Since returning to the US in June 2015 I've spent as much time exploring the suburbs as I have the big cities. To me the suburbs are as much an attraction as the big cities. New York City suburbs are no exception. For every Empire State Building, there's a Rockefeller Estate, for every Brooklyn Brewery, a Captain Lawrence Brewery, for every Times Square, a Rye Playland Boardwalk.
The suburbs of northern New York City, concentrated in West Chester County - Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Armonk, Chappaqua, Rye, etc. - have always conjured up a bit of intrigue, not the least of which by these towns desire to call themselves hamlets. Not towns. Not villages. Or a parish. But a hamlet. Are these towns really hamlets or has NYC snobbery spilled over into the suburbs? No suspense. A hamlet is an accurate description. I spent two days traveling through West Chester and over to Long Island. Long Island reminded me of New York's New Jersey suburbs. Wide busy streets. Big box sprawl. The further East the more remote and a more natural setting...and more hamlets, particularly along the North Shore. I'm more of a gritty, South Shore fan. Two days isn't enough time to see all of NYC's New York suburbs but here's my attempt. I also visited The Hamptons on a separate trip, which for all intents and purposes is a world away.
The suburbs of northern New York City, concentrated in West Chester County - Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Armonk, Chappaqua, Rye, etc. - have always conjured up a bit of intrigue, not the least of which by these towns desire to call themselves hamlets. Not towns. Not villages. Or a parish. But a hamlet. Are these towns really hamlets or has NYC snobbery spilled over into the suburbs? No suspense. A hamlet is an accurate description. I spent two days traveling through West Chester and over to Long Island. Long Island reminded me of New York's New Jersey suburbs. Wide busy streets. Big box sprawl. The further East the more remote and a more natural setting...and more hamlets, particularly along the North Shore. I'm more of a gritty, South Shore fan. Two days isn't enough time to see all of NYC's New York suburbs but here's my attempt. I also visited The Hamptons on a separate trip, which for all intents and purposes is a world away.
Nyack was the first stop on the Westchester / Long Island journey and while the village is not technically in Westchester, one of its restaurants, Strawberry Place, was listed as one of the best places for breakfast in the Hudson Valley. On a Friday morning Strawberry Place was quiet save for a few locals including Lou who quipped to the waitress that his facial recognition abilities weren't what they used to be - a solid, witty joke given that Lou was blind. The feta and sun dried tomato was omelet was good, not Lou joke good, but still a decent start to the adventures. Nyack's "downtown" was a five minute walk north. There's an old school pharmacy. An old post office and old library from a time when Americans had faith in their government and the government delivered with public buildings that also serve as the pride of a community. Old store fronts. A quaint village feel. A good start to the hamlet search.
Click or tap photos to enlarge.
Click or tap photos to enlarge.
Nyack Post Office
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Nyack Library
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Main Street Pharmacy
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Tarrytown is the first town north of I-287 and home to one of the best coffee shops in Westchester, supposedly. I say supposedly about Coffee Labs Roasters because while the coffee was great the coffee shop atmosphere was a bit lacking. And I'm only being polite because it seemed one out of every four songs playing on the sound system was Billy Joel. If one of the seats at the counter along the front window isn't available I would have left after the coffee was ready. Coffee Labs Roasters is on the east end of Tarrytown's main commercial street, two shops above the Tarrytown Music Hall, a classic theater venue. Further down were boutique type restaurants ranging in cuisine with each offering a few seats for outdoor seating. I thought the town must have been like this for the past hundred years, a glorious strip of continued small town excellence, until I overheard someone say how glad they were the commercial area had gentrified in recent years - it was previously shop after shop of used furniture.
Tarrytown Music Hall
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Tarrytown Fire Station
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Tarrytown Main Street
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The next town north on Route 9 / Broadway, yes that Broadway, is Sleepy Hollow. Formerly known as North Tarrytown, the village decided to officially recognize itself as the setting of Washington Iriving's Headless Horseman tale. The Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are the obvious first stop. I'd set the expectations low.
Old Dutch Church
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Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
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The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is...well...a Cemetery. Maybe it becomes eerie at night - the gates close at 4:30, however, tours are available after hours. The Old Dutch Church is an historical site in its own right having originally been constructed in the 1670s and continues to have daily services today.
Beekman Street is Sleepy Hollow's primary thoroughfare, although the shops don't start appearing for a half mile west of Route 9. There's not as many restaurants as Tarrytown. There's also no coffee shop. There are two laundromats in buildings that are way too fancy for a laundromat. One of the best embraces of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the stain glass Headless Horseman above the entrance to the town hall on Beekman Street. Beekman's street signs are also in orange and black. How clever.
Beekman Street is Sleepy Hollow's primary thoroughfare, although the shops don't start appearing for a half mile west of Route 9. There's not as many restaurants as Tarrytown. There's also no coffee shop. There are two laundromats in buildings that are way too fancy for a laundromat. One of the best embraces of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the stain glass Headless Horseman above the entrance to the town hall on Beekman Street. Beekman's street signs are also in orange and black. How clever.
Beekman Street
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Beekman Street Sign
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Town Hall Stain Glass
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Eleven months out of the year (October being the exception) the major tourist draw of Sleepy Hollow isn't its association with Ichibod Crane but rather that it served as the New York residence for four generations of Rockefellers. The Rockefeller's Kykuit Estate is modest by robber baron standards, even more so considering he was the wealthiest of the wealthiest and held more wealth as a percentage of GDP than anyone before or since. Modest is an estate with forty rooms. Prepare to be underwhelmed. Tours of under twenty are offered every thirty minutes - the small group sizes and time intervals make it essential to book a tour in advance. Most of the tours last two hours and fifteen minutes - shuttles take you from the visitor center to the mansion making it difficult, if not impossible to bail on the tour early. Why would you want to bail on the tour early? The mansion visit is limited to the first floor - that's the study, the drawing room, a butler's pantry, a dining room, a gathering room, and a couple of halls in between. That limited exposure is awesome.
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Unfortunately the house portion lasted under and hour. The remaining time was spent in the gardens, Nelson Rockefeller's modern art gallery, and the carriage house. If you like tapestries of Picasso paintings, Nelson Rockefeller's collection will be up your alley. If not, you'll be checking your watch every five minutes.
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The other problem with a two hour and fifteen minute tour that starts at 10:45 is that by the time you are ready to leave, you also become very hungry. For lunch I drove to Chappaqua, New York, Bill and Hillary Clinton's "hometown", to dine at Crabtree's Kittle House, Hillary's favorite restaurant and the site where she held a party to hear the announcement that she would be the Democratic Nominee for the 2016 Presidential election. Crabtree's is a fancy, upscale place but they have some seriously good lunch deals. I went with the Caesar salad and skate wing combo for $20. A bit rich, the stomach was tossing a bit afterwards, but it tasted good on the way down. After lunch I backtracked through Chappaqua - it's an American small town, however, it's not Small Town America. The main commercial street could fool you though. At the east end is Langes Deli, another supposed Clinton favorite, and down the road is the rest of a small shopping area. It seems like "any town", except for the millionaire dollar homes in the surrounding wooded area.
Crabtree's Kittle House
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Bill Clinton's Starbucks
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The Local Deli
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Armonk is a ten minute, tree-lined drive southeast from Chappaqua. I'd live here. I wouldn't visit here. On to Broken Bow Brewing in Tuckahoe. The brewery is in an industrial. I entered through the bottling room and saw classic, four play, easy interception Tecmo Bowl scrolling on the TV. I ordered the kolsch.
The start of a stretch of four good spots.
The start of a stretch of four good spots.
Armonk Post Office
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Broken Bow Brewing
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Next stop Slave to the Grind in what was my favorite town of the trip, Bronxville. Bronxville was a Goldilocks small town - not too big, not too small. Just right. A good coffee shop. An independent book store. An independent pharmacy. An independent general store. Low, mid, and high scale dining. Clothing boutiques. All this on two and a half busy blocks. I would look for a job in New York just to live here.
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Yonkers had a tough act to follow. On the hamlet to city spectrum Yonkers is closer to a Brooklyn than it is any of the places I visited in Westchester. I ordered a 914 Lager from Yonkers Brewing Company, sat outside, and watched the trains fly past. From the Yonkers waterfront I could see the Empire State Building and the new World Trade Tower.
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On the north side of Yonkers is Untermyer park, a small but glorious urban garden. Two long pools bisect in the center of the park. They are flanked at the west and north by classic Greco a Roman sculptures. The park is a bit eerie and that's even without knowing tt was David Berkowitz's hangout back in the day.
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Final, and arguably the best stop, Captain Lawrence Brewery. Whatever let down there was with Coffee Labs Roasters "Best of..." designation Captain Lawrence proudly showcased that it was the Best Microbrewery in Westchester. Best just about anywhere. The brewery is on the back side of a warehouse with a huge beer garden that includes a bocce ball court. Good beer. Good food. Great way to wrap up the day before heading to Tarrytown Estates for the night.
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I've long had an obsession with visiting the boardwalk from one of the final scenes from the movie Big. There's something about the boardwalk, where Tom Hanks character finally tracks down the Zoltar machine and wishes to be young again, that screams out classic Americana. A little research reveals the film location as the boardwalks at Playland Amusement Park in Rye, NY. Playalnd and Rye are as every bit of Americana as I imagined. The amusement park is still managed by the local community. The boardwalk and bathhouse preserve a golden era of American history when instead of complaining over budgets, the public not only got things done, but did so with a bit of flair. On an early September morning I had the boardwalk to myself except for the occasional jogger.
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Over thirty years later the boardwalk still resembles its image from Big. The boathouse has construction scaffolding set, however, there appears to be little progress. Hopefully nothing major changes. Regardless of its association with Big, the Playland Boardwalk is worth a visit anytime you are in the area.
Mamaroneck has a hard scrabble appearance made more evident because it's sandwiched between Rye and Larchmont but feels a world away. I ate a bacon, egg, and cheese from Garden Catering then walked along the main street to check out the shops. Mararoneck has lots of ethnic restaurants that lead down to a waterfront park.
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A slight diversion to see if I could find an "Off the Beaten Path" attraction in NYC.
From Larchmont it was a thirty minute drive south to City Island. City Island is a remote area of the Bronx and about as world away from New York City as you can get, yet still be in New York City. Every publication describes City Island as a New England style fishing village - lobster rolls, fresh fish, etc. - like you've traveled to Maine. City Island has that fishing town feel but that's about all I'll say about it. It's not as though it's a great fishing town. It's a fishing town...in NYC...that is all. There's not much too brag about or encourage me to visit again.
From Larchmont it was a thirty minute drive south to City Island. City Island is a remote area of the Bronx and about as world away from New York City as you can get, yet still be in New York City. Every publication describes City Island as a New England style fishing village - lobster rolls, fresh fish, etc. - like you've traveled to Maine. City Island has that fishing town feel but that's about all I'll say about it. It's not as though it's a great fishing town. It's a fishing town...in NYC...that is all. There's not much too brag about or encourage me to visit again.
The Place for Lobster Rolls on City Island
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The End of City Island
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I would have chalked the City Island detour up as a loss if not for a second detour to Orchard Beach. Orchard Beach captured the same past Americana feel as the Rye / Playland boardwalk.
The Beach had a grand entrance with two columns flanking a split staircase that lead down to a tabled plaza below. The tops of the columns had a wavy blue pattern, further evidence of the commitment to grander past generations undertook with public works. I would definitely come back to Orchard Beach some summer day...and go to City Island afterwards. |
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From City Island my next destination was a famous mansion on Long Island. Not a robber barons mansion but rather a McMansion.
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Garden City, New York is home to what may be the fanciest McDonalds in the world (I just Googled "fanciest McDonald's in the world" - the first link is to a Fodor's list and their number four is the Garden City location). The previous occupant was a BBQ place that went out of business. McDonalds acquired the property with the intent of destroying the building and putting up a standard looking store in its place. Neighbors complained. McDonalds came up with the ultimate compromise - the McMansion. The building is just as fancy on the inside with two levels of seating and a balcony looking down from the second floor. On the TV? Bloomberg Business, of course.
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From one mansion to another. The next stop was Oheka Castle, an actual castle, that now serves as a hotel and event space. I showed up, unsure of whether or not I'd be allowed onto the property without a reservation. I told the gatekeeper all I wanted was to grab a drink at the Castle bar. The gates opened. A tree lined drive led to the front of the Castle. The Castle looked awesome but there was nobody there. I walked around the hotel, awesome on the inside too, and aside from someone preparing for a wedding the place was empty. To avoid the awareness of being the only person at the bar I hopped in my car and headed out. I'm not sure how you could have a Castle in your town and that not be the place to hangout.
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From one famous residence to another. The next stop was Walt Whitman's birthplace. The Whitman family lived here until Walt was four, so the building didn't contribute much to poet's influences and perspectives, however, there is an adjoining museum that is the authoritative museum on documenting Walt's life. I've never been a huge Leaves of Grass fan yet I still found the museum interesting because it not only documented Whitman's life but also what was happening in the Country. It turns out that Whitman was a bit racy. I've also always assumed he spent most of his life in Camden because there's a bridge named after him, however, he didn't arrive in Camden until late in his life at which point he had suffered a second stroke and was largely incapacitated. I also learned that Whitman was one of the first people to understand "celebrity" and creating a brand. We realized the importance of photography and had his image included in his publications. It's thought that there are more photos of Walt Whitman than any of his contemporaries.
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Done with the sightseeing I headed for the north shore towns of Stony Brook, Old Field, and Setauket. Besides Brewster Tavern, I couldn't find any place to stop researching beforehand and I didn't find any place to stop while driving through. Where were all the stores, restaurants, and people? Port Jefferson, a few miles down Route 25A. Port Jefferson, as the name implies, is a port town, with all the trappings of a port town. The restaurants felt touristy. The microbrewery was weak. A place bragged about having the best creamed ice. What's creamed ice? A stupid version of ice cream. I liked nothing about the north shore.
One place to stop on the way to or from the North Shore villages is St. James General Store - a general store in operation since 1857 and a purveyor of all things kitsch. |
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Patchogue on the south shore was more of my style. Patchogue has a famous in Long Island brewery called Blue Point which was acquired by InBev as part of that company's quest to get into the burgeoning microbrewery market. There was a small "party" happening while I was there. An Irish band was playing music. The beer was decent. I headed into town where a festival had blocked off a few streets. Patchogue has retained the classic 1950s Main Street boom town feel. Everything about the town was the opposite of Port Jefferson. Roast is the town's award winning coffee shop and unlike Coffee Labs Roasters it lived up to the hype and was nice place to hangout.
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One final stop for dinner and a beer at Black Forest Brau Haus. Cool spot. A deep German food menu with lots of variety. I ordered a potato mash and cabbage dish. Good way to end the trip. Back to the non-hamlet world.