tarry lodge
DESCRIPTION
The 100 year old Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, a very different challenge for Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. With Chef Andy Nusser and management wiz Nancy Seltzer they aced it.TRANSCRIPT
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The peak of the fall season is fast approaching and with it the
attendant joys of crisp, clear weather and the incomparable display
of foliage that adorns the Northeast. Along with this there are the
pleasures of the season produced by local farms throughout the
tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Whether
you’re an urban ex-pat looking to escape the concrete con" nes of
Manhattan for an afternoon, or a suburban native out for the evening,
there is no better place to enjoy both these aspects of the sere and
piquant season than Tarry Lodge.
For over one hundred years Tarry Lodge has been the social hub
and local nexus for the waterfront community of Port Chester, N.Y.
Its long and colorful past includes incarnations as a prohibition-era
speakeasy and later a legal, if slightly unsavory, dive bar. The second
half of the last century saw it thrive as a family Italian restaurant
famous for its pan pizzas. It has always provided a safe and inviting
haven for travelers and locals alike. The current edition was opened
in the Fall of 2008 by Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Chef Andy Nusser
and General Manager Nancy Selzer.
Andy Nusser has been working with Batali since 1995 when he started
cooking at Pó in Greenwich Village, Mario’s " rst restaurant. From there
he went on to become Executive Chef at their newly opened Babbo in
1998, where he helped the restaurant earn three stars from The New
York Times and the title of Best New Restaurant from the James Beard
Foundation. Nancy Selzer began her long-standing relationship with
Mario and Joe " rst as a server at Babbo and then Service Director. In
2003, Andy, Nancy, Mario and Joe combined talents to create their
Spanish themed Casa Mono and Bar Jamón. Their efforts resulted in
packed rooms, rave reviews and a Michelin star.
Today’s Tarry Lodge retains the comfort and warmth of its namesake,
The 100 year old Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, NY,
was a very different proposition for kings of the city Mario and Joe.
With Chef Andy Nusser and management whiz Nancy Selzer, they aced it.
Article by John Moore
but adds the subtly nuanced interpretations of contemporary Italian
cuisine that have become the hallmark for all the B&B restaurants. For
the current generation of diners that has expectations well beyond the
spaghetti and meatball fare of their parents, the restaurant offers a true
Italian trattoria experience, combining casual atmosphere and classic
decor with an exceptional wine list and superb food.
The restaurant also offers several rooms for more formal dining
including a recessed mezzanine with a view of the congenial
commotion below. There patrons can enjoy such classic dishes as
Osso Buco alla Milanese with Pumpkin Fregula, Orecchiette with
Fennel Sausage and Rapini, Vitello Tonnato, or perhaps a lightly
charred and delicious Neapolitan style Pizza Margherita from the
wood-burning oven. And Tarry Lodge also has a roof-top Terrazzo
where diners can enjoy the temperate pleasures of the Westchester
autumn while drinking from the extensive, all-Italian wine list.
Like all of Joe and Mario’s Certi" ed Green restaurants, Tarry Lodge
strives to employ local sourcing of its produce and meats along with
sustainable practices whenever possible. Andy uses vegetables and
game from a variety of local farms and the Green Market at Union
Square. This fall you can look forward to celery root, mushrooms,
butternut squash, cauli$ ower and pumpkin from purveyors such as
Healthway Farms, Gorzynski Ornery Farm, Mountain Sweet Berry
Farm and Ryder Farm Cottage Industries.
The perfect convergence of these seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients
and epicurean expertise is one of Tarry Lodge’s weekly specials: Duck
Braciole with Pancetta and White Runners. Andy selects the ducks from
Rick Bishop at the Hudson Valley Duck Farm, which produces heritage
breed ducks in Sullivan County, N.Y. and he gets the black Kale, or
Cavalo Nero, from Paffenroth Gardens in nearby Orange County.
Photography By Kelly Campbell
the departure
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RECIPE
ROASTED YOUNG LAMB
WITH UMBRIAN SUMMER TRUFFLES,
SWISS CHARD AND CECI RAGU
Top left: Osso Buco
alla Milanese.
Top right: Tarry
Sundae. Above: The
lively bar scene
Bottom:
Guanciale Pizza with
Black Truffl es and
Sunny Side Egg.
Opposite page:
Duck braciola – get
cooking!
DUCK BRACIOLE WITH PANCETTAAND WHITE RUNNERS
TO PREPARE THE DUCK
Zest of 4 oranges
2 cups bread crumbs, toasted
12 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup pecorino, grated
½ cup olive oil
6 duck legs, con# t, meat pulled from
the bone and diced.
18 duck legs, fresh, boned
1) Combine all ingredients
2) Lay the boned duck legs skin side down and season.
3) Divide the stuf# ng mixture among the legs.
4) Fold the meat around the mixture and tie with
butcher’s twine.
5) Place the rolls $ ap side down in a roasting pan.
Season the skin side.
6) Roast for 30 minutes at 450
7) Cool overnight. Remove string and wrap in plastic
WHITE RUNNERS WITH PANCETTA
4 pounds white runner beans
1 pound prosciutto, diced
1 pound chorizo, diced
1 pound pancetta, diced
1 cup duck fat
20 cloves garlic, smashed
6 onions, diced
4 carrots , diced
1 bottle white wine
4 qt. chicken stock
4 qt. tomato roe
1) Soak the beans overnight
2) Heat the duck fat in a large pot
3) Add the pancetta cook for 10 minutes
4) Add the chorizo cook for 5 minutes
5) Add the prosciutto cook for 5 minutes
6) Add the onions cook for 5 minutes
7) Add the carrots and garlic cook for 5 minutes
8) Add the beans
9) Add the tomato
10) Add the chicken stock
11) Let simmer and cook until beans are tender 1 ½ hours.
Serve with the braciole on a bed of cavalo nero as a
deep entrée plate of beans
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