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News for Foodies: 12.27.12

News for Foodies: 12.27.12

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

   The New Year’s Eve options include, of course, a festive dinner out at any number of local restaurants. Here is the lowdown on what is being offered at some of them.

    At Cafe Max in East Hampton, an early option for dinner at 5 p.m. on Monday includes a two-course prix fixe for $35, featuring a choice among five appetizers and five entrees. At 7 p.m., the restaurant will offer a four-course, $65 special including a house drink, a choice from a list of 11 salads or appetizers, and a selection of one each of six entrees and desserts. A 9 p.m. seating will include a house drink, four courses with 12 appetizers and entrees and seven desserts to choose from, and a midnight toast. Both later seatings include the trappings of New Year’s Eve: hats, tiaras, horns, and other noisemakers.

    Muse in the Harbor in Sag Harbor will host two New Year’s Eve seatings. An earlier seating will include a three-course prix fixe for $55 per person plus tax and gratuity. Those at a later seating will choose from a four-course menu, and then be offered a midnight champagne toast, and a D.J. all night, for dancing. The cost is $85 plus. Reservations for both seatings have been recommended.

    The Living Room in East Hampton will offer an a la carte dinner on Monday night from 5:30 to 7 p.m. followed by a $125, four-course prix fixe dinner beginning at 9 p.m., which includes a glass of champagne.

    At Almond in Bridgehampton, the New Year’s Eve celebration begins at 9 p.m. with a four-course dinner accompanied by a midnight champagne toast and party favors. The price is $85 per person. The restaurant will offer its regular a la carte service from 6 to 8 p.m. along with casual dishes to be served at the bar.

    On New Year’s Day, a brunch will be served at Almond starting at 11:30 a.m. Holiday specials will be included on the brunch menu, and diners will receive a complimentary Bellini, Bloody Mary, or mimosa.

    Also serving a New Year’s Day brunch will be the Plaza Cafe in Southampton. Starting at 10:30 a.m., those who arrive will receive a complimentary mimosa.

    In Amagansett, Indian Wells Tavern will have brunch on New Year’s Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., served along with regular menu items. On New Year’s Eve, Indian Wells will offer a two-course prix fixe for $22, or a three-course prix fixe for $25.

    Out in Montauk, O’Murphy’s restaurant and pub is taking reservations for New Year’s Eve, when dinner will be served from 5 to 11 p.m. Entree choices will include surf and turf, prime rib, grilled veal chops, roast duck, and Gaelic chicken. A children’s menu and the restaurant’s regular menu will also be available.

    The Shagwong will offer a four-course prix fixe dinner on New Year’s Eve for $30. A $60 version will include cocktails all night. A live band will perform. Shagwong will be open on New Year’s Day for brunch, lunch, and dinner.

Celebrating at Home

    Lucy’s Whey in East Hampton has a supply of its popular Montauk marlin dip, which can be served along with a cheese plate or other appetizers. It will only be available for another week before the supply is depleted until spring.

Seasons by the Sea: Resolution Road

Seasons by the Sea: Resolution Road

Brown rice grape leaf salad and Vietnamese pork meatball banh mi salad, from Jeanne Kelley’s book “Salad for Dinner,” can be part of a realistic plan for self-improvement in the new year.
Brown rice grape leaf salad and Vietnamese pork meatball banh mi salad, from Jeanne Kelley’s book “Salad for Dinner,” can be part of a realistic plan for self-improvement in the new year.
Laura Donnelly
A time of fresh beginnings
By
Laura Donnelly

   Are you going to make a New Year’s resolution this year? If so, you are among the 50 percent of Americans who will do so. Of that 50 percent, I’m sorry to tell you, another 50 percent will fail within six months. However, those who make explicit resolutions are the most likely to succeed.

    The new year is a popular time to make resolutions, a time of fresh beginnings, a clean slate, a new date book! In the medieval era, knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to reaffirm their commitment to chivalry. Romans would make promises to the god Janus. Ancient Babylonians would promise to return borrowed objects and repay debts.

    Resolutions have changed over the years, predictably becoming more superficial and appearance-oriented, especially among young girls. In the 19th century, a young lady’s typical resolution would be to become less self-centered, more helpful, a more diligent worker, and to improve internal character. Body image, health, diet, and possessions were rarely mentioned. By the end of the 20th century, the typical teenage girl’s resolution was related to body, hairstyle, makeup, and clothing.

    As the number one resolution among Americans is to lose weight and try to be healthier, I would like to offer some helpful tips. Start by emptying your refrigerator and pantry of unhealthy processed foods. Good job. You have also just completed the number two resolution, which is to get organized. Now buy or borrow some new cookbooks that will help jumpstart your commitment and offer inspiring recipes. That old “Joy of Cooking” won’t help you figure out tasty things to do with quinoa, freekeh, and kale. My current favorite book is called “Salad for Dinner” by Jeanne Kelley.

    Americans’ number three resolution for 2013 is to spend less and save more. If you begin by eating less meat and more whole grains and vegetables you are on your way. The number six resolution is to learn something exciting. Hey, learn how to cook healthy meals with your children! Resolution number 10: Spend more time with family. Done.

    It has been scientifically proven that those who vow to lose weight and start off with a punishing, puritanical diet are doomed to failure. However, those who vow to lose one or two pounds per week, a realistic goal, are more likely to succeed. That is another reason I love “Salad for Dinner.” The last recipe, and only dessert in the book, is for chocolate cream pie. Don’t deprive yourself; you had salad for dinner!

    When re­stocking your pantry, make sure to get brown rice, quinoa, wheat berries, couscous, etc. I store all of these items in the refrigerator to prevent them from getting rancid. Cook a big batch of the brown rice every week and keep it in the refrigerator. As it takes 45 minutes to cook, it’s hard to be spontaneous like you used to be with Minute Rice. Buy a variety of beans, canned and dried. Nothing wrong with popping open a can of cannelini beans to add to an Italian tuna salad, or black beans for your chili. And don’t forget short cuts! When I prepared the following recipes I cheated by buying already shredded carrots and a store-bought roast chicken.

    If you like making soups, make a lot and freeze in plastic pint and quart containers. Keep pesto in the freezer for a quick meal with whole wheat pasta. Of course your refrigerator should be full of the basics, celery, onions, carrots, and garlic. With these always on hand you can make stocks and vegetable soups. Oranges, lemons, and limes are also essential to have on hand to add zest and tang to fish dishes, chicken, vegetables, and fancy cocktails.

    So don’t disappoint yourself by setting an unrealistic goal. Set a small goal, and you are likely to succeed. Have salad for dinner, and perhaps a little sliver of that chocolate cream pie.

Click for recipes

News for Foodies: 01.03.13

News for Foodies: 01.03.13

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

   The next Artists and Writers Night at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton will be on Wednesday. Kathryn Levy, a poet who lives in Sag Harbor and New York City, will host the evening and lead a discussion, the theme of which will be Frank O’Hara’s “Lunch Poems” and Larre’s, a French bistro where O’Hara and other writers and poets gathered.

    Jason Weiner, the restaurant’s chef, will serve a family-style three-course meal. The cost is $40, plus tax and gratuity, and includes a glass of local wine or craft beer. The monthly dinners are designed, according to Almond, to continue “the time-honored Hamptons tradition as an incubator of creativity,” providing an opportunity for artists and writers “to gather together to exchange thoughts and ideas while enjoying a great meal.”

    Ms. Levy, whose poetry and reviews have been featured in numerous publications and anthologies, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has received writing fellowships from Yaddo and the Vermont Studio Center, among other places. She works as a teacher and arts consultant.

Seasonal Specialties

    At the Living Room restaurant in East Hampton, the menu now includes seasonal dishes with Scandinavian flavors. Among the appetizer selections are sweetbreads with langoustine, sauerkraut with chive beurre blanc, taco foie gras with mango salsa, pistachios, and edamame puree flavored with fish sauce, and pickled pumpkin salad with chevre and walnuts. Entree choices include coq au vin, grilled red tail venison, and lemon-glazed monkfish.

Bar Menu at Plaza Cafe

    The Plaza Cafe in Southampton has a new bar menu that will be offered Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 p.m. Among the available dishes will be grilled seafood tacos, spicy rock shrimp tempura, mussels with curry broth, burgers — in both traditional and black bean versions — grilled pizza, and roast chicken.

Hops, Malt, and a Whole Lot of Imagination

Hops, Malt, and a Whole Lot of Imagination

With a new brewmaster in charge since the spring, Don Sullivan’s Southampton Publick House is ready for the future.
With a new brewmaster in charge since the spring, Don Sullivan’s Southampton Publick House is ready for the future.
Morgan McGivern
A brewmaster with long experience and a track record of success
By
Christopher Walsh

   As winter descends on the South Fork, locals and visitors alike can take comfort in the knowledge that the Southampton Publick House brand of craft beers is in the capable hands of a brewmaster with long experience and a track record of success. With the spring departure of Phil Markowski, the longtime brewmaster at Southampton Publick House, came the ascension of Evan Addario, who had served as assistant brewer for several years.

    The move is a significant one in the now-crowded field of craft beer, said Don Sullivan, the Southampton Publick House proprietor. “I really liked the idea of a younger pair of eyes, a younger personality, looking at what we will do in the next 10, 15 years,” Mr. Sullivan said. “Sometimes — myself included — you’re in the same spot, doing the same thing, and your perspective may not be on the leading edge anymore.” The promotion of Mr. Addario, who was effectively the brewer of operations for the last few years, Mr. Sullivan said, “makes me be much more aware of what the newer brewers are doing.”

    None of which is to minimize Mr. Markowski’s contribution to the brand. “My first hire was my best hire, Phil Markowski,” said Mr. Sullivan. Already an experienced and well-regarded brewer when he signed on at Southampton Publick House’s inception, “the idea was that our mission was to brew small-batch, eclectic styles of beer. Phil was very enthusiastic about that. Before we started, we had a clear vision of the types of beer we wanted to brew and become known for. We were very fortunate that, very quickly, our beers were well received.”

    Southampton’s cosmopolitan, international mix of residents and visitors, Mr. Sullivan said, is reflected in the Publick House’s brews. These, he explained, are characteristic of small-batch, “farmhouse” ales inspired by the saison and Trappist brews found in Belgium, France, and southern Germany, strong in flavor and alcohol content. Beers, Mr. Sullivan said, that were not found in the United States prior to 1996, when the Publick House began brewing.

    The early success to which Mr. Sullivan referred includes high honors at the Great American Beer Festival, the annual event in which thousands of beers by hundreds of U.S. breweries are sampled and judged. Southampton Publick House owns three gold, four silver, and two bronze medals from the festival, which puts it in the top 20 breweries in the country. BeerAdvocate magazine named Publick House Top Brewpub in 2003, and the Web site ratebeer.com ranked it the number 8 specialty brewery worldwide in 2004.

    It’s been a wild but challenging ride for Mr. Sullivan, who launched the restaurant and brewery with two brothers (he acquired their shares in the business six years ago). Brewing became a focus by happenstance, he recalled. His successful business designing and consulting for back-of-house restaurant needs led him to three New York-area brewpub projects in the early 1990s, during an early surge of small breweries. At the time, Mr. Sullivan owned Riptide, a restaurant on the Shinnecock Canal that is now known as Tide Runners.

    “It was apparent to me that if you could find the right location, you had a chance of success,” he said, although “you would need to be sure you had pretty damn good beer. I saw in one of the trade papers that the restaurant company that owned this property filed bankruptcy.” One week later, he was attending bankruptcy proceedings in a Dallas courtroom, and a few days after that he was ordering brewery infrastructure in Canada. “I think my wife was more shocked than anything else,” Mr. Sullivan remembered.

    An early, singularly important hurdle was to convince a nation of Budweiser drinkers to try something different, more complex. The challenge was taken as an opportunity, Mr. Sullivan said. “I would always tell any new employee, ‘Whatever they say they want, let’s pair what we have most similar in style to what they like.’ If they’re a Bass Ale drinker, our I.P.A. is perfect. If they’re a Budweiser drinker, our lager or Pilsner. If they’re a light beer drinker, Montauk Light, our own light beer. If they’re a Guinness drinker, we would recommend whatever dark beer we have. Then people really get it.”

    The American craft brew movement did not arise in a vacuum, he said, citing the farm-to-table, local-food movement. Southampton Publick House is also attuned to the seasons, offering its restaurant patrons and consumers Oktoberfest Lager and Pumpkin Ale in the autumn, or Imperial Porter, a winning, flavorful dark beer, in the winter. An appropriate brew can be paired with offerings from the restaurant’s menu for a satisfying fireside dining experience at the Publick House.

    The brand is now available in 22 states, spanning the East Coast and across the Ohio Valley, and its reach continues to expand. “We have year-round beers available in a six pack, and every season there’s a rotating beer,” Mr. Sullivan said. The brand’s specialty brews, he added, are available in specialty beverage stores and reflect the brewer’s creativity and willingness to go beyond traditional ideas of purity. “The American craft beer movement really did push the envelope of what would be acceptable, if you will. When you look at what brewers can do, there’s really no limit. It’s just a little bit of imagination.” At the Publick House, eight of its beers are on tap daily, among them Burton India Pale Ale, Keller Pils, Southampton Double White, Montauk Light, and Southampton Altbier.

    Future plans include renovations to the building to allow small-batch bottling onsite, so that some of the brand’s more eclectic offerings can be packaged in 750-milliliter bottles. In the meantime, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Addario are charged with maintaining the brand’s position at the vanguard of the craft beer field. “Today, a lot of breweries are producing like-minded beers,” Mr. Sullivan observed. “There’s an explosion of new product, both imported as well as domestic. But we’re known as one of the leading proponents of farmhouse ales. We’ve had terrific continuity here, at all levels, from our management to our front-of-house people, and Evan has earned the opportunity to take over the lead brewer position.”

    Mr. Sullivan, who has served on the board of the Parrish Art Museum for more than a decade, also maintains strong ties to the community. “The Parrish was and still is a big part of Southampton Village and Southampton Town. As a business that’s really dependent on visitor traffic to the village, a healthy village is good for me, and especially for a public house. We chose the name to be a member of the community: public house means a meeting place, a point of destination, open to all, private to none.”

    “Sometimes,” he concluded, “you take a leap of faith, and this was a hell of a leap. But at the end of the day, anything for a beer, right?”

News for Foodies: 01.10.13

News for Foodies: 01.10.13

Michael Dollar, the bartender/magician at the Vine Street Cafe on Shelter Island, performs card tricks for well-behaved patrons. He also reads auras and has concocted his own specialty drinks menu.
Michael Dollar, the bartender/magician at the Vine Street Cafe on Shelter Island, performs card tricks for well-behaved patrons. He also reads auras and has concocted his own specialty drinks menu.
Morgan McGivern
Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

   The 1770 House in East Hampton has a new chef. Michael Rozzi, an East End native who was a chef for 13 years at the former Della Femina restaurant in East Hampton, took his new post on Monday. He has also cooked at Le Chef and the Inn at Quogue. At Della Femina, Mr. Rozzi was sous chef to Kevin Penner, now the executive chef at 1770 House. He replaces Matt Birnstill, who left to pursue other cooking endeavors. Mr. Rozzi’s culinary focus is the use of local ingredients.

Cafe Max on Break

    Cafe Max in East Hampton is closed for a winter break.  The restaurant will reopen in February.

Careful Cooking

    A Memorable Meals program at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday will focus on cooking for those with restricted diets. Christie Koth, a nutritionist, will give a short talk and a cooking demonstration on preparing meals for those with digestive diseases and food intolerances. The program begins at noon. Admission is free, but reservations are required. They must be made by Sunday, by calling the library, or at myrml.org.

The Meeting House

    At Meeting House, a restaurant in Amagansett Square, dinner is served six nights a week. The restaurant is closed on Monday. A three-course prix fixe is offered for $30 all night on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, as well as on Friday until 5:30 p.m.

Italian Specials

    Also in Amagansett, the folks at Felice’s Ristorante and the attached Astro Pizza are offering some winter deals. At the restaurant, diners may order two selected entrees for $25 on Sunday through Thursday ($30 on Friday or Saturday). The choices include eggplant or chicken Parmigiana, fish of the day over pasta, pasta Bolognese, pasta with meatball and sausage, penne a la vodka, or manicotti. A $30 takeout special from the pizza parlor side includes a choice among two large cheese pizzas, one pizza and baked ziti, a large pizza with a topping, salad, and panini, three heroes with salad, or baked manicotti, ravioli, and salad.

Stuart’s Seafood Special

    As a wintertime special, Stuart’s Seafood Market in Amagansett is selling lobsters for $10 a pound. Local bay scallops are still available.

Sit-Down Chinese

    Out in Montauk Wok ’n’ Roll is offering diners who come to eat at the restaurant a two-for-one deal. There are also lunch specials for $5.95. The deals are offered on Sunday through Friday, except on Tuesday, when Wok ’n’ Roll is closed. Anglers who bring in their catch can have it prepared by the chef — steamed, fried, broiled, or sautéed, with a choice of sauces.

Cook, Talk

    A series of cooking classes by the Loaves and Fishes cooking school in Bridgehampton will offer singles a chance to meet and greet this winter. Sessions will be geared to those under 50, or to those aged 50 and up.

    The next class, on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m., will be for the over-50 crowd and center on bistro-style fare. The cost is $165, which includes a meal.

East End Eats Good Greek, Not Chic

East End Eats Good Greek, Not Chic

There’s now an attractive new bar at the Old Stove Pub.
There’s now an attractive new bar at the Old Stove Pub.
Morgan McGivern
The latest reincarnation of the Old Stove Pub
By
Laura Donnelly

Old Stove Pub

3516 Montauk Highway

Sagaponack

537-3300

Seven days, from 5 p.m.

   There are some very appealing aspects to the latest reincarnation of the Old Stove Pub in Sagaponack. The ramshackle, long-in-the-tooth building has been cleaned up, but not to the point of newness. The charm of the old farmhouse with wraparound indoor porches remains. The atmosphere is cozy. There are also some delicious, classic Greek dishes being served here.

    However, there is also a degree of plainness, on the menu and on the tables. The menu is brief, there are two meaty Greek specialties, two fish offerings, and three steak choices, listed by size but not cut. The china is of the bulky sort you find in diners, the salt and pepper served in cafeteria-style shakers. Either the restaurateurs cleaned out a Fishes Eddy to provide tableware or perhaps these items have been collecting dust upstairs since the Old Stove Pub’s heyday . . . about 30 years ago.

    Upon entering you are surrounded by the aforementioned wraparound porch. Further in, there is a piano to the right, and an attractive new bar to the left. The space has been opened up a bit, and there are some large Leroy Neiman prints around the restaurant.

    We began our meal with taramosalata, saganaki, and melitzanosalata. All three were excellent. The taramosalata was a mixture of carp roe, bread (or potatoes), lemon juice, onion, and olive oil whipped into a light, fluffy mousse. This is one of my favorite Greek appetizers and this was a super version, tart and salty, not too fishy or rich. Saganaki is another classic dish of Halloumi cheese baked to ascalding, bubbling temperature and topped with lemon juice and olive oil. The Halloumi retains its firm, almost squeaky texture. It was a delicious, chewy appetizer. Melitzanosalata is a roasted eggplant dip with parsley, garlic, and in this case, a bit of goat cheese was mixed in. The eggplant was nice and smoky. The bread served at the table and with the appetizers was a good rustic bread, but we felt that some warm slices of pita would have been better.

    For entrees we ordered the moussaka, pastitsio, shrimp tourkolimano, and Sagaponack steak. The moussaka was one of the best and freshest versions I have ever tried. It was a layer of tender eggplant topped with spiced ground meat, usually beef and/or lamb, and then a layer of rich, cheesy béchamel sauce. Inexplicably, there were cubes of cheese all around the plate as garnish. Every flavor came through — nutmeg, a hint of allspice, and a bit of hot paprika or red pepper. The pastitsio was also beautifully prepared. A layer of pasta was topped with a tomato meat sauce and topped again with béchamel; it was creamy and rich.

    The shrimp tourkolimano was three large shrimp served in a tangy tomato sauce, topped with feta cheese and served in a piping hot gratin dish. Some rice on the side would have been a nice accompaniment. The Sagaponack steak (sirloin) was very good, cooked rare as ordered. As the entrees are all a la carte (as in, if you want a starch or veg with your steak you have to order separately), we asked for a side of the creamy spinach. This, too, was delicious, it consisted of briefly sauteed spinach leaves with a hint of garlic, diced mushrooms, and sour cream.

    The service on the night of our visit was friendly and knowledgeable. It appeared that our server may have also been the manager on duty, doing double duty. It was an apres-holiday weekend night and there were few other diners and no music, which made for a very quiet evening.

    Some of the prices are quite reasonable, some frightfully expensive. You can get one of the Greek specialties for a mere $18, but if you want the “classic” steak and two sides, you are up to $68 for a fairly simple meal. Appetizers and salads are $8 to $18, specialties and seafood are $18 to $34, meats $20 to $80. (The $80 price tag is for a 32-ounce steak for two.) Sides and desserts are $10.

    The wine list is appropriately heavy on Greek wines, features a few Wolffer selections, and, as your eye travels down the list, gets quite expensive, most bottles being in the $100s and a few over $2,000.

    As they were out of most of the desserts on this visit, our waiter/manager George treated us to some tiramisu and baklava. The tiramisu was okay. It looked and tasted commercially made. The baklava had delicious flavor but suffered the fate all baklava does after a day or two or three of sitting around: The phyllo dough was flaccid from age or humidity.

    On the whole, we enjoyed our meal, especially the classic Greek dishes. I would totally go back for all of them. I do not, however, understand the pricing for the pretty good steaks, served all alone, on a diner-style platter.

 

News for Foodies: 12.06.12

News for Foodies: 12.06.12

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

Holiday Food

    Tanya Tracy, who was born in India, will draw on her culinary heritage, blend it with Mediterranean cuisine, and demonstrate the preparation of a holiday spread at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday at noon. The program is free, but reservations must be made by Monday by calling the library or registering online at myrml.org.

Dinner Under the Tree

    A “Swedish Table” prix fixe will be served at the Living Room restaurant in East Hampton on Sunday following the annual tree-lighting festivities at c/o the Maidstone inn, taking place from 4 to 6 p.m.

    Service will begin at 6:45 p.m. The meal includes a choice of roast pork loin or codfish as an entree, and starters including herring three ways and a Swedish cold meat platter. The cost is $36 plus tax and gratuity. A la carte items will be available as well.

Wine, Tasting, and Books

    Silvia Lehrer will read from her book “Savoring the Hamptons: Discovering the Food and Wine of Long Island’s East End,” on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., at the Lieb Cellars tasting room in Cutchogue. She will also sign copies, and share a taste of hors d’oeuvres from recipes featured in the book.

Warm and Cheery

    The Hampton Coffee Company in Water Mill has opened its “holiday cafe,” featuring seasonal gifts, including gift baskets, holiday music CDs, teas, coffee-making equipment, and more. Between now and New Year’s, the company is offering free samples of its limited edition Hampton Holiday Blend coffee, and can fulfill orders of fresh-baked pumpkin and apple pies, for pickup through Christmas Eve.

    Catering for breakfast and lunchtime holiday parties is being offered at a 10-percent discount, through New Year’s, with free delivery. Special seasonal hot drinks on the cafe menu this season include eggnog latte, peppermint mocha, and peppermint hot chocolate.

Year Round, With Fireplace

    Race Lane restaurant in East Hampton is open nightly on Wednesday through Sunday, from 5 p.m. A three-course prix fixe is available all night on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and all night at the bar on Friday and Saturday or until 6:30 p.m. in the dining room. Happy hour drink specials and bar bites are offered every night from 5 to 6 p.m. at the bar.

Out in Montauk

    Sammy’s restaurant in the dock area of Montauk is open through the end of this month, serving lunch and dinner on Tuesday through Sunday. The space is available for parties.

    Also in Montauk, Bliss! A Montauk Kitchen, is offering a $5 breakfast special with coffee and juice and an $8 lunch special, including soda or water and chips. A new dinner menu can be found at the restaurant’s Web site, blissmtk.com, and dinner delivery service is offered in Montauk. Healthy lunches for school kids can be delivered to the Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs Schools.

Cupcakes

    The Hamptons Cupcake Lounge is now among the vendors at the Fair Foods Market, held indoors at Bay Burger in Sag Harbor on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The company offers a range of flavors from classics like red velvet to unusual ones like lavender lemonade, at $25 a dozen, and also sells lightly booze-infused “cuptails,” in such flavors as Bourbon Blast, Cuparita, Bananas Foster, Pina Cupalota, which cost $4 each or $44 per dozen, or $18 per dozen for the mini version. The company’s Web site is hamptonscupcakelounge.com.

    The market will be held Saturdays through the end of the month and then resume on Feb. 16.

News for Foodies: 12.13.12

News for Foodies: 12.13.12

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

For Hanukkah

    Stuart’s Seafood Market has homemade latkes available for Hanukkah, along with house-made apple sauce. Advance orders are appreciated, though latkes are on hand in the shop. They also make a great accompaniment for holiday caviar, according to Charlotte Sasso of the market. The shop is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Holiday Plans

    The annual list of restaurants that will welcome guests for Christmas Eve and Christmas meals begins here.

    The Living Room, which is at c/o the Maidstone inn in East Hampton, will have a “Swedish Christmas table” menu for lunch and dinner on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, from noon to 3 p.m. and again from 5:30 to 10 p.m. It includes four courses, for $36 per person, and includes herring three ways, an assorted cold meat plate, roast loin of pork or codfish as an entree, and a trio of desserts. The restaurant’s a la carte menu will be offered as well.

    Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton will have its 11th annual Christmas Eve roast suckling pig dinner this year. The main dish is served with cabbage, caramelized apples, and spaetzle, and costs $31. A portion of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Pajama Program, which provides new warm pajamas, along with books, to children in need in this country and around the world. Almond will also serve its regular a la carte menu on Christmas Eve, with service from 6 to 10 p.m. It will be closed on Christmas.

Holiday Cooking

    The East End Chefs program at the Whalers Church in Sag Harbor will feature festive dishes and drinks for a holiday buffet at its next session, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Sandra Wolge of East Hampton will demonstrate holiday table decorations, and Bill Bertha of the Red Horse Market in East Hampton will show how to prepare baked goods such as Stollen bread and spice cookies, and how to decorate a gingerbread house. Lillian Woudsma of East Hampton, a caterer who organizes the East End Chefs series, will discuss meal items and refreshments. Holiday music will be played, wine served, and the gingerbread house raffled off at the end of the event. The cost is $30, which can be paid at the door. Space is limited, so advance reservations have been requested; they can be made by calling the church.

Bites at the Bar

    At Muse in the Harbor restaurant in Sag Harbor, a “bar bites” menu offered from 5 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday includes barbecued pork spring rolls, chicken wings, fried calamari and mild banana peppers, and tuna sliders.

Sag Harbor Baking Company, Tiny Treat Factory

Sag Harbor Baking Company, Tiny Treat Factory

In addition to Thanksgiving pies and its regular goodies, the Sag Harbor Bakery will be offering turkey cookies to celebrate the holiday.
In addition to Thanksgiving pies and its regular goodies, the Sag Harbor Bakery will be offering turkey cookies to celebrate the holiday.
Mimi Yardley
“The real deal”
By
Carrie Ann Salvi

   The tiny Sag Harbor Baking Company on Division Street is about to celebrate its one-year anniversary, and Mimi Yardley and Margaret Wagner, who have known each other since kindergarten in Sag Harbor, couldn’t be happier with their first year. With hands full of orders for their first Thanksgiving, Ms. Yardley said last Thursday that there has been a “great response.”

    Royal iced turkeys and leaf-shaped cookies, which Ms. Yardley described as a “simple, rich and delicious butter cookie,” topped with vanilla or chocolate icing, were popular items for Thanksgiving.

    And naturally there were many orders for pies, too, including apple crumb, pumpkin, apple cranberry, and pecan, one of their most popular. Pumpkin cheesecakes are also available.

    Their baked goods are “the real deal,” Ms. Yardley said, made with no preservatives and real butter.

    After opening their doors for the first time on Dec. 3, 2011, Ms. Yardley said that the mild winter was the perfect way to begin, giving them a chance to develop relationships with the customers who have become regulars.

    The summer, she said, was “just bananas.” Operating as a “two-girl show,” Ms. Yardley said that her mother or Ms. Wagner’s daughter occasionally fills in at the counter when it is very busy. In addition to custom cakes for birthdays and special occasions, “summer was fantastic with weddings.”

    Responding to popular demand, the ladies began baking some gluten-free products, too, although Ms. Yardley said their kitchen is not gluten-free because they bake other products in it. They bake at least one variety of gluten-free muffin per day, as well as gluten-free brownies, macaroons, and cookies. They also make gluten-free cakes by special order, using a flour blend of organic brown rice flour, tapioca, and potato starch.

    Their homemade granola, a simple honey-vanilla flavor, has developed a loyal following — they even ship it to New Jersey. Scones are very popular, too, she said, and the shop’s coffee is a special blend roasted in Brooklyn.

    Both women left Sag Harbor after attending Pierson High School together, Ms. Wagner for San Francisco and Los Angeles, where she became a pastry chef after attending the California Culinary Academy.

    Ms. Yardley became a certified public accountant in New York City. Now, both married, with seven children between them, ages 9 through 16, they are once again residents of Sag Harbor.

    Winter hours for the shop are Thursday through Monday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the summer season, they close only on Tuesdays.

News for Foodies: 11.29.12

News for Foodies: 11.29.12

Local Food News
By
Joanne Pilgrim

   The Montauk Brewing Company is open every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Those who stop in can pick up growlers of the company’s Driftwood Ale, an American-style extra-special bitter beer.

Breakfast at the Diner

    The Highway Diner and Bar, which opened recently and has been drawing a crowd for lunch and dinner, has added breakfast hours. The doors open daily at 8 a.m., and breakfast is served all day. The new eatery is in the building on Montauk Highway in East Hampton most recently occupied by Rugosa.

Fudge Company Contends

    Donna McCue and her company, Fat Ass Fudge, will be among the contenders on an episode of “Shark Tank,” the TV show on which entrepreneurs seek to convince investors to back them, airing on ABC on Tuesday. Ms. McCue, an East Hampton resident, who has been an intuitive or psychic, a stand-up comedienne, and an author, said her company was chosen from a pool of more than 31,000 applicants, and that her appearance on the show will highlight her “effervescent and no-holds-barred attitude.” Fat Ass Fudge makes gluten and lactose-free organic fudge that is sold on the company Web site and at East End farmers markets.

Holidays at the Living Room

    On Saturday, the Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone inn in East Hampton will begin serving a special Swedish “Christmas table” menu, featuring four courses at lunch or dinner for $36 per person plus tax and gratuity. The menu will include herring three ways as a starter, followed by an assorted cold meat plate, with Swedish Christmas ham, gravlax, and country pate, and, as an entree, roast pork loin with gravy, braised red cabbage and potato puree or codfish with horseradish, potato terrine, winter kale, and brown butter. A trio of desserts will include mini waffles with lingonberry cream, saffron cake with candied hazelnuts, and “Ris a la Malta,” a traditional Swedish holiday dessert.

Holiday Dessert

    Double ginger crackles will be prepared during a free cooking demonstration at the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The recipe is featured in this year’s holiday issue of “The Best of Fine Cooking.”

Fireside at Bostwick’s

    Bostwick’s, which features fireside dining, is now open Friday at 4 p.m. for dinner, and serves lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday.