The Dining Room Opens in Rockland with 'Chopped' Chef In The Window

BLAUVELT, NY — With the opening of The Dining Room, restaurateur Paul Bailey is realizing a dream to make fine dining accessible at home in Rockland County.

"I don’t know the reason why people should have to travel an hour and go through all the stress of finding a fine restaurant in NYC. We’ve all done it," he told Patch. "It’s $15 to get over the bridge and then finding a parking garage! Before you walk in you’ve spent $100."

"I’m trying to keep it local," he said. "I was born and raised here. I love this county. I live a couple of blocks from the restaurant."

The restaurant, on the site of a former breakfast place, is open for dinner Tuesday-Sunday and brunch Saturday and Sunday at 135 East Erie Street in Blauvelt.

Bailey did a lot of thinking about what he wanted for his fourth restaurant. Then he was introduced by a friend to chef Gregory Stott, a resident of northern New Jersey who had been a semifinalist on the Food Network’s acclaimed television show "Chopped."

"Chopped was an amazing experience," Stott told Patch. "Going in, I didn’t know if it was as authentic as it looked, but the experience was game-changing."

Then he met Bailey.

"We were both on the same wavelength," Bailey said.

"My background is fine dining," said Stott, whose resume includes stints at Café des Artistes, L’Impero, and Alto, in New York City. "Most of my career, that’s where I’ve worked. I wanted to get out of the whole idea that fine dining is pretentious."

They wanted to hit a sweet spot — make a more approachable menu still using elevated techniques and ingredients.

"We’re in a culture where there’s fast, casual and fine dining. This is a place you can come on a Tuesday night and feel like you don’t have to take out a mortgage on your house to have a good meal," Stott told Patch. "I loved making the dishes as fancy as they were, but at the end of the day, I want something more comforting. We’re taking that a step further, finding ways to amplify some of the flavors from fine dining menus."

And he likes not only cooking everything from scratch, but finding ways to use everything to the fullest. Take, for example, short ribs, they're a beloved winter entree — then Stott created short rib agnolotti with a truffle butter emulsion and a Bordelais reduction drizzled on the top.

Making pastry and pasta are his specialties. "I love working with my hands and working with ingredients."

And so he and Bailey have created a unique workspace for him right in the storefront window.

"In the front I do all the pasta and pastry work. It’s not on the line, not near the ovens. There’s something to be said for seeing the sun," he said. "I see every customer who comes in, and if I'm making desserts at night, I say goodnight to everybody."

He loves getting to know the customers.

"People where I live and have spread my roots are coming up here and telling other people. It really is like a community. The feedback has been tremendous," Stott said.

The restaurant is offering about 10 apps and entrees at a time, and not a lot of specials, which Stott feels can confuse customers and take away from the kitchen’s ability to concentrate on quality. "We’re a very technique-driven restaurant. Everyone is always learning," he said.

While his background is in northern Italian and French cuisine, the choices include dishes and flavors from Asia and Latin America too.

It's a rotating menu, depending on the quality and cost of the ingredients he wants and finds, plus, what sells. One of his signature dishes is his French onion soup. "It’s always up there."

"I really love coming to work each day," he said. "I see what I have, I go home, I have an idea, I can’t wait for the next day to come, working with my chefs. When it comes together it’s awesome."