News for Foodies - 05.19.11
Thai at Old Whalers
Thai food will be on the table at Sag Harbor’s Old Whalers Church tonight, when the sous chef from Phao restaurant prepares a sampling of dishes such as summer rolls, lemongrass soup, pad Thai, and coconut ice cream. The event, part of a series called East End Chefs, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and cost $30. Space is limited. Advance reservations can be made by calling the church.
Restaurant Roulette
There is always lots of restaurant news in the mad scramble toward Memorial Day. Here’s this week’s scoop.
Spring Close restaurant, which returns the farmhouse restaurant on the Montauk Highway in East Hampton to (almost) its original name, is now open daily for lunch and dinner beginning at 11 a.m. Weekend brunch service will begin soon.
The restaurant, in the roomy space that was most recently the Laundry, and originally the Spring Close House, is a collaboration between Colin Keillor, who was the manager at Nichol’s in East Hampton, and Michael Lomasney, a Cold Spring Harbor restaurateur. On the menu are appetizers such as tuna tartare, scallop and bacon sliders with apricot chutney, wings with Thai peanut dipping sauce, and lobster cocktail. On the entree list are strip steak, seafood pasta, bouillabaisse, pork T-bone with caramelized onions and apples and cider gravy, dill and Dijonaise-crusted salmon, and chicken breast, while lunch sandwich choices include a shrimp or chicken salad wrap, portobello burger, pressed mozzarella, tomato, and basil, lobster roll, or pressed roast beef with arugula, boursin, and shallot.
The space on Sag Harbor’s Main Street that previously held restaurants such as Peter Miller’s, JLX Bistro, and La Maison is to become a branch of the Pomme Cafe, an eatery in Astoria specializing in French cuisine.
18 Bay, formerly of Bayville, has recently moved digs to Shelter Island. In the space where Planet Bliss was, Adam Kopels and Elizabeth Ronzetti, co-chefs, owners, and husband and wife, hope to open on Memorial Day. There will be a daily chef’s menu, with fresh produce and seafood from local farmers and baymen, and homemade pasta. Allergy and vegetarian-friendly, dinner will be served on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
South Edison restaurant in Montauk, which first opened last June, reopened for the season last night. Todd Mitgang, of Cascabel Taqueria in Manhattan, and formerly of Crave Ceviche Bar, is the chef. The restaurant has a “seafood-centric” menu as well as a raw bar. Starters include chili-marinated shrimp salad with grilled rice, cherry cola-braised Berkshire pork belly with cherries, radish, spring garlic, and mashed chickpeas, and fried belly clams. Among the entree choices are Mr. Mitgang’s version of a lobster roll, served with a black garlic mayonnaise, grilled local porgy with roasted fennel and apple, chard, and crab sauce, spicy pulled pork tacos, and handmade linguine with baby octopus, leeks, tomatoes, olives, and feta. For the next month or so, South Edison will be open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday beginning at 5:30 p.m. Reservations can be made online at southedison.com/reservations, or on the Open Table Web site.
Also in Montauk, Dave’s Grill has opened its doors for the summer, down on the Montauk docks. Dave’s is serving dinner on Thursdays through Sundays.
New Manager
Douglas Sheehan is the new general manager at Rugosa in East Hampton. With his father, Ed Sheehan, and Bobby Thomas, Mr. Sheehan opened the Dockside Bar & Grill in Sag Harbor, which is now owned and operated by his sister. He has also worked at Robert’s in Water Mill and the former Sapore di Mare in Wainscott, as well as at Artisanal, Lever House, and the Waverly Inn in Manhattan.
Simple Appetizers
Amy Kirwin will demonstrate how to make simple appetizers for summer entertaining at a free program at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday at noon. Samples will be passed around. Reservations must be made by calling the library, or online at myrml.org.
Farmers Markets
Hooray, it’s that time again! The Sag Harbor Farmers Market will start the season on Saturday. It is held at Bay and Burke Streets from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The East Hampton market, in the parking lot of Nick & Toni’s restaurant on North Main Street, will have its seasonal premiere on Friday, May 27, also from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. That afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., the Hayground School farmers market in Bridgehampton gets under way.
Argentinian Wine
A wine dinner featuring Argentinean wines will be held tomorrow night at the Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone inn in East Hampton. The event, co-hosted by Kelly Matis, the restaurant’s sommelier, and Jacques Franey of East Hampton’s Domaine Franey wine shop, will include an hors d’oeuvres reception followed by a four-course dinner, paired with different wines. Reservations have been strongly recommended. The cost will be $85, plus tax and gratuity.
And the Winners Are
Long Island Restaurant News has announced the winners of its Finest Plates 2011 poll, which include three South Fork eateries. The Sea Grille at Gurney’s Inn was deemed the restaurant with the best view, while Phao won best Thai restaurant. Muse Restaurant and Aquatic Lounge took “best healthy restaurant.”