News for Foodies: 02.07.13
With Valentine’s Day a week away, choices are vast for those who want to step out for dinner with their sweetheart.
The Topping Rose House, celebrity chef Tom Colicchio’s new Bridgehampton restaurant, will serve a “romantic” four-course dinner. The prix fixe will include menu items such as fried Montauk oysters with braised chili bacon and horseradish and molasses jus, and whole striped local bass for two. For dessert, one choice will be brioche donuts with a caramelized white chocolate filling. Service will be from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. The cost is $125 for adults and $45 for kids ages 10 and under, excluding tax and gratuity.
The Valentine’s Day menu at Almond, also in Bridgehampton, will include a four-course meal of seasonal dishes featuring pomegranate, as well as a la carte items. The special, at $60 per person, includes a choice of rack of lamb with couscous, saffron, and Middle Eastern fruits, or pomegranate-glazed Spanish mackerel with fennel served three ways as an entree. For an appetizer, diners may choose iced Montauk Pearl oysters or foie gras. A “middle course” features warm goat’s milk ricotta with pistachios, pomegranate, and fried sage, or Peconic Bay scallops served with pomegranate hollandaise, crispy brussels sprouts, and a quail egg.
Dessert will be a mocha-pomegranate tart for two, espresso ice cream, or pomegranate granita.
At the Living Room in East Hampton, a five-course “love menu” will be served on Valentine’s Day, and will include a glass of sparkling Nobless Oblige from Wolffer Vineyards. The menu begins with oysters four ways, followed by curry-crusted scallop carpaccio, a grilled half lobster with fennel and radicchio salad, and tournedos Rossini, a steak dish with foie gras and bordelaise sauce. The cost is $125 per person.
Nick and Toni’s has suggested reservations for Valentine’s Day dinner, which it will begin serving at 6 p.m. In addition to the regular menu, the restaurant will have specials including a lobster appetizer, and, as an entree, lamb chops with Yukon Gold potatoes and a duck confit torta with broccoli rabe.
Cafe Max
On Wednesday, Cafe Max in East Hampton will reopen for its 22nd season. A Valentine’s prix fixe will be offered for $37. Reservations have been requested.
Reopening Next Thursday
Out in Montauk, Inlet Seafood is reopening for the season just in time for Valentine’s Day. Dinner will be served from 4 to 9 p.m., and reservations would be appreciated. The restaurant will be serving lunch and dinner, beginning at noon on Fridays through Sundays.
Chocolate Cherry Kiss Coffee
This month’s special coffee flavor at Hampton Coffee Company in Water Mill is chocolate cherry kiss. A signature beverage for the month is creme brulee latte. The cafe will be giving out free samples of chocolate cherry kiss coffee daily until lunchtime all Valentine’s week.
Chocolate and Wine
The Wolffer Estate vineyard in Sagaponack will get Valentine’s celebrations underway with a tasting of chocolates paired with wines on Sunday. Sessions will take place from noon to 1 p.m. and from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Roxanne Browning, a chocolate sommelier, will describe the different cacao varietals and blends and the terroir, or soil, location, and climate, in which they are grown. Among the tastes will be a Chardonnay paired with a Philippino chocolate, a cabernet sauvignon paired with a Venezuelan chocolate, a cabernet franc paired with chocolate with pink pepper from Madagascar, and a late harvest wine paired with chocolate with cinnamon from Peru. The cost is $35 per person, plus tax, or $30 plus for members of the vineyard’s wine club. Seating is limited, so reservations are a must.
At the Library
Ashley Foster, the owner of Tasty Bites Catering, which focuses on organic dishes, will present a Memorable Meals program at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. The program is free, but reservations must be made by calling the library by Sunday. Participants may bring a bag lunch.
Cook, Meet
A cooking class suggested as a “meet and greet” opportunity for those 50 and over will focus on preparing Long Island duck breast, along with side dishes.
Sponsored by the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop, it will be held at the Bridgehampton Inn on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. and cost $165. Besides the duck, with cabernet-braised cabbage and Granny Smith apples, the menu will include spinach bruschetta with pesto shrimp, savory Tuscan cheesecake, and pear crumble with cinnamon ice cream.