First Look: Peniche
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- October
- 8
I paid a visit to the new tapas restaurant in White Plains, Peniche (pronounced pen-ISHE), the other evening, and got to try a lot of the menu. I liked nearly everything I tasted.
We started with the salada de polvo ($7):
Marinated octopus, red onion, extra virgin olive oil, aged sherry vinegar. It was meaty tasting, and the raw onion was a nice contrast to the chick peas.
The Bacalhau Santa Cruz ($6):
Sashimi-cut cod, black olives, herbed air. This dish is named for the hometown of owner Anthony Gonçalves Sr. It’s really bright and clear tasting, like the noise you can make when you run your finger along the tip of a wine glass. The herbs and the grassiness of the olive oil brought out the best, too.
Morcilla ($6.75):
Blood sausage, chick peas, pignoli, apricots and bottarga. I loved the sultry clove flavor in the sausage, which just melts in your mouth.
Chef-owner Anthony Gonçalves for our fall restaurant preview suggested we try drinking our wine using a typical Portuguese pitcher called a perón. Here, Genaro Jimenez — who is going to be a manager at 42, the new restaurant Gonçalves is opening at the top of the Ritz Carlton building — brings it over.
It’s a funny decanter, sure to make you and your tablemates laugh as you try to drink the wine the traditional way. Yes, I dribbled:
We were drinking a Marques de Gelida Rosé cava that went great with the food.
There’s more tableside fun to be had. Here, the staff grills Chouriço Assado ($13):
Spicy. The slices look like little accordians.
Here’s another version of chouriço (which you might also know by its Spanish name, chorizo). This one ($5.50) is served with a butter bean puree.
Next, Carxofes ($6.50):
Fried artichokes. The only thing I didn’t like about this dish was that the leaves were awfully crispy and a little hard to eat. Once you got to the meat inside, though, it was very tasty, if a little garlicky.
My husband got better at the perón as the evening went on.
The place wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t empty either. I do love the look of it.
Next, we tried Tony’s Ameijoas ($6.50):
Cockles with chouriço (sensing a theme here?), cilantro, garlic and vinho verde. I think there were leeks in there too, which brough a soft touch to an otherwise smoky, garlicky sauce.
I have a soft spot for eggs. So when Bitoque ($7.50) arrived, I was swooning.
Skirt steak, egg and brioche. You mix it all up like a Korean bi-bim-bop and let the egg be the sauce. Heavenly.
Feveras ($7.50):
Pork slides. We were getting very full by now. I liked the caramelized onions a lot:
Saffron risotto camarao ($5.50):
I found this a little tasteless. Too much dough maybe? I just didn’t get any subtlety out of it.
How on earth are we eating more, I couldn’t say. But hereis the Frango con Molho de Leitao ($7):
Marinated chicken. It was crispy and lemony. Nice ending.
Genaro told me they’ve been giving guests little pads and pencils so that if they think of something else they’d like to order, they can write it down so as not to forget once the waiter comes over.
We tried three desserts, crema Catalan ($7):
Sort of like a cross between creme brulee and flan.
Churros con chocolate ($7 or $2.50 each):
I love churros. I wish I had a churro machine in my kitchen. These were darn good.
Pasteis de Nata ($7):
Portugese custard tarts. These were not my favorite. Just not a lot of bang-for-the-buck in the flavor department. I’m sticking with the churros next time.
I really liked my visit to Peniche and hope to get back there soon. To be fair, I’ve heard some rumblings from other people about a bit of a haughty attitude from the staff, as well as people leaving unsatisfied — meaning still hungry. That wasn’t my experience at all. What about yours? Let me know …
Peniche Tapas Restaurant, 175 Main St., White Plains. 914-421-5012.
(7 votes, average: 4.14 out of 5)
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This entry was posted
on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 12:31 pm by Liz Johnson.
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(4.65 out of 5)
Hi Liz:
Glad you were able to sample Peniche…. I love Anthony and his father and was a big Trotters fan and am looking forward to the opening of 42.
I took a male friend who was raised in Spain and he was not a fan of the tapas. He said nothing tasted authentic. I enjoyed the food but I never tasted the genuine article from Spain or Portugal. The dishes are not filling and I know they are not meant to be. By the time you have your fill and drink, it is price of an expensive meal. Did you sit in the bar area at all. I find it to be, and have heard from other people,it is a bit claustraphobic. The wall behind the bar gives it a dungeon like feeling when there is a crowd.
I'm also anticipating the opening of Antipasti. The Italian version of Peniche. lol
On another note. The High Street Road House in Rye has new owners. They are renovating.
Kathy
Dear Kathy and Liz,
I just recently visited Peniche with 10 friends, of which 2 are relatives visiting from Portugal, they loved the food and it was on par with the best restaurants in Lisbon.
To suggest that the food doesn’t have a genuine Spanish or Portuguese flavor, Kathy you must be a person from a competitive restaurant, that statement is very hard to believe.
Now, in regards with your friend who was born in Spain, where are his taste buds?
Overall, the food is great, it will only get better and the ambience is unlike anything else in White Plains.
paulo
My Uncle from Valencia, Spain and I went to Peniche and we went crazy over the food and drink Anthony has provided in this new tapas restaurant in White Plains. I have been to a few tapas restaurants in Manhattan and believe me they do not come close to Peniche. Peniche, according to my Spanish Uncle is right up to par with any restaurant in Spain (and his family owns one). Just wanted to be on record to say Anthony et al have done it again and we cannot wait for '42' to open.
Bill October 9, 2007
Paolo
I enjoyed the food and thought it was tasty and I like the idea of tapas because you can order as few or as many dishes as you like. It can get costly. I had nothing to compare it to so I took his word that it was not genuine tapas. I guess you shouldn't believe everything a man tells you. lol I don't remember what area of sprain my friend is from.
I'm not from a competitive restaurant. I happen to know anthony and his father and was a great fan and very frequent customer at Trotters.
Kathy
My wife and I went to Peniche with some friends this evening. The food was splendid. The bill was as high as it would have been in a typical fine restaurant, but that was only because we continued to order items to sample. If one orders strategically he will leave full without spending much – the potato dish, the skirt steak and the pork sliders are, together, enough to fill two people and all are very good choices at $5-$8 each. If you order the cheese, hamon serrano or other small "antipasti" type items, the cost will soar and you won't quell an appetite. The bartender also poured our drinks light – if you aren't going to sample their house white or red sangria, save your drink money and go elsewhere for after-dinner drinks. Order smart and you can get some great, filling food without taking a huge hit to the wallet.