News for Foodies 4.07
Pizza rustica, an Italian Eastertime specialty — a savory pie made with eggs and Italian meats and cheeses — is available this month at Food and Co. in East Hampton, where Pasquale’s Homemade has set up shop and is offering all kinds of traditional homemade foods, including roast chicken and pizzas. Fans of “The Cake Boss,” the cable TV show about an Italian bakery in Hoboken, will have seen the crowds lining up for pizza rustica, a once-a-year treat, in a recent episode.
Spring Menu
At Pierre’s restaurant in Bridgehampton, the springtime menu includes artichoke soup with bacon and creme fraiche, white asparagus with shallot vinaigrette, beef filet tartare, and rabbit. Pierre’s wine list now includes more than 360 choices. The choice of which Rosé de Provence to order for this year will be made soon, following a blind tasting by Pierre’s staff. Customers who would like to participate have been asked to contact the restaurant.
Staff Shuffle
Carolyn Papetti, the longtime general manager of Cittanuova in East Hampton, will be taking the helm at the Grill on Pantigo. Her husband, Massimo Papetti, also known to regulars at Cittanuova, will take over as general manager there.
The Meaning of the Month
Ah, April. Some may welcome this month as the real start of spring, or as National Poetry Month. But at Lucy’s Whey cheese shops in East Hampton and Manhattan, April means a celebration of National Grilled Cheese Month. Those on the stores’ e-mail list had a crack at winning a free grilled cheese sandwich as April began. Lucy’s Whey offers a rotating variety of grilled cheeses, including a sandwich made with melted Prairie Breeze cheddar, fig compote, and olive oil. The East Hampton store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Eating Local
The Sunset Beach Farm on North Haven will begin growing vegetables on an additional two acres in Amagansett, and will be signing up members for its community-supported agriculture program for the coming growing season. Information is on the farm’s Web site, at www.sunsetbeachfarm.net.
Almond’s Return
Almond’s new space at the corner of Ocean Road and Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton will not only bring the popular French bistro back to the hamlet, but will provide space to seat 120, including at some sidewalk tables. Almond closed at its former site, at the western edge of Bridgehampton, last fall.
Although the restaurant’s owners plan an update to the interior of the new space, they will maintain historic details such as the 100-year-old tin ceilings, and a hand-carved bar. The eatery is slated to reopen in May, serving dinner nightly, and will add lunch and brunch service later.
Blame It On . . .
The bossa nova is a weekly thing at Fresno in East Hampton, where caipirinhas, a classic Brazilian cocktail, are served up along with music by Ludmilla beginning at 7 p.m.