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Health & Fitness

Restaurant with Automotive Theme Bows in at Empire City Casino


Time-tested and modern concepts blend in the look and menu of "pinch," a different experience for restaurant goers. The American/international 245-seat eatery debuted on Wednesday, June 19 at the Yonkers Raceway's Empire City Casino on the mezzanine level of the casino. 

The restaurant's name is a representation of the cooking term "pinch."  

A nostalgic interior reflects mid-20th-century classic diner design and evokes memories of the 1955 Bisiluro Damolnar Le Mans race car. 

The daring design includes a "floating," glass-enclosed keg room and a red tap wall with 100 beer faucets at the main bar and six booths equipped with self-pour tableside tap dispensing systems that allow guests to serve themselves.

The menu is innovative and represents a mix of American and international dishes created by Chef Fabienne Eymard, formerly of Taillevent in Paris, Caprice in Switzerland and Benoit in New York City. 

Here is a look at some of the food and beverage That "pinch" offers:

Starters, soup and salad

  • Macaroni and cheese with ham 
  • Mini beef short rib tacos 
  • Sweet and spicy glazed chicken wings 
  • Onion soup
  • Salads in half or full portions
  • Seafood bar. Includes scallops with hot yellow pepper paste and fresh heart of palm salad
Entrees and burgers
  • Half-pound beef burger with crispy pork belly, red onion, arugula and beer cheese sauce (with optional sunny side up egg)
  • Atlantic cod atop a potato puree with lemon, capers, croutons and brown butter  
  • Lamb T-bone chops with Mediterranean relish and eggplant tart
  • Beef from the grill with a variety of sauces
Sandwiches 
  • Herb leg of lamb panini with eggplant and feta cheese
  • Beer-marinated grilled skirt steak on French baguette with Dijon mustard and watercress 
Side dishes a la carte
  • Crushed potatoes 
  • Creamy spinach 
  • Wild mushrooms
Desserts
  • S’mores
  • Raspberry sundae
  • Apple tart tatin served with crème fraîche
  • Warm chocolate cake topped with pistachio ice cream
Beverages (100 New York State beers are on tap)
  • Twenty-five large format beers including limited releases (available seasonally and in small batches)
  • Beers exclusively brewed for this restaurant
  • Pour-your-own beer taps. Fixed to a handful of tables
  • Daily take-home selection of eight featured beers on tap
  • Wine list. Eighty bottles comprised mostly of American wines from New York and California (75 percent), and France 
Tamber Weiersheuser, the executive pastry chef, was previously with Alain Ducasse’s miX at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors designed the restaurant which is inspired by automotive interiors including glossy, powder coated metals with red accents, tailored banquettes and louvered screens. The main bar, with an impressive draft wall, has seating for 28 and serves food and drink. The accompanying bar counter overlooking the raw bar also serves food and drink. A semi-private dining room seats 34 people and a private dining room accommodates parties of 10.

Development of the restaurant was a a collaboration effort by the Mark Advent Company (the developer), Ducasse Studio (the culinary consulting arm of Alain Ducasse Entreprise, based in Paris), Roman and Williams, and Richard H. Lewis Architect (project architects for Balthazar and Minetta Tavern in New York City). Mark Advent also founded the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The restaurant's operating hours:
  • Lunch. Served daily from noon to 4:30 p.m.
  • Dinner. Sunday-Thursday, 6 to 10 p.m.
  • Dinner, Friday-Saturday, 6  to 11 p.m. 
Empire City Casino has more than 5,300 slot machines, additional gambling attractions, live entertainment, concerts, year-round harness racing and other restaurants.

The casino is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. For more information about the casino, call 914-968-4200 or go to www.empirecitycasino.com

The restaurant "pinch" is located on the mezzanine level of the Empire City Casino, 810 Yonkers Avenue (at Central Avenue), Yonkers, 914-457-2541, www.pinchusa.com
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