I so agree about the kids in that place, but the food has become quite good
WCG I didn’t see the Village Social review but did see that Via Vanti will be closing.
I remember it was highly recommended by some folks.
Weird - the link works… Yes I saw that about Via Vanti. Never went there - did you?
No, but I was planning to.
The New York Times spent half the review about Village Social talking about children running out of control in the dining room. She did recommend going later…
The owners of Via Vanti brought in veteran restaurateur Alex Rubeo to manage the place and try to bring it up to snuff. I guess it was not enough. It is/was one of the oddest looking eateries in Westchester, and shares a bathroom with the train station, I believe.
And it’s so true. We only sit in the bar. Kids are out of control there because parents seem to think it’s a daycare center and management lets it happen.
Sorry - here’s a better link. Duh!!
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They could give me, free, my last meal - caviar, blinis, creme fraiche and champagne - and I still wouldn’t go there.
And people DO? 
I have been going to Joe Bueti’s restaurants since we moved up here in 1994. First was Cafe Strega, then 121. I like the food at VS and am fond of Joe. We hide from the kids and ridiculous parents. Admittedly, we don’t go too often!
My general rule of thumb is prior to 630-700ish during the week I expect to see children in restaurants. BTW - that is a good thing if we want the children to grow up to be food lovers. Different discussion on how they behave though, but we know how certain parents act at restaurants with the entitlements. I feel the writer was pretty much unprofessional in leading with that part of the experience, it should be a head’s up nearer to the end of the piece. I am waiting fro Trump to call the NY Times anti-family in response.
That being said, Mogan Anthony is a genius in the kitchen, yes a genius. He can meld flavors and textures together like few chefs. I have spent a lot of time with him, chatting about his food, offering suggestions, learning about how he creates the dishes, at both Locali and VS and this is a chef to watch. And if you see when he is serving his Ramen dinner (usually Sundays) it is a must go, pure and simple.
There are few chefs that I can say, “just make me something” and Mogan is one of them.
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His flavor are right on. And he’s a really nice guy. No pretense. I totally agree that the NYT should not have put so much emphasis on the kids. It ruined an otherwise favorable review.
Love Village Social. As a mom of three little boys, I don’t think I have the guts to take on bringing them to dinner there yet - and I’m extremely vigilant (aka if they’re high-maintenance pains, we leave!) with them when we dine out. Not after this review, anyway! 
I enjoyed a rare night out here and really enjoyed it. The scallops (special that night) were out of this world good.
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Welcome, Sra.Swanky!!! Good to see you here!!!
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Thank you!! Good to see you too! Flashback to 2005 on Chowhound - I feel like a novice on this thing! 
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You’ll get the hang. It’s a great site!
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And no Sword of Damocles hanging over your head, thanks to the creator of this site.
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My husband and I stopped in here for dinner on Friday night. I have no clue if they take reservations but we dropped in and took a chance. They quoted us a wait time of 30 minutes (it was about 7:30) and that ended up being just about right. We hung out at the bar, which is really lively and was extremely crowded. We enjoyed our drinks but it was not really our scene. (Flashback to Moderne Barn in Armonk where we definitely weren’t wearing enough bling between the two of us to really fit in and 75% of the patrons had at least 15 years on us.) However, we were pleasantly surprised to find really reasonable cocktail prices (under $10 for each of mine) although the beer prices were as discussed on another thread at $8-9 for a pint of nothing particularly special. Friendly bartenders and staff in general rocking the cliche plaid flannel shirts popular at lots of restaurants now.
With the same decibel level as my beloved Fortina at prime time, it was a bit hard to hear each other once we sat down, but the food made up for it. We devoured some reasonably priced appetizers, neither more than $10 or $11, that were delicious (their twist on arancini and a gooey burrata) and their extremely good sourdough bread with garlic olive oil. My husband’s pasta was the only disappointment, not in taste, but in cost, at $22 was a really paltry portion of veal papperdelle. Luckily I couldn’t finish my burger so I shared with him-- it was perfectly cooked to medium rare as I requested, topped with a ton of cheese, tasty caramelized onions, and a side of shoestring french fries. We shared a side of brussels sprouts which were crispy and charred with raisins for a bit of sweetness. My husband voted for the salty caramel pie for dessert, which was a welcome not-too-sweet end to the meal.
We left stuffed and happy. Not sure I’d run back but we were both really pleased except for the tiny pasta portion. With regards to the prevalence of kids we saw exactly one kid under maybe 15 and he was entranced by an iphone. I definitely don’t think this is a kid-friendly place, especially at this time on Friday. The bar scene was pretty loud and the restaurant definitely had a party-ish type atmosphere.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. The food is very good and the prices are good. The only reason we don’t go more often is the no reservation thing. When we go we try to sit at a table in the bar area too - less kids. The place can be quite a playground! Joe will be opening another Locali pizza place at the Mt. Kisco train station. I’m not sure when it will be open but that pizza his quite good. Also he is revamping the Iron Horse to be less formal. I need to get back to Fortina. We havent’ been in quite a while. We were so saddened to hear of the terrible death of their manager, Chrisina. Awful!
We had another enjoyable meal here last weekend. In our absence (of a couple weeks) the cocktail prices have gone up a couple dollars but they are still pretty reasonable. At a slightly earlier time, around 6:30, we still had to wait about a half hour, but we were prepared for that. I still haven’t determined whether they take phone reservations or not. As for the kid factor, still only saw one young child (maybe 10 years old) and then only some teens accompanying parents. Definitely not the playroom atmosphere described in the Times article.
Food was great, from our beet salad and “shrimp toast” (not traditional) though the shrimp toast was a bit spicy for me. The short rib grilled cheese was a great combo of textures and flavors, with the rich short rib meat and sharp, melty cheese. Sweet potato fries can be substituted for the regular shoestring fries and the sweet ones are superior. My husband’s hanger steak was cooked right to medium rare and the potato gnocchi it came with were airy and toothsome. Both items were priced fairly given the portion size and ingredients. (I guess his pasta dish last time was an anomaly.) The only mild disappointment was the pumpkin malted pie and that may be just because pumpkin pie isn’t my favorite dessert.
We’re glad to have this place nearby!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. We always do once we get passed the fact that we’ll have to wait.
Depends on the night. If there is something going on at a local school. all the parents bring the kids after and it’s an absolute zoo.
They are fantastic!
haven’t determined whether they take phone reservations or not.
They do take them for parties of either 5 or 6 or more.
