Review: Café of Love in Mount Kisco

(Credit: Stephen Schmitt)

Photos:

After four successful years in Mount Kisco making scrumptious soups and stews to go, Ladle of Love bubbled over into a full-fledged restaurant, Café of Love.

Owner Leslie Lampert explained that within the first year of her nearby 400-square foot business, patrons were begging her to open a sit-down restaurant. "When this space opened," she said, "I felt the universe was saying, 'Here's your restaurant.'"

After six months of restoration, the café opened early in 2008. Executive chef Felipe Milanes offers a tight, seasonal menu that is at its core French but globally influenced.

Comfy chairs are upholstered, needlepoint carpets are underfoot and walls are a warm maize color. Huge framed mirrors give the impression of more space, and the long, marble-top bar faces a tempting bread bar, featuring wheels of Parmesan, dishes of olives, hummus and pita chips and huge baskets of Good Bread fennel-raisin rolls and whole grain chunks.

Lampert views her staff as family and hand-picks her staff with hospitality in mind. Our perky young waitress won us over entirely with her gushing smiles and "Awesome choice, you guys!"

The baby arugula-and-beet salad features Rainbeau Ridge goat cheese, made in Bedford Hills. The Mussels Provencal dish in a white wine broth, one of Milanes' signature dishes, was pleasantly packed with garlic and shallots. Of course, there are a couple of the inventive soups, but foie gras with polenta shows up among the appetizers as well.

For entrees, we tasted the pan-roasted cod atop a risotto dotted with chunks of chorizo and surrounded by a bright orange chili-cockle broth, which added smoky character to the dish. We also sampled a righteous burger flowing with juices, stuffed with bits of meaty brisket, topped with caramelized onions and served on a brioche roll. An herb and Gruyere omelet and a dinner-sized salad are among the lighter entrees.

The dessert selections include a well thought out cheese plate and a seasonal fruit martini, but the croissant bread pudding and the stuffed brownie sundae, a favorite from Ladle of Love, are the famous ones. Both are decadent, comforting and large enough to share.

For pics to click, go Inside: Café of Love

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