A Taste of 1770
The 1770 House has brought back its seasonal three-course prix fixe tasting menu. For $85, diners can choose two appetizers and a main course from menus of "house favorites" and some optional add-ons for appetizers, dessert, and wine.
The first course is a choice of Sagaponack asparagus tart, chilled sweet pea soup, Napa cabbage hearts salad, yellowfin tuna Tiradito, and spicy Montauk fluke tartare.
Second-course choices include North African-spiced quail, fusilli cacio e pepe, Shelter Island pork and clam gyoza, and seared Hudson Valley foie gras.
The main course offerings are halibut in a spring vegetable fricassee, za'atar-spiced swordfish with herbed tahini, chicken piccata, braised California rabbit, and roasted prime filet.
Oysters on the half shell, North Fork escargot flatbread, and burrata are the optional add-ons to the meal, ranging from a $17 to $38 supplement. Desserts, all $12 extra, are ricotta cheesecake, sticky date cake, and a banana and chocolate chip financier.
Reservations are recommended, and now online bookers can choose where they want to eat: outdoors, dining room, or tavern. Dinner is served every night beginning at 5:30. Takeout options are also available from both the dining room and tavern menus.
A Beach Surprise
Those expecting to see the same old Beach Hut at Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett this year will be surprised to see a spot with some exotic offerings taking its place.
Mom's Noodle is offering the usual beach snacks such as burgers and chicken tenders, but also is serving up Turkish beef patties and kabobs, fresh noodles, and crepes. Fried chicken and shrimp, barbecue wings, acai bowls, fruit salad, slushies, juices, and smoothies also make up the beachside menu.
Astro's Open
Astro's Pizza in Amagansett is now open every day but Tuesday. The restaurant was purchased by Ben Leventhal, who has put P.J. Calapa (who owns Scampi and the Spaniard in New York City) in charge of operations at the Italian eatery. In addition to a number of specialty pies and pasta, the restaurant will serve chopped and Caesar salads, a Sicilian sashimi, meatballs, eggplant Parm, clams in a butter and wine sauce served with garlic bread, chicken piccata, white lasagna, and mafaldini scampi.
The restaurant opens at 5 on weekdays and noon on weekends, and will be open on Tuesdays beginning in July. Pizzas range from $25 to $34 and are also available by the slice from $4 to $7. Entrees and pastas are in the $24 to $28 range. There are also a few ice cream desserts and cheesecake.
Another Vegan Option
La Capannina pizzeria in Wainscott has found a plant-based mozzarella alternative -- Pleese Cheese -- good enough for its pizzas. The vegan cheese is allergen-friendly, melts, and tastes similarly to real cheese.
Kobi and Abev Regev created the substitute in 2017 in New York City from a blend of bean and potato proteins. Their products are nut-free, soy-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, and made in an allergen-free environment.
The vegans said the one thing they really missed when giving up dairy was pizza, and particularly La Capannina's, which they have been enjoying since coming out to the South Fork every summer since they were young.
The partners are also making their cheese substitute available for retail purchase online. Every case sold will result in a tree planted by the National Forest Foundation. Further details are available on the Pleese Foods website.
Another Opening
Morty's Oyster Stand on Napeague will open Friday for the season. The humble but elevated beachside shack has seafood-focused lunch and dinner menus with a number of salads and meat options as well. Takeout is available and reservations can be made through Resy.
