Sweet Grass Grill Returns with Many New Dishes and More to Come

Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown has reopened for dinner and beginning on Tuesday, November 9, it will also be serving lunch. 

Guest chef Gustaf Mabrouk now heads the kitchen and will remain until a permanent replacement is found for former chef Tommy Lasley. Mabrouk was previously chef de cuisine and pastry chef at Restaurant 42 in White Plains.

Owner David Starkey said the restaurant's emphasis will continue on the use of fresh, locally grown ingredients but the focus on simpler foods will be stepped up. Starkey and Mabrouk are currently looking for chefs and cooks having prior experience with creating and preparing meals with farm-to-table ingredients.

An almost entirely new dinner menu was introduced last Saturday by chef Mabrouk (the $12 Sweet Grass burger remains). The menu however is subject to alteration daily, Starkey said, pointing out that he has a printer soley for this purpose in the back office.

For the remainder of this week, the Sweet Grass Grill dinner menu has seven main courses. This number will undoubtedly increase as the kitchen's comfort level grows.

• Cavatelli (a small-shell pasta) with local farm vegetables
• Coq au vin with bacon, turnip and Hen of the Woods mushrooms
• Eden Brook trout with potato puree, sauteed spinach and horseradish butter  
• Pan seared scallops with creamed cabbage and Applewood smoken bacon
• Herb-crusted Roasted Chilean salmon  
• Roast Long Island duck breast with parsnip puree, kale and date chutney
• Sweet Grass burger with watercress, pickled farm vegetables and fries.

Starkey is excited about the introduction of coq au vin to the menu by Mabrouk. "This is chicken falling off the bone," Starkey said. "It's cooked in red wine and broth with mushrooms that go well with chicken and its heartier for those approaching colder days." The dish is priced at $20.

A new appetizer Starkey believes will be a best seller is East Coast oysters au gratin with cheese beurre fondu. "The oysters are delicious -- they are plump, breaded and fried with sauteed beet greens," he said.

New appetizers also include truffled cauliflower soup, grilled Andouille sausage with smoked potatoes and pickled vegetables, Hudson Valley cheeses with prosciutto, and a few salads.  

Starkey will wait for the new chef to arrive for the return of a small plates menu.

A work of art newly placed on display is a 5 by 7 foot reproduction of an 1882 photo of Briggs Market, the grocery that was the original occupant of the building that now houses Sweet Grass Grill. Baskets of corn, potatoes, tomatoes and other vegetables can be seen in the picture. Other changes include the installation of new restrooms and the light-green wainscotting of one of the walls.

Peter Basha, a long-time Sleepy Hollow resident, has joined the restaurant as general manager.

Sweet Grass Grill, 24 Main Street, Tarrytown, New York. 914-631-0000. www.sweetgrassgrill.com