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Dobbs Ferry's Orissa Introduces New Fall Menu

The new menu at Dobbs Ferry's modern Indian bistro offers many pumpkin-based dishes; wine tasting/ tapas nights are planned for alternate Thursdays.

The pace is picking up at Orissa, the imaginative, modern Indian bistro in Dobbs Ferry opened by Cynthia Caracta and her husband Dobbs Ferry architect Niall Cain of NcC Studio Architecture.   

They've introduced anew fall/winter menu, a special bar-only menu has being created (the newly constructed bar and lounge went into service this July) and a bevy of fall/winter events are under way or being planned including wine-tasting nights to be hosted by Charlotte Deutsch and other sommeliers on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Argentinian wines will featured on Thursday, Oct. 27 and Indian wines on Thursday, Nov. 10. French, Spanish and California wines will also be covered in the near future. 

Caracta said that a one-woman art show by Dobbs Ferry artist Diane Brawarsky is tentatively scheduled for November. Brawarsky's contemporary/modernistic art appears on the walls of the bistro and at her Dobbs Ferry gallery; her work can also be purchased at a Provincetown, MA gallery. 

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Also happening at Orissa:

Orissa is offering early bird and prix-fixed dinners every day (except on Monday when it is closed) and it holds Thursday night jazz sessions from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., conducted by Dobbs Ferry resident and veteran concert organizer Mark Morganelli, performing in his sixteenth consecutive month at Orissa.  

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For patrons fond of pumpkin, the new fall/winter menu at Orissa may be especially appealing as a number of dishes have pumpkin as a primary ingredient including:

  • Pumpkin soup infused with anise, madras curry and coconut topped by toasted pumpkin seeds ($8)
  • Aromatic pumpkin coconut subzi, sauteed with hints of red chili, cumin, and coriander, with coconut as a finishing touch, an entree ($14)  
  • Flan, a dessert, made with fresh sugar pumpkin and cinnamon ($9). 

Returning for the 2011 fall/winter menu is South Indian shrimp bruschetta with mustard, curry leaves and chiles over mini poori (an appetizer). Also on the new menu:

  • Braised lamb shank kashmiri in a onion and spiced North Indian gravy ($28)
  • Berry ras malai, a traditional Indian milk pudding with strawberries ($9)
  • Orissa Dahl green lentils with spices (this entree does not on the printed menu but it is available frequently as a special) 

When three-flight, wine-tasting nights are held, the cost to participate is $15 (wine only) or $40 if the flights are accompanied by tapas. The tapas offerings include shrimp bruschetta, carrot cucumber mango salad, paella, fennel infused lamb chops, jasmin panna cotta with fresh rasberry puree and garlic naan (bread).

The three wines are pre-selected by the host for each event and usually represent a country or a region, Caracta said. The host will be available to stop by tables and describe the wines, their grapes and the regions where the wines come from.

Thirty-four wines are available for purchase by the glass at the bar or tables.

The early bird menu includes a choice of soup or salad, an entree and a glass of house red or white wine. The entry choices are chicken tikka masala, traditional curry (chicken or lamb), saag paneer or gohbi matar and they are served with basmati spiced rice. The meal is priced at $18.95 per person plus tax and tip and is available from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

A combination lunch, priced at $12.95 per person plus tax and tip, includes soup or salad, an entree and a choice of coffee or tea. Sandwiches, salads and wraps are also available.

Manager Kyle Page, a native of The Bronx, joined Orissa five months ago. Co-owner Cain, who designed the restaurant and the new bar/lounge area, was born and bred in Dobbs Ferry; Caracta, who is a physician and medical researcher, arrived in Dobbs Ferry in the 1980s. 

Orissa is open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday. It is located at 14 Cedar Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY, 914-231-7800. www.orissany.com

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