Mexican Cooking with a Flair at Sunset Grille
By Judy Dweck, The Scarsdale Inquirer, June 23, 2006
Owner J. Scott Faupel, manager Emilio Martinez and executive chef Greg Cortelyou bring Mexican food to a new level at Sunset Grille, updating the traditional tastes of Mexico.
“The food at Sunset Grille is both classical and creative, with many traditional elements,” said Cortelyou. His menu reflects the cooking of the many states of Mexico. Every Tuesday evening features specials from a different region of Mexico, like Veracruz, Puebla, Michoacan or Chihuahua.
Faupel chose to open a Mexican restaurant because he believes Mexican food is an undiscovered cuisine. He found the perfect host and manager in Martinez, whose extensive experience includes stints at Hacienda Don Emilio in Larchmont and Stamford, and whose goal at the Sunset Grille is “for guests to leave the restaurant happy and make many return visits.” No matter how busy the restaurant, Martinez oversees each table.
Leading the kitchen is Cortelyou, whose passion and enthusiasm for cooking permeates every dish. This devoted chef comes from Manhattan’s Louie’s Westside Café and brings a vast knowledge of regional Mexican food. He prepares everything from scratch. There’s even a corn mill in the kitchen to grind corn for the masa for tortillas. You just cannot get any fresher than that!
So put aside any preconceived notions of Mexican food and let the fiesta begin. You will notice the difference with the taste of the homemade tortilla chips and green and red salsas presented to each table. I enjoyed a freshly made watermelon lemonade with the chips, but more potent drinks are available, prepared with fresh juices.
WE enjoyed a bowl of guacamole de molcajete. Ours was spicy but it can be ordered mild or medium. Fresh cilantro, jalapeño, onion and tomato and a touch of fresh lime juice gave this popular starter a distinctive taste. Empanadas are very popular in Latin cuisines, but when served as empanadas de jaiba, filled with lump crabmeat, they became unique. The flaky pastry encases a tangy crab mixture that’s drizzled with mango salsa. Tamales are homemade. You may choose pork in red chile or chicken in salsa verde. I enjoyed a special of tamale Uchepos which are sold on every street corner in Michoacan in August, when corn is at its prime. Filled with masa of kitchen ground corn and sweet fresh corn, and steamed in a cornhusk, it arrived just opened to reveal the delightful filling, sweet with a fresh picked corn flavor. Resting on a bed of lettuce and topped with cheese, diced tomatoes, mint leaves and salsa de jitomate with jalapenos and roasted tomatoes, it was truly authentic and delicious. Sopes, a round of tortilla dough, a bit thicker than a tortilla with the edges forming a rim and topped with shrimp, salsa and cotija cheese was a nice starter as well.
I haven’t yet sampled the ceviche verde, classic with red snapper and scallops, panuchos – corn tortillas filled with refried beans, citrus marinated chicken, pickled red onion and cotija cheese or queso fundido con chorizo y rajas, the sausage homemade and the poblano peppers roasted.
If you wish to start with a salad, the Mexican chopped salad included greens, roasted vegetables, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, chilies and a chile lime vinaigrette. The lime brings out the flavor of the salad. A house salad with avocado, oranges, pumpkin seeds and basil vinaigrette is interesting as well.
Soft homemade tacos filled with citrus marinated pork and filled pineapple, eggplant, chard and mushrooms, chicken and pico de gallo or snapper and chipotle dressing elevate tacos to a new level.
Onto the main event. Don’t miss the Pollo en Mole Poblano. This half chicken, huge, served with a traditional mole sauce, a Puebla standard, was among the best moles I’ve tasted. It is a complex multilayered sauce with chilies, unsweetened chocolate, spices, nuts and seeds. It has many ingredients, thus the word mole which means “concoction.” Each cook has his own secrets to this sauce, and whatever Cortelyou’s secret is, it produces the best mole ever. Camarones al mojo de ajo, the tail on sautéed shrimp with a garlic sauce on a bed of spinach with fresh lime and cilantro was another must have.
Each entrée arrived with a linen lined basket of fresh warm tortillas and bowls of rice and beans. Chile relleno was a huge poblano pepper filled with a glorious mixture of cheese, chicken, pine nuts and raisins. Served with red and green salsas and a bit of crème fraiche on top, it’s a dish to reckon with.
I hope to sample a bistek a la Tampiquena, snapper Veracruzana and mariscos en casuela on return visits.
This is an exciting menu of interesting Mexican dishes prepared expertly with care. If you have room for dessert, try coconut flan with Mexican shortbread cookies, rice pudding with caramelized bananas or crepas de cajeta, caramel filled. The chef has a special touch with pastry.
At lunch, sandwiches and tortas and light plates are offered and Sunday brunch dishes range from Mexican-style huevos con chorizo y rajas to a traditional Kahlua and cream French toast.
Enjoy some very special dishes at the new and delightful Sunset Grille, a welcome addition to the Mexican dining scene in Westchester.