Sound Shore

A combination recording studio / music school has opened in Port Chester. I stopped by this week and listened as owner Kevin Andreas, at left, recorded Chris Barczynski on acoustic guitar.

The studio, at 211 Irving Ave., is easily mistaken as part of the bagel place next door. But Red Light Studios is a one-of-a-kind place, offering “vintage” analog and digital recording equipment. It was opened in September by Andreas, a musician, and Nicole Laurenzi, who teaches voice and graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (photographed below). Drumming and guitar lessons for children are already underway.

I’m planning to write for LoHud.com about music and dance schools that have opened recently in Port Chester. In Red Light’s case, Andreas and Laurenzi moved up from Brooklyn in search of a bigger space and cheaper rent. Is Port Chester the next Williamsburg, I ask? Anyway, learn more about Red Light here on its website.

Playland’s annual Halloween haunted house is opening again Friday. I can say from experience: These people are good. This place is scary.

“Scared by the Sound” by Dark Attractions LLC uses professional actors who pop out of nowhere, follow you around and generally creep you out. You move through a wine cellar, library and sanitarium inside a 10,000-square-foot installation.

Hours: 8-11 p.m. Fridays; 7-11 Saturdays; 7-10 Sundays, and 7-10 Halloween night, when the season ends.

A non-scary alternative for children 8 and under, “Hardly Haunted Matinees,” will be from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 29 and 30.

Admission is $15 for adults, $11 for children under 12, and $5 for matinees.

Growlers Beer Bistro, which opened over Labor Day weekend, will have its grand opening ceremony and a ribbon cutting on Saturday Oct. 1. It’s located in the restored Metro North substation called Main Street Depot in downtown Tuckahoe, right across from the train station at the corner of Lake & Main.

Husband-and-wife owners Carrie and Ciaran Cullen, along with co-owners Eric Lorberfeld and Jamie Villarie, say on their web site that the bistro is not a restaurant and it is not a bar, but rather an “intimate, relaxing, hip and jazzy beer-centric Bistro/Lounge.”

Whatever it’s classified as, you’ll find 20 taps with of 16 craft beer lines, 1 cask conditioned ale and 3 red wines (yes wine from a keg). While Vallarie is mainly focusing on US craft beers featuring local New York brewers, Growlers will also carry international brands, and offer beer to go in half gallon brown glass containers known in craft beer circles as “growlers,” which you can bring back and refill.

The menu will focus on local, artisanal ingredients that change with the seasons, and focus on small, shareable plates designed to be pair with the beer.  You’ll find charcuterie, oysters and cheeses, as well as sandwiches, salads, bruschettas and chicharrones. On occasion, some larger dishes will be offered, too. Ciaran Cullen, who trained at the French Culinary Institute, is the chef.

The 411 is coming. Til then: Growlers Beer Bistro, 25 Main St., Tuckahoe. 914-793-0608. growlersbeerbistro.com.

Voracious Reader’s sibling has arrived — and boy is she cute. According to owner Francine Lucidon, above, whose motto has always been about catering to young people “with an appetite for books,” the store’s new tea shop and lounge — it’s expanded into a space that formerly was a Scandinavian rug store — perfectly combines one’s passion for reading with space to hang out and mingle. The space is sunny, with pretty patterned vinyl tablecloths, book posters and seating for 15.

Left to right: Veronica Guerrero, Steve Mandracchia and Hillary Rubin.

It is meant to be a place where parents can “breathe” and slow down and enjoy time with their children, she says. It’s also a terrific — and cozy — venue for the many authors who come to the book store for readings. Tea and pastries are the focus — there are more than 20 different kinds of teas as well as scones, cupcakes, cookies and gluten-free pastries.

Also of note: coffee is made with a cold-drip process that creates a smoother, less acidic taste. There is also fresh lemonade served with a sprig of mint. Down the road, there might be finger sandwiches and salads. The chef is Steve Mandracchia, formerly of Larchmont Shore Club and executive chef at Trump Grill.

Details: 1999 Palmer Ave., Larchmont. 914-630-4581; www.thevoraciousreader.com Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

— Story and photo by  Jeanne Muchnick

The Waldenbooks in Rye Ridge Shopping Center held out longer than most, but it’s closing as a result of the Borders bankruptcy. Customers were lamenting the loss today. But despite that departure and the lagging economy, the busy shopping center is gaining occupancy with the arrival of new stores: the salad chain Chop’t and the Asian restaurant Buddha are up and running. Indigo Chic boutique opened a couple months ago; the frozen-yogurt place Red Mango is planning to open this winter near the new Chipotle, and Lv2bfit Active Wear, a Go Wireless store and Elevation Burger are also on the way in.

“It’s always been survival of the fittest in retail,” leasing agent Erin Hinchey said. She credits the shopping center’s overall success to the “synergy” of uses there, with visitors coming regularly for groceries, health appointments and dance classes along with the smaller boutiques and restaurants. The center is considered a kind of town square for the surrounding village of Rye Brook.

Given the online competition, a new bookstore is an unlikely prospect, even if customers want it. “I don’t think we’ll be able to duplicate that exact use,” Hinchey said.

Mamaroneck Avenue just got another eatery. Hash-O-Nash, a Middle Eastern “country kitchen,” complete with a long list of Jewish, Greek, Lebanese and Jordanian food, opened in April on the lower end of the street, not far from Enzo’s.

Photos by Carucha L. Meuse/TJN

Owner Abe Abdalla knows the ups and downs of the business — and the area. He has owned Avenue Bagel just up the street for more than eight years (he also owns Chappaqua Restaurant and Café in Chappaqua).

The kitchen is open, with a wood-burning grill and smoker. Entrees include falafel, shawarma, gyros, hummus, shish kabobs, spanakopita and moussaka, all cooked by Mohammad Al Hawa, a chef with more than 24 years’ experience in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Baba Ghanoush, taboulleh, falafel and hummus.

More photos, after the jump.

If you tend to stroll Westchester Avenue in Port Chester, you may have noticed some unusual goings-on inside the former Irv’s Stationery storefront. A T-shirt in the window says “Made in Port Chester – Hecho en Port Chester.” Now I’ve learned what’s behind that.

A class at SUNY Purchase College, “Art for Social Change,” has been operating out of the storefront during the spring. The students developed a series of community projects including bilingual art classes, women’s self-defense training and “multi-ethnic bread sharing.” Most were geared toward encouraging the different groups of people in town to mix, Professor Christopher Robbins says. The space was lent by owner Howie Ravikoff.

Intrigued?

There’s an open house Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The address is 233 Westchester Ave. between Las Brisas restaurant and the public library.

Elevation Burger, which is known for fresh, sustainable, and local ingredients, will be opening in late summer 2011 in the Rye South portion of the Rye Ridge Shopping Center in Rye Brook. The menu includes burgers, toppings, drinks, sides, shakes and malts.

Elevation Burger website here.

ShopRite is opening today in White Plains and Scarsdale, and it looks like people are really excited. I haven’t been yet, but I came across the Facebook page for the White Plains opening, and I must say, it looks like they’re pulling out all the stops for this one. Among the cool things they mention:

• A full-service catering department, headed by Culinary Institute of America–trained chefs, to provide anything from an intimate dinner for two to a full-scale gala event.
• Prepared foods including a salad bar, hot foods, Asian specialties (including a fresh-made sushi bar), and a grill for made-to-order sandwiches, burgers and grilled chicken.

  • An eat-in lounge with flat screens and Wi-Fi.

  • Home delivery service, and you can do your shopping in person or place your order online (or through your phone. They have an app!)

  • An on-site dietitian

  All this is at ShopRite at the City Center, 1 City Place (1-29 Mamaroneck Avenue), White Plains, NY, (914) 539-4500. I can’t find information on whether this all also available at the Scarsdale shop, but here’s the address: 1001 Central Park Ave., Scarsdale. 914-472-0496.