East End Eats: Karen Lee's

Karen Lee's

Main Street

Bridgehampton

537-7878

Open for dinner from 6 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday

As Bridgehampton is equidistant from East Hampton, Southampton, and Sag Harbor, you can understand why its short Main Street harbors half a dozen good restaurants.

Karen Lee's is one of them, occupying a spot that has probably boasted a restaurant longer than any of the others. Its appearance has changed radically with each of its previous incarnations, though there's always been a pleasant screened summer porch, but this one seems to have found the perfect compromise.

It's light and spacious but at the same time warm and welcoming. There's a fine polished wooden bar, near enough to the dining area to be decorative, but not so near as to be bothersome unless the place is really full, when it tends to be rather noisy.

Wines A Bit Pricey

On the evening we visited I forgot to make a reservation until the last minute, when some of my fellow diners were already en route. I explained the situation (while not revealing that I was on reviewing duty) and was told there would be nearly an hour's wait. But by the time we had all arrived, the staff had somehow juggled the seating and we were seated at once. Impressive.

Karen Lee's passed the bread test with flying colors - warm whole wheat rolls, a delicious foccaccia, and crisp, oil-brushed Melba toast. The wine list is interesting but with few lower-priced wines, and just a couple from local vineyards.

A choice of eight wines by the glass include French, Italian, Washington, and California wines and a 1997 Channing Perrine Bridgehampton sauvignon blanc. At either $7 or $8 a glass these, too, are on the expensive side.

A Good Value

But bearing in mind that this is not an inexpensive restaurant - appetizers range from $6.50 to $11.95 and entrees from $19 to $31 - Karen Lee's autumn prix fixe, at $21.95 for three hearty courses, is terrifically good value.

One prix-fixe choice was mussels followed by pan-seared striped bass with porcini risotto and grilled asparagus. The mussels came in a broth flavored with shallots, wine, and, unexpectedly, basil.

I ordered them partly out of curiosity when a man at the next table sent his back to the kitchen because he "didn't like them." The waiter took them away without a word and offered to bring him soup in their stead. A sign of a good restaurant, since the mussels were perfectly delicious.

Finally: Good Risotto

But let's get to the next course. The sea bass was very nice if a smidgen overcooked, the asparagus were beautifully cooked and served, but the risotto. . .!

I'd about given up on East End risotto. It's been served like tasteless porridge, as watery as soup or as impenetrable as plumber's grout, and on one occasion, as what might have been Kipling's inspiration when he wrote about the great gray-green, greasy Limpopo River.

Karen Lee's was the first and only occasion I recall when the risotto was right, each fat little grain rich and buttery but light and loose and imbued with the flavor of the porcini mushrooms.

Terrific Pot Roast

The other prix-fixe choice started with a superlative shrimp salad, fresh and zesty, with mache, endive, and maybe some frisee in a sweet pepper vinaigrette with a touch of lemon.

It was followed by a terrific pot roast, tender and clean-tasting and not greasy or cloying, which was served with fresh baby carrots and other crisp vegetables.

High marks go to the "not so simple" green salad, maybe so-called because it came with a very subtle herb-flavored vinaigrette. We were also tempted by the pear salad with endive, watercress, and toasted walnuts, which sounded wonderful, though tequila-fennel-cured gravlax on a potato pancake with two caviars and creme fraiche sounded a wee bit over the top in the mixed flavors department.

Good Simple Dishes

We tried two different pastas, both of which were out of the ordinary. The handmade fettucine with wild mushrooms, tomato, and basil was very rich and rather too big a portion. It has an interesting taste but it was so rich and strong-flavored that a little went a long way.

The penne with ground veal, sage, and parmigiano was more delicate and much enjoyed.

Roast chicken with an herb coating was simplicity itself, served with really good, hot shoestring fries that kept their heat and their crunch for a long time. It's the simple dishes that put the kitchen to a real test, offering no chance to hide behind fancy sauces and gussied-up combinations.

Try The Desserts

Which just leaves us with the desserts - a pumpkin pie, a plum and cherry cobbler, and a chocolate tiramisu cake. They were all, without exception, terrific. So many diners don't bother with dessert, which is understandable given the mediocre quality of most offerings, but Karen Lee's are good enough to warrant making an exception to the rule (and the diet).

If you're eating a la carte, Karen Lee's is the price equivalent of most of its culinary neighbors in Bridgehampton, but if you take the prix fixe you get a real bargain. The service, while not rapidissimo, is thoughtful and pleasant, the ambience is upbeat but relaxed, and the food is excellent.