Drunken noodles and more in West Nyack are Jeanne Muchnick's 'Best Thing I Ate This Week'
Flavor and fusion define Grub in West Nyack where the long and varied menu features a variety of Southeast Asian dishes influenced by chef/owner Waree Sunlee's life.
It's why the "Drunken Noodles," stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, red bell peppers and smokey sweet soy sauce (that I added chicken to) and her "Grub buns," available with Korean beef barbecue or "Smack Shrimp" (I had both), are the best thing I ate this week.
It's also why I'm sooooo happy Sunlee left the corporate world (she was trained as an accountant and worked for many years at a law firm) to pursue her love for cooking.
I not only love her story — her journey back to the culinary world began after becoming a mom and paying her dues in the kitchen at P.F. Chang's in Nanuet — but I love that her passion and welcoming vibe permeate everything she does.
She's always happy to see you — and often pops into the dining room to say "hi" — while seemingly (magically) is simultaneously in the kitchen churning out dishes that rock.
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Though Sunlee specializes in fusing flavors from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand, she's also very aware of American tastes and preferences. That translates into a long and varied menu offering everything from Pad Thai to soup noodle bowls, chicken parm sliders to burgers to a cheesesteak sandwich and buttermilk fried chicken.
"My menu is huge," said Sunlee. "I want to cater to a big crowd and cover the whole family — babies, kids, teens, mom and dad and grandparents. There’s everything for everyone."
As for what her "secret ingredient" may be to her success? She said it's the "fresh ingredients that you can taste and the complexity of the flavor in each dish."
I think it's also her grit and determination. After leaving P.F. Chang's, she opened a small spot down the street from her current location with 20 seats and no liquor. She was there four and a half years before moving to this larger 36-seat space in September 2021 that now features wine and beer.
The large mural you see on the left when you walk in sums up the restaurant's heart and soul.
The ink drawing, by local artist Mitch Rosen, is a nod to all the places that have had an influence in Sunlee's life — and in her cooking. They include Paris (where she was trained in French cooking), Toronto (where she went to school for accounting), Bangkok (where she went to culinary school), Indonesia (where her grandfather is from), Kuala Lumpur (where part of her family is from) and Thailand (where another part of her family is from).
You'll also find two Instagram walls: one with flowery black ink graphics and another, made with Legos, that features a colorful noodle bowl and spells out Grub.
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If you go
Address: 719 W.Nyack Road, West Nyack, 845-535-3580, rocklandgrub.com
Hours: noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday
Have a 'Best Thing I Ate' suggestion?
Have a fave spot you want me to check out? Email JRMuchnick@gannett.com.
Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Drunken noodles, 'Grub buns' in Rockland NY are Muchnick's 'Best Thing'
