Harvesting Your Twenties

So. My brother is turning 27 on October 20th. He's in his late twenties. That's so weird! Not that 27 is old, but because he's my brother, and if he's going into his late twenties, I'm only 4 years behind him!

Since my whole family seems to never be able to get together during the week because our schedules are all kinds of messed up, we celebrated his birthday tonight. We went to Harvest-On-Hudson.Harvest was one of those restaurants that my mom has wanted to take me to for a realllllly long time, but every time we think of going, it gets overruled by a newer, trendier restaurant. So, I'm really glad that my brother requested to go here!

First of all, Hastings-On-Hudson is like the cutest town! I had never been there... I just always wondered what was on the other side of that area of the Saw Mill River Parkway. Anyways, the restaurant is right on the water, right by the train station (just like every other river town restaurant). It's bigger than what I had expected! And the interior was like chic, kinda mysterious, and sexy.... I think the sexy part came from the kind-of-hip people chillen at the bar. I was upset because I wished it was summer. Imagine sitting outside, right by the water... Damn this Nor'easter business!

REMINDER: Eating out with my family is the best ever because we order everything on the menu!

So, basically, we got to try a bunch of stuff!

1. The Harvest Tower- Iced Shrimp, East & West Coast Oysters, Little Neck Clams, Alaskan King Crab Legs

2. Grilled Octopus with Charred Country Bread- Cracked Black Pepper, Thyme, Olive Oil and Lemon

3. Bacon, Onion, Tomato & Jalapeno Pizza


4. Harvest Baby Field Lettuce Salad with Grape Tomatoes, Onion and Cucumber

5. “Brodetto” Traditional Italian Zuppa di Pesce-Shrimp, Clams, Calamari, Mussels and Monkfish in Tomato, Garlic and White Wine Broth with Grilled Country Bread

6. 1 1/2 lb. Lobster Special with Corn on the Cob, Asparagus, and Baked Potato

7. 42 oz. Dry Rubbed Porterhouse Steak (for two)- Potato Gratin


Everything was absolutely delicious. I must mention that one of the oysters that I had was nasty-ass rotten. It was really bad. It was really awful. The taste that it left in my mouth was utterly disgusting. Fortunately, I had the nice crusty bread and the extremely flavorful and delicious grilled octopus to dilute the taste. But we told the waiter, and unfortunately, they couldn't pump my stomach of the bad oyster but they did give us free desserts :-)

Seriously, everything was really good. BUT! The standouts were definitely the pizza and the grilled octopus. And the bread. OMG the bread was super crusty, and the inside was so soft. The octopus was really something. It was such a simple flavor but the super lemony-ness was perfect. And OMFG... the "charred country bread" soaked in the lemony sauce was the most amazing first-bites I've had in a while. It was the same crust bread that they served in the bread basket. Actually, my Brodetto had the same bread, grilled. The pizza.... holy crap, it was really spicy! But the bacon and onion combo were perfect! And surprisingly, the crust was really good! Thin and crispy with a bit of chewiness.

Now onto dessert...
Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulée with Spiced Nut Biscotti


Mixed Wild Berry Tart with Vanilla Custard

and since the berries in the tart were so delicious we added on another order...
Seasonal Fruit Plate- which we jumped into before capturing the beautiful presentation! But here are the remains :-)


We were very happy with our dessert selections! They were just super simple classics. The creme brulée had an extra crunchy, burnt-more-than-usual top which I appreciated. The berry tart was really just a tart shell filled with fresh berries and just a bit of custard with whipped cream. It was really so good! And the fruit plate was made up of berried and these melon ribbons. There was a melon "cone" filled with lemon sorbet. It was so pretty!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYUTA!

Oh, and just an F.Y.I on my outfit... I wore the crazy person tights...


Harvest on Hudson
1 River St
Hastings On Hudson, NY 10706
Phone: (914)-478-2800