Nick and Toni’s

136 North Main Street

East Hampton

324-3550

Friday and Saturday, 6-10:30 p.m.

Sunday, 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Monday and Thursday, 6-10 p.m.

   Nick and Toni’s Restaurant is like the ideal lover or spouse.  Of course you want one that supports you and comforts you and takes care of you, but if you can find one that constantly surprises you, that is ideal. There are no other restaurants on the East End that change their menus so frequently and creatively.  As they are in their 25th year of robust success (rare!) and have recently completed a renovation, we felt they warranted a second review.

    The changes to the interior are subtle. It is a sleeker but at the same time more comfortable space. There are beautiful grey-green-taupe banquettes, a higher ceiling, and super-cool bathrooms. (So cool, I might just order my zucchini chips to be delivered to the one behind the woodburning pizza oven.)

    The pretty bistro chairs are still in place, surrounding black walnut tables.  A temporary, but very attractive, oak bar is awaiting a zinc top. It still feels like a cozy farmhouse with lots of windows. (I can still feel Ma Bergmann’s.) An impressive collection of outsider artwork adorns the walls of all three dining rooms.

    Upon being seated you get a basket of delicious, chewy, rustic bread and some fruity Greek olive oil, along with a little dish of marinated black and green olives. If you ask for salt and pepper, they are offered in two small mounds on a slab of black slate with a sprig of rosemary dividing them. Simply charming.

    On a recent visit we began our meal with calamari salad, a pizzette, and a springtime special, a half order of sweet-pea ravioli. The grilled calamari salad was delicious, dressed in a slightly spicy, slightly sweet chili vinaigrette, tossed with frisee and a smattering of oil-cured olives. You don’t see oil-cured olives very often and they were a great addition. Their flavor is assertively salty, a tad bitter, and the texture nicely chewy with the crunchy frisee and tender calamari.

    The pizzette was a well charred thin-crust pizza with just enough tomato sauce, some slivers of artichoke, and fresh mozzarella. The sweet-pea ravioli was dreamy — tender pockets filled with pureed peas, served in a buttery mint and tarragon sauce. We also received an amuse-bouche of scallop ceviche, one spoonful each of silky scallops brought to life with a citrusy spicy dressing.

    For entrees we ordered roasted cod, the vegetarian option of spring fava and morel ragu with grilled sweet potato, and a special that evening, antelope. The cod was just right, well crusted and seasoned on the outside, cooked just enough on the inside. It was served on a bed of black barley that had delicious bits of something sweet and anise-like that I couldn’t identify because I forgot what the menu description was, duh. It was caramelized fennel. The dish was topped with bright pink julienned slivers of watermelon radish. The whole thing was pretty and delicious and seemed rich but wasn’t.

    The spring fava and morel ragu is insanely good and I have had it twice.  This time the fava beans were quite al dente. The sauce is rich from creme fraiche; it is a naughty and nice vegetarian choice.

    The antelope was also a big hit, beautifully presented with peas, fingerling potatoes, asparagus, and roasted red peppers in a sauce tasting subtly of smoked paprika. The antelope was served rare and was tender and full of flavor.

    On the night of our visit the staff was well aware that it was a review. We were barely hiding in plain sight. I had, coincidentally, dined there twice the week before, so I have to mention a few more dishes I tried.

    The arugula, kale, and grapefruit salad with avocado vinaigrette is excellent and the grilled sardines outstanding.  The Caesar salad, always on the menu, is a classic version, properly proportioned with lemon, anchovy, garlic, and cheese.  The zucchini chips are the best around, bar none, a pile of paper-thin discs of crispness without the weight of oil, served with wedges of lemon. Our waiter, Radu, was knowledgeable, professional, and very entertaining.

    The prices at Nick and Toni’s are moderate to expensive. The prix fixe is an incredible deal, as you can order anything on the menu and get three courses for $35. Appetizers are $13 to $18, pastas and risotto $22 to $28, entrees $28 to $46, sides $8 to $12, and desserts are $10 to $20, although you can get smaller portions for one for $6, two for $11, and three for $14.

    For desserts we ordered the rosemary cake, mascarpone panino, Limoncello tiramisu, and a quarter of their famous signature dessert, the tartufo. The rosemary cake was a dainty round of fragrant moist cake served with olive oil gelato and slices of blood orange. There was a hint of salt on the olive oil gelato.

    The mascarpone panino was our favorite, a gingery carrot cake topped with crunchy cashew brittle, with a baby scoop of mascarpone gelato. A toasted coconut tuile added some more glamour and crunch. The Limoncello tiramisu was a pretty, snow-white dessert, comprised of a layer of creamy sweet fiore de latte on top of moistened lady fingers. The sorbet served with it was tart and refreshing.

    The tartufo, when served whole, is huge, thus the $20 price tag. This is a dessert to be shared. It is a labor-intensive multi-layered concoction of caramel truffle, chocolate and hazelnut gelato, and almond biscotti crumbs, encased in a dark chocolate shell — basically, my favorite food groups.

    I have said this before but I’ll say it again. While Nick and Toni’s has a reputation as a celebrity clubhouse, I can assure you that the gracious and lovely ladies in charge, Bonnie and Kristen, will greet you as warmly as Alec and Hilaria. Joey Realmuto, the executive chef, continues to surprise  with creative and ever-changing, seriously seasonal dishes.

    William Hawkins, one of the outsider artists featured here, once said of his work, “You have to do something wonderful, so people know who you are.” Nick and Toni’s, you continue to consistently do wonderful things, and we are lucky to know who you are.

News for Foodies

    Fresh is the new restaurant this season in the spot on Bridgehampton Turnpike in Bridgehampton where South Fork Kitchen used to be. Todd Jacobs, who was the chef at Sag Harbor’s American Hotel before moving to Tierra Mar in Westhampton Beach, has opened a “farm-to-table” eatery billed as family-friendly as well as “affordable and accessible.” The menu includes organic, raw, gluten-free, and vegetarian options, with most dishes available in different-size portions, including, for entrees,  quarter-pound, half-pound, and one-pound servings.

    Among the “small plates” choices are a raw summer roll, fried calamari, and raw bar selections. Entrees include hemp-flour-crusted flounder with organic carrot butter infused with ginger and lemongrass, and braised boneless beef short ribs with Merlot wine sauce. A bar menu is served late, and there is a juice bar and a children’s menu. Take-out is available.

    Fresh is open for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. Lunch will be served Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Barbecue in East Hampton

    The Smokin’ Wolf barbecue folks have a new location this year on Pantigo Road in East Hampton, at the store that formerly housed Pumpernickel’s deli and then Fish 27, just a bit west of where Smokin’ Wolf was found last year. There will be counter service for takeout meals at lunch and dinnertime seven days a week, and catering will be available.

At Almond

    Juan Carlos Landazuri is the new chef de cuisine at Almond in Bridgehampton, working alongside Jason Weiner, the restaurant’s co-owner and executive chef. Mr. Landazuri spent the last 10 years cooking at several New York City restaurants, including Opia French Bistro, Tao, Delicatessen, Tavern on the Green, Lugo Caffe, and Veritas Restaurant. Most recently he worked alongside the noted restaurateur Alison Price Becker at Alison Eighteen, and was invited to cook at the James Beard House.

Seasonal Openings

    In Montauk, Dave’s Grill will be opening for the season tonight, serving dinner from Thursdays through Sundays.

    OSO reopened on Saturday at the Southampton Inn and is serving breakfast, lunch, and supper from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. A new pastry chef at the restaurant this summer will prepare desserts as well as tea sandwiches, petit quiches, and Parisian-style pastries.

Farmers Markets

    The Sag Harbor Farmers Market will begin seasonal sales on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from its location on Bay Street in that village.

    In East Hampton, the farmers market will have its opening day on North Main Street on Friday, May 24. Sales will continue weekly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Summer Players

    BLT Steak will open a pop-up restaurant next Thursday at the Capri Hotel and Bathing Club in Southampton, where Nobu was the previous seasonal visitor. The newcomer will offer a traditional menu as well as poolside fare during the day on weekends and appetizers in the evening at the outdoor bar and lounge areas. Dinner hours until the July 4 weekend will be Wednesdays through Sundays beginning at 5:30 p.m., with service until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

    In East Hampton, Sienna Restaurant and Ultralounge will take the place of last year’s Beaumarchais on Three Mile Harbor Road. The spot will combine several concepts and offerings: “Sienna Restaurant by T-Bar,” based on Tony Fortuna’s T-Bar, which was previously housed at Savanna’s in Southampton, and a nightlife program, with DJs every Saturday, offered by Pink Elephant and its promoters, David Sarner and Robert Montwaid.

    The restaurant, a joint venture by Mr. Fortuna and Jonathan Rapillo, the restaurateur behind Beaumarchais and Rocco’s a la Playa, which was in Sag Harbor, will serve eclectic American fare from Wednesdays through Sundays as well as “festive brunch parties” on Saturdays and “a more serene brunch” on Sundays, according to a press release. Ben Zwicker is the executive chef.

   I was recently fortunate enough to spend some time at a health-concscious resort called Miraval. Miraval’s motto is “Life in Balance.” It is set on 400 acres next to the Santa Catalina Mountains outside of Tucson, Ariz. And it serves booze!

    Miraval has been around for almost 20 years. Oprah likes to come here, so now it is super famous for that. Dr. Andrew Weil has been a part of its integrative wellness program from the beginning. He is so adorable, looks like a Zen Santa. Besides having every kind of exercise from beginner’s yoga (an expensive nap) to the challenging all-day hikes up the mountain, it has lots and lots of woo-woo stuff like spirit journey and astrology readings and a “discover your soul mission.” I go for the food. It is delicious and it is free, or perhaps I should say included in the entire package.

    One of the things I loved about this place is that a lot of the guests, men and women alike, just wander around in their bathrobes. They are on their way to or from a spa treatment, so why bother with clothes? There is also a welcome and refreshing no-cellphone policy, which is constantly ignored by the more type-A types who simply cannot bear to be disconnected from their little rectangles of aluminum. I like to be the cellphone tattletale in places like this. No one needs to hear you yammering on your phone while they’re trying to enjoy the view of desert flora and fauna, hummingbirds, prickly pear cacti, and men naked under their robes.

    Maybe you’re jealous by now — “Wow, she’s so lucky she gets to go to this fancy resort” — and you would be right. But I earned it. In the year before this trip, my brothers and I sold our family home, an event as fraught with sibling nastiness as it should be in a family that usually puts the “fun” in dysFUNctional. I moved to Sag Harbor, and four months later my dog died suddenly and unexpectedly. Two weeks after that a moron fell asleep at the wheel on Route 114, plowed through a streetlamp, a tree, and then my house, destroying the porch and foundation. The moron was fine, by the way. Two months after that I tore a tendon in my hand, preventing me from working (as a chef) for a month. So I arrived at Miraval with a custom-made hand brace that makes it look like I am perpetually about to give you the finger.

    “Mindfulness is the core of the Miraval philosophy,” begins the mission statement. Mindfulness is the practice of “being awake and fully aware, giving you the opportunity to work toward greater self-understanding and peacefulness,” according to the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Miraval is now owned by Steve Case, former C.E.O. of AOL, so its interpretation of mindfulness is just a smidge different, calling it “a vivid perception of one’s choices, strengths, and potential — empowering yourself and optimizing your energy.” The food was awesome, but I was mindful of the frightfully small portions.

    The breakfasts at Miraval had all the things you would expect at a health and wellness-oriented buffet. Fruit of all kinds, low-fat muffins, oatmeal, ground-up birdseed, I mean flax, yogurts, etc. But it also had bagels and lox, omelets, burritos, salsas, pancakes, homemade sausages, salmon patties, baked sweet potatoes, and so on. There was a smoothie and juice bar open all day in case you were compelled to drink something green between your desert zipline adventure and Unleash the Power of your Soul sessions.

    All of the food has a Southwestern flair, with such local delicacies as prickly pear syrup, nopales salads, and desert flower honeys. The calories and carbohydrates, sodium, and fat content of every dish are displayed with little signs or on the menus. Surprisingly, this bothered some people because they don’t want to be reminded (or mindful?) that they just opted for the bagel-palooza instead of three blackberries. I found the information helpful because a lot of people do come here to lose weight or have to watch their sodium intake. Sadly, the coffee served here was God-awful weak, but I concluded this was intentional. Don’t need people to be all Starbucked-up in this serene environment.

    Some of the more genius creations at Miraval are the peanut butter and guacamole. The peanut butter was thinned with cooked carrots, giving it a disconcerting orange hue but making it slightly sweet and far less fattening. The guacamole has all the fun stuff you expect — avocado, lime juice, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro — but is also made more virtuous with the addition of edamame and steamed broccoli. There are risottos and steaks and brownies and pizza and polenta and elk, all delicious but made less fattening and served in smaller portions.

    Miraval recognizes the advantage of sauces and aiolis and truffle oil and spices to perk up an otherwise dull dish. While tempeh scallopini doesn’t sound too exciting to me, doesn’t caramelized three-onion polenta lasagna with wilted baby arugula, goat cheese, and ratatouille sauce sound good? Blue corn crab cakes with avocado corn salsa? Pecan pie empanada?

    Although I am having a bit of fun describing the woo-woo activities and corporate interpretation of mindfulness, the fact is Miraval is a place where many people come while recovering from or dealing with cancer, coping with the death of a loved one, divorce, and other rotten life experiences. And once we’re all in our bathrobes and our “Crackberrys” have been stowed in our casitas, we are all equal on the journey to mindfulness.

    Places like Miraval are both an escape from everyday life and a place where you can learn how to better deal with everyday life. The trick is to take and keep the exercises you have learned and put them to use once you leave. For me, the ongoing quest is to make food healthier and tastier, learning tricks from these talented chefs and bringing them home to share with friends and family. Mindfulness. Life in balance. With a glass of wine.

Click for recipes

    Nick and Toni’s reopened on Friday after undergoing an interior renovation.

    The East Hampton restaurant has some new menu items including roasted cod served with black barley, caramelized fennel, and watermelon radish, wood-roasted Gardiner’s Bay striped bass with seared artichokes, lemon, and capers, grilled lamb chops, and a fish soup with monkfish, mussels, rock shrimp, and Meyer lemon compote. New antipasti choices include grilled sardines, warm sea scallop crudo, duck confit salad, and fritto misto with pork belly, chicken liver, sweetbreads, shiitake, and rosemary aioli.

Back for Spring

    More restaurants are opening their doors for a new season. Bostwick’s Chowder House on Pantigo Road in East Hampton will reopen next Thursday, as will the Harbor Bistro on Three Mile Harbor, which will be serving dinner on Thursday through Sunday until later in the spring when full-time hours begin. Also on Three Mile Harbor, Andrra reopens on Friday, April 19.

And Brand New

    The restaurant and event space at the Montauk Downs golf course is now called 360 East, and is operated by Lessing’s Hospitality Group, a catering concern involved in a number of Long Island venues.

    The restaurant will first be open to the public for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day brunches, and then a weekly Sunday brunch during the summer, as well as for weekly “tropical-themed” promotions.

    Catered events will be offered both at the Montauk Downs site and off-site at other Montauk locations. Guy Reuge, the executive chef, received the La Toque d’Argenti (Silver Toque) award from the Maitres Cuisiniers de France, who declared him chef of the year in 2006.

At James Beard House

    Larry Kolar, the chef at the Backyard Restaurant at Sole East hotel in Montauk, will be the featured chef at the James Beard House in Manhattan on April 25. He will present a Market Fresh Montauk six-couse dinner paired with Long Island wines. Tickets are $170, or $130 for James Beard House members. Reservations may be made by calling the James Beard House.

Artists and Writers Night

    Storytelling will be the theme for the next Artists and Writers night at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton on Tuesday. It will feature three local authors, Steven Gaines, Gabrielle Selz, and Erica-Lynn Huberty, who will lead a discussion, along with a three-course dinner served family style. The cost is $40 in advance or $45 at the door and includes a glass of local wine or craft beer as well as the tax and gratuity.

    Mr. Gaines, a contributing editor at New York Magazine, is the author of 12 books, including “Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons.” His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Connoisseur, and other publications. Ms. Selz, a former resident of Westbeth, a utopian artists’ housing project, writes regularly on art for the Huffington Post and has been published in magazines and newspapers including MORE and The New York Times. Ms. Huberty is the author of “Dog Boy and Other Harrowing Tales.” Her work has been anthologized in Garrison Keillor’s “Good Poems” and has appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

    On the dinner menu will be a spring salad with wild arugula, shell beans, smoked feta cheese, and buttermilk dressing, garlic and rosemary-studded leg of lamb, and strawberry-ginger crisp a la mode.

“Baking for Friends”

    Kathleen King, the owner of Tate’s Bake Shop, will talk about her latest cookbook, “Baking for Friends,” and offer samples of new Tate’s products during a program at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday at noon. The program is free but reservations must be made by Sunday by calling the library or at myrml.org.

   With the confidence that comes from years of first-hand food experience around the world — having lived and worked in France, Morocco, Italy, Vietnam, Argentina, Thailand, and India — Livia Hegner is clearly her own boss. However, the name of her Sag Harbor food shop, Pepalajefa, which means Pepa the Boss, refers not to Ms. Hegner, but to another restaurant owner she knew in Spain.

    Pepalajefa is Ms. Hegner’s dream come to fruition, offering a gourmet sampling from around the world, served in a to-go container or catered to a beach, boat, or home.

    Within the glass case last week delectable choices included Argentinean pot pie, Moroccan chicken legs, tomato crespelles, and poached tuna with caper dressing. Thursday’s soup offerings were carrot orange mint, garden pea, and vichyssoise.

    “We make everything ourselves,” Ms. Hegner said, down to the mayonnaise, stock, and dressings. Living in third world countries, she said, “I learned to be inventive.”

    “I cooked all my life,” said Ms. Hegner last Thursday afternoon. The daughter of a diplomat, Ms. Hegner vacationed in Sag Harbor for about 25 years, and is now a resident. She studied hotel and business management at Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, the world’s first professional hotel management institute in Lausanne, Switzerland. The shop’s managing partner, Marianne Farrell, a close friend, worked in restaurants in Sonoma County, San Francisco, Aspen, and Providence, R.I., and as a private chef on the East End.

    They opened the shop last July. After a four-month winter break, it reopened at the end of March. This year, which will be its first full summer, it will offer more Asian foods, including dishes from Thailand, filling a niche following the closing of Phao down the street.

    Fluent in five languages, Ms. Hegner’s English is sometimes rough, but she has no trouble getting her point across. “Maybe someone will grab a meatloaf,” she said on Friday, and “bring it home and pop in the oven” with a side of roasted potatoes seasoned with lemon and cumin. Not your average meatloaf by any stretch of the imagination, she explained, her recipe is from Germany and it’s “totally different.” Lobster with tarragon mayonnaise was another choice. If the mood is Italian, she offers an eggplant capanata, stuffed crepes, or Vitello tonnato, sliced veal with a tuna mayo, a staple in Italy, she said.

    Along with takeout, Pepalajefa does catering with prices that are not as high as the food might indicate. Vegan and gluten-free champignons stuffed with feta can be had for just $2 each, for example.

    Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options in the shop are all clearly labeled, and there are a number of them on offer, as well as fresh juices and smoothies. A cooler labeled “Home-Heat-Eat” offers “fast food for bon vivants,” including things like liver paté.

    The shop serves Hampton Coffee Company’s roast from Water Mill, and other local products like Lorna’s Nuts, Bees Needs honey from Sag Harbor, Sweet Tauk lemonade from Montauk, Plain-T teas from Southampton, and bread from the Blue Duck Bakery in Southampton.

    Beyond the clean white facade, Pepalajefa pops with bright colors — hot pink walls, a high, metallic ceiling, and a full wall of newsprint from around the world in a single day. Peek-through windows allow for a look into the kitchen.

    The goal, Ms. Hegner said, is to prepare something for every taste. So those who want conventional items like potato salad, will find it, but “spiced like nobody else.” Challah bread is baked on the premises, and used in grilled sandwiches or premade minis.

    We do “a lot of chocolate things” she said, and when a visit is timed right, the aroma of butter and chocolate in the shop can be ecstatic. She also makes coffee or lemon mousse and boasts about her carrot cake, stuffed apples, and caramel flan, among other desserts.

    The shop is open at 9 a.m. and at least until 8 p.m.

    This week’s column has been let off the leash. We are going to talk about what you feed your dog.

    First of all, what ever happened to the good old days when your dog happily thrived on kibble from the grocery store, Milk Bones for treats, and the occasional table scrap? Well, in the good old days we also didn’t wear seat belts, pregnant women drank alcohol, and doctors would smoke in their offices. We know better now. Or do we?

    Nowadays there are so many choices for our dogs. There are special diets for heart health, kidney and liver function, weight loss, shiny coats, old age. Some people opt for the raw meat diet, others have converted their beloved toutous to vegetarianism. Have we reached a point in our culture where we have anthropomorphized our dogs far too much?

    My curiosity and concern over this matter was sparked by the dog menu at a local pet-friendly hotel that shall remain nameless. The offerings range from petite portions of greens, carrots, and apple for your “vegetarian” dog to “chef’s menu selection of cold cuts,” “a proper piece of meat spiced with secret dog herbs,” and “a huge portion of a grand dog’s favorites.” Cold cuts, really? Ham, salami, and mortadella are considered a meal for your dog? The “proper piece of meat” is in fact a Hebrew National hot dog — a sodium nitrite, fat-filled weiner. I’m sure your dog would love to scarf that baby down, but I can assure you, he or she will no doubt be emitting fragrant pouffies throughout the night in your hotel room. The “huge portion of a grand dog’s favorites” is meatballs, people meatballs, with all the spices, salt, and fillers your dog doesn’t need.

    We all love our dogs and want what’s best for them. I asked a number of friends what they feed their dogs and consulted my dogs’ veterinarian at East Hampton Vet Group, Dr. Paul Hollander.

    Susan feeds her 9-month-old Portuguese water dog “high octane” puppy chow from Orijen and the occasional bully stick. Orijen is an excellent brand of dog food. Nancy’s dog eats a special dog food from the vet, supplemented with a little chicken, string beans, sweet potatoes, and . . . matzo . . . to make it interesting. My friend Ellen, who lives on a ranch in Carmel, Calif., has a standard poodle that steals apples from the trees and enjoys a “taste of the wild” killing and eating gophers and rats. Yikes! My friend Jule gives his dog a little bit of his leftover oatmeal every morning, in addition to his regular dog food.

    Peter and Betsy win the prize for most reasonable, well-balanced, and properly informed dog owners. Peter’s bottom line? Common sense: “Don’t be cheap when it comes to your dog food. Most big brand dog food consists mainly of cereal or corn, i.e. carbs with vitamins and minerals added. This is like eating mostly pasta and taking vitamin pills and thinking you are eating a healthy diet.” Betsy is a believer in the raw food diet as long as it comes from a reliable source. She is a fan of Aunt Jeni’s Homemade brand.

    Just as you should read the label on what you eat, so too should you read the label on the dry and canned foods you feed your dog. Keep in mind that the ingredients are listed in order of volume. If the first ingredient listed is corn, fuggedaboutit. You should also be wary of the raw meat diet. Some of the lesser brands have numerous recalls due to salmonella. Some online recipes, including Rachael Ray’s, call for raw ground meats and raw ground fish, liver, and kidneys. Not a good idea, folks. These uncooked items can carry salmonella and e. coli bacteria.

    What does Dr. Paul Hollander recommend as the ideal, balanced diet for your dog? It should have meat, and dry food is not enough. A good canned dog food with real meat and vegetables is healthy and Dr. Hollander supplements his dogs’ meals with frozen beef stew meat that has been seared on the outside to kill surface bacteria.

    It should go without saying that raw chicken, pork, and ground beef are no-nos. His dachshund mix, Buddy, is 16 years old and has a chronic kidney condition for which he gets a special diet of dry food in the morning and canned food in the evenings. His spunky 5-year-old Yorkie, “Txiki” — pronounced “cheeky” — which means “little one” in Basque, eats regular dog food supplemented with the seared raw meat. Dr. Hollander is adamantly opposed to a vegetarian diet for dogs and reminds us “they are descended from wolves! Since when did dogs choose to become vegetarian?”

    I asked Dr. Hollander why it seems dogs have developed more allergies over the last 20 years. Like doctors for humans, he points out that perhaps it is our ability to detect these allergies, along with diabetes, kidney and liver function, skin conditions, etc., that have enabled us to modify diets for certain ailments. Last but not least, I asked the good doctor, “Do you feed your dogs treats and table scraps?”

    “Very few,” is the first answer, then “Do as I say, not as I do,” followed by a chuckle and the admission, “We all spoil our dogs. We love them; what else are you going to do?”

    Dogs, like people, need protein, carbohydrates, sufficient vitamins and minerals, and some fat. Combinations like lamb and rice, beef and potatoes, and chicken and pasta are okay. Dogs have short digestive tracts, so vegetables and brown rice tend to just pass right through, unless they are precooked and finely minced. Stay away from onions and garlic, raisins and grapes, macadamia nuts, and chocolate.

    Personally, I believe in high quality, commercially made pet foods, supplemented with some healthy tasty goodies from my own kitchen — bits of chicken, a bite of cheese, the carrot that dropped on the floor. This is my philosophy for myself. Everything in moderation, well balanced, no deprivation, and I believe the same should be true for our pets.

    These recipes sound relatively harmless. Naturally, you should consult your veterinarian before you start making homemade doggie biscuits and cas­seroles for your fidele compagnon.

Click for recipes

Highway Diner al Fresco

    At the Highway Diner in East Hampton, the outdoor patio is now open. Added to the restaurant’s daily menu are two specials that have proven to be among the most popular — crawfish etouffee, and grilled yellowfin tuna with grilled eggplant, curried yogurt dressing, and arugula salad.

Stuart’s All Week

    Stuart’s Seafood Market in Amagansett will be open seven days a week beginning Tuesday.

New in Sag

    The next venture for Jeff Resnick, the restaurateur behind Sen and Phao, will reportedly be an American bistro called the Cuddy. It will take the Main Street space that Phao has occupied.

Food Truck Derby

    Edible East End magazine is sponsoring a food truck derby on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. in the parking lot at the Tanger One mall in Riverhead, as a part of Tanger’s Great Taste, Great Style Home and Garden Weekend.

    A Taste of the East End will feature vendors such as the Long Island Oyster Company, with its rolling oyster bar, and East Hampton’s own Silver Spoon Specialties, which is hoping to become one of the regular food truck vendors at a Montauk beach this summer. Other food trucks will include a grilled cheese vendor and Korilla BBQ, featuring Korean tacos, burritos, and bowls, and a couple of ice cream trucks. Beverage choices at Tanger will include Peconic Bay Winery selections and Hampton Coffee Company roasts.

Laotian Cuisine Demo

    Those interested in attending a cooking demonstration and tasting of Laotian cuisine, to be held at the Montauk Library on May 4, must sign up at the library by Wednesday. The event will be presented by Penn Hongthong, a Laotian chef, from 1 to 3 p.m. and will cost $5.

Perennials Return

    Two perennial restaurants will be open again this weekend, while two others will begin a second season. The Harbor Bistro heads into its eighth season tonight, and will again be offering two prix fixe deals. A $29 special featuring a choice of three courses, or two courses with a glass of wine, will be offered Thursday to Sunday between 5 and 6 p.m., as well as all night at the bar, and a $19 menu will change nightly, featuring a choice of soup or salad, a pasta, fish, or meat entree, and a dessert. There will be live music at the Bistro on Friday at 6 p.m.

    Bostwick’s, in its second location on Montauk Highway in East Hampton, also opens tonight and will be serving up its seafood specialties and more, and Andrra, the restaurant that opened last year in the former Bostwick’s location on Three Mile Harbor, will reopen for the season tomorrow.

    In Montauk, Swallow East, on the docks at West Lake Drive, will also reopen tonight for the season.

    A longtime favorite, the Clam Bar on Napeague, which has passed the three-decade mark, will now be open Fridays through Sundays beginning at noon. The days and hours will expand on May 1. Besides clams on the half shell, the Clam Bar serves chowders, lobster rolls,

     Eggs are delicious. Eggs are boring. Eggs are a perfect little package of protein. Eggs can be dangerous. Eggs are good for you. No, they’re bad for you. All of these things are true. Eggs are confusing!

    As a cook and someone interested in nutrition, I believe in the sunny side of eggs. As a pastry chef, I constantly marvel at the egg’s ability to be transformed into a light and airy souffle or meringue or a rich custard or ice cream. They are simple; they are complicated.

    Years ago I worked for a labor-intensive cooking school called Peter Kump’s. One lesson was eggs. After an hour lecture, we proceeded to cook, for six hours, various egg preparations such as omelettes, oeufs en meurette, and souffles. After class I never wanted to taste another egg in any way, shape, or form. Oddly, the next day I woke up craving eggs, and went about my egg homework.

    Egyptian and Chinese records show that wild fowl were laying eggs for man in 1400 B.C. Europe has had domesticated hens since 600 B.C. It is believed that Columbus, on his second trip to the New World in 1493, brought the first chickens related to those now in egg production. These chickens originated in Asia. There are almost 200 breeds and varieties of chickens but only a few economically important as egg producers. Most laying hens in the United States are single-comb white leghorns.

    There are approximately 280 million laying birds in the U.S., each laying 250 to 300 eggs per year. According to incredibleegg.org, the Web site of the American Egg Board, the U.S. produces about 75 billion eggs per year, about 10 percent of the world’s supply. The site says 60 percent are used by consumers, about 9 percent by the food service industry, and the rest to make egg products like mayonnaise.

    For a while in the 1970s and ’80s eggs were demonized for their cholesterol content and egg consumption dropped. But in 2000 the American Heart Association revised its dietary guidelines for healthy adults, saying one a day is okay. The New York Times assures us that this is true, except for those with diabetes. The Mayo Clinic has found that consuming four egg yolks a week has not been found to increase the risk of heart disease. Now, people on low-fat diets can eat one or two a day without measurable changes in their blood cholesterol levels. Saturated fat in the diet, not dietary cholesterol, is what influences blood cholesterol levels the most.

    As Harold McGee says in “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen,” “neither familiarity nor fear should obscure eggs’ great versatility. Their contents are primal, the unstructured stuff of life. This is why they are protean, why the cook can use them to generate such a great variety of structure.” Eggs can reconcile oil and water into a smooth sauce. They refine the texture of candies and ice creams. They give flavor, substance, and nutritiousness to soups, drinks, breads, pastas, and cakes. On their own, they’re amenable to being boiled, fried, deep-fried, baked, roasted, pickled, and fermented.

    A large, shelled egg weighs about two ounces. The white is mostly water; the yolk contains most of the protein and other vitamins. The best way to store eggs is under refrigeration, in a still location, not on the door of your refrigerator. If you are concerned about salmonella, you should be sure to cook eggs to 140 degrees for five minutes, or 160 degrees for one minute. You can also find pasteurized eggs and egg products at most grocery stores.

    What is the best way to hard boil an egg? Don’t boil it; simmer it gently. Want to avoid that weird gray-green coating around the yolk of hard-boiled eggs? Cook them gently at the recommended cooking time, then plunge into cold water. Have you forgotten which eggs you boiled and which are still raw? Do the spin test. The cooked egg will spin nicely; the raw egg will wobble from the liquid inside.

    The French have always been the most genius at finding versatile methods of egg cookery. Floating Island is a marvelous but fairly obsolete dessert that demonstrates what each component is capable of. The whites are whipped up into a frothy sweet lightness, then poached. The yolks are turned into a rich, vanilla-scented sauce upon which the little islands of meringue can float. The souffle, another French creation, is a tricky but doable concoction if you understand a little of the science to it. Mr. McGee explained it in his book: J.A.C. Charles, a French scientist and balloonist, discovered inflated air in a confined space would expand when heated. Much like a balloon expands when the air inside of it is heated, a souffle will grow up and out of its dish when the air bubbles in the egg are heated in the oven.

    Did you know that you can put a deflated and cooled souffle back into the oven and it will rise again? Not quite as dramatically, but nonetheless. . . .

    One of the beauties of living where we do is we all have access to farm-raised, organic eggs produced by happy hens. You should do a taste and color test of your own. If you are willing to pay the price (still cheap), you will find there is a great deal of difference in flavor and freshness.

    Go buy some eggs and play around with them. Try mastering a simple omelette or tackle some oeufs en meurette. To quote Mr. McGee once again: “The egg does embody the chain of creation, from the developing chick back through the hen to the plants that fed her, and then to the ultimate source of life’s fire, the yellow sphere of the sky. An egg is the sun’s light refracted into life.” The incredible, edible egg.

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    Hamptons Restaurant Week begins on Sunday and brings an opportunity to sample the fare at restaurants from Eastport to Montauk, including the North Fork, at a discounted price.

    From Sunday through April 14, all participating restaurants will offer a three-course prix fixe, most for $27.95, although a couple of eateries will offer a $19.95 option. The special will be available all night every night except Saturday, when it will be offered only until 7 p.m.

    Among the local restaurants involved in the event are the Harvest in Montauk, the Bell and Anchor in Sag Harbor, the 1770 House, Fresno, and the Living Room in East Hampton, Almond in Bridgehampton, and the Coast Grill in North Sea. A full list can be found at hamptonsrestaurantweek. com.

Mozzarella-Making Classes

    Jeanine Alfano Burge of Silver Spoon Specialties is offering classes in making homemade mozzarella, which include not only instruction in the surprisingly easy process, but information about menus incorporating the cheese and a tasting of all the menu items, with a glass of wine. The cost is $40 per person.

    The next session will be held on Monday night in Montauk, in the kitchen at Sausages Pizza, and future classes will take place in both Montauk and East Hampton. Groups of five to eight people may schedule their own private class. Reservations can be made by e-mailing [email protected], or calling Ms. Burge at 875-4400.

Plaza Cafe

    The Plaza Cafe in Southampton has a $32, three-course prix fixe menu available between 5:30 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday through Friday. Tax and gratuity are extra. The menu choices include prosciutto-wrapped shrimp, Long Island seafood chowder, or organic field greens to start, and, as main courses, horseradish-crusted Chatham Bay cod, sliced flatiron steak, and lemon-herb marinated chicken.

Giant Charitable Bunny

    George Hirsch, a chef, cookbook author, and host of a new TV series, “George Hirsch Lifestyle,” which will be shown in the fall on PBS, was the winner of a giant chocolate Easter bunny at the 1770 House on Sunday.

    Mr. Hirsch had purchased a number of raffle tickets sold by the inn to benefit the Flying Point Foundation for Autism, and won the prize.

   The familiar sights and sounds of children and families talking and laughing as they munch on pizza and sip soda returned to Fierro’s Pizza last Thursday. Al Fierro, a co-founder of the pizzeria, which opened at 104 Park Place in East Hampton in 1983, was back behind the counter, along with Stephen Hickey, his new business partner. A portrait of Mr. Fierro’s father, Albert Fierro Jr., looked down from a wall by the counter and a Yankees preseason game played out on the television overhead. All was right in this little slice of the universe.

    “They haven’t had the pizza in about two weeks, so they’re kind of jonesing a little bit,” said Mr. Fierro, gesturing to the children who filled nearly every table. “But this is the after-school hit that we get every day.”

    Mr. Fierro and Mr. Hickey had just completed a renovation of the restaurant: new ovens and furniture, a new ceiling, newly painted walls. This, after Mr. Fierro, his brother, John, and their mother, Barbara, sold the business in 2007.

    It was only about six months ago, said Mr. Hickey, that he and Mr. Fierro bought the business from Claude Cardin, to whom the Fierros had sold it. “It was really exciting for both of us, because we’d looked at other opportunities over the years,” he said. “Al and I wanted to go into partnership together in some type of restaurant, but we never dreamed that this opportunity would arise. It was a blessing that we waited.”

    The partners had met and worked together at Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett, where Mr. Fierro was a bartender and Mr. Hickey a member of the waitstaff. “I had no other restaurant experience,” said Mr. Hickey, who moved to the South Fork from Connecticut in 2008 to care for his ailing father. The job at the tavern, he said, provided essential on-the-job training. “I figured I’d do whatever they told me to do. It really helped, learning the business from the ground up. But if there was anybody I would have done this with, it was only going to be Al. I was leaning on his expertise.”

    Mr. Fierro has plenty of it. With his family, he’s operated pizzerias UpIsland, in Farmingville and Shirley. Being back in the restaurant that bears his name, he said, “feels like I came back home — I kind of grew up in this building.”

    After the summer, Mr. Fierro said, he may make some adjustments to the menu, but the offerings will remain consistent with what patrons have come to know and expect. “Our chicken rolls are great,” he said. “We make some great crispy chicken salads, chicken tenders, and the wings are great. We’ll have some great gelato in the summertime. But we’re here for pizza. And of course, the lottery — I don’t have to tell anybody about that.”

    Mr. Hickey is thrilled to be part of the once-and-present ownership. “Al has people who have come here since they were 10 years old, and now they’re coming in with their own 10-year-olds,” he said. “He’s a staple of the community, so it was really special for him to get back into the business. I feel blessed to be part of it. We’re excited.”