decent casual options for dinner near Cortlandt Town Center or on Rt 202 in Yorktown

[DGresh]

I'm a local, but almost never "just catch dinner" in the area. I either cook at home, or eat out at a "carefully chosen" restaurant. But I'm in need of a place for a decent family dinner after a movie at the center. Any suggestions that I might not know about (given that I only have noticed Appleby's and Piazza Roma, there's probably plenty I don't know about!)

[ryanallday]

Table 9 in the circle is pretty good imo

[dma1250]

I like Bangkok Spice Thai in Shrub Oak. Its on East Main, just off of Route 6 and pretty close to CTC. Farther away in Yorktown Heights, Jewel of Himalaya is excellent, and Don Tommaso's is good.

[weedy]

I thought Jewel Of Himalaya was BEYOND awful.
It would have to improve to be called dreadful.

[Marge]

Wow, haven't been to JOH yet, but heard good things about it--could you elaborate on your review, thanks

[weedy]

I love Indian food.
I make Indian food.

This was simply awful.
Bland, flavourless, except in the cases where the flavour was odd and off tasting, as though they were using old ghee or rancid oils.
A green vegetable dish was something odd that first off was not a vegetable you'd really see in the cuisine, but more important was cold inside... again, as though it came out of a big bin and was being (inadequately) reheated.
Potatoes were still crunchy inside; undercooked.
I got the feeling in general that they were reheating a lot of things rather than cooking anything fresh... or that they had cooks on the line who didn't really KNOW how to make the food and were just assembling it from premade batches.

Trust me.
It wasn't just not great.
It is TERRIBLE.

Ruchi is not great; but I love Indian food. I can still enjoy some things from there. And you can figure out what they do well and what not so well.

Jewel is just plain bad.
Amateurish.
Incompetent.

and lest someone say this is "Nepalese" and not really Indian.
The bottom line is the same.
It's not GOOD.
I'm quite sure cold vegetables, stale oils, and undercooked potatoes are not traditional to Nepal either.

[Westjanie]

Our one experience there was quite different from yours. I agree fairly mild, but certainly cooked and tasty.

[Elisa515]

The OP had a completely opposite experience to yours at Jewel of Himalaya:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/841177

Regardless, it's clear she already knows about this place.

[weedy]

someone mentioned it, I responded, someone asked for clarification of my feelings, I gave it.
People of course may, and do, disagree.
My experience was so above and beyond awful that I wouldn't even think of a second chance.

go at your own risk.
It's dreadful.

[DGresh]

i do have to say (as the OP) that while I very much enjoyed our visit last summer, we returned last weekend and I was not so impressed. The food seemed very bland, and they also messed up our order of (many) nan, giving us, as far as we can tell, multiple onion nans instead of the mix of garlic and onion that we ordered. I would not say it was terrible, but it was not what we experienced on our first visit.

[dma1250]

I couldn't disagree more. Of course, it's not Indian food but Nepalese and Himalayan. As for bland, I've never had anything bland there since they always ask how spicy you want the dish prepared and the table always has both mild and hot sauce for you season to your taste. My experiences there have always be in line with the New York Times reviewer, who gave it a "worth it" rating.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/nyr...

[DGresh]

FWIW they didn't ask and so I guess we got "mild" by default.

[weedy]

I ordered hot... but really the HEAT isn't what defines "bland".
A lack of spices and flavours of any kind does.

this was like bland, not just "not spicy".

anyway, I've made my opinion clear enough.
This place is horrid.

my disagreeing with MH Reed is no surprise...

[dma1250]

I find it hard to imagine the palette that doesn't pick up the spices and flavouring in food that I have found to be consistently rich and subtle and expertly layered. But, hey, that's what makes the world go round.

[weedy]

are you SERIOUSLY suggesting it's a matter of my 'palette'???
it's at BEST a matter of their inconsistency.

[weedy]

Little Sorrento.
Thyme.
Gleason's (in Peekskill)

[DGresh]

As it happens, illness kept us from our movie date-- but thanks. Little Sorrento was likely going to be our choice. I've been to both Thyme and Gleason's as well; Thyme is a little too pricey for what it is IMO; We enjoyed Gleason's recently.

[Elisa515]

A friend of mine of Indian descent recommended the Indian restaurant at the Beach Shopping Plaza. She said her kids (middle-schoolers) like it a lot.

Sending this info hoping a CHer knows the name and can report on it first hand.

[weedy]

Ruchi
and it's mediocre at best.
it's 5 minutes from my house; but I still drive to India House instead.

[ryanallday]

right up the hill from CTC is Brodie's Pub, personally I think their food is great, large portions, also right next to it is an alright mexican restaurant.

you can go in the opposite direction into peeksill for a handful of dining options including the Peekskill Brewery where I recently had a great burger and frys.