motto is “changing lives one basket at a time”.
 And what a bar! The beautifully crafted natural wood bar is the creation of Steven Rockefeller, whose hobby happens to be wood-working. Starkey, a friend, commissioned him to build the bar. But, the process began with a walk around the Rockefeller property struck by the 2006 tornado. They found a large stump, which Rockefeller cut down, and had milled; he then refined it to reveal all the natural grains and inundations, and finished it on site.
 Sidewalk seating will return to 24 Main Street in June, adding even more geniality to Tarrytown’s lively atmosphere. Both Starkey, a Sleepy Hollow resident, and Theresa, a Tarrytown resident since 1978, are happy to be opening their own place in Tarrytown’s downtown after years as restaurant professionals. As McCarthy said,  “It’s been fun to watch the village grow; it’s really come into its own.” 
 In certain North American Indian traditions, sweetgrass itself is revered as a reminder to respect the earth and all it produces. In return, it is believed to  bring good fortune to the place it inhabits. Sweetgrass Grill, then, is appropriately named; it not only presents its customers with dishes deeply respectful of the finest local, seasonal ingredients, but presents them with the flair and energy that are the special properties of a young, gifted chef and his associates.