Review: Sidewalk Bistro in Piermont

(Credit: Mark Vergari)

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Though Sidewalk Bistro shares part of its name with its Piermont predecessor, Sidewalk Café, the similarities stop there. Whereas Café was a casual, chili-and-burger kind of place, the new Bistro is far more chic. Yes, the new version still makes burgers, only now they're of the Kobe beef variety, topped with bleu cheese.

Beyond the upscale menu, plenty of other things bode well for Bistro. Chef and co-owner Alain Eigenmann has cooked at Gascogne and Provence in Manhattan, while co-owner Daout Celestin spent 18 years as maître d' for Peter Kelly's Xaviars, down the street. And, of course, there's the location. Right in the heart of Piermont, the restaurant has been gutted and rebuilt with a new kitchen, mahogany bar and decorative champagne riddling racks on the wall. Appropriately, it offers ample sidewalk seating — ideal for people-watching — and the pretty backyard patio even has its own bar. In short, it has all the ingredients to become one of Rockland's premier dining destinations. All the ingredients, except consistent food.

Some appetizers, like the mussels in white wine, were delicious and befitting the restaurant's Parisian connection. But some others were outright disappointing. The Napoleon de tomates (stacked tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) was slightly frozen in the middle, as if the bland tomatoes had been assembled and refrigerated days before. The salmon carpaccio with citrus and passion-fruit oils sounded delicious, but the fish wasn't pounded thin enough, and the fishy flavor overpowered everything else.

As for the entrées, a rib-eye au poivre came with an excellent, creamy peppercorn-filled sauce, yet the meat was overcooked and gristly. On the flip side, the brochette provençale was tasty, with shrimp and scallops threaded, kabob-style, onto rosemary sticks, grilled, and seasoned heavily with herbes de provence.

Dessert did nothing to resolve the split-opinion on Bistro. The poached pear in white wine was undercooked, yet the accompanying vanilla ice cream with crumbled pistachio was tasty and satisfying. Combined, the dish — ike the restaurant — hadn't quite come together perfectly. Maybe a little more time in the poaching pot is all that's needed.

For pics to click, go Inside: Sidewalk Bistro in Piermont

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