Meritage Restaurant's Farm-to-Table Cuisine Beckons in Summer's Bounty

Every hot new restaurant opening in New York City is trying to catch a late train on the small-plates-local-organic-fare Zeitgeist that screeched into town a few years ago. Scarsdale residents, however unwittingly, may have helped drive that train to town.

Meritage Restaurant has been serving up seasonal, organic-minded dishes when it opened its doors seven years ago -- back before membership to a CSA was a kind of calling card for urbane hipsters and even your stubborn nephew, who refuses to eat anything but Swiss cheese sandwiches, had tried sauteed dandelion greens at least once.

Not that it’s been easy.

“We’ve had some setbacks,” manager and co-owner Jamie Steinthal told Scarsdale Patch. “A lot of our guests were requesting wild, line-caught salmon, so we were really excited to put it on the menu.

Steinthal found, however, that the rare fish didn't please everyone's palates.

"We didn’t cook it well-done like most salmon is served because it was so fresh and it just shouldn’t be prepared that way. We found that people’s palates just weren’t ready to make that leap. Instead, we now serve organic, farm-raised salmon, and we prepare it the way people are used to eating it. The dish is much more popular -- and it’s not as expensive," she said. 

Walking to the line between pleasing customers and hewing to their own strict gastro-values has been the key to the restaurant’s ongoing popularity and success,  Steinthal found out along with co-owner Chris Vergara, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Picholine in New York City and La Panetiere in Rye.

“Our goal is to serve all-natural meats and veggies,” Steinthal said. “But we define ourselves primarily as a local, family-owned place with a lot of love and care for our customers. We believe we serve top-notch, well-sourced dishes that everyone will enjoy.”

The menu skews casual-elegant American; which means, of course, that there’s something on the menu that (hopefully) everyone will enjoy, from your crankiest one-food-track-mind 5-year-old daughter to your most Michael Pollen-obsessed, aspiring gentlewoman farmer 45-year-old cousin. The casual-elegant vibe is also key in these trying economic times.

“We want customers to come in and be able to have a glass of wine and a few smaller dishes during the week to unwind, and then come in and really treat themselves to a special dinner on the weekends or special occasions,” Steinthal said.

Meritage’s small plates are all a reasonable $6, from the standard, beloved buffalo mozzarella boconicini to the more adventurous chicken liver and prosciutto crostini to the unctuous duck rillette, the fatty goodness tempered with a spicy kick of mustard and the vinegar tang of cornichons.

Their medium plates are also doable for most budgets at $9-$14. Find classic salads with panache, like a Caesar with local dandelion greens tarted up with a parmigiana vinaigrette and housemade croutons or walk on the manageably wild side with a beet salad topped in goat cheese mousse, pistachio and baby greens.

Pastas may be the best deal: half portions are $12-$14, while full plates are $19-$24. All fresh pastas are housemade. Steinthal told Scarsdale Patch that one of the perennial favorites is the bolognese, but other classics like rigatoni salsiccia with sweet sausage, parmigiano cream and a spicy slap of chile flakes, plus the more intrepid linguine cauliflower with chile flakes, glogs of olive oil and toasty bread crumbs, shouldn’t be missed either.

Large plates get into credit-card and night-on-the-town territory, with items  ranging from $22 to $32. Expect elevated French-inspired all-American hits like grilled strip loin with mushrooms, onions and potato puree and soft shell crabs with spinach and lemon-caper sauce.

What is Steinthal drooling over these days?

“I cannot wait for the tomatoes!” she said. “Every summer, it’s my favorite. We’re so lucky because we have an amazing bounty of vegetables and fresh fruit this year. As soon as tomato season arrives, we’re going to put an heirloom tomato salad on the menu.”

Visit Meritage Restaurant at 1505 Weaver Street, Scarsdale. Call (914) 472-8484 to make a reservation. Meritage is open for dinner Monday through Saturday from 5:45 p.m. onward. and on Sundays at 5 p.m.