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Seasons by the Sea: Four Days in Vienna

Seasons by the Sea: Four Days in Vienna

Despite the traditional Viennese preference for fried and boiled meats and potatoes, the markets offer a colorful array of seasonal and imported produce. Below, a meal of tafelspitz is preceded by broth with noodles or sliced pancakes.
Despite the traditional Viennese preference for fried and boiled meats and potatoes, the markets offer a colorful array of seasonal and imported produce. Below, a meal of tafelspitz is preceded by broth with noodles or sliced pancakes.
Laura Donnelly Photos
In pursuit of Austrian cuisine
By
Laura Donnelly

First of all, I have to admit that certain German words bring out the inner child in me, and that inner child is akin to Beavis and Butthead. Millennial boys will know what I mean. 

“Beavis and Butthead,” an animated sitcom created by Mike Judge in 1992, ran for many years and was made into a movie. The two characters are disgusting young boys who are titillated by any word that sounds dirty, and react to it by snickering “heh heh, you said [insert potentially dirty word here].”

I spent a few days in Vienna, Austria, last week, without a doubt one of the world’s most beautiful and culturally rich cities in the world, and found myself giggling over such words as “gute fahrt,” “kartoffelpuffer,” and “botschafter,” which simply mean “good trip,” “hash browns,” and “ambassador.” But I digress before I’ve even begun. . . .

Vienna has a reputation for having the best desserts in the world, which is why a most thoughtful fellow invited me. The sachertorte could be the most famous. Other dishes of great renown are tafelspitz, or boiled beef; weiner schnitzel, which is deep-fried breaded veal; mohnnudeln, big potato gnocchi-like noodles covered in a sugary poppy seed goop; rindfleischsalat, beef salad made with leftover tafelspitz, and lots and hams and cheeses and dense dark breads. In other words, the traditional foods are gout-inducing, cholesterol-raising heavy fare that nobody should be eating on a daily basis.

Because I had accrued oodles of miles on my credit card, I was able to travel for $0 in business class, an experience I have had only once before in 62 years. “Oh, boy,” I thought, “this means I can hang out in the lounge of Austrian Airlines!” Their motto is “the charming way to fly,” which is a charming motto.

Airport lounges are as quiet as tombs, have comfortable seating, free booze, and often (so I hear) splendid buffets. This lounge had cold cuts, potato chips, macaroni salad, Chex mix, candy, and pizza. It was on a par with hospital food. I exited the lounge and found a stall called New York/Istanbul and enjoyed a gozleme, a flat bread stuffed with spinach and spices. Delicious . . . and green.

Things improved on the airplane, which had a “chef” taking meal orders. When researching the airline I came upon a travel story in which the writer actually believed the “chefs” on Austrian Airlines were going back into a real kitchen to cook the meals to order. Not so. As most of us know, open flames are not a good idea up in the air in an airtight capsule. There were offerings of white asparagus soup, beef fillet, prawns, tortellini, a cheese trolley, and desserts. The Austrians are also big into coffee, so there was a whole coffee menu to choose from after the meal. The coffee is divine everywhere in Vienna, even at McDonald’s. (Yes, I got an espresso one morning at McDonald’s.)

I had a full day to explore before my friend Benson arrived, so I wandered around and had a lunch of huge white asparagus topped with diced tomatoes, accompanied by buttery, parsley potatoes, and a very large bowl of hollandaise. To top it off I ordered a side dish of Vulcano ham, a cured ham that is aged for six months, marinated with herbs, and smoked briefly with beechwood. Oof, good start.

On our first night we tried to muster up some enthusiasm to try traditional Viennese food and went looking for Plachutta, a restaurant with three locations throughout the city and renowned for its tafelspitz. We got lost and settled on a nice little Italian joint called Sole and had shredded raw artichoke and fennel salad, sea bass with a potato crust and sautéed spinach, followed by tart lemon and blood orange sorbets. This place was so good (and healthy) we went back again another night.

Our days were spent in museums — two full days at the Albertina, viewing much Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt and other artists of the Secessionist movement. We explored a farmer’s market where we found fraises des bois, tiny Alpine strawberries that are sweet and perfumy and very different from the larger ones we are used to. 

Most breakfasts were consumed in our hotel, where the buffet had a staggering array of more meats and cheeses; bircher muesli, a mixture of soaked oats with yogurt, nuts, and fruit; pretzel rolls; dense, dark, brown breads, and big jars of jams like sour cherry and gooseberry. Lunches were often at museum cafes, and they were excellent. At one I had a baked sweet potato topped with fresh porcini (also known as bolete) mushrooms, micro-greens, and a soy dressing. At another I had some darned good sushi. (Sorry folks, I just didn’t want to gain 10 pounds a day.) 

We fell in love with one of Vienna’s famous pastries called Esterhazy, similar to a Napoleon, which is composed of layers of hazelnut dacquoise (meringue) filled with buttercream, and topped with a sugar icing. The apple strudels everywhere were also delicious, and often served with vanilla sauce, because why should a rich dessert have to be served without more sugar and fat?

We spent one evening touring the local TV station ORF, and watching the evening news broadcast, which is five minutes long. Benson’s friend, a native Austrian named Christian, explained to us that Austria is a very relaxed, neutral country, welcoming to immigrants, and with very little fear of terrorism. Quite refreshing considering its history.

By our third evening (I only had four days), I forced my host to indulge my need to try the traditional foods. We found one of Plachutta’s locations and tucked into weiner schnitzel and the boiled beef tafelspitz. It was far better than it sounded. You choose which cut of beef you would like (rump, tongue, shoulder, whatever), and it is presented in a beautiful copper pot full of broth with carrots and leeks. You begin with the broth, which comes with either noodles or sliced pancakes. 

It was insanely good. The accompaniments are applesauce with horseradish, shredded fried potatoes, and chive sauce that is made with milk-soaked white bread, then turned into a mayonnaise emulsion with vegetable oil and lots of chopped chives. The meat is cut superthin and is very tender, like the best brisket you’ve ever had. There is a thick bone full of marrow in the broth, which is meant to be slathered on toasted brown bread and sprinkled with salt and pepper. This was the best marrow I’ve ever tasted. Alas, Benson’s weiner schnitzel, while tender, was merely two slabs of oily, breaded veal with a wedge of lemon.

On our last night we tried a Turkish restaurant surrounded by weapons stores. It was so bad (smoking allowed inside, pee yew!) we left after trying only the hummus, fried zucchini, and falafel.

The next and last stop, the famed Hotel Sacher, was ground zero for that famous sachertorte. I’m going to be sacrilegious here and say I was underwhelmed. It is a somewhat dry, not very chocolaty cake with a layer of apricot jam and a somewhat gritty chocolate glaze. Truth be told, I would take a French fruit tart or éclair over this anytime. 

The architecture, music, art, people, and parks of Vienna were truly wonderful, but I did not come back thinking, “Hot diggity, I can’t wait to try that recipe at home!” I prefer colorful and crunchy vegetables, things that have spice and zest, healthful things. Fish and rice, not noodles and cream.

It was a glorious trip, however, and I would go back in a heartbeat. Besides the beauty of the city, I became enamored of the language, which often combines several words to create a new word and meaning. For instance “kummerspeck” literally translates to “grief bacon,” that syndrome many of us have experienced of overeating to soothe us after a breakup or job loss or stress. “Torschlusspanik” means “closing gate panic,” that feeling of being afraid you’re missing out on things in life and you’d better hurry up and do them. “Erklarungsnot,” which brings Beavis and Butthead back to mind (heh-heh, you said ‘snot!’) literally translates as “explanation poverty,” and is used to describe dishonest politicians, children who lie about their homework, and various other liars and cheaters. That word will come in handy every day back here in America. 

Perhaps my favorite word of all, because it relates to food, is a word regarding laws and the labeling of beef. I have no flipping idea what it means literally but here goes: rindfleischetikettierungsuberwachungsaufgabenubertragungsges. 

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Seasons by the Sea: Beyond the Ban

Seasons by the Sea: Beyond the Ban

Those working in the kitchen for the five-course dinner featuring food from the countries covered by the Trump administration’s travel ban had origins as close as New York City and as far away as Ecuador and Mexico. They were, from left, Miguel Solano, Leo Cordova, Fabian Juela, Jeremy Blutstein, and Andrew Mahoney.
Those working in the kitchen for the five-course dinner featuring food from the countries covered by the Trump administration’s travel ban had origins as close as New York City and as far away as Ecuador and Mexico. They were, from left, Miguel Solano, Leo Cordova, Fabian Juela, Jeremy Blutstein, and Andrew Mahoney.
Laura Donnelly
Dishes from the six countries covered by the president’s travel ban
By
Laura Donnelly

Mark Twain wrote, in “Innocents Abroad,” that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” 

“I was a good student. I comprehend things. I understand very well. Better than, I think, almost anybody,” Donald Trump said to the National Sheriff’s Association regarding his interpretation of United States immigration law.

“I’ll tell you the whole history of it,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News. “So when Trump first announced it, he said ‘Muslim ban.’ He called me up. He said ‘put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.’ ”

A five-course dinner at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton recently focused on dishes from the six countries covered by the president’s travel ban. They were accompanied by four wines and a vermouth from Channing Daughters Winery. The dinner was conceived by Jason Weiner, the restaurant’s co-owner and executive chef, and prepared by its newly anointed chef de cuisine, Jeremy Blutstein. It was sold out. It was tremendous and huge, hugely successful, and beautiful.

At the beginning, Mr. Blutstein said, “This is a celebration of food from mother countries. Food is bond. People celebrate with food when a baby is born, when someone graduates, and at the other end, people gather and bond around food when someone dies. People have to let go of anger. If you walk around being angry, everybody loses. Here we have friends in the kitchen and friends in the dining room. Nights like this are what it’s all about.” 

He then admitted that in Mr. Weiner’s absence he had taken the liberty of plundering and pillaging the restaurant basement’s supply of last summer’s Pike’s Farm tomatoes and homemade harissa. The menu also featured nettles, ground dent corn, carrots, and potatoes from Quail Hill Farm, wheat from Amber Waves, Marilee Foster’s radishes, arugula from the Bridgehampton School’s Killer Bees garden, and micro-greens from Brendan Davison’s Good Water Farm.

Served family-style at communal tables, the meal began with fattoush, representing Syria and Iran, a salad of greens, sugar snap peas, radishes, pomegranate seeds, toasted pita bread, fennel fronds, and little rounds of falafel. It was lemony, herbal, and minty, with a hint of cardamom. The 2016 Mudd West Vineyards syrah was an excellent match for the variety of flavors.

The next course was salaat jazar, a carrot salad from Sudan, spicy with harissa, a tahini dressing, pistachios, pickled ramps, arugula, and a sprinkling of purple shiso leaves. This was accompanied by a 2016 Petillent Naturel.

When Christopher Tracy of Channing Daughters stood up to speak, he did so with the fervor of a Pentecostal preacher. “Channing Daughters Winery steers away from politics and religion. But these are interesting and different times so you have to be engaged. As Hamilton said to Burr, ‘I’d rather be divisive than indecisive.’ ” He talked about how much fun it was to pair the wines with spicy foods, calling the sparkling rosés “joyful with a touch of sweetness.”

When asked why she and her husband, Chris Jeffrey, were attending the dinner, Laura Luciano said, “People are dying, seed banks are being blown up. Jason [Weiner] is bringing awareness to the foods of each of these countries. If we can’t go to them, Jason is bringing their flavors to us and educating us.”

The carrot salad was followed by mafaiya, a fish stew from Yemen, prepared with monkfish, last summer’s tomatoes, sunchokes, and Quail Hill nettles. It was one of the best courses of the meal, the monkfish cooked just enough, the nettles softened to spinach-like silkiness, the sunchokes adding sweetness, and the broth having a hint of saffron in it. This was matched with a 2016 cabernet sauvignon from Mudd Vineyard.

Throughout the meal, Almond’s co-owner Eric Lemonides was serving dishes and alighting on each table with the speed of a hummingbird. As the guests tucked into the fourth course of chicken and lamb kebabs representing Libya, Mr. Tracy told us why Almond is near and dear to his heart. “These dinners remind us of why we get together to enjoy food. Look behind the scenes: Diego, Steve, Nick, Jeff, all of the staff, they get it.” 

I visited the kitchen before the meal began, and the chefs and cooks were remarkably calm considering they were about to serve five courses in rapid succession to 75 guests. Mr. Blutstein introduced me to the “handsome S.O.B.s” who had prepared our meal, Miguel Solano, Leo Cordova, Fabian Juela, and Andrew Mahoney. Mr. Weiner was absent, working at a dinner in the city.

For dessert we had kac kac, a Somalian beignet topped with local lavender honey. This was served with Channing Daughters Vervain Version 3 Batch 3, a vermouth full of mysterious and intriguing local herbs and spices.

If you are familiar with Almond and the folks behind it, you already know that they frequently host dinners for friends in need, artists and writers, community groups, and more. Food is bond, as Mr. Blutstein said, and this dinner also provided some serious food for thought.

Click for recipes

News for Foodies: 04.27.17

News for Foodies: 04.27.17

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

Lulu Kitchen & Bar opens tomorrow in Sag Harbor, in the Main Street space once occupied by the Paradise and most recently by Doppio Artisan Bistro. The restaurant is the newest offering from Marc Rowan, whose Montauk collection includes Arbor and Duryea’s Lobster Deck. The Sag Harbor spot is to be open year round, according to a release, featuring an open kitchen where food will be prepared in a wood-burning oven and on a grill using wood. 

The chef, Phillippe Corbet, was most recently at the helm at Arbor. Lulu Kitchen & Bar will serve lunch, dinner, and a late-night menu centered on local products, including wood-fired pizzas. Its managing director, Steven Jauffrineau, has worked at Sunset Beach on Shelter Island as well as at Duryea’s and Arbor. The restaurant will be open Mondays through Saturdays from noon to midnight, and from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Sundays. 

 

Harbor Bistro is Back

The Harbor Bistro on Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton opened for the season last Thursday, with dinner served Thursdays through Sundays beginning at 5 p.m. Sunset happy hour will feature $6 cocktails and $8 appetizers. 

 

Plant-Based Dining

“Beyond Twigs, Sticks, and Berries,” a dining experience focused on plant-based ingredients, will hold an event next Thursday night in Sag Harbor. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the restaurant Sen, with cocktails, shiitake rolls, and edamame, and continue on Long Wharf for an outdoor meditation session. That will be followed by a five-course plant-based meal at Sen and a cooking demonstration on how to make a miso-based broth used for a vegetable ramen noodle soup. 

The evening will include a discussion of the nutritional value of plant-based eating. Tickets are $59 each, including tax and tip, and can be ordered at eventbrite.com.

 

Food Lab Conference

Tickets are on sale for Stony Brook University’s third annual Food Lab conference, to be held on its Southampton campus on June 9 and 10. This year’s theme is “Food in America: Fifty Years of Change.” Leaders in food businesses, media, and policy will participate in a discussion of healthful regional food systems at the conference, which is sponsored by the Amagansett Food Institute and Edible East End. 

 

Slow Food Fish Dinner

Noah’s restaurant in Greenport will host a Slow Food East End dinner on Sunday focused on “slow fish,” or local and sustainable seafood. The menu will include three types of local oysters, served different ways, seared sea scallops, and pan-roasted sea robin, along with a variety of passed appetizers, and dessert. Noah Schwartz, the chef, will prepare four courses, each paired with wine. 

The event begins with a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $110,  $95 per person for Slow Food East End members. Advance reservations are required. 

Navy Beach Opens

Out in Montauk on Fort Pond Bay, Navy Beach will reopen for the season, weekends only until June, tomorrow at 5 p.m. Dinner will be served Friday through Sunday, as well as lunch Saturdays and Sundays. 

The weekend schedule, which may vary over the next several weeks, can be found at the restaurant’s website, navybeach.com.

 

La Fondita Specials

Springtime daily specials at La Fondita in Amagansett are as follows: On Wednesdays, there is a choice of quesadillas, tacos, and tostadas; Thursday’s specials are gorditas with chorizo or chicharrones, and sopes; Friday it’s chiles rellenos, with several fillings to choose from, and the Saturday specials are chicken taquito with tomatillo consommé and mushroom quesadillas. 

La Fondita is currently open Sundays through Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays until 9 p.m.

News for Foodies: 04.20.17

News for Foodies: 04.20.17

Cynthia and John Kaufmann sampled the pulled pork slider and veggie burger at the Springs Tavern bar, which opened April 1.
Cynthia and John Kaufmann sampled the pulled pork slider and veggie burger at the Springs Tavern bar, which opened April 1.
Durell Godfrey
Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

By this time next week, we may know whether Goldberg’s Bagels is taking over the Barnes Country Store space in Springs. The owners of Barnes have closed up shop for good, and negotiations are reportedly taking place about Goldberg’s leasing the Springs-Fireplace Road site. 

Loire Valley Wines

The Loire Valley will be the focus of the next wine tasting and discussion at Park Place Wines in East Hampton. The free session, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, will touch on a variety of wine styles from the region, from Muscadet to Sancerre. Reservations have been requested.

At Wainscott Main

Andrew Tow, the founder of the Withers Winery, will discuss “a California producer’s passion project” at the next wine education session at Wainscott Main Wine and Spirits at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It costs $10. Those who wish to attend have been asked to call the store or send an email to [email protected] to register.

Farm to Table Talk

Tonight is the night that Jennifer Pike of Pike Farms and Sybille van Kempen of the Loaves and Fishes food store will give a free talk at the East Hampton Library on the symbiotic relationship between local produce like that sold at the Pike Farms stand and the takeout food shop. Part of the library’s Tom Twomey lecture series, it will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. 

A Correction

A caption that ran with last week’s recipe for rack of lamb misidentified the chef in the photo. He is Justin Finney, a chef at the Highway Restaurant and Bar, not Anand Sastry, the restaurant’s executive chef, whose recipe it was.

A Spin on an Easter Classic: Chef Sastry's Pan Roasted Rack of Lamb

A Spin on an Easter Classic: Chef Sastry's Pan Roasted Rack of Lamb

Anand Sastry pairs rack of lamb with capellini risotto.
Anand Sastry pairs rack of lamb with capellini risotto.
Durell Godfrey
Dining options both out and in
By
Star Staff

Several restaurants on the South Fork are serving Easter dinner and brunches, including Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor, Nick and Toni’s, the 1770 House, and Highway Restaurant and Bar in East Hampton, which were highlighted in last week’s “News for Foodies” column. If reservations are scarce or if a home-cooked meal is more appealing, Anand Sastry, Highway’s chef, offered his take on a classic Easter lamb dish with a side of pasta cooked like risotto. 

Mr. Sastry will offer rack of lamb on his Easter Sunday menu with mint tahina and spring pea risotto, in addition to other seasonal and brunch specials, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Anand Sastry’s Pan-Roasted Rack of Lamb 

From Highway Restaurant and Bar

1/2 rack of lamb

Chopped garlic 

Salt and pepper

 

2 red peppers, roasted and sliced

1 fennel bulb, sliced

1 Spanish onion, sliced

2 Tbsp. champagne vinegar 

2 Tbsp. sugar

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

 

1/2 lb. capellini

8 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 cup saffron stock

1 pint blistered tomatoes (cooked in oil on medium high heat until they blister)

2 sprigs of mint

 

Break the capellini into bite-size pieces. In a four-quart pot, slowly heat the oil, then add the capellini. Stirring continuously, the pasta will begin to toast, and when the pasta begins to smell nutty add half of the stock. Continue adding stock until pasta is cooked and then add the mint and tomatoes. 

In a separate pot over medium heat combine peppers, onions, fennel, oil, vinegar, and sugar. Reduce the vegetable mixture until most of the liquid is gone. 

The rack of lamb should be seasoned with salt and pepper and then rubbed with garlic. Sear the lamb in an oiled cast-iron pan, then bake in a 400-degree oven for 10 ro 15 minutes, depending on the degree of wellness  you prefer. Let the lamb rest for 10 minutes, and then plate and enjoy.

News for Foodies: 04.13.17

News for Foodies: 04.13.17

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

Bostwick’s Chowder House in East Hampton reopened last week for its 2017 season and will be serving lunch and dinner Thursdays through Sundays beginning at 11:30 a.m. until a bit later this spring. Among the popular menu items that can be ordered are clam strips, seafood pasta, baked stuffed clams, corn chowder, crab cakes, tuna poke fish tacos, oyster po’boys, and lobster rolls. 

Out in Montauk, Duryea’s Lobster Deck, fish market, and farmers market will open tomorrow. The Lobster Deck has a new chef de cuisine, James Casey Darenberg, who will work under Pierre Sudre, the executive chef. The seafood dishes on the menu include some served family style and others served as “small plates” for nibbling. Among the choices are grilled or steamed lobsters, raw bar items, sushi, steamers, calamari, and kid-friendly choices such as cheeseburgers, chicken fingers, and grilled cheese. The restaurant will be open Thursdays through Mondays for now, and seven days a week after Memorial Day. 

 

Wine Ed

Park Place Wines and Spirits in East Hampton will present “A Night in Spain” for its weekly free wine tasting class on Wednesday. It begins at 5:30 p.m. Reservations have been requested.

At Wainscott Main Wine and Spirits, which also has a wine education session on Wednesdays, Juliette Pope, the former beverage director at the Gramercy Tavern in New York City and a portfolio manager for David Bowler Wine, will offer “First Person: A Wine Director’s Journey to the Other Side (of the Biz).” The session, which includes wine tasting, begins at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and costs $10. Those interested can sign up by calling the store or sending an email to [email protected]. 

 

Taste of Tuckahoe

Tickets are on sale for this year’s Taste of Tuckahoe, a fund-raiser for the Tuckahoe School at which numerous chefs, food producers, vintners, and beer makers present their wares. It will take place at 230 Elm in Southampton on April 28 from 7 to 10 p.m., with a V.I.P. cocktail hour from 6 to 7 before the main event. The evening will include auctions of goods and services, music by a D.J., and a photo booth to capture selfies. 

Tickets are $35 in advance or $45 at the door, and $60 for V.I.P. tickets. They can be purchased online at tasteoftuckahoe.com, at Southrifty Drug in South­ampton, or from committee members. Participants will include the Golden Pear, Saaz, Scotto’s Italian Pork Store, Townline BBQ, Village Gourmet Cheese Shop, Little Red, North Sea Tavern and Raw Bar, and Union Cantina.

 

Passover Fare

Homemade gefilte fish and other Passover specialties can be ordered at Stuart’s Seafood Market in Amagansett. The market will be closed Sunday for Easter, but will expand its hours to seven days a week beginning on Tuesday.

 

Farm-to-Table Talk

Jennifer Pike of Pike Farms and Sybille van Kempen of the Loaves and Fishes food store will discuss farm-to-table eating at a talk next Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the East Hampton Library, part of the library’s Tom Twomey discussion series. The speakers will address “the symbiotic relationship between a premier prepared food takeout store and a neighboring farm stand,” as well as the problem of food waste, according to a press release. Admission is free; no reservations are required. 

Additional information about the program, and others in the series, can be found online at tomtwomeyseries.org, which also has full-length videos of previous programs. 

 

New Chef at Almond

Jeremy Blutstein has joined the kitchen crew at Almond as a chef de cuisine. Mr. Blutstein, a graduate of the New York Restaurant School, was the executive chef at East by Northeast in Montauk. He also cooked at the Crow’s Nest in Montauk, Eataly, Margaux, and Tremont, where he was nominated for a James Beard Award. He joins Jason Weiner, Almond’s executive chef and owner. 

 

The Springs Tavern

The Springs Tavern has opened in the Fort Pond Boulevard building that has long been a saloon — most recently Wolfie’s, and before that, at various times, the Birches and Jungle Pete’s. 

Dan and Charlene DeSmet, the new owners, upgraded the interior and are offering a menu of pub-style fare. The chef, Michael Ruggiero, is a veteran of a number of eateries hereabouts, including Nick and Toni’s, the Harvest on Fort Pond, Fresno, and the Montauk Lake Club. Among the sample small-plate menu items are fish tacos, wings with varied sauces, fried calamari, and Texas chili. Entree choices include Atlantic salmon, fish and chips, burgers, and sandwiches such as a veggie Reuben, pulled pork, and a steak hoagie. 

The tavern will have live music, karaoke, darts games, and a schedule of sporting events to view. The bar is open daily starting at 11 a.m., and dinner is served Thursdays through Sundays from 4 to 10 p.m.

News for Foodies: 04.06.17

News for Foodies: 04.06.17

Ina Garten, seen in her East Hampton kitchen barn, has a new show, “Cook Like a Pro,” premiering on the Food Network next month.
Ina Garten, seen in her East Hampton kitchen barn, has a new show, “Cook Like a Pro,” premiering on the Food Network next month.
Jennifer Landes
Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

Opus One Winery Dinner

Sunday is the night for a wine dinner at Wolffer Kitchen in Sag Harbor featuring vintages from the Opus One winery of California, along with offerings from the Wolffer Estate of Sagaponack. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., the dinner costs $257.25 per person, which includes tax and tip.

 

Trump Travel Dinner

The politically defiant and culinarily adventuresome are making reservations now for a wine dinner at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton on April 19 that will feature dishes from the countries President Donald Trump has targeted in his executive order on immigration. Jason Weiner, Almond’s chef and owner, is joining with Bridgehampton’s Channing Daughters Winery for the dinner of five courses, each to be paired with a pink wine from the winery. 

The cost is $85 plus tax and gratuity, or $80 for members of Slow Food East End or the Channing Daughters Wine Club.

 

Ina Garten’s Way

Ina Garten, who owned the Barefoot Contessa gourmet grocery in East Hampton before establishing a brand by that name, issuing cookbooks and creating a food show on television, has a new instruction series in the works called “Cook Like a Pro.” It will premiere on the Food Network next month.

 

For the Seder

Stuart’s Seafood Market in Amagansett will have gefilte fish and other Passover specialties this week and next. The shop will be closed on April 16 and reopen on April 18.

 

On Easter Sunday 

Making plans for Easter? Among the holiday dining options is a special Easter Sunday dinner to be served at the 1770 House in East Hampton beginning at 4:30 p.m. It will feature Easter specials as well as items from the restaurant’s spring a la carte menu. Entree choices will include applewood smoked ham, dry-rubbed rack of lamb, and slow-cooked prime rib, with accompaniments.

Elsewhere in East Hampton, Nick and Toni’s will serve brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner beginning at 6. The regular a la carte menu will be available in addition to specials such as seared diver sea scallops with a sweet potato puree and pea tendrils, rack of lamb with morel mushrooms, spring onion, and fava bean ragu, and a pavlova with strawberries.

The Highway restaurant and bar also in East Hampton, will serve brunch from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with specials such as a Norwegian smoked salmon board with pickles and toasted pumpernickel, rack of lamb with mint tahina and spring pea quinoa, French toast with Vermont maple syrup, and a cocktail called the Shaddock, with gin, Aperol, St. Germain, and lemon. The restaurant’s chef is also preparing handmade chocolate bunnies for $25.

At Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor, an Easter brunch and specials will be served from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. The restaurant will host two Easter egg hunts on its lawn, at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

 

Bostwick’s Reopens 

Those hankering for a basket of fried clams and a beer or a more composed entree of fresh and local seafood can take heart. Bostwick’s Chowder House in East Hampton will open today for the season and will be open for lunch and dinner Thursdays through Sundays beginning at 11:30 a.m. The menu includes steamed clams as well as fried, lobster, shrimp, oysters, fish tacos, and other treats from the sea, along with salads, hamburgers, and chicken.

 

For Food Managers

The Amagansett Food Institute is offering a course in food handling for county certification on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the South Fork Kitchen restaurant on the Stony Brook Southampton campus. A test for the certificate will follow immediately after the class.

The fee is $175, or $155 for institute members and employees. Nonmembers will need to drop off a $20 deposit at the kitchen or mail it to P.O. Box 2611, Amagansett 11930. 

Coffee and water will be served in the morning, but participants have been advised to bring a lunch and a check for the fee, a valid photo identification card, and a pen and paper. Questions can be addressed to [email protected].

 

South American Wines

A focus on South American wines will result in tastings of Argentinean and Chilean wines at the next wine education session at Park Place Wines and Liquors in East Hampton on Wednesday. The hourlong session, which is free, begins at 5:30 p.m. Those interested have been asked to R.S.V.P. by calling the shop.

News for Foodies: 03.30.17

News for Foodies: 03.30.17

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

The Harbor Grill on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton has started Taco Tuesdays, when taco dinners are two-for-one, with specials on beverages to complement the meal. The special begins at 5 p.m. each week. The menu, subject to change, may include tacos de pollo, a crispy chicken fritter, Baja fish tacos with beer-battered Atlantic cod, tacos de carne, with grilled marinated steak, and tacos de camarones, filled with grilled black tiger shrimp. All are served with pico de gallo, lettuce, and salsa, plus rice, beans, and guacamole. Drink specials include $4 Corona beers, $10 margaritas, and $12 spicy margaritas and “mango-ritas.” 

 

Restaurant Week

Hamptons Restaurant Week continues through Sunday. At participating restaurants, a list of which can be found at hamptonsrestaurantweek.com, diners can order prix fixe dinners for $28.95.

 

Creative Acts and a Meal

Almond restaurant’s next Artists and Writers night will take place on Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m. and feature Erling Hope, a craftsman, artist, and designer. The event, titled “Crazy Making: Believing Things and Other Creative Acts in the Last Days of the Culture Wars,” will feature a family-style three-course dinner created by Jason Weiner, Almond’s executive chef, and a talk by Mr. Hope. The cost is $45, which includes a glass of local wine or craft beer, and a gratuity. Tax is not included. Reservations are required. 

 

Wolffer Tasting Room

The Wolffer Estate winery in Sagaponack has unveiled its new tasting room, which features a bar where one can order a glass of the vineyard’s wine or dry rosé cider, along with high-top tables, banquettes, and a living room area. The tasting room is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Not here right now? Wolffer is offering free or flat-rate shipping on cases of its Summer in a Bottle rosé 2016, or Estate Rosé 2016, through the end of April. 

Shop, Dine Tonight

As part of “Stay Out Late — Starry Night,” a business promotion in Southampton Village tonight, Union Cantina, a Mexican restaurant at Bowden Square, will have an all-night happy hour and live music. The restaurant features the 400 Rabbits Tequila Bar, which carries more than 100 types of tequila and offers a number of signature cocktails. 

 

Wine Dinner

In Sag Harbor, the Wolffer Kitchen restaurant is taking reservations for a wine dinner on April 9 featuring the Opus One Winery in California’s Napa Valley, a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi’s son to create a premium Bordeaux-style blend. J. France Posener of Opus One will join Wolffer’s winemaker, Roman Roth, at the dinner, at which Wolffer Estate wines will also be served. Tickets are $257.25 per person.

Success Percolating at Hampton Coffee

Success Percolating at Hampton Coffee

Jason Belkin, who owns Hampton Coffee Company with his wife, Theresa Belkin, was behind the bar at the Water Mill location and ready for the dinner rush on a recent Friday. The restaurant started serving dinner last month.
Jason Belkin, who owns Hampton Coffee Company with his wife, Theresa Belkin, was behind the bar at the Water Mill location and ready for the dinner rush on a recent Friday. The restaurant started serving dinner last month.
Taylor K. Vecsey
Dinner at Hampton Coffee
By
Taylor K. Vecsey

For years, customers had asked Jason Belkin to serve dinner at Hampton Coffee Company’s Water Mill spot, which has been open for 24 years. “We’ve been procrastinating,” Mr. Belkin said with a laugh. He has been busy growing the business to include cafes in Westhampton and Southampton, and most recently in Aquebogue. Over the winter, a longtime plan came together to finally give his customers what they had been asking for: dinner at Hampton Coffee. 

The idea is to serve good quality, affordable food in a casual atmosphere, he said. “Out here, you’re either going to McDonald’s or you’re going to Pierre’s. Where do you bring everybody that’s not pizza or Chinese?” he asked. Offering dinner hours from 4 to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, he hopes that Hampton Coffee Company will help to fill that void on the South Fork.

It has been a long time since Hampton Coffee Company was just coffee. It has served breakfast and lunch at the Water Mill location for years. The menu has evolved from egg sandwiches to lobster rolls made with lobster from Stuart’s Seafood Market in Amagansett. Bruce Sasso, the market’s owner, spent time in Hampton Coffee’s kitchen to show cooks how to hone their lobster salad, Mr. Belkin said. 

All cooked to order, entree choices include burgers made on a charcoal grill and authentic Mexican dishes like a carne asada platter ($18) and chicken enchiladas ($17). Fish and chips ($17), a Black Forest ham melt ($14), and a classic Cobb salad ($17) can also be found on the menu. 

A special kids menu includes chocolate chip pancakes ($9) and cheddar cheese quesadillas ($8).

The menu remains the same, in selection and price, into the new evening hours. Takeout is also available.

As the dinner hour rolls around, the staff dims the lights in the restaurant, a former 1940s service station that retains its garage doors, and lights candles on the copper tables. Diners can also sit at a recently redone bar with stools handcrafted from reclaimed wood. 

The restaurant serves wine and has four beers on tap. As the weather turns warm, diners can also sit outside in an area that overlooks the Green Thumb’s fields. All told, the restaurant can seat about 90, Mr. Belkin said.

He hopes it will be a comfortable atmosphere for both families looking for an easy dinner in between school and the evening homework routine and solo diners looking to grab a bite while enjoying a book — there’s a community book shelf — and a glass of Wolffer rosé or homemade sangria. “This fills a need,” Mr. Belkin said. 

Hampton Coffee Company also just launched a loyalty program app, which can be used at any of its stores. Customers can pay for purchases using the app; find the menu, hours, and locations; earn rewards through its Perks Program, and get access to special offers and invitations to exclusive events. 

Edythe Collins, who is behind the company’s marketing and public relations, said the app is a way for this small business to compete with bigger companies and offer customers the ease of paying with their smartphones. The team decided against an order-ahead option. “We had to figure out a way to maintain our level of quality,” Ms. Collins said. Ordering a latte and picking it up 15 minutes later just would not work, she said.

“If we’re not going to do something great, it’s not worth doing,” Mr. Belkin said. 

News for Foodies: 03.23.17

News for Foodies: 03.23.17

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

Maurizio Marfoglia, the chef and owner at Dopo La Spiaggia in East Hampton, is teaming up with Gwendolen Bokine of Gwennie on the Go, a vegan chef, to present Beyond Twigs, Sticks, and Berries, a five-course meal, at the restaurant next Thursday. The plant-based menu will include a vegetable ceviche with rice croquettes and red beet vegan parmesan “cheese” spaetzle, fire-roasted heirloom tomato soup, seitan scallopine, red kale salad, and a flourless dark chocolate cake for dessert. 

The cost is $55, which includes tax and tip. Reservations can be made through Ms. Bokine’s website at gwennieonthego.com. 

 

For Basketball Season

Cittanuova restaurant in East Hampton, which has expanded its bar seating area and is showing basketball games on large TVs over the bar, is serving complimentary Buffalo chicken wings during Monday and Tuesday night games after 6. There are also gametime happy hour drink specials, including $5 draft beers and quartinos of pinot grigio or Chianti for $7, and margherita pizzas available for $15 at the bar during the games.

 

A Moveable Feast

An opportunity for foodies to taste a bite from a whole host of East End restaurants and food producers is coming right up on April 2 at A Moveable Feast, a Slow Food East End fund-raiser for its Edible School Gardens program. Among the participants providing nibbles at the Dodds and Eder Landscape Design Showroom in Sag Harbor from 4 to 7 p.m. will be Cheryl Stair of Art of Eating, Sam McClelland of Bell and Anchor, Debbie Geppert of Bostwick’s Clambakes and Catering, Colin Ambrose of Estia’s Little Kitchen, Noah Schwartz of Noah’s, and Jeremy Blutstein of East by Northeast.

Tickets purchased in advance are $150 per person, or $100 per person for Slow Food members. Members can purchase up to four tickets at the members’ price and will receive a one-time savings of $25 when purchasing two or more. Advance tickets can be ordered online through the Slow Food East End website. Those purchased at the door will cost $25 more per ticket. 

The event is sponsored by the Joshua Levine Memorial Foundation in commemoration of Mr. Levine, who was a farmer at Quail Hill in Amagansett. 

 

Wine Classes

A wine-tasting session focusing on white wines originally scheduled for this week at Park Place Wines in East Hampton has been rescheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. It aims to help tasters discover what types of wines are their personal favorites by discussing textures, flavors, body, and other characteristics. The shop’s weekly wine sessions are free, but reservations have been requested. 

At Wainscott Main Wine and Spirits, the next weekly wine education session on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. will be a field trip to the tasting room at Channing Daughters Winery in Bridgehampton, where James Christopher Tracy, a winery partner and its winemaker, and Allison Dubin, the winery manager, will give a presentation. The cost is $10. Those interested can sign up by calling the store or sending an email to [email protected].