For a tasty south-of-the-border meal, there’s nothing like “the crazy worm.” Manuel Garcia, veteran proprietor of bustling Gusano Loco Mexican Restaurant on Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck, is currently serving a festive new 10th-anniversary menu of authentic specialties reflecting the regional cooking styles of his native country. The rustic enclosed patio is also open for dining.

Gusano Loco, which means “crazy worm” after the specialty tequila, was founded with the idea of bringing true Mexican home cooking to the Westchester area. The Guadalajara-bred Garcia has always collected and developed his own recipes and searched for authentic fresh ingredients to prepare them. The refurbished 64-seat restaurant now has a tented temperature-controlled outdoor patio that accommodates up to 26. Colorful Mexican artifacts are strewn throughout the rustic eatery, and the service is quite friendly.

Tempting new starters include: Botana de la Casa, a super-size combo platter with nachos, chorizo quesadilla, beef chimichanga, chicken flauta and guacamole; Queso Fundido, melted cheese with chorizo served with flour tortillas; and Ceviche Vera Cruz (from the new raw bar), fresh chunks of red snapper marinated in lemon juice, mixed with chopped onion, tomato, celery, cilantro and olives.

Your favorite enchiladas and fajita platters are here and are quite good, but I suggest you try such house specialties as: delicious Mariscada Sergio, shrimp, scallops, clams, crab legs, calamari and mussels baked with fresh garlic, wine, roasted cactus and ancho pepper salsa; Birria de Res, delicious tender chunks of short rib baked in a sauce of ancho, tomato, garlic and ginger; or King Crab Enchiladas, filled with king crab meat and vegetables, topped with jalisco salsa and cheese. A variety of popular combination platters is also available.

There is often live music on weekends and sometimes Manuel himself picks up his guitar and sings. This spot is better than ever; it’s an ongoing fiesta and delicious too!

Gusano Loco Mexican Restaurant
1137 W. Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck, 777-1512
Seven days a week, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Seasonal Fare, Lavish Surroundings

The lovely fountain garden is blossoming this season, as is the lavish dining room and lounge, at Mulino’s on Court Street in White Plains. General Manager Gimmy Cavagna and his staff are keeping the premises as spiffy as ever: the bursting colorful floral displays, the sparkling grappa and glassware collection, and the handsome multilevel seating area that recently added new furnishings. There are new seasonal dishes as well: The Cold Seafood Platter is a wonder and fine to share; Goat Cheese Salad; Silver Dollar Mushrooms stuffed with Escargots; lovely Stuffed Baby Artichokes; Soft Shell Crab Provencale; and their decadent versions of Penne Veneziana, with baby shrimp, saffron, chick peas and San Danielle prosciutto; Black Linguine with Baby Lobster Tails; plump tender Rack of Lamb served on the long bone; and delicate Dover Sole finished off in the dining room. Valet parking nightly. Live piano Friday and Saturday. Open Monday through Saturday.

Mulino’s
99 Court St., White Plains, 761-1818, mulinos.us

At Rani Mahal in Mamaroneck, proprietor Abdul Jalil touts cooking styles of northern and southern India in a dining room enhanced with lovely Indian fabrics and artifacts. There are ample dishes for vegetarians and non-vegetarians, all loaded with flavor. There is the generous daily buffet to start the day (which runs up to 3:00 p.m.) featuring over a dozen choices from fresh salad to dessert. The regular menu is also available throughout the day, offering such house specialties as: Shrimp Kebabs; Tandoori Chicken on or off the bone; Tandoori Lobster; Lamb Rogan Josh; Aloo Gobi, a vegetarian dish of cauliflower, potato and tomato cooked in a light gravy; and Palak Paneer, homemade cheese cubes cooked in a delicately spiced spinach gravy. A special six-course “Royal Dinner for Two” is now being offered, sort of a tasting menu that includes choice of Indian bread and a bottle of wine. It is meant for sharing. Cost is $99. The same ownership also operates Valhalla’s Mughal Palace. Open seven days.

Rani Mahal
320 Phillips Park Drive, Mamaroneck
835-9066, ranimahalny.com

Mark Your Culinary Calendar

La Bocca (8 Church St., White Plains; 948-3281; laboccaristorante.com) is celebrating Ferragosto all’Italiana, the Italian summer harvest festival, throughout the month with special events, music and new traditional dishes. Executive chef/owner Tony Spiritoso’s slick Italian ristorante is loaded with the spirited flavors of his native Calabria and surrounding regions. The daily antipasti table beckons with cured meats, cheeses and marinated vegetables. After a lagniappe of the tasty house-made caponata, look for such specialties via Chef Cristian Petitta as: Pappardelle alla Bocca, sautéed shallots, speck prosciutto, and porcini in a white cream sauce; Gnocchi Cremosi, with pears and cream gorgonzola sauce; and Petto di Pollo in Padella, pan-fried chicken breast with balsamic fig sauce over Swiss chard. New summer salad options at lunch include favorite toppings like: grilled sausage, chicken, calamari, garlic shrimp and goat cheese ball. The arched dining room with its modern murals set in stone is playful and handsome. There is often live music on Thursday nights, but do check ahead. Open seven days for lunch and dinner.

Morris Gut is a restaurant consultant and former restaurant trade magazine editor. He has been tracking and writing about the dining scene in greater Westchester for more than 25 years. He may be reached at 235-6591 or gutreactions@optonline.net .

Having just returned from a trip to Italy’s Coast of Capri on the Island of Ischia, Dean Vivolo, the young chef-owner of Trattoria Vivolo in Harrison, is marking the summer season with a variety of tasty regional specialties and new outdoor seating.

The 60-seat Trattoria Vivolo is housed in a gleaming diner with counter and booths in the front and an airy greenhouse in the rear. Newly planted giant sunflowers flank seasonal outdoor umbrella tables with special lighting and candles that accommodate guests for al fresco dining, weather permitting. The entire restaurant has been refurbished and is highlighted by fresh flowers and burgundy and white table settings. During the evening, the restaurant takes on a charming glow.

Chef Vivolo, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, started his career training with his father, Michael Vivolo, chef-owner of the venerable La Riserva Restaurant in Larchmont. Dean had an opportunity to work in the kitchens of the noted San Domenico in Manhattan and La Panetiere in Rye. He also honed his skills both in front- and back-of-the-house in and around Rome, Italy.

The regular menu includes such enticing antipasti as: Calamaretti Ripieni di Mantova, baby calamari stuffed with shrimp and vegetables; and a decadent version of Crostino di Polenta, polenta topped with wild mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese and tomato sauce. Flavorful pasta selections include: Bucatini all' Amatriciana, with pancetta in a spicy tomato sauce with pecorino cheese; and Penne Carbonara, with pancetta, pecorino cheese in a cream sauce. Lasagna al Forno is served the way we like it, Bolognese style.

Hearty pesce and carne specialties include: fresh Branzino Arrosto, pan-seared sea bass with garlic, lemon, and extra virgin olive oil; Costoletta di Vitello alla Erbe, grilled veal chop topped with fresh herbs and sauteed mushrooms; Gamberi alla Griglia con Rucola, grilled shrimp with arugula and basil sauce; Pollo Paillard, grilled chicken paillard with roasted vegetables; and Salmone con Caponata, grilled salmon topped with fresh caponata.
Save room for such house-made desserts as: Sfogliatina di Fragole, fresh strawberries and pastry cream baked in puff pastry shell; and the house Panna Cotta.

There is a friendly, attentive staff here working the floor…always an extra benefit to your dining experience.
Trattoria Vivolo
301 Halstead Ave., Harrison, 835-6199

New Menu at Elements
Rick Krebs, the talented, self-taught chef working the kitchen at sleek, multilevel Elements (161 Mamaroneck Ave; 358-4930), has issued a new menu. Now you can check into such eclectic dishes as: Firecracker Chicken Salad, mixed greens, mosaic vegetables, wontons, tamarind vinaigrette; White Plains Cheese Steak Sandwich, with Boursin cheese, sautéed onions, fire-roasted peppers and fries; Korean Lettuce Wraps; Cod Loin, with Swiss chard, red bliss potatoes, cherry tomato, capers and white wine sauce; and Petite Chicken, with chorizo and spinach stuffing, salsa verde and Spanish rice. Amiable manager Aine Grant and her staff will see to your needs. Don’t forget the open-air deck upstairs or the new sidewalk seating on Mamaroneck Avenue. Open seven days for lunch and dinner. Take out. Major credit cards. Municipal parking.

Mark Your Culinary Calendar
Alain Bennouna, chef/proprietor of Zitoune Moroccan Restaurant (1127 W. Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck; 835-8350) offers a full Mediterranean tapas menu each Tuesday with small plates ranging from $3.50 to $13.50, including such favorites as Shrimp Cigars and Lamb Brochette. You can sign up for his Monday night Moroccan cooking courses while you’re there, too.  

Morris Gut is a restaurant consultant and former restaurant trade magazine editor. He has been tracking and writing about the dining scene in greater Westchester for more than 25 years. He may be reached at 235-6591 or gutreactions@optonline.net

According to affable owner Jason Ma of Season’s, the casual Japanese bistro he and his friendly staff have been operating along Mamaroneck Avenue for almost 6 years, he carries 75 varieties of sake, the specialty liquor brewed from rice, and that’s about the most complicated matter to be concerned with here. The regular menu is more familiar and pleasing. It is a comforting spot for a tasty sushi fix, meticulously prepared by sushi chef Steve, along with flavorful Japanese kitchen specialties served in generous portions.

The restaurant is just down the street from the City Center entertainment complex and much of the bustle going on in downtown White Plains these days. It can make for a good quick stop for a couple of hand rolls, or to settle in to a more elaborate Japanese meal. The house does not mind at all. In addition to the regular menu, the restaurant also ventures a list of monthly specialties.

But when it comes to the sake, or how to tackle it if you are not all that familiar with the rituals, the house will furnish you with a helpful pamphlet, sort of a Cliff’s Notes on the subject, that explains some of the basic variations in rice used, acidity, flavor, temperature, types of sake, and oh yes, rice polishing ratio. If you wish to venture further, allow one of the expert servers to take you on a sake flight. It may surprise you how this exotic Japanese liquor can complement some of the dishes you order, similar to pairing grape wine with food.

Starters from the kitchen and sushi bar you should consider include: Edamame, steamed young soybean with salt; Beef Negimaki, rolled with scallion; or Jumbo Shrimp Shumai. There are four types of Tartar, prepared with spicy tuna, spicy salmon, spicy yellowtail or spicy toro. Assorted Seafood Tempura is served with lemon vinegar. Ika Salad is prepared with cooked squid.

Entrées from the kitchen include: Teriyaki nine different ways, from tofu to lobster as the main ingredient. If you want to test your prowess at slurping (it is ok to express yourself over noodles in Japan) there is Yaki Udon, stir-fried noodles with vegetable, chicken or seafood; and Japanese Ramen (which actually originated in China), a big bowl of noodle soup stocked with tender meats such as beef or pork and sometimes seafood. This can make for a full meal.
If you want to put the sushi bar to work (there are a few seats where you can interact with the chef) there are many choices. Try sushi and sashimi entrees or à la carte, all types of hand rolls, a special list of a dozen vegetarian rolls, and Season’s special rolls. A good cross section includes: Eel Special Roll (the eel is always a treat), shrimp tempura cucumber inside, with eel and avocado outside; Spicy Tuna Roll; Spider Roll, with seasonal soft shell crab, batter fried with cucumber and avocado; and House Special Vegetable Roll, mixed vegetable with rice. There are many combination platters to choose from too.

the way, Ma is also a partner with May Tan at Bao’s in the old White Plains Mall (682-8858), one of our best Chinese/Asian restaurants.

Open seven days for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Take-out available. Municipal parking.
Season’s Japanese Bistro
105 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, 421-1163
seasonsjapanesebistro.com

More New Indian Dishes
Simson Kalathara, proprietor of Bengal Tiger on East Post Road in White Plains, continues to break new culinary ground by bringing us ever more dishes from the Indian repertoire. We’re talking about specialties that you would be hard-pressed to find at other Indian establishments. Of course, the basics are always present: the delicious stuffed Dosas, the Tandoori specialties, his giant Chennai Prawns. But if you don’t mind stretching your palate a bit, try his current crop of specialties: Kalamari Ularthiathu, squid rings stir cooked with sliced coconut, black pepper, spices and curry leaves; Narangi Battakh, duck breast cooked with orange korma sauce in the Kashmiri style; Shabnam Curry, house-made cottage cheese, mushrooms and green peas in a delicate tomato gravy; Murgh Charminar, tender pieces of chicken tikka marinated in a tomato, onion and mixed blend of ground spices; and Neelagiri, Machi, mahi mahi cooked in a curry of coconut, chilies, fresh coriander and roasted mixed spices. The degree of spiciness is often up to you. Check out the Indian history and folklore lining the walls.
Open seven days for lunch, dinner and weekend buffet brunch. Take-out available. Municipal parking.
Bengal Tiger
144 E. Post Rd., White Plains , 948-5191
bengaltiger1.com

Through the Grapevine
Thanks to tireless long-time restaurant maven Ed Hawkins, we have learned that Glenn Vogt has returned to The Kittle House (11 Kittle Rd., Route 117, Chappaqua; 666-8044; kittlehouse.com) as general manager, partnering with proprietors John and Amy Crabtree. I first met Glenn when he acted as general manager and wine director from 1990 to 1996 under founder Dick Crabtree, at a time when the restaurant was evolving its fine reputation as a culinary destination and also building one of the finest wine cellars in the country, much since lauded by Wine Spectator magazine. During the intervening years, Glenn had worked in a number of fine restaurants in Manhattan, including the legendary Windows on the World, where he also was general manager. More good news for diners: Kevin Bertrand has also returned to his roots here as executive chef. Chef Bertrand, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a former line cook in this kitchen, had been chef de cuisine at the highly regarded Xaviar’s in Piermont for 10 years.  

Morris Gut is a restaurant consultant and former restaurant trade magazine editor. He has been tracking and writing about the dining scene in greater Westchester for more than 25 years. He may be reached at 235-6591 or gutreactions@optonline.net.