The post-New Year’s Day emergence of prix fixe menus and other specials continues, as restaurants try to lure diners from the warmth of their homes.
The 1770 House in East Hampton is offering an early-bird two-course dinner and a two-course fine dining menu. The early-bird deal, which will run through March 20 (except for Feb. 16), features two courses for $50, and $10 glasses of house wine for guests seated between 5:30 and 6 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday.
The fine dining menu, priced at $65, the tavern a la carte menu, and the takeout menu are offered nightly from 5:30. Among the starters on the fine dining menu are Montauk fluke tartare, a mussel and saffron chowder, and baked stuffed clams. Salads highlight local greens, and butternut squash and beets from Balsam Farms.
Main courses include braised Berkshire pork cheeks served with house-made raviolo, whipped sheep’s milk ricotta, hen of the woods mushrooms, and tomato-pork jus; rabbit leg braised with paprika and cider and served over nutmeg-spiced spaetzle; roasted chicken with Channing Daughters Ramato jus; seared scallops with citrus-braised leeks and roasted sweet potatoes, and Scottish salmon with cauliflower purée and baby kale salad.
Downstairs, in addition to the fine dining prix fixe menu, the a la carte menu includes meatloaf and the Tavern burger, both using pasture-raised beef from local Acabonac Farms.
Cittanuova in East Hampton has launched a $39 three-course prix fixe menu that is available Sunday through Thursday starting at 5:30 p.m. (except holidays).
First courses are minestrone with pasta, white beans, tomato, and herb broth; hummus with grilled house flatbread, garlic confit, and toasted sesame; panko-crusted fried mozzarella with arugula, marinara, and shaved Grana Padano; roasted artichoke hearts with arugula, radicchio, pine nuts, red onion, pecorino, and lemon vinaigrette, and carpaccio with arugula, Dijon aioli, and Grana Padano.
Mains include roasted eggplant Parmigiana; orecchiette with Italian sausage, broccoli rabe, chiles, and Grana Padano; chicken Milanese with arugula salad; pan-seared salmon with chimichurri and pan-roasted artichoke hearts, and sliced strip steak with cipollini onions, arugula, shaved Grana Padano, and white truffle oil.
Desserts are chocolate bread pudding, tiramisu, gelato, and sorbet. The carpaccio, salmon, and strip steak are available with supplemental charges.
Il Buco al Mare in Amagansett has a $36 prix menu that is available all evening on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays.
The first course is mixed chicories with verjus vinaigrette, winter citrus, and hazelnut. On Sundays and Mondays the entree is zuppa di pesce, made with fumet, clam broth, white wine, sautéed shallots, turnips, little necks, fluke, bass, and fresh herbs. Thursday’s entree is a lamb stew with lamb shoulder, pancetta, sofrito, chicken stock, red wine, Kyoto carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. Both entrees are accompanied by the restaurant’s freshly basked stirato, a type of ciabatta.
Wine by the glass specials are on offer, as are $2 Montauk Pearl oysters on the half shell.
The Bell and Anchor in Sag Harbor has daily specials that will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m. except on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tuesdays will feature a choice of appetizer and chicken Milanese with mixed greens, shaved fennel, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan, and champagne vinaigrette. Wednesday is lobster night, with a choice of appetizer and a choice of lobster garganelli with corn, basil, and saffron cream; a steamed 1.5-pound lobster with haricots verts and fingerling potatoes, or a butter-poached lobster tail with a grilled filet mignon, haricots verts, and fingerling potatoes.
A choice of appetizer and bouillabaisse will warm up diners on Thursdays. The Provencal classic includes white fish, a lobster tail, mussels, clams, and shrimp in a tomato-saffron broth. On Sundays, a choice of appetizer can be followed by steamed mussels and frites one of two ways: with coconut milk, lemon grass, and Thai chiles or with garlic, white wine, lemon-thyme, cream, and tomatoes.
Having returned from a winter break, La Fondita, too, has daily specials. Mondays feature three chicken, shrimp, or carne asada fajitas with rice, refritos, and flour tortillas. Three tacos al pastor are Thursday’s special, featuring marinated pork cooked with pineapple and topped with radish, onion, cilantro, avocado salsa, and corn tortillas.
On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the specials are tacos de birria de res, birria de res, and quesabirria. All three dishes feature chile braised beef with different accompaniments. Chile rellenos are also offered on Fridays, while parrilla mixta, a grilled steak, chicken and carne enchilada, are available on Saturdays.
Small Bites
Thursdays are locals’ nights at Inlet Seafood in Montauk. Every diner gets a 25-percent discount after 4.
Also in that hamlet, South Edison is hosting bingo night on Tuesdays at 6:30 and karaoke on Thursdays at 7:30. Happy hour happens all night on Tuesdays, while food and drink specials are offered on Thursdays.
As a reminder, Long Island Restaurant Week begins on Sunday and will run through Feb. 2, with participating restaurants offering lunch and dinner specials. For eateries serving lunch, the cost is $24 for two courses. The three-course dinner specials range will be either $29, $39, or $46, sometimes with add-ons. On the South Fork as of Monday, restaurants signing on included Nick and Toni’s and LDV at the Maidstone in East Hampton, Page in Sag Harbor, the Bridgehampton Inn and Restaurant and Jean-Georges at Topping Rose House, also in that hamlet, Bistro Ete and Calissa in Water Mill, and Shippy’s in Southampton. Reservations should be made through the restaurants. The special is generally offered only until 7 p.m. on Saturday.
