News for Foodies: 07.19.12
The Great Bonac Fireworks over Three Mile Harbor on Saturday night will be the occasion for special events at two waterfront East Hampton restaurants.
Andrra, off Gann Road at the Harbor Marina, will have a fund-raiser for the Clamshell Foundation, which sponsors the fireworks, with two seatings. At 6:30 p.m. a three-course prix fixe ($80 a person) will be served. The menu features selections from a raw seafood bar, tuna carpaccio, lobster bisque, Cyprian figs with gorgonzola, or salad to start, followed by a choice of lobster, rib-eye steak, local striped bass, pappardelle with braised beef, or yellowfin tuna. Dessert is included as well.
At the 8:30 p.m. seating, a chef’s tasting menu, with item such as oysters, shrimps, clams, and crabs, Wagyu carpaccio of beef, salad with Hudson Valley foie gras, bouillabaisse, and steak au poivre will be served. The cost is $190 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
There will also be a V.I.P. tent set up. Guests who pay the $60 admission fee will receive vouchers to use at the raw bar and drinks bar. Bottle service will be available in the restaurant’s lounge, where D.J. Lee Kalt will be spinning tunes. A Ferrari road rally will wind up at the restaurant at 6:30 p.m.
Reservations for Andrra on Saturday night are a must, and a 50-percent nonrefundable deposit will be required.
Music and Fireworks
Just a bit south along the harbor, the Harbor Bistro, another restaurant facing a marina on Three Mile Harbor Road, will open for dinner at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and have live music by Paul Gene and Michael Pour, along with a champagne bar, on its lawn overlooking the water from 6 to 9 p.m., before the fireworks show. Complimentary beverages will be served outdoors for children.
The bistro is taking reservations for two-hour dinner seatings on Saturday night.
Spring Close
Spring Close restaurant in East Hampton is serving lunch on Fridays through Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner service at the restaurant begins at 4 p.m. in the dining room or at the bar. Service continues until 10 on Sunday through Wednesday nights, and later on Thursdays through Sundays to accommodate late-night diners.
The pizza oven is still turning out wood-fired pies.
Surf Movie Sundays
The Backyard Restaurant at Solé East motel in Montauk is screening surf movies each Sunday through August, and will offer a pre-screening all-you-can eat barbecue at 7 p.m. for $25 per person, which includes a complimentary glass of beer or wine. Admission to the movies, shown outdoors at dark, is free. The film on Sunday will be “Single Fin Yellow.”
Chefs and Champagne
The James Beard Foundation’s annual Chefs and Champagne event will be held on Saturday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. Among the East End chefs who will be cooking are Gretchen Menser of Fresno in East Hampton and Larry Kolar of the Backyard Restaurant. The event will include a silent auction to raise funds for the foundation’s educational and leadership awards programs.
Reservations are $200 for James Beard Foundation members and $275 for nonmembers, which includes tastings. V.I.P. admission, which begins at 5 p.m., is $375 and includes a pre-event reception, silent auction preview, after-party, and reserved seating. Reservations can be made online at jamesbeard.org/chefsandchampagne.
Amagansett Market
The Route 27 farmers market in Amagansett, which takes place on Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 6, has moved from the American Legion property to a new location. The market can now be found on the lawn of Miss Amelia’s Cottage, at the corner of Windmill Lane and Amagansett’s Main Street, just at the edge of the hamlet center.
Vendors selling local vegetables, baked goods, prepared foods, and cheeses each week include the Blue Duck Bakery, Gula Gula Empanadas, Open Minded Organics, Anke’s Fit Bakery, and Regina’s Farm Stand.
Chefs Dinner
Another annual culinary event, the Chefs Dinner at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, is coming soon. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. on July 28, the event will include a two-hour cocktail party, with hors d’oeuvres prepared by chefs from both Manhattan and local restaurants, including Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, James Carpenter of the Living Room, Bryan Futerman of Foody’s, and Jason Weiner of Almond.
A wine dinner will follow, featuring a four-course meal prepared by a select few of the participating chefs, with wines chosen by Aldo Sohm, Le Bernardin’s sommelier. Dessert will feature a sneak preview taste of a sweet from Ina Garten’s forthcoming cookbook, “Foolproof.” There will be a live auction following the dinner.
Tickets for the cocktail party alone are $150. Tickets for cocktails and the dinner are $750, or $1,500 and up for V.I.P. tables. Tickets for children, at $35, include a kids dinner and child care by Hayground Camp counselors.
Reservations can be made online at greatchefsdinner.com. The event raises money for the school’s Jeff’s Kitchen and the Jeff Salaway Scholarship fund, both tributes to the late school founder.
East End Chefs
An East End Chefs event with Arthur Wolf, the chef at Howlin’ Wolf restaurant in East Hampton, has been postponed a week, and will take place on Wednesday. Starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Whalers Church in Sag Harbor, Mr. Wolf will prepare a meal featuring “cowgirl quesadillas” with caramelized onions, guacamole and mango salsa, organic salad and cornbread, pulled-pork sliders with coleslaw, and, for dessert, Valhrona chocolate marble swirl brownies.
The cost is $30, and includes wine. Reservations can be made by calling the church.