RiverMarket Bar and Kitchen in Tarrytown recently held a cooking demonstration to kick off Hudson Valley Restaurant Week. Executive Chef John Holzwarth showed County Executive Robert P. Astorino how to make homemade gnocchi, one of the dishes available during restaurant week, which runs from Nov. 4 – 17.
Holzwarth said the restaurant uses locally sourced ingredients and sustainable food that doesn’t harm the “aqua culture.” Â He added that they use “fish that’s not overly caught” including tuna and swordfish that swim between Montauk and the Block Island. RiverMarket will serve three-course prix fixe dinners and lunches with the option of black linguine and herb fettuccine pasta in addition to the potato gnocchi.
Hudson Valley Restaurant Week will give diners an opportunity to sample dishes from over 100 restaurants in the region.  About 168 restaurants from Dutchess, Westchester, Columbia, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Ulster will participate with  95 restaurants from Westchester alone.
Much of the food will be locally sourced, sustainable products from the region.
“People want to eat food that is local, better, natural, sustainable and humanely raised,” said Glenn Vogt, managing partner of RiverMarket Bar & Kitchen.
Fourteen new restaurants joined restaurant week’s lineup this year including Cooper’s Mill in Tarrytown, Purdy’s Farmer & Fish and Dan Rooney’s at Empire City Casino in Yonkers.