IT wasn’t the daffodils or the robin’s song or even the slowly lengthening days that best brought spring in for me this year. It was biting into Bedford Post Inn’s grilled octopus with fresh chickpeas.
Grigliate di Polpo was the first course of my first dinner at the Bedford Village restaurant, and the parade of distinctive, soul-warming tastes continued all that night and on subsequent visits as well. Spanish mackerel poached in olive oil and served with grilled wild ramps was another light, fresh choice. A main course of zucchini blossom fritto with sheep’s milk ricotta, shelling beans and saffron tasted as if I were eating in a garden despite the cool, rainy night.
The restaurant’s chef, Brian Lewis, formerly of Vu in Scottsdale, Ariz., Oceana in Manhattan and Bix in San Francisco, is cooking up some truly evocative food.
Bedford Post Inn has been open only a few months, but it is already widely known for its co-owner, the actor Richard Gere. His involvement is bringing unusual attention to the new spot — a simple Google search turned up thousands of entries parsing his every move and flagging celebrity visitors. (I had dinner next to Harry Connick Jr. and Jill Goodacre, his supermodel wife, one evening, and Martha Stewart, a neighbor, is said to come by regularly on her horse.) The restaurant feels it necessary to take credit card numbers for its reservations, with the unusual (for Westchester) warning that it will charge $30 a person for no-shows or cancellations made less than 24 hours in advance.
But Bedford Post Inn deserves to be best known for its food. Mr. Lewis is committed to cooking with seasonally appropriate ingredients supplied mostly by small, local family farms, including eggs from John Boy’s Farm Market in Pound Ridge, bread from SoNo Baking Company in South Norwalk (though 90 percent of the baked goods are made in-house) and cheese acquired through Plum Plums in Scotts Corner Market. So a shaved fennel salad with gala apple and Parmigiano-Reggiano tasted as if the ingredients had been brought from the farm directly to the table: simple, refreshing; an awakening.
Right now, dinners at Bedford Post Inn are prix fixe only (and available only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights). That allows you the advantage of Mr. Lewis’ s pairing suggestions, and themes emerge. Lemon was a recent leitmotif. It was in the chilled scallop in cucumber juice with a caviar topping that served as the amuse bouche. I tasted it again in the salad and, most wonderfully, in the soft egg yolk raviolo, which opened to release a gorgeous orange-yellow liquid that mingled with a sugo di vitello and extraordinary, smoky speck ham.
By mid- to late summer, there will be even greater opportunities to see what Mr. Lewis is capable of when a slightly larger, more formal dining room opens in the building next door four to five nights a week. Dinners in the current space, called the Barn, will continue on Sunday nights and as part of cooking class parties and private events. Breakfast, lunch and Sunday brunch — all currently available — will be the Barn’s focus.
In the meantime, there are some wrinkles to work out. The food doesn’t always arrive at a timely pace and the wait staff is inconsistent. One night we didn’t even know there was an amuse bouche until we noticed other tables getting it. We had to ask for our coffee three times, and the waiter knew nothing about what he was serving.
But the food itself is strong enough, and the setting — a historic property — is lovely enough that if those problems are ironed out, Bedford Post Inn could easily become a leading culinary destination.
The Barn at Bedford Post Inn
954 Old Post Road (Route 121)
Bedford Village
(914) 234-7800
VERY GOOD
THE SPACE An airy, light-filled, cafe-style main room, with a window view into the kitchen. Old beams help the historic space reflect its name: the Barn. Additional seating on a small outdoor patio and in a more private area on the second floor.
THE CROWD Nearly all adults, mostly relaxed but sophisticated locals. Some even come over on horseback (there will soon be stables specifically designed to leave one’s horses while eating).
THE BAR There is no bar in the Barn. A short wine list focuses mainly on French vineyards ($28 to $105 a bottle, with some available by the glass).
THE BILL Dinner, prix fixe, $75 per person. Lunch entrees: $10 to $19. Breakfast entrees: $7 to $14. Brunch entrees: $8 to $18.
WHAT WE LIKE Soft egg yolk raviolo, olive oil poached mackerel, grilled octopus, shaved fennel salad; Berkshire pork, crisp Atlantic skate, zucchini blossom fritto, risotto; vanilla crème caramel, strawberry shortcake, peanut butter mousse, honey napoleon with lime shortbread.
IF YOU GO Dinner: Thursday to Saturday only. Seatings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Reservations necessary on Friday and Saturday; fee of $30 per person for reservations canceled less than 24 hours in advance. Breakfast: Monday to Friday, 8 to 10:30 a.m. Lunch: Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Brunch: Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Valet parking.
Reviewed June 1, 2008
