New York Times - Dining Out Bistro Heartiness That Chases the Chill By M. H. REED Published: December 4, 2005 YORKTOWN HEIGHTS FOLLOWING the trend for scaled-down restaurants with upscale food, the Heights Bistro & Bar is a terrific addition to dining spots near the triangular shopping center here, and would be welcome anywhere else. The dining rooms are plain but cheery, and the prices are reasonable for food and wines of this quality. And the dishes are painstakingly designed.   Forum: Dining Out David Shakin, chef and co-owner, still has the fine touch we remember from our first taste of his dishes, 20 years ago. He has a special relationship with baked goods in general and with puff pastry in particular. The breadbasket may contain sweet potato bread, Tuscan white or pumpkin-and-corn squares. These stellar creations will leave no diner disappointed, nor will the soups, appetizers and desserts. A few entrees were top-notch as well. Thin slices of smoked salmon, artistically presented on a potato pancake, wrapped a center of sour cream, diced apple and chives and unfolded like the petals of a flower. Still moist and gently chewy, roasted tomato topped a crisped base of sublime puffy pastry; pungent goat cheese balanced the sweetness of the fruit. Diners who love the jolt of capsaicin or horseradish will find their tingly heat employed delightfully here. A colorful seafood cocktail with chipotle bits was served in a martini glass lined with radicchio leaves and filled with scallops and shrimp in a tomato-horseradish dressing so deliciously lively that it cleared the sinuses. Ribbons of ginger and wasabi ringed a chunky crab and shrimp cake under a pile of Asian slaw. Quesadilla might have been a tad overly crisped, but nothing was amiss with the slow-cooked pulled pork that made a star of this standard enhanced by guacamole and pepper aioli. Billed simply as a salad of mesclun, what arrived was a lot more: pecans, roasted pears and fried Brie embellished the mix. Semolina-crusted calamari was nothing special. A few entrees had their moments. A bed of spinach supported five juicy sea scallops surrounding a mound of polenta garnished with a tomato and olive compote. Cumin-scented dark gravy glossed a hearty dish of medallions of lamb and sautéed vegetables; but the accompanying puff pastry shells spread with goat cheese were unpleasantly dry. Slices of grilled flank steak came heaped on rosemary focaccia, a glorified sandwich; luscious caramelized onions and fries shared the plate. Those lovely onions also made a classic match for calf's liver, although the cooking of the liver was uneven, with thin cuts overdone and thick cuts too rare. Purple potatoes and spicy corn relish, green beans and rock shrimp adorned a generous piece of salmon, bland on its own. A special of pork porterhouse was grilled to medium rare as requested, and with it came a selection of beautifully prepared vegetables. Vegetarians should make note of the mushroom strudel, an entree abundant in garden plenty, like roasted cauliflower, onion, spinach and asparagus, which surrounded the phyllo-wrapped woodsy mushrooms. Most desserts were superb concoctions, more complex than their name would suggest. Chocolate and praline tart was really a wispy tuile filled with coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce, with cracked panes of praline showering the whole. Poached pear, the abstemious choice, proved anything but. This panorama of the natural sweet world included banana, pineapple, grapes and luscious raspberry and mango sorbets. A bowl of warm apple-cranberry crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a crumble of oatmeal, brown sugar and butter provided a comfy brace against cold night air. The Heights Bistro & Bar 334 Underhill Avenue Yorktown Heights (914) 962-3777 theheightsbistro.com VERY GOOD ATMOSPHERE An informal, cozy bistro and bar. Low ceilings and bare floors augment sound, especially from groups of more than four. Good, informed service. RECOMMENDED DISHES House-smoked salmon, tomato tart, crab and shrimp cake, seafood cocktail, sea scallops with polenta, marinated grilled flank steak, lamb medallions, apple-cranberry crisp, chocolate and praline tart, raspberry sorbet, poached pear. PRICES Lunch: main plates, $8.50 to $13.50. Dinner entrees: $15.50 to $23.75; $9.75 for a burger. CREDIT CARDS Major cards. HOURS Lunch, Tuesday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner, Tuesday to Thursday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. RESERVATIONS: Accepted. WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Ramp. THE RATINGS Excellent. Very Good. Good. Satisfactory. Poor. Ratings reflect the reviewer's reaction primarily to food, with ambience and service taken into consideration. Menu listings and prices are subject to change. Review published: Dec. 4, 2005 E-mail: westdine@nytimes.com Lunch Menu Dinner Menu Home