News for Foodies: 12.22.16
Holiday Meals
December holidays are about many things, both secular and spiritual, but breaking bread together and enjoying a special meal is always a centerpiece.
On Christmas Eve, Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton will offer visitors a chance to both dine and to give, as a portion of the revenue from meals that night will be donated to the Pajama Program, which gives warm pjs and brand-new books to children in need. A prix fixe featuring roast suckling pig served with cabbage, caramelized apples, and spaetzle — a Christmas Eve tradition at Almond — will be offered for $31. The regular a la carte menu will also be available. Service on Saturday will be from 5 to 9:30 p.m.; the restaurant will be closed on Christmas Day.
A la carte holiday specials for Christmas Eve at Red/Bar Brasserie in Southampton include grilled Montauk oysters, Hudson Valley foie gras, Maine lobster, smoked Long Island duck breast, angus rib steak, and cedar plank-roasted Scottish salmon. The regular menu will be available as well. The restaurant will be closed on Christmas Day.
Christmas will be celebrated at the Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone inn in East Hampton with a prix fixe meal offered from 1 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The cost is $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. Menu choices will include curried butternut squash soup, scallop crudo, farro salad, baked oysters, baby kale Caesar salad, and crisp braised veal to start, followed by a choice of filet mignon, poached lobster, roasted halibut, vegetable lasagna, or duck breast as an entree. Dessert choices will be red wine-poached pears, tiramisu, or salted pecan dark fudge.
Lunch specials will be served at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton on Christmas Eve, and the restaurant will be closed that evening and on Christmas Day. Menu items will include shrimp bisque, a smoked salmon and chives omelette, a lobster B.L.T. served with pickled vegetables, and, for dessert, espresso chocolate pot de creme.
Beginning on Monday, Hanukkah specials will be on the Rowdy menu: borscht with creme fraiche and chives, and braised lamb shank with sweet potato puree and horseradish gremolata.
A la carte holiday specials will be on the menu through Dec. 31, based on availability, at Nick and Toni’s in East Hampton, which will serve dinner on Christmas Eve from 6 to 10 p.m. and be closed on Christmas. Though subject to change, the menu is slated to include grilled stuffed calamari with bitter greens and creamy lemon dressing, and wood-roasted brisket with local sweet potato and carrot tzimmes.
Holidays at Home
The Art of Eating catering company in Amagansett is taking orders through tomorrow for dishes for a New Year’s Eve meal. The menu can be found online at hamptonsartofeating.com, but ranges from nibbles such as smoked almonds or spiced nuts to antipasto, dips and spreads, hors d’oeuvres, salads, main courses, side dishes, and desserts. Orders must be picked up by noon on New Year’s Eve.
Buche de Noel
A traditional Buche de Noel, or Yule log cake, can be found at the Pierre’s restaurant market in Bridgehampton. The traditional Christmas dessert comes in chocolate, coffee, chestnut, or fruit versions and costs $38 for a seven-inch cake, with six to eight portions, and $54 for an 11-inch dessert, which can serve 10 to 15 people.