Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Comfort in Hastings on Hudson NY

Comfort restaurant, Hastings on Hudson NY
Whenever I walk past Comfort, on Warburton Avenue, in Hastings on Hudson NY, I see tables full of people happily munching and in animated conversation with their companions, or simply enjoying the solitude of a quiet meal and a book.

Stopping in one day to find out what draws the dedicated following, I found a menu that combines traditional comfort-food items with terms like "organic", "free-range", and even "gluten-free" accompanying various selections. Also, unexpected juxtapositions, such as "Amish Select Roasted (organic) Chicken with Asian spices". Now that's a cross-cultural mix for you.

Here's another one, which enables kids of all constitutions, even those with sensitivity to wheat, to enjoy the same foods as their friends: "Dahli's Chicken Fingers, gluten-free" and gluten-free brownies. Gluten-free pasta is also available on request.

If you like your healthy food straight-up, the juice bar offers drinks such as "Wake-up" (carrot/apple/beet/ginger/lemon) and "Great to Be Green" (celery/cucumber/parsley/spinach).

Chef/owner John Halko extends his creative thinking to the business side of Comfort, by offering customers who pay $500 or more a "VIP card" that entitles them to eat at the cafe for the value of their expenditure plus 20%. It's his clever way of inviting loyal foodies to help him finance his long-awaited expansion, at a time when banks are holding back.