Westchester Breakfast Club

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550 North State Rd.              

Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 (Map)

(914) 923-8300

terrarusticaristorante.com

 

 

Terra Rustica, take two. It’s actually been  about two and a half years since our first visit, so the WBC thought we should see if Terra Rustica stood up to our two visit rule (the famous rule, of course, that if we like a breakfast place as much on the second visit as we did on the first, then it’s a keeper in our breakfast book). So did Terra Rustica stand the test of time?

 

Attendees: :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Jeff:, :jump_to_Shelley:, :jump_to_Reid:

 

:a_Sylvia:

As tempting as the calamari frittata was, I ultimately ended up getting the spinach frittata off the special weekend breakfast menu.  It supposedly had a lot of the same ingredients as a spinach omelette (spinach, feta, onion, and tomatoes), but in frittata form.  This form was way more substantial than an omelette and served with four wedges of a rosemary roasted potato on top.  It also came with toast (whole wheat), which I only had a slice of.  It wasn’t really necessary since the frittata and potatoes alone were very hearty.

Five days later, I honestly can’t remember any details about the frittata that struck me as memorable or terrible.  I was even a little surprised to see it had feta in it when I re-checked the menu online.  I just remember that I wasn’t too terribly hungry, but I ended up finishing the entire thing anyway (perhaps I was distracted by Shelley’s tales of adventures of the past weekend).  The potatoes served with the frittata were okay.  Not roasted till crispy, which is the way I’d prefer, a bit oily, but the rosemary saved them from being just another sad tale of second thought potatoes served to make a plate look more full.

The czar says:  Terra Rustica has passed my two visit test (albeit 2 years later), and I can say it is a pretty solid place to grab a non-fancy breakfast that is not the local diner.  Perhaps one day I will have to try them for lunch or dinner.

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:a_Jeff:

It’s been a while since we’ve been to Terra Rustica. I believe it was one of the first places we went to as the WBC. If I remember correctly, I gave it a good review.  Maybe it was because it was actually good, or maybe it was because it was one of my first breakfasts as a “reviewer” and I would have given a burnt piece of toast a good review.  Well, now I’m a more seasoned breakfaster, so let’s give it another shot to see if it still lives up to how I remember it.

Our breakfast appointment is at 10 am, which is pointed out to me by fellow WBCers as probably too early for a Bloody Mary or, really, any other type of alcoholic beverage. Good point!  I order coffee instead.  For the main meal, I go with poached eggs (which was spelled on the menu as “pouch eggs”) over corn beef hash. It also came with a side of home fries.  The nice thing about Terra Rustica is that the waiter asks how I’d like my poached eggs. Honestly, I didn’t know you could have them medium or well, but I choose well to be safe.  It still came with a gooey yolk, which is what I actually prefer. The hash had a consistency of oatmeal.  I’d rather have pieces of hash.  The consistency drove me toward the end to mix everything on my plate into a big blob and consume it thusly, which was actually delicious, don’t judge me.

Overall, I feel like my first assessment was correct. Terra Rustica is a nice place to go eat.  Anyone in the area should give it a shot.

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:a_Shelley:

I announced at the breakfast table that I wouldn’t necessarily be writing a full review of Terra Rustica; instead, there were two elements I wanted to focus on: the music and the maple syrup.

Have I got your attention?

To give the requisite information, I got the plain challah French toast and two scrambled eggs. To accompany my French toast, I wanted real maple syrup. But as we discovered at Scarsdale Metro, real maple syrup comes at a price. In Terra Rustica’s case, it’s $1.25. Hefty. However, unlike at Scarsdale Metro where your maple syrup fee gets you but a small little jar of thd good stuff, at Terra Rustica you get a large, full-size syrup container. Full. Of. Maple. Syrup. Because I had so much access to it, I couldn’t help but drown my French toast in it. When in Rome…(Yes. Yes I did just add a completely unnecessary reference to Anchorman into this review. I’m just that awesome.)

As I enjoyed my meal, I suddenly felt like a teenager again despite the new gray hairs that “grown-up” life has brought to me. What was the cause of my sudden youthful rush? That would be Terra Rustica’s chosen soundtrack for this particular Saturday morning. It was basically a mix of the top-40 pop hits of the later 90s. We’re talking the good stuff: Britney, check. NSync, check. They even kicked it real old school (to my middle school days) with some No Doubt.

My point is that the music definitely did not match the restaurant. Terra Rustica bills itself as a “modern Italian restaurant” (direct quote from its website). Teeny bop hits from 15 years ago (yikes, am I that old?!) don’t match with “modern Italian restaurant” in my book. I’m not saying they have to swing in the opposite direction and put on the Italian opera soundtrack, but I feel that a restaurant like Terra Rustica should have a more sophisticated (and also quieter) soundtrack. The music was actually very distracting and instead of focusing on my food we spent time trying to look up what year Britney’s first album came out.

My meal was fine, and I’d recommend Terra Rustica for a simple, affordable weekend breakfast for those in the Briarcliff area. But I’d also recommend that Terra Rustica change its music selection.

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:a_Reid:

The Case: Terra Rustica v. The Westchester Breakfast Club

The Venue: Overlooking North State Road in Briarcliff

The Facts:  Though my colleagues had been to Terra Rustica a number of times before (editor’s note: it was really only once before), I haven’t been to this particular building since it was called something else with the word “Country” in the name and served lemonade out of mason jars.

I ordered the blueberry pancakes.  They were pretty good, though nothing spectacular.  The tea selection was more than adequate.

The Verdict: I’d come back.

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