As Warren Zevon’s song “Splendid Isolation” plays in my head I continue to cook, cook, cook, and explore our new world very carefully.
At this point in time, quite a few restaurants out here are offering takeout. Some of these restaurants have lowered their prices significantly, some have not. Some are also even offering what is known as “family meals” to the public. This is something that is quick and cheap to feed employees before service begins, things like lasagna and salad, frittatas, chili, shepherds pie, chicken wings, and drumsticks.
If you are interested in finding out who is open and their protocol for ordering, then you should call or email the restaurant directly. Midafternoon is usually a good time to call. Do not count on their websites or Facebook pages for up-to-date information. Things are changing every day.
I stopped by Bell and Anchor in Noyac the other day to pick up some food and chat with the owner, David Loewenberg, and chef, Sam McCleland.
“We closed immediately when this began. We discussed the ‘what ifs?' and made plans,” explained Mr. Loewenberg. “Right now we are serving our staff and guests 70 to 125 meals per day. They drive up and some bring their own containers from home. It’s all hands on deck!”
On that particular evening, I picked up mussels in a lemongrass coconut milk broth, heart of palm salad, lobster rigatoni, and a crispy portobello mushroom, all extremely delicious and shockingly reasonable. Bell and Anchor also offers small bottles of its signature drinks, premixed, for $20. That’s $20 for three cocktails!
I hope all of you are being more frugal and less wasteful with your food and paper goods. I knew if I saved the leftover broth from the mussels that it would make a fine addition to a pot of jasmine rice, and it did.
Harbor Market in Sag Harbor is selling bags of onions and potatoes and day-old breads. I’m Irish, this is food fit for a feast.
And then there are those “random acts of kindness” as the Subaru/Volvo bumper stickers say. My friend Andrew dropped off a beautiful little wheel of Camembert the other day. I reciprocated with a bottle of my homemade, divine-smelling hinoki pine hand sanitizer. My friend Thomas came from Montauk to give me two masks and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. This generous gesture earned him enough meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner for four.
I am definitely the Gladys Kravitz/Nosy Parker of my neighborhood. I scolded one business owner for having the “tips appreciated” jar right on the counter where every person’s grubby hands can touch it with their filthy lucre.
He shrugged. He is tired. I heard a friend’s daughter say, “My friends are picking me up; we’re going to the beach.” Oh, great, I thought, a bunch of college kids home from everywhere crammed into a car. Smart.
We all need to stay safe and clean and save our pennies. I said it before and I’ll say it again: Grow some vegetables if you can, get your hands in the dirt. These will be our victory gardens. And if you have the means, please donate what you can to local farmers and fishermen, markets and restaurants. We live in a seasonal resort town that relies on the hospitality industry. They have served you, now you serve them.
Now how about some fun, frugal, and freezable recipes?
