Bronxville Welcomes Tredici Social

Inside out meatballsThe charming village of Bronxville has recently become the home of Tredici Social. With its convenient location across from the train station and steps away from the Bronxville Cinema, this cheerful sister restaurant of Tredici in Purchase is a welcome and unique addition to the Bronxville restaurant scene.

I chatted with co-owner Michael Colucci who described Tredici as, “A contemporary Italian restaurant serving dishes based on tradition with a most interesting modern flair. We serve superior Italian food that is creative and uniquely our own. Our guests enjoy a formal dining experience in a casual atmosphere.” Colucci loves Bronxville because it is quaint and community oriented. “We hope to become a part of the fabric of the community and get to know our guests. The best part of the business is the people. Our goal is to have everyone who dines here exits in a better mood than when they entered. “If Colucci could invite anyone to Tredici Social it would include his grandfather who loved food and wine and was his best friend, as well as Anthony Bourdain who had an adventurer’s spirit.
Heading the kitchen is Executive Chef Giuseppe Fanelli who hails from Puglia. His wide experience ranges from culinary school to the kitchens of many well known New York restaurants such as Felidia, and Rao’s, as well as appearances on the Food Network. He was winner on Chopped where he contributed his expertise on meatball madness. He and Colucci owned Tredici and Tredici Steak in Manhattan until the building was demolished. They are the proud owners of Tredici North in Purchase and are excited about their new venture Tredici Social in Bronxville.

The décor has a modern edge which compliments the fascinating food. The space has been transformed from Kraft that preceded it. Seating about 50 guests inside and just a couple of tables outside, sets an intimate feeling. The color scheme of black, white and red is striking. A very friendly bar is at the front of Tredici Social, which fills up quickly on a Sunday afternoon when the movie theater empties out. An elaborate silver framed mirror hangs behind the bar and geometric red, white and black lighting fixtures illuminate the room. One wall displays black and white drawings by Banksy, cleverly mounted on large red acoustic sound absorbing mats which serve the double purpose of art display and helping with the noise level. Bravo to the owners who payed attention to comments of early guests about the noise level. Two glass checkerboard style screens add interest to the room. Black flocked wallpaper and a silver tin ceiling add to the eclectic atmosphere.

We sampled 3 of the 6 appetizer choices. Tuna Tartar appears on so many menus. Here, the chef prepares a truly creative variation of the dish. The sushi grade ahi tuna combines with soy sauce, sour cream, chopped charred jalapenos, wasabi oil, and black Himalayan salt. Sprinkled with mustard seeds, this mixture rests atop a puree of avocado and cucumber slices. Housemade waffle potato chips are the perfect “utensil” to scoop up the beautifully seasoned tartar mixture. One of the signature appetizers here are the “Inside Out” meatballs. Veal, pork and beef are combined for the large meatballs which are stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella and fontina chesses. They are sealed and rolled in panko crumbs and fried to form a crisp crust. The large meatballs are garnished with a chunky plum tomato sauce, housemade, of course. This was quite filling and could easily have been served as an entrée or a shared dish. Bang Bang Shrimp is another popular appetizer. Here, several jumbo tail on shrimp are awaiting to awaken your taste buds. They are sautéed with gigante beans and flavored with Meyer lemon and roasted sliced garlic. An abundance of red pepper flakes heat up this dish. Toasted bread triangles tone down the spiciness of the sauce and serve to balance this appetite wake up dish. Upon future visits I look forward to sampling Chef Fanelli’s version of wild mushroom arrancini, artichoke salad and super greens Caesar salad with organic spinach, kale and Swiss chard.

Moving on to the entrees, there are several pasta choices. We chose the lobster ravioli and it proved to be a fine choice. The homemade burrata filled raviolis wereSpaghetti Carbonara presented in the center of a black and white contemporary plate. Surrounding the pasta was a mélange of chopped Maine Lobster, hence the name lobster ravioli, sweet corn, caramelized onions, English peas, baby spinach and yellow and red grape tomatoes in a light creamy sauce. This colorful dish was one I would order again…it was soooo good. Spaghetti carbonara, linguini vongole, garganelli ubriaco are each homemade and I look forward to seeing the innovative touches that Chef Fanelli adds to each of them. Salmon is often my fish of choice. I have enjoyed it prepared many ways. At Tredici Social the presentation was quite unique and tasty. A large portion of organic salmon was topped with a browned crust of breadcrumbs, smoked salmon and horseradish. It was surrounded by roasted fregola in tomato sauce and garnished with haricots verts and heirloom grape tomatoes. Free range chicken scarpariello style, grilled prime hanger steak and veal t bone parmigiana claimed to be, “ the best in the city” are each prepared with Chef Fanelli’s creative touches. He certainly has the skill of transforming a simple ingredient into a memorable dish. The menu is concise and each dish I tried had Chef Fanelli’s signature on it.

Complete your meal with one of their sweets. They are homemade and would appeal to sweet lovers of any age. For the chocolate lover, try the Bronxville Blackout Cake. For the classic enthusiast there are tiramisu and vanilla panna cotta. Very popular is the Nutella semi freddo, a chilled Nutella mousse with vanilla gelato, whipped cream, toasted almonds and mixed berries. For the child in you try the cookies and cream, a vanilla milkshake with oreo cookie crumble and a black and white cookie.

Organic SalmonOn Saturday and Sunday, Tredici Social serves brunch with over a dozen choices. There is a dish to please every taste. With the Bronxville Cinema a few doors away, brunch would be a fine choice before a late afternoon film or after a morning performance. Among the tempting possibilities are a lobster club, a fat bastard brunch burger with bacon, cheese, mushrooms, caramelized onions, beer battered onion ring, avocado and fried egg. Steak and eggs, several pasta choices, chicken and waffles, potato pancakes, each in unusual preparations, eggs Benny over Maryland crab cake, tiramisu French toast and classic buttermilk pancakes…..Quite a selection of dishes. Original “Bubbly and Bloody” choices are offered to complete your brunch.
Enjoy brunch or dinner and socialize ate the friendly, welcoming Tredici Social in Bronxville soon.

Tredici Social
104 Kraft Avenue
Bronxville
914 793 1313