A holiday get-together with Marissa and Boo at the cute local neighborhood joint, Juniper. The chef makes a mean radicchio salad.
That salad was bitter but also sweet with currants and nutty from marcona almonds and little shavings of manchego. The few herbs strewn about made it fresh and bright.
The restaurant is pretty small:
And there’s an open kitchen:
Marissa and Boo:
Pooky’s pate:
Housemade, all of it. And delicious.
My strozzapreti with turnips and egg:
Very rich and satisfying. Full of umami.
Pooky’s cod with chorizo and chickpeas:
A gutsy dish, with lots of smoke.
Scallops with farro and butternut squash:
The nuttiness of the farro tempered the sweetness of the scallops and the squash. Another winner.
Coq au vin:
A perfectly human-sized portion. Rich sauce, juicy chicken, nice al dente vegetables. Bravo. It came with polenta:
Of course me being me, I spilled some on myself. So I shook some salt onto my shirt:
Yes, le dork.
For dessert, we had the bread pudding:
Terrific. Just like our meal.
The 411 on Juniper: 575 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 914-478-2542. juniperhastings.com
