Newsday has a brand-new Web site, and Feed Me has moved to a new URL. Please book mark this page and join us over at our new home. It's still the only place to go for up-to-the-minute news on the Long Island restaurant scene.
—Erica Marcus
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—Erica Marcus
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Bernard’s Market & Café has reinstated its relationship with Artisanal Premium Cheese, the Manhattan-based cheese wholesaler. To celebrate, Bernard’s is holding a free cheese-and-wine tasting on Thursday July 30, from 5 to 8 p.m., on its lovely shaded patio.
One of Artisanal’s fromageurs, Waldemar Albrecht, will be on hand to chat about his wares (aged Gouda from the Netherlands and Bleu d’Auvergne from France are scheduled to make appearances). Wash it all down with wines from the importer Supreme Wines, including Pretty Sally, a Rose from Victoria, Australia and Lugana Provenza, a cheese-friendly Italian white.
The event is free, but you must RSVP. Call 516-759-9100 and ask for Jenny. Bernard's Market & Café is at 716 Glen Cove Ave. Glen Head.
—Erica Marcus
Photo of 4-year-old Gouda courtesy of Artisanal Premium Cheese
Mark it with G, Shelter Island’s macaroon specialist, has moved, expanded and transformed itself from a bakery into a full-service restaurant. Reed Boone is still the head baker, her husband Jesse is head chef. Both aim to use as much local and seasonal food as possible: most of the vegetables come either from KK Haspel’s biodynamic farm in Southold, or Sylvester Manor, a 243-acre educational farm on Shelter Island. Brunch is served Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner is served Thursday and Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m.
The brunch menu features homemade granola, Amish chicken salad, eggs Benedict, croque madame (that’s a croque monsieur with an egg on top) and crepes (Suzette, banana-Nutella, ham-and-cheese, blueberry-chevre). The dinner menu changes daily but recent items have included brioche filled with Shelter Island black walnuts and Brie, roasted North Sea Farms poussin with gooseberry-onion stuffing and snap peas, grilled prime rib-eye with polenta and charred-corn relish.
Mark it with G is located at 27 N. Ferry Rd., Shelter Island 631-749-5288.
—Erica Marcus
Newsday photo / Rebecca Cooney
Put down your shopping bags and prepare for a shocker: A real Italian restaurant (not a chain) recently opened at a major mall.
Fratelli Trattoria made its debut recently at the Tanger Outlets at the Arches in Deer Park. Just a few steps away from the Multiplex cinema, it's a striking bi-level space featuring full-service dining as well as that all-important Neapolitan slice.
"Fratelli" means "brothers" in Italian. Accordingly, the place is owned by two brothers-in-law, Vito DeFeo (whose other property is Viajo’s in Huntington) and Michael Malatino. Chef Oscar Lizama previously cooked at Viajo’s. I can vouch for one of his dishes, the quasi-Sicilian rigatoni alla Fratelli’s, tubular pasta in a tomato wine sauce with onions, raisins, spinach and pignoli nuts.
DeFeo said that the restaurant's upstairs space is available for parties. Which means a celebration can begin with shopping or a movie and end with pasta and pizza for the gang.
Fratelli Trattoria is at Suite 996, The Arches Circle, Deer Park, 631-274-4811
— Joan Reminick
Newsday photo/Joan Reminick
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Another week, another star-studded cast at Nick & Toni's in East Hampton.
Wednesday night (just two days before the big Citi Field concerts), Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell were seen having a quiet dinner for two. They shared a bottle of red wine with vegetarian pastas in the back dining room.
Then, on Saturday; night, USA Network “Royal Pains” star Mark Feuerstein (who plays a falsely accused E.R. doc who moves to the Hamptons to treat the rich and famous) played a real-life Hamptons attention-getter, dining with his wife, brother and sister-in-law at the area's top celeb magnet.
Who else was at N & T's that night? Recording giant Tommy Mottola and his wife, Thalia. And actor-director Ed Burns, who dropped wife Christy Turlington and a group at the door and then had to park down the road (no room in the regular lot). He finally joined up with everyone 15 minutes later after hoofing it back to the place.
Such hardships.
— Joan Reminick
Mark Feuerstein (Photo by David Giesbrecht)
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When we dropped by Foody's in Water Mill for a light dinner this weekend, we had just gotten back from a good-food-starved road trip through tornado alley, driving thousands of miles through cornfields but unable to get a side dish of fresh corn (or any vegetable) anywhere we went.
So imagine our delight when we arrived at Foody's cheerful dining room to find out that the owners use locally grown food.
We started with a cup of slightly sweet New England clam chowder and a memorable (have-to-try-to-make-this-at-home) cup of watermelon gazpacho. We then moved on to this clam pizza, which we'd order again and again.
The thin-crust pie featured pecorino, bread crumbs, olive oil, oregano, garlic and—best yet—local clams.
— Valerie Kellogg
Newsday Photo / Valerie Kellogg
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Richard Desmond, talented tenor and chef, is the culinary force driving Public House 49, a gastro-pub that opened last week in Patchogue. You may remember Desmond from Bliss in East Setauket and the former Lucia in Huntington Station, where he was known as much for his cooking as for his powerful pipes.
When I was at the new Patchogue place, Desmond didn't venture into the bar or dining areas. Yet he didn’t miss a beat when it came to the food, which was gently priced, in keeping with the informal vibe. Dinner began with his signature basil-infused hummus, light, herbal and served with a crusty ciabatta. An appetizer of mac and cheese laced with ham and caramelized onions took the kiddie classic to a delectable new level.
But Desmond can over-think things. While I loved the thick juicy Kobe beef hot dog on house-baked flatbread with spicy ketchup and cilantro, I would have been even happier if it were served on a frankfurter roll with good mustard. Call me a peasant.
Public House 49 is at 49 E. Main St., Patchogue, 631-569-2767.
—Joan Reminick
2007 Newsday Photo of Desmond at the former Lucia/Bill Davis
Just because you’re working 9 to 5 doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beach on a weekday. “Taste of Fire Island” is billed as a “midweek break in your own back yard.” On Monday through Thursday evenings, for $45 per person (tax and tip NOT included), you get parking at the Ocean Beach ferry dock, round-trip ferry ticket and a three-course dinner at your choice of Maguire’s, The Hideaway at Houser’s, Matthew’s Seafood House, bocce beach or The Island Mermaid.
You must take one of the ferries leaving Bay Shore at 5:35, 6:50 or 8:05 p.m. to get the deal (you can’t go earlier in the day and then stay for dinner). The last boat comes back from Ocean Beach at 11:05 p.m., leaving plenty of time for a moonlit stroll along the ocean after your meal. Tell the parking attendants that you’re doing “Taste of Ocean Beach” and they’ll park you for free; pay $16 at the ferry for your tickets and $29 at the restaurant (plus tax and gratuity). Normally, the parking and ferry alone would be $24.
Call the restaurant to reserve. An example of menu choices at Maguire’s include a 14- oz. pork chop with rum marinade, Bali BBQ sauce, mango puree, roasted garlic mashed potatoes and vegetable of the day or sauteed jumbo shrimp and sea scallops with pineapple and coconut curry sauce served with jasmine rice.
Flynn’s in Ocean Bay Park has a similar promotion; for $44 you get parking, round-trip ferry ticket and dinner at the restaurant (price doesn’t include tax or tip).
—Beth Whitehouse
Newsday photo
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The sexy scent of hickory smoke is now wafting over the Kings Park LIRR station. That’s because last Wednesday, Dixie’s Smokehouse Texas B.B.Q. & Rotisserie fired up its pit and opened for business.
Co-owner/pitmaster Mike Franchi (who also has Andersen’s Deli across the street) has long been a barbecue dabbler. After nearly two years of serous research, he and partner Danny Passafaro decided to open a 'cue spot of their own.
Dining is either inside the brick-lined dining room or out on the patio. As I learned, while seated at an umbrella table, a train idling at the station can make the entire body vibrate. Even so, I wasn't distracted from what was on my plate. Franchi showed skill with tender, smoky beef ribs and juicy brisket. But not in the case of rather hard-surfaced St. Louis ribs, surprisingly less smoky than the moist, savory rotisserie chicken. Mac and cheese was cold and mushy, but service couldn't have been warmer.
Definitely a place to watch.
Dixie’s Smokehouse Texas B.B.Q. & Rotisserie is at 12 Indian Head Rd., Kings Park, 631-292-2520, dixiessmokehouse.com.
—Joan Reminick
Photo by permission/dixiesroadhouse.com
My fiance and I had planned a long beach walk on Sunday, from Field 5 at Robert Moses to Kismet on Fire Island. The payoff to all that exercise was going to be a water-view lunch at “The Out,” a favorite of mine from years of summer stays on Fire Island. I could practically taste the vegetable panino I’ve ordered summer after summer, sitting under the round picnic tables on the The Out’s deck.
I was stunned when we arrived to see that The Out had been sold. Fire Island, the place where everything stays the same, had pulled a switch. The restaurant's name has been altered to “Surf’s Out” — keeping the “Out” in the name because of the restaurant next door called “The Inn.” The four new owners include three Kismet homeowners and Dean Cirella, owner of Cirella’s in Melville.
The vegetable panino has disappeared from the menu, and the picnic tables with umbrellas have been replaced by fancier tables underneath a huge awning. The inside of the restaurant has been upscaled, complete with a waterwall.
I was a skeptical diner, loyal to the old place. I ordered a “Louie the Lobster” sandwich ($16), and my fiance a turkey burger ($12). But I must say, I was pleased that my sandwich had shredded pieces of lobster that weren’t bathed in mayonnaise. I was disappointed, however, that the avocado advertised on the menu wasn’t sliced avocado but rather an avocado spread. The turkey burger came on a brioche-style roll, and both sandwiches came with choice of fries or a fresh and generous garden salad. Other fish choices included the “Grouper Rueben,” ($15) fried grouper with cole slaw and Thousand Island dressing on pumpernickel bread.
The dinner menu includes more pricey fare — jumbo shrimp wrapped in prosciutto for $25; pounded veal chop herb crusted and served with baked mozzarella and tomato sauce for $38.
At the table next to us, four diners were so thrilled with their “Rocket Fuel” ($11) — frozen pina coladas topped with a shot of 151 Rum and amaretto — that they urged us to give them a try. We abstained, but hope to come back for some after dinner on a Friday or Saturday, when the restaurant has DJ and dancing from 11 p.m. on.
The new owners also bought and revived the Pizza Shack on the Kismet dock, which has been empty for three summers. And they will soon open a Beach Club adjacent to the restaurant, with lockers and showers that day trippers can rent for $50, which includes a $30 food voucher for “Surf’s Out” that must be used that day.
—Beth Whitehouse
Surf's Out photo used by permission
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I will go a long way for a good pizza (I’ve driven to New Haven for lunch at Pepe’s) so I was gratified to find an extremely respectable pie at Bertucci’s, about 3 miles from Newsday’s Melville offices. Bertucci’s has an enormous wood-burning brick oven and offers both traditional American-style and Neapolitan-style pizzas. We ordered a large Margherita (mozzarella, tomato sauce, pecorino and basil, $17.50) from the latter menu and it was crisp, fresh and spare—perhaps a bit too spare, tomato-wise. Meatballs (two for $3.75) were excellent as well. Service was friendly and efficient. The host even held the door open for us when we left!
The only downside to the meal was a tossed salad (usually $4.99, but $2.99 with the pizza) that brought me back to my childhood. If I’d closed my eyes I could have imagined that I was back at home in the ‘60s and my mother was serving me a plate of iceberg lettuce dressed with Wishbone Italian.
—Erica Marcus
Newsday photo of a Margherita pizza (not Bertucci’s) / Bruce Gilbert
Rugosa in East Hampton is going after your business.
Every Sunday, from 5:30 to 11 p.m., a half pound of mussels (about a dozen) goes for $5. You can get yours prepared in the traditional style (with shallots, garlic, butter, parsley, white wine) or curried (with shallots, garlic, curry, cilantro, white wine), either version accompanied by a toasted baguette.
The restaurant also has a $30 three-course dinner prix-fixe, available Wednesday through Monday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Menu items change weekly but might include a first course of blue claw crab salad, a main course of local black sea bass with potato gnocchi and glazed savoy cabbage and a dessert of white chocolate bread pudding with golden raisins and spiced rum sauce.
Rugosa is at 290 Montauk Hwy., East Hampton, 631-604-1550
—Joan Reminick
Photo by permission of Rugosa
This morning, LIRR commuters were treated to free coffee: The Canadian doughnut chain, Tim Hortons, promoted its arrival in New York by giving away 100 gallons of their famous (in Canada) coffee.
Tim Horton, the company’s founder, played hockey for more than 17 years for the Toronto Maple Leafs, after which he played for the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. He founded a donut-and-coffee chain in 1964 and it has since grown to comprise 2,800 stores across Canada and 500 other locations in the U.S.
Today, Riese Restaurants converted a dozen of its New York Dunkin’ Donuts to Tim Hortons. In addition to the location at the North end of Penn Station’s LIRR concourse, there are Tim Hortons on Penn Station’s Amtrak Level and at the Madison Square Garden taxi stand, 401 7th Ave. (32nd St.), 152 W. 34th St. (7th Ave.), 1286 Broadway (bet. 33rd & 34th St.), 761 7th Ave. (50th St.), 47 East 42nd St. (bet. Park and Madison Aves.), 1276 Lexington Ave. (between 85th and 86th Sts.), 2547 Broadway (bet. 95th and 96th St.), and in Brooklyn: 451 Fulton Street and 22 Court Street (Brooklyn).
—Erica Marcus
Tim Hortons image used by permission
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Renee Zellweger, whose repertoire goes from "Bridget Jones" to "Chicago" with a stop on "Cold Mountain," was spotted at East Hampton's newly relaunched The Blue Parrot. Zellweger must have been very energized by the surroundings of the reborn eatery. The much-rumored silent investor was seen dancing on the banquettes following dinner and, of course, drinks. Zellweger wasn't the lone boldface name at the Mexican media magnet. Yet another "Real Housewife," this one being LuAnn de Lesseps of New York City, also was on the premises for festivities.
—Peter M. Gianotti
Renee dancing ... not at The Blue Parrot / Photo by David James
Who’s been eating around on the East End?
Our spies say that Kelly Bensimon of "Real Housewives” was spotted picking up takeout at Turtle Crossing in East Hampton on Sunday evening.
She took home a few rib platters, BBQ chicken and a mess of fixins. Getting some slow-smoked fare elsewhere Sunday night was Russell Simmons and brother Rev Run, who popped by Townline BBQ in Sagaponack for a carryout order. They hung at the bar waiting for it.
Rowdy Hall in East Hampton saw a big-name crowd this week. Actress Amy Irving stopped in for a bite Friday night after her performance in Tennessee William’s “The Glass Menagerie” at Guild Hall.
She was with co-star Ebon Moss Bachrach and had chicken skewers over green salad with a Martini, up, with olives.
Sunday, violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman dined with his wife and friends. The four of them put away a salad, a Cheddar burger, mussels and yellowfin tuna.
Perlman didn’t have his strings with him, otherwise he might have could have joined the open jam in the courtyard during which trend-spotter Faith Popcorn danced with Rowdy manager Lisa Bonner while filmmakers and life partners Bea Alda (Alan's daughter) and Jennifer Brooke cheered them on.
At Nick & Toni’s Sunday night, Chevy Chase had a family dinner with his wife and daughter. They sat in the front room and snacked on a plate of zucchini chips.
Gotta try those zucchini chips sometime soon.
-- Joan Reminick
(Photo by Gina Tomitz for Newsday)
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