Sunday brings Mother’s Day, an occasion, for some, to enjoy a meal out at a local restaurant, a number of which have special plans for the holiday.

    The restaurant at the Montauk Downs golf course, called 360 East, will serve a Mother’s Day brunch buffet from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with seatings at 10:30, 11, 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30. There will be a carving station featuring grilled sirloin and herb-basted turkey breast, an omelette station, traditional breakfast fare, and lunch entrees such as stuffed flounder, baked ziti, salads, quiche, grilled pesto chicken, and peel-and-eat shrimp. The cost is $37.95 for adults, excluding tax and gratuity, and includes unlimited champagne, mimosas, and Bloody Marys, as well as dessert. The restaurant will also offer a special children’s buffet, $17.95 for children 12 and under; children ages 4 and under can eat for free. Reservations have been recommended.

    A buffet at the Gulf Coast Kitchen at the Montauk Yacht Club will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday for Mother’s Day. It includes a carving station with roast turkey, leg of lamb, and smoked ham, pasta and egg and omelette stations, a raw bar, and a chef’s table featuring a variety of dishes and sides, as well as a chocolate fondue fountain and other desserts. The cost is $39 per adult, $17.95 for kids ages 4 to 12, and nothing at all for children under 4.

    At Navy Beach, also in Montauk, Sunday will bring a special prix fixe lunch menu and a free Bloody Mary or mimosa for moms. The three-course deal costs $35 plus tax and gratuity and comes with a choice of wedge salad, beet salad, or Montauk clam and corn chowder to start, followed by a burger, buttermilk-fried chicken, or miso-glazed salmon, and dessert.

    At South Edison, another Montauk eatery, the Mother’s Day specials will be a la carte and offered starting at 5:30 p.m.

    Brunch and dinner specials for Mother’s Day at Nick and Toni’s in East Hampton will include wild king salmon with fava beans, tomato, and smoked olive tapenade during brunch hours from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., as well as for dinner. A second dinner special will be a chilled crab and spring pea salad served with lemon aioli on a chive pancake. For those who like sweets, a lemon crespelle torta, with strawberry-rhubarb compote and rhubarb sorbetto, will be offered all day.

    Moms who visit the Highway Diner and Bar in East Hampton on Sunday have been promised special menu selections. The diner now has al fresco seating on the patio.

    A Mother’s Day prix fixe will be served from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Living Room in East Hampton for $65 per person. It comes with a mimosa or glass of prosecco and three courses, with starter choices including salad, chilled sweet pea soup with salmon rillettes, juniper-cured gravlax, and grilled asparagus, followed by eggs Benedict, poached salmon, blackened cod, herb-marinated spring chicken, spring vegetables with tofu, hummus, and edamame puree, or an open-faced hangar steak sandwich as an entree. The prix fixe also includes dessert.

    Harbor Grill, on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton, will have a brunch buffet on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $14.95. Choices for moms, and other family members, include French toast, pancakes, salmon gravlax, eggs Benedict, and omelettes made to order. For Mother’s Day dinner, the Harbor Grill will offer three courses for $29.95, with items such as lobster bisque, baked clams, onion soup, fluke, leg of lamb, shrimp scampi, ribeye, teriyaki salmon, and chicken cordon bleu. Children under 12 can eat for free on Sunday at brunch or dinnertime. Reservations have been requested.

    The Harbor Bistro, with a water view on Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton, will also have a brunch buffet on Mother’s Day. It costs $25 for adults, $15 for kids ages 7 to 12, and is free to children 6 and under. Beginning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, a three-course prix fixe, including menu items such as lobster bundles, tuna poke, Long Island duck, and the fresh local catch, will be offered for $39. A children’s menu will also be available.

East End Chefs

    Livia Hegner and Marianne Farrell, the owner and the manager of Pepalajefa, a food shop on Sag Harbor’s Main Street, will present the next class in the East End Chefs series at the Old Whaler’s Church in that village. On Wednesday beginning at 6:30 p.m., they will prepare a croque monsieur on homemade bread, followed by Swiss meatloaf served with tiny potatoes, plus dessert. The cost of the class is $20. Wine and water will be available for purchase. As space is limited, reservations can be made in advance by calling the church.

Local Squid and Rosé

    A family-style dinner at Almond in Bridgehampton, co-hosted by Edible East End magazine, will feature newly released rosé wines from Bridgehampton’s Channing Daughters Winery and a seafood catch from Montauk: squid. Christopher Tracy, the winemaker at Channing Daughters, and a Montauk squid fisherman will be on hand to speak about their topics during the meal.

    The four courses, each paired with a different wine, include squid ceviche, grilled squid and pulpo, squid served with rock shrimp and Maine crab, and squid bibimbap, which has cucumber kimchi with it. The cost is $60 per person plus tax and gratuity.

The Beacon Opens

    The Beacon restaurant in Sag Harbor will open for the 2013 season on Wednesday and will be serving dinner Wednesdays through Sundays from 5 to 10 p.m.

Afternoon Snacks

    Bostwick’s Chowder House in East Hampton is offering an afternoon snack special every Thursday and Friday between 3 and 5 p.m., featuring half-priced appetizers and raw bar items, $4 pints of beer, and $6 well drinks.

Food Revolution Day

    Slow Food East End and the Edible School Garden Group are sponsoring Food Revolution Day on Friday, May 17, the East End’s version of a national event promoted by the chef Jamie Oliver.

    On what is described as a “day of action for people to make a stand for good food and essential cooking skills,” local activities will include a potluck supper, cooking demonstration, and musical performance at the Bridgehampton School greenhouse from 5 to 7 p.m. Attendees have been asked to take a “fresh, local” entree, side dish, or dessert — large enough to serve six to eight people. Nadia Ernestus of Hamptons Health Coach, Bryan Futerman of Foody’s in Water Mill, and Bhavani Jaroff of Slow Food Huntington will present cooking demonstrations, local farmers will be on hand to answer questions about growing vegetables, and the Bridge Marimba Band will play. The film “Growing Farmers” will be shown.

    Those who wish to attend have been asked to R.S.V.P. online at the Slow Food East End Web site or go to the Slow Food East End Facebook events page.

    Frank Trentacoste, a new farmer who started Bhumi Farm in Amagansett this year, is serving as Jamie Oliver’s ambassador for the Long Island Food Revolution Day.    

Montauk’s New Eats

    Gringos Burrito Grill has opened on Main Street in downtown Montauk, and is serving from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. The menu includes made-to-order burritos, soft or hard tacos, burrito bowls, and salads.

    Brooklyn’s Red Hook Lobster Pound, which reopened in March after a painstaking reconstruction following extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy, will have a Montauk incarnation this season. The business has paired with Montauk’s Sweet ’tauk lemonade shop, and will be serving lunch and dinner from the Sweet ’tauk store on South Etna Avenue, downtown. The Lobster Pound menu includes a variety of lobster rolls, bisque and chowder, a tuna melt, lobster mac and cheese, side dishes, and a lobster Caprese salad. Sweet ’tauk plans to add ice pops and small-batch ice cream, including Joe & Liza’s ice cream from Sag Harbor’s Bay Burger, to its lemonade offerings, which include watermelon-cucumber, strawberry-mint, and peach-Thai basil.

Wine Tastings

    The Wolffer Estate Vineyard tasting room in Sagaponack has expanded its hours; it is now open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Healthy Baking

    Anke Cosich, the owner of Anke’s Fit Bakery, will reveal some of her tricks for healthy baked goods from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday during the Fair Foods Farmers Market at the Christ Episcopal Church in Sag Harbor.

Lunch Reopens

    The Lobster Roll, a k a Lunch, on the Napeague stretch, reopens for the season tomorrow.

“Taste, Wine, and Dine”

    The Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone inn will have a wine-tasting dinner next Thursday, with dinner seatings at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. The evening will begin with a tasting of six wines, followed by a five-course dinner accompanied by three of the wines, of the diner’s choice. The menu includes curry-crusted sea scallops with cauliflower puree, tenderloin negamaki rolls, grilled Arctic char with pot a feu, slow-baked hanger steak, and chocolate ganache for dessert. The cost is $125 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required.

Gosman’s Dock

    Gosman’s starts its 2013 season tomorrow. Lunch and dinner will be served daily, except for Tuesday, when the seafood restaurant at the mouth of Montauk Harbor will be closed.

New at Bostwick’s

    New on the 2013 season menu at Bostwick’s Chowder House on Montauk Highway in East Hampton are a smoked crab dip, crab-stuffed flounder with lobster sauce, fried scallops, and a “Chowder House Seafood Tower,” a $75 menu item that includes 10 clams, 8 raw oysters, an 8-shrimp cocktail, a chilled one-pound lobster, seared tuna, and smoked crab dip. Bostwick’s is serving on Thursdays through Sundays beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Cinco de Mayo

    La Fondita, the Mexican takeout joint in Amagansett, will celebrate Cinco de Mayo with beer and food specials this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, the specials will include chiles rellenos de queso, cheese or chicken enchiladas, and pork tamales. On Sunday, Modelo Especiale beer will be offered for $2 a can or $10 per six-pack.

    At Navy Beach restaurant in Montauk, the Cinco de Mayo celebration on Saturday will follow a Kentucky Derby-day drink special: mint juleps for $5 at the bar. On Sunday, house margaritas will be $5. The specials will be offered from noon to 5 p.m.

    The Highway Diner and Bar in East Hampton will offer some Southern cooking on Kentucky Derby day, as well as mint juleps served indoors or outside on the patio. The race will be on TV at the bar. For Cinco de Mayo, there will be authentic Mexican specials.

South Edison

    Reopening for the season on Monday will be South Edison restaurant in Montauk. New menu items this year include grilled chopped romaine with cherry tomatoes and asparagus from Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, in a Meyer lemon-anchovy vinaigrette, South Fork tomato chowder with clams, and a spicy chickpea falafel. A selection of sashimi and crudo dishes has also been added to the menu. South Edison will be open for dinner on Wednesday through Sunday, into June. Reservations can be made online at southedison. com/reservations.

 Beer and Barbecue

    Townline BBQ in Sagaponack has announced the arrival of Shiner Bock beer, a Texas beer touted as a good partner to barbecue. The brew, made at Texas’s oldest independent brewery, the Spoetzl Brewery founded in 1909, has been added to the Townline tap.

Navy Beach to Open

    Navy Beach restaurant on Montauk’s Fort Pond Bay will open for the season tomorrow night at 5 p.m. A new menu will feature new dishes such as, for starters, conch fritters with habanero aioli, a grilled Caesar salad, and salmon tartare, and, as entrees lemon-crab spaghetti, lobster salad, and the catch of the day. Old favorites including the Montauk clam and corn chowder, buttermilk fried chicken, and four-cheese truffled macaroni will also be available.

    For the next two weekends, Navy Beach will serve dinner on Friday through Sunday, and weekend lunch. It will add dinner service on Thursdays on May 9.

Restaurant Week Redux

    Following Hamptons Restaurant Week earlier this month, a Long Island-wide week of restaurant specials begins on Sunday and continues through May 5. Participating restaurants will offer a three-course prix fixe for $27.95 all night, every night they are open except Saturday, when the menu may only be offered until 7 p.m. The special will include a choice among at least three appetizers, entrees, and desserts. A full list of participants can be found at longisland­restaurantweek.com.

    According to Steve Haweeli of WordHampton Public Relations in East Hampton, Hamptons Restaurant Week featured 40 participating restaurants and raised $500 in contributions from them for Project MOST, an East Hampton after-school program.

Golf and Fare

    At Montauk Downs, the new restaurant, called 360 East, is offering dining packages for groups of golfers visiting the links, ranging from a continental breakfast to lunch — featuring barbecued items or a charcuterie buffet — a two-hour cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, and a buffet dinner.

Madison and Main

    A new “American fish and seafood tavern,” called Madison and Main, has opened on Sag Harbor’s Main Street in the space formerly occupied by the Paradise Cafe.

    The focus is on locally produced food. “If a fish doesn’t swim within 100 miles of here, we won’t be serving it,” Eric Miller, the chef and co-owner, said in a press release.

    Mr. Miller, also a co-owner of Food & Co. catering and the Millers’ BBQ in East Hampton, is a member of the Slow Food organization. His partner in the new restaurant is Michael Gluckman, a restaurateur whose past places include Bamboo, the Beach House, the Boat­house, and the Lodge. The restaurant will be open year-round and serve brunch, lunch, and dinner.

Italian Cooking Classes

    A cooking class on Saturday at the Bridgehampton Inn will center on the cuisine of Sicily. The menu will include green olive tapenade with homemade bread, rice balls filled with cheese and sweet pea ragu, swordfish with tomatoes, capers, and pine nuts, and handmade cannoli with chocolate sauce.

    The session is part of a series on regional Italian cooking, which continues with a focus on the food of Venice on May 11 and a Sardinian menu on May 25. Each of the classes, which are sponsored by the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop, costs $165.

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,

    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

   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.

    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.

    It is said that John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, “invented” the sandwich while locked in a 24-hour card game. Nowadays, Gamblers Anonymous would have a field day with this. What, he couldn’t stop gambling long enough to fortify himself? All he did was ask his valet to put meat between two slices of bread so his cards wouldn’t get all greasy. His cronies started ordering “the same as Sandwich,” and hence the name was born. But it could be said that the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder created an earlier version when he wrapped some Paschal lamb with bitter herbs between two pieces of soft matzoh during Passover.

    There are so many versions of sandwiches around the world — paninis from Italy, smorrebrod from Scandinavia, croque monsieur from France, banh mi from Vietnam. There are regional versions of submarines, hoagies, heros, and grinders. There is the Philly cheesesteak and muffalettas from New Orleans. If you want to stretch the meaning of any bread with fillings you could include pita wraps, gyros, burritos, and bagels.

    One of my favorite sandwiches is the Reuben. Its origins are up for debate. One story, also involving a bunch of gambling men, credits Reuben Kulakofsky of Omaha, Neb. In the 1920s his gang of cronies, nicknamed “the committee,” used to have poker games at the Blackstone Hotel. The owner of the hotel, Charles Schimmel, put the Reuben on the menu and it became nationally famous when one of his employees won a competition with the recipe. Another story credits Arnold Reuben of the now defunct Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City. Regardless of its origins, it is a perfect combination of salty meats (corned beef, turkey, or pastrami), crunchy vegetables (saurkraut or coleslaw), Thousand Island or Russian dressing, and/or Dijon mustard on good rye bread.

    The club sandwich is another delicious classic, a combination of turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on toasted white bread. This sandwich has been seen on American menus since 1899 and is believed to have originated at, you guessed it, a gambling club in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

    Some sandwiches sound downright dangerous or gross. Remember fluffernutters? Nothing but marshmallow cream and peanut butter on white bread. The chip butty of Sheffield, Yorkshire, is French fries with vinegar or ketchup on bread. In the Baoding Hebei province of China they eat a savory sandwich of shredded donkey. The Danish enjoy a slice of aspic and red onion with salt beef on fat-smeared rye. Another Danish specialty is sal over Gudhjem, an open-faced rye sandwich with smoked herring, chives, and a raw egg yolk.

    Remember tea sandwiches? People seldom make them anymore, but they are a charming, dainty tradition for parties. Cucumbers or watercress and finely minced chicken salad or smoked salmon are spread on super thin white or wheat bread. Seasoning, moisture, and restraint are the key ingredients. Crusts cut off, cut into triangles, pinkies in the air when consuming! The trick I learned about tea sandwiches is butter on one slice of bread, mayo on the other. My favorite is a Vidalia onion tea sandwich. Use paper-thin slices of the onion, which is quite sweet and mild. Another good one is made on thin pumpernickel or brown bread spread with a schmear of cream cheese that has been flavored with grated orange zest.

    At the other end of the sandwich spectrum are Sloppy Joes and Dagwoods. Sloppy Joes were popular when I was growing up. They are basically a mixture of a barbecuey-tomato sauce and ground hamburger meat on a bun. The Dagwood can be any sandwich piled up ridiculously high with ingredients, made famous by Dagwood Bumstead of the Blondie comic strip. The muffaletta of New Orleans is another huge, thick sandwich made on big round loaves of Italian bread. It contains a wide variety of meats like salami, ham, sopressatta, and cheese. The key ingredient, however, is olive salad, an oily, vinegary mixture of chopped green olives, celery, and garlic.

    Another great sandwich that has gained popularity is the banh mi of Vietnam. It is often made with a layer of paté, some roast pork, pickled vegetables, some hot sauce, and mayonnaise. The bread used is key. The Vietnamese version of French bread is lighter and crisper, a bit spongy, like Cuban bread. You don’t want a chewy, dense baguette scraping the roof of your mouth with this sandwich.

    A grilled cheese sandwich can be as simple as the child-pleasing American cheese on white bread to the more sophisticated Taleggio with quince paste or cheddar and gouda layered with bacon and tomatoes on Portuguese buns. The French croque monsieur or croque madame is made with a good Gruyere cheese, ham, and a layer of bechamel.

    Of course, two of the best sandwiches ever invented are the lobster roll and a plain old tomato sandwich, always only served at the height of summer with a perfect beefsteak tomato, thickly sliced.

    You can make a simple sandwich for your children to enjoy, a healthy vegetarian sandwich utilizing hummus, avocadoes, sprouts, and any other vegetables you like on a seven-grain bread, or make one of those belly bombs like a Reuben or Cuban sandwich (roast pork, ham, pickles, cheese, and mustard). Use your imagination! Here are some recipes to inspire you, starting with one of my favorites, the sandwich my father used to make for us on Sunday afternoons.

Click for recipes

   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.”

    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.