Bedford Chef Debuts New Westchester Restaurant

We love the restaurants in Bedford. Name the establishment and we've been there: , , , , , —and the list goes on.

But sometimes, something new comes along and makes a short trek for interesting food worthwhile—and when that something new is opened by a Bedford resident, it's a no-brainer.

That something new is Bistro Latino, a combination of "Latin Fusion and Spanish Tapas," at  at Bistro Latino at 64 Main St. in Tuckahoe. 914-961-2233. The restaurant is co-owned by Alexander Vanegas, the general manager of Palomino’s Sonora Restaurant in Port Chester.

The menu features several main course offerings: Lobster paella, made with rice, seafood and chorizo sausage, and manchego-crowned herb roasted half chicken with saffron mashed potatoes in a mushroom pan sauce. An extensive wine list with requisite Spanish reds is offered along with micro-brews and homemade blood orange, pomegranate, or peach sangrias made with organic fruits.

Chef Palomino, author of five books on food and entertaining, said his new restaurant "is a trip to a new place that exists somewhere between Latin America and Spain where tapas and Nuevo Latino food have met in a great fusion of styles and tastes.”

We posed a few questions to Palomino about his background, his new venture and what he likes about living in Northern Westchester:

Patch: How did you arrive in Bedford from Colombia (by way of Queens?)

Palomino: I was born in Bogotá, Columbia and raised in Queens. I started working in kitchens in Brooklyn when I was sixteen years old. When I was nineteen I spent a year working and learning from the famous three-star Michelin Chef Michel Guérard at his restaurants in Eugénie-les-Bains, France. Then I returned to New York and worked at several restaurants, and earned my way up the ranks. After becoming an executive chef, I opened my own restaurant in 1988 in New York City, called Sonora. Both the restaurant and I moved to Westchester in 2000—I ended up in Bedford while the restaurant opened in Port Chester.

Patch: How many restaurants do you have? Are you involved in any other businesses?

Palomino: Bistro Latino is my seventh restaurant. Living in Westchester helped me open numerous restaurants, publish cookbooks and start a catering company.

Patch: Do you cook for your family at home?

Palomino: Yes, I cook for my wife, Martha and my two children Rafael and Amanda, each Sunday. Most recently, my take on a Super Bowl Sunday menu included red snapper with avocado tacos, grilled sirloin, and steamed mussels with chorizo and toasted bread.

Patch: Any food trends you're into (or not?)

Palomino: Not really, but lately I have been enjoying Mediterranean food!

Patch: Where do you go out to eat in Westchester?

Palomino: My favorite spots are Moderne Barn and Beehive in Armonk. To appease my kids, we sometimes cross the Connecticut border to go to in Darien, Connecticut.

Patch: Got any fancy new gadgets in your kitchen we should know about?

Palomino: My favorite kitchen utensil is the unglamorous, but very functional plastic squeeze bottle!

Bistro Latino is at 64 Main St. in Tuckahoe. Reservations can be made by calling 914-961-2233.