Searching for places to have breakfast in Tarrytown, Bellas Restaurant came up first in my search. It could have been because it is in the beginning of the alphabet or it could be because it is the No. 1 place for breakfast in Tarrytown.  I made my decision after researching a few places to visit for breakfast, because when I called Bellas to confirm that indeed they were open, and yes, they had a full breakfast menu. The lady on the other line sounded so peppy and happy early on a Sunday morning. Plus she told me that everything is wonderful. So confident in her statement, I had to find out …

Hallelujah to spring and summer! The sun is shining and life is good. Let’s eat outside. As soon as the first glimmer of sunlight appears, the barbecues are smoking. Everyone is eating in parks, backyards and on their decks. They are eating the summer foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and macaroni salad.    Macaroni salad is similar yet different in every home and in every delicatessen across America. The personal tastes of individual cooks are added to each version of macaroni salad. I started making my own macaroni salad about 30 years ago. Mayonnaise and I are not good friends…

The more restaurant breakfast reviews I do, the more I realize how many restaurants are open only for lunch and dinner. When venturing out to a new area, I search first for places to eat. Example: diners, cafes and restaurants.  Then the list gets dwindled down by who actually serves breakfast. I am happy to visit anyplace tiny and cozy or large and intimidating. The most important factors for me, besides the food, are service from my waiter/waitress and the surrounding feelings of comfort.  When walking into Terra Rustica, it didn’t have the look of a typical breakfast place  because it isn’…

For going on five years, I have been baking and sending care packages to our American soldiers through the Treat the Troops Web site. I can’t think of a better volunteer project for me—Somebody’s Mom—than to bake and ship to our American soldiers. Working full time during the day, sometimes I bake on the weekends or after work during the week. The next day I put together the care packages by carefully wrapping the cookies in stages with small baggies and bubble wrap and then boxing them to get to the post office the same day for shipping. Soldiers deserve to get the cookies as fresh as …

When we arrived at 9:10 a.m. on a Sunday morning at TNT Luncheonette in Harrison, there were only a few people sitting on stools at the counter. Mela, my breakfast buddy, and I slipped into a back booth for breakfast. Within 30 minutes, the place was packed with customers who appeared to be regulars.  People were getting up and going to other tables and kissing each other.  TNT appeared to be the Cheers of breakfast joints, a place where everyone knew everyone else’s name. It had a real small town feel that added to its charm and warmth. I overheard from the booth behind me a gentleman …

You can usually buy rainbow cookies in every bakery. They are not quite the all-American chocolate chip cookie, but they are very popular.   I am not particularly a fan of jelly-filled cookies, so I don’t really care for the rainbow cookie.  My daughter-in-law, Christine, happens to love them, so I thought I would try to make them for her. I have been buying them for her on occasion but decided to try baking them on my own.   The recipes in my collection of cookbooks produce very large quantities and gives me the opportunity to see a recipe prepared various ways. Whether the cookbook is an …

Picture it—Monday—President’s Day, a perfect day for Mela and me to venture to the world beyond the Tappan Zee Bridge for breakfast and some shopping.   I researched about five different possible breakfast places in Rockland County and all were closed on Mondays. Luckily, I remember seeing one or two diners during my drives in Nanuet and Nyack. Hogan’s Nyack Diner appeared like magic during my search, and I called, and yes, they were open! I got directions from the Internet and off we went. This breakfast review could be called Lost in Rockland, because the instructions definitely got us five…

Cafe Mozart in Mamaroneck serves breakfast?  Well, they do serve omelettes, and that is a breakfast item. On holidays and weekends they offer a breakfast menu with a larger selection of choices to choose from.  But on a recent Wednesday morning when my friend Karen and I met for breakfast, we had limited choices except for the coffee. Why order a regular cup of coffee, when you can have a Mochaccino and a Vienna Roast?  The Vienna Roast was listed on the menu as an individual pot of coffee—the reality was that there were almost four cups of coffee in the pot, enough for two people to share. …

There is only one person who I think of when I think of Irish Soda Bread. That person is Mrs. Hoey.   The Hoey family moved into the house next door when I was 3 years old. Luckily, for me, they had a 3-year-old daughter, Maura, who became my best friend and still is to this day.   Mrs. Hoey had tremendous patience for a very precocious little girl, namely me. Maura was a good kid, while I was a handful. Maura and I became inseparatable growing up together. We both have one older brother, so we bonded as girlfriends and as substitute sisters, but without the sibling competition.   Maura would…

During the past holidays, my good friend Regina, who lives in Mahopac, and I—a New Rochelle resident—met halfway at the Mount Kisco Coach Diner for breakfast to celebrate her birthday.  At 10 a.m. on a Friday morning, the diner was half full. I arrived first and went to get us a table. I asked the hostess if I could have a booth on the right side, this way I could see Regina walk in.  The hostess completely ignored my request and asked me to sit on the left side of the diner. I didn’t budge and again requested to sit at an empty booth on the right side.  Unwillingly, she brought me to where I…

Potato mozzarella pie came about years ago because there are never enough ways to feed my son mashed potatoes. My son Tommy loves mashed potatoes. I kid you not; I cook the whole five-pound bag of potatoes into mashed potatoes just for one dinner. If I don’t serve the entire five pounds at one sitting, my son will eat everyone else’s portion. I had seen an Italian foreign film in which the mother in a scene in the story was making a potato pie. The whole time I was watching the movie, I was trying to figure out how she was making it.   After seeing that film, I started asking all my Italian …

While looking for a breakfast place in Rockland County, I checked out Pancakes Plus in Nanuet. It was New Year's Day and it sounded promising. I called at 8:15 a.m. and a friendly voice verified that, yes, they were open. My breakfast buddy, Mela, was in a good mood and willing to take the trip with me over the bridge from Westchester County.  Arriving in a roundabout way—thank goodness I have a GPS; my son gave it to me after I kept getting lost in Long Island where he lives—we found Pancakes Plus.  From the front, it looks like it is a temporary location because of the sign above the door …

It's winter, so I adapt my cooking to the season. I cook depending on what foods are on sale. Recently, I bought the large package of sweet sausages on sale. We usually have sausage and pepper hero sandwiches or sausages and spaghetti for dinner; but my favorite recipe to make with sausages is sausage soup. I got this recipe from my friend’s aunt years ago. I use sweet sausage most of the time, but you could add hot sausage to spice it up. Another option would be to sprinkle in red pepper flakes. My soup is made only with sweet sausages, because I personally do not like the hot kind. I let my…

I found this little card in my coupon bag in my car, Country Kitchen—15 percent off menu. I had never heard of Country Kitchen in Pelham Manor, but the coupon was a great motivator for trying someplace new for breakfast. A bright pleasant Sunday morning, I and my breakfast buddies ventured out for Country Kitchen. Even though it has been opened for one year already, it looked brand spanking new. Probably it also had to due with the fact that our 9:40 a.m. arrival it was fairly empty. But by 10:15 a.m., tables all around us were starting to fill up.  Let me say first off, all of us were very …

Buttermilk is such a great addition when baking muffins and cakes. Since it's usually sold in quart containers only—4 cups, that is—it would be very rare to use the whole container when baking a recipe.   Even when I double or triple this recipe, I have leftover buttermilk. That is when I start baking buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk bread. For me, it is fun to figure out how to use up the leftover buttermilk. I usually start searching through my very large recipe collection which is made up of dozens of books and loose paper recipes.   I have substituted walnuts for pecans if I have no …

Stanz Café in Larchmont is a place where I have been a customer for years, for their lunch-time sandwiches and salads, which are top notch. I really never paid much attention to the fact that they serve breakfast—until now.   One recent Thursday morning, I decided to check Stanz Café’s breakfasts.  Joining me were my good friends, Mela—my breakfast buddy—and Sandy. We all had the day off from our jobs, and before we ventured off to run our own individual errands, we met for breakfast.  First off, I love Stanz Café's motif: very comfortable with large wooden tables in a warm, comfortable, …

Americans love appetizers. We really do. How many times have I invited people and served only appetizers? The answer is many times. For my husband’s surprise 30th birthday party, I had 70 people in my little house. He thought only a few people were coming over, but the house was packed. I was working full time and had two kids, so I was too busy to cook everything. So I decided to cater the party—one of the first times that I didn’t do everything myself. I had the catering place provide various appetizers on trays, and everybody was extremely curious to see what the next appetizer was going …

The day after the big nor'easter snow storm that hit us Oct. 29, I was ready to escape the cabin fever I was already experiencing. Mela, my breakfast buddy, was ready to get out, too, so we planned on meeting for breakfast Sunday at 9 a.m. in White Plains at the City Limits Diner. After maneuvering around all the closed streets from fallen branches and trees, I arrived a bit late at 9:15. That was a good thing because at 9:30 there was a line of customers waiting to be seated.  Many patrons were discussing their war stories about power outages. I joined in with our own tale of woe. While at …

With fish being a tradition for many Christmas Eve tables, why not try this Bay Scallops and Grits dish, inspired by my first trip to Newport, RI, over two years ago? What would I do without my friends MaryEllen and Mike? Probably never visit Newport, RI. They invited my husband and me to their place for a weekend.   We arrived on a Friday evening and just settled in, when Mike took us for a spontaneous tour of Newport by car. It looked wonderful in the dark, but I was really curious to see everything in the daylight. That would have to wait for Saturday afternoon.   After a morning of …

For a different addition to your holiday table, why not try Stuffed Mushrooms. The best mushrooms to use are big, firm, white beauties just waiting for the perfect filling.   The filling is quite basic: chopped mushroom stems, breadcrumbs and onions for starters. Of course, using butter or margarine for sautéing will keep them moist and tender.   However, what really sets all stuffed mushroom recipes apart from the rest are the additional secret ingredients. I have always made my stuffed mushrooms with parmesan and/or Romano cheese, chopped onions, chopped garlic and basil.   Most of the time…