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Italian Kitchen

698 Saw Mill River Rd. Ardsley, NY 914-693-5400

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Type: Italian Price range: $$$ (Expensive) Description:

Don’t be put off by the dispiriting location of this hot new Italian eatery in Ardsley. Many will be familiar with the building, which for nearly 45 years housed Giuseppe’s, a town institution. In a classic case of “if you build it, they will come,” from week one, Italian Kitchen was spilling over on weekends (now from Thursday on; it’s closed Tuesday). In a short time it has been embraced by an enthusiastic core of regulars.

The celebrity engine behind this effort is Shea Gallante, an Ardsley resident who earned his stripes at Manhattan culinary temples like Felidia. He later became executive chef at the much-lauded Ciano.

The 55-seat space takes a page out of the Italian bistro du jour, with the requisite Tuscan orange walls holding black and white photos of Italian people and products, and barn board wood wainscoting.

The food is more original — bright, bursting with flavor, and often surprising. Cubes of yellow watermelon bob in a refreshing white gazpacho. Caramelized scallops are paired with pancentta, sweet corn, and fennel. Pastas are a big draw, especially the linguini pomodoro holding a single boulder-like veal meatball, and baked rigatoni with smoked mozzarella and an earthy pork ragu. For seafood, there is a perfectly grilled striped bass with a parsley-caper sauce. As a light (well, not quite) dessert there is a terrific creamy panna cotta topped with blueberry compote. Servers are polite and earnest. -Bryan Miller

Hours: Sun-Mon, Wed-Th: 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat: 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Tu: Closed Reservations: Accepted