It’s Marvelous

    Tomorrow from 4 to 7 p.m., the new Mary’s Marvelous store on Newtown Lane in East Hampton Village will have an opening party featuring free hors d’oeuvres, and samples of smoothies and baked goods.

    The new store, where Bucket’s deli used to be, will be the second location for the takeout food shop first opened by Mary Schoenlein in Amagansett 10 years ago.

    It will feature packaged goodies such as cakes, cookies, and spiced nuts, along with other retail goods as well as ready-to-go and made-to-order sandwiches and other dishes, such as soups, vegetables, and grain dishes. At breakfast time, Mary’s makes steel-cut organic oatmeal and its signature “eggs Colombian.” There will be a smoothies menu, as well as a larger salad menu at the East Hampton store.

    The shop will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

At Gosman’s Dock

    Visits to Montauk can be especially nice in the early fall, and Gosman’s Dock restaurant has a lineup of prix fixe dinner specials that will be offered after Labor Day.

    Mondays will be burger or rib night, with dinners for $15, Wednesdays will feature the local seafood catch of the day prepared with a seasonal twist and served with a glass of wine for $24, Thursdays are steak nights, also for $15, and on “fried Fridays” diners will have a choice of fried shrimp, fish and chips, or a fisherman’s platter with coleslaw and French fries for $15. Sunday nights will be lobster nights, with a $24 prix fixe to include a 1 1/4-pound lobster, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and fries.

The Lobster Roll

    The Lobster Roll on the Napeague Stretch will remain open seven days a week for lunch and dinner for a while, and is offering specials as well as a happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. daily featuring $5 margaritas.

Silvia Lehrer and Her Book

    Silvia Lehrer, the author of “Savoring the Hamptons: Discovering the Food and Wine of Long Island’s East End,” will give a cooking demonstration at the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. She will prepare guacamole with tomatillos.

Saturday Party

    Spring Close Restaurant is celebrating the end of summer with a Spring Open Labor Day Party on Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. featuring music. After Labor Day, the restaurant will fire up its wood oven to prepare early fall menu items, and will be once again serving lunch.

Tomato Taste-Off

    The 14th annual tomato taste-off at the Peconic Land Trust’s Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett will get under way at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Volunteers are needed tomorrow to help harvest tomatoes, either during a morning or afternoon session, as well as to prepare buckets for tomato rinsing. On Saturday, helpers are being sought for set up, beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the farm orchard, for assistance during the event, and for cleanup after the tasting is finished at noon. Those interested in lending a hand have been asked to sign up at the Quail Hill farmstand or to send an e-mail to [email protected].

    Nearly 50 varieties of organically grown tomatoes will be laid out for tasting, including cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes, and heirloom varieties. Tasters will visit various tables with a clipboard in hand to rate the flavor of each. The names of the tomatoes that receive highest accolades will be posted on the trust’s Web site at PeconicLandTrust.org. The cost to participate is $10; free for kids under age 12. In case of heavy rains, the event will be canceled. Those planning to attend have been asked to park on Deep Lane and to walk into the orchard.

Clam and Chowder House

At Salivar’s Dock

470 West Lake Drive

Montauk

668-6252

Lunch and dinner, Thursday

through Monday, noon-4 p.m.

and 5-10 p.m.

When I brought a group of friends to review Westlake Clam and Chowder House a few years ago, they tried to convince me to write a mediocre review. Everyone loved it so much they wanted it to be “their little secret.” Well, “their little secret” has moved and expanded, to what seems to be triple the original size, and is now called the Clam and Chowder House at Salivar’s Dock. What used to be home of the best hangover eggs is now the home of awesome sushi and more.

Not much has changed in the venerable Salivar’s huge bar area. The massive mounted and hung fish remain, the tail of a 540-pound thresher shark hangs over the bar, the jaws of a 4,500-pound great white shark gape from a wall, and a few disco balls add some sparkle. It is a beautiful high-ceilinged room with a neon Salivar’s sign, green-and-white-checked linoleum floor, and is about as noisy as a bar can get. Granted there were dueling sports events that evening, the Belmont race and U.S. vs. Nigeria soccer.

To the left of the bar are various levels of dining options, indoors and outdoors, upstairs and downstairs. There is a long sushi bar and an upper deck to take in lovely sunset views. After dodging spindly lasses in stiletto heels mincing along the roadways to reach Cyril’s and the Surf Lodge, we arrived at the Clam and Chowder House early enough to get a table outside.

We began our meal with buffalo blowfish tails, shrimp shumai, and shaved brussels sprouts salad. To serve blowfish with buffalo wing sauce is genius, and this was an excellent example. The crunchy tails were coated with just enough hot sauce to enhance the sweet mildness of the fish. Four big ones were on a platter of lettuce with the usual accoutrements — carrot and celery sticks and a good blue cheese dressing. The shrimp shumai were very good. It’s hard to tell if they were made in house or commercially. What enhanced them were the light, somewhat meaty sauce on the bottom of the plate and some delicate slivers of scallion.

The shaved brussels sprouts salad was excellent. The finely shredded sprouts were tossed with fresh peas, some frisee, toasted walnuts, shredded Parmesan, and a pretty, edible orchid.

For entrees we tried the pan-seared yellowfin tuna, pan-roasted fluke, and a Fire Island sushi roll. The pan-seared yellowfin tuna was a generous portion, two big steaks cooked medium rare with just a bit of salt and pepper. They were topped with a shredded papaya salad with red onions. It was similar to Thai green papaya salad, but the papaya was halfway ripened so it was slightly sweet. The tuna was on a bed of black rice (also known as “forbidden” rice as it used to be reserved only for royalty). Black rice is crunchy and nutty and nutritious! There were a few swirls of a tasty basil vinaigrette on the plate, which just made the whole dish delicious.

The pan-roasted fluke was another winner. It was kind of a deconstructed fish taco. The fluke fillets were piled on top of a mild avocado puree with a corn and crab salad, crumbled tortilla chips, and roasted shishito peppers. The corn and crab salad was sweet, the avocado rich and creamy, the shishitos slightly spicy. My only criticism of this dish is that the shishitos were overcooked, just slightly limp, as though they’d been boiled before roasting.

The Fire Island roll was also excellent. Sometimes I order rolls with too much stuff in them, on them, and around them, but all of the flavors and textures of this roll came through. The shrimp tempura stayed crunchy (no mean feat at a marina), and the spicy tuna and kani were flavorful. The best part was the creamy yuzu, drizzled along the sasa (bamboo) leaf lining the platter. Soy sauce was superfluous.

For such a large, busy, and casual place, the Clam and Chowder House was impressively clean and organized. The staff are friendly and professional. Our waiter was excellent; he knew his stuff.

The prices at the Clam and Chowder House are moderate. Soups, salads, and appetizers are $4 to $16, entrees are $18 to $38 (or market price), kids menu items are $7 to $10, sushi, sashimi, and handrolls are $3 to $18.75, and desserts are $9.

The desserts are made in-house and are given as verbals, with no printed menu. We only had room for two, so we tried the ice cream sandwich and banana cream pie. They are not skimpy on the whipped cream! The ice cream sandwich was two fat macadamia nut white chocolate chip cookies with coconut ice cream and fudge sauce underneath. Did I mention whipped cream? The cookies were very good, the coconut ice cream also very good, but the fudge sauce the best. It was the old-fashioned kind that starts off warm and gooey, then thickens on contact with the cold ice cream. The banana cream pie was also very good, super fresh with a fluffy vanilla pudding full of bananas in a flaky crust and lots and lots of, you guessed it, whipped cream.

A few other noteworthy aspects of Clam and Chowder House are the fishing vessels named on the menu and the $20 nightly wine special. Thank you, Standin’ Up, Lady K, Alexandria Down, New Species, Babalou, Panther, Sequel 1, Ocean Spirit, and 2 Sea Sons for your fresh, fresh fish, and thank you, owners of Clam and Chowder House, for taking the sting out of buying a decent bottle of wine with dinner.

Clam and Chowder House cannot be anybody’s “little secret.” It’s just too good.

Bell and Anchor

3253 Noyac Road

Noyac

725-3400

    Our dining experience at Bell and Anchor the other night was simply splendid. The food was fresh and creative with heavy emphasis on raw bar items and local ingredients, the service impeccable, and the view and atmosphere lovely.

    Bell and Anchor is in the Mill Creek Marina in Noyac, and you would never recognize that this was once Oasis restaurant. The space has been completely spruced up with windows all around, an appealing color scheme of glossy deep blues and creams, and pale wood floors. Upon entering there is a long bar on the port side, teal blue and mirrored, with white coral and giant clamshells sharing shelf space with the bottles. Beyond that is the large dining room with nary a bad seat. The view is enchanting, as Mill Creek Marina is surrounded by tall pine trees opening up to the water. There are a few cozy round banquettes and some sound-absorbing panels discreetly placed about on the ceiling to keep down the din.

    Upon being seated you get a basket of warm rolls and oyster crackers. On the night of our visit, commanding officer David Loewenberg was on deck greeting guests, suggesting wine pairings, and assuring us that you could get real drinks from the bar. You mean no master mixologist muddling fennel pollen and Norwegian elk ash into our artisanal martinis? Hallelujah! The menu is simple and creative at the same time.

    We began our meal with a sampler of East and West Coast oysters, clams, frito misto, P.B. and O. (pork belly and oyster), a South Fork shooter, and a special appetizer of a kind of fluke crudo or ceviche. The East and West Coast oysters were Montauk Pearls, nice and briny, and Kumamoto, sweet little morsels. The mignonette and cocktail sauce served with them were good, but I am a spritz of lemon and two grinds of pepper gal, so that’s how I enjoyed them. The South Fork shooter, local oyster, local white wine, jalapeno, cilantro, scallions, and Sriracha was enjoyed by my offspring — it’s not exactly an item you can share with the table.

    The frito misto was outstanding; crispy calamari was mixed in with rock shrimp and clam strips. Tiny bits of fried herbs were scattered in, along with paper-thin slices of lemon that had also been fried. The dipping sauce, an aioli, was reminiscent of Thousand Island dressing with a hint of smoked paprika. The P.B. and O., a genius creation if ever there was one, was three Boston lettuce cups filled with crisped pork belly, a raw oyster, and house made kimchi. Spicy, salty, crunchy, and juicy. The fluke appetizer special was thin slices of raw fluke in a super citrusy dressing, topped with aji amarillo (a Peruvian pickled pepper), cilantro microgreens, and a few grains of pink Hawaiian sea salt, all light and refreshing.

    Mr. Loewenberg suggested a glass of Paumanok un-oaked chardonnay, which went beautifully with all of the appetizers.

    For entrees we ordered the pan-roasted local tilefish, rare seared yellowfin tuna, and steamed one-and-a-half-pound lobster. The pan-roasted tilefish was divine. Two generous fillets of fish, perfectly seasoned, were presented atop some “logs” of braised leeks, which were in turn atop a savory bed of Moroccan-spiced quinoa. Each bite offered a different flavor and texture, a bit of ginger here, cumin there.

    The rare seared tuna was two fat and pretty wedges of tuna, nicely crusted, salted and peppered on the outside, bright pink and juicy on the inside. When my son took a bite of the corn salad first, he literally gasped and exclaimed “I had no idea the corn component could be so exciting!” Yes, he is a gourmand like his mother, and prone to use big words . . . like his mother. The corn was fresh and local, grilled, cut off the cob and mixed with basil, tiny diced tomatoes, squash, and other fresh herbs.

    The steamed lobster was also excellent, sweet and succulent and, if side dishes can upstage the main, these did. The roasted fingerling potatoes tasted like they’d just been dug, scrubbed, and tossed in the oven. The corn pudding was as good as, if not better than, the corn salad, full of herbs, sweet and eggy, like a flan.

    At this point I feel obligated to point out the flaws of our meal. There was one speck of sand in the leeks.        That’s it, folks.

    On the night of our visit, Bell and Anchor was packed to the gills. For a new restaurant, this could make the atmosphere feel like a Chinese fire drill or the Keystone Kops scrambling around. But the service was smooth and professional. Our waitress, Vi, knew the menu and offered great advice. Mr. Loewenberg, as he does at all of his restaurants, was busing tables, giving wine advice, and greeting one and all. One of the more interesting aspects of our meal, which we very much liked, was the civilized portions of the appetizers and the more generous portions of the entrees. The prices are not cheap, but the food is worth every penny. Raw bar items, appetizers, soups, and salads are $6 to $34, with the exception of the Royale at $125, a seafood plateau extravaganza. Entrees are $17 to $45, desserts are $9 to $12. The wine list is long, reasonable, and well thought out. Best of all, there are some local wines “on tap” at a good price, such as the aforementioned Paumanok chardonnay, Channing Daughters rosato, and a Lieb pinot blanc.

    For desserts we tried the Dreamy Brownie Sundae, Key lime parfait, and lemon ginger sorbet. Some of the desserts are made in house, the Dreamy brownies come from Sylvester’s in Sag Harbor.

    The sundae was a couple of super fudge-y moist brownies with Dreamy coffee ice cream, topped with whipped cream, hot chocolate ganache, and chocolate covered coffee beans. Basically representing all the major food groups as far as I’m concerned. The Key lime parfait was also delicious, kind of a deconstructed Key lime pie. It was a tall glass filled with layers of zesty Key lime pie filling, whipped cream, and crumbled graham crackers. The lemon ginger sorbet was my favorite, however, as it tasted like the perfect refreshing palate cleanser after a light fish dinner.

    Our meal at Bell and Anchor was flawless from start to finish. If you are a fan of raw bars, the freshest seafood prepared with a light touch and creative flourishes, professional service and a welcoming staff, you will enjoy Bell and Anchor as well. I hope I can get in next time.

   The Great Bonac Fireworks over Three Mile Harbor on Saturday night will be the occasion for special events at two waterfront East Hampton restaurants.

    Andrra, off Gann Road at the Harbor Marina, will have a fund-raiser for the Clamshell Foundation, which sponsors the fireworks, with two seatings. At 6:30 p.m. a three-course prix fixe ($80 a person) will be served. The menu features selections from a raw seafood bar, tuna carpaccio, lobster bisque, Cyprian figs with gorgonzola, or salad to start, followed by a choice of lobster, rib-eye steak, local striped bass, pappardelle with braised beef, or yellowfin tuna. Dessert is included as well.

    At the 8:30 p.m. seating, a chef’s tasting menu, with item such as oysters, shrimps, clams, and crabs, Wagyu carpaccio of beef, salad with Hudson Valley foie gras, bouillabaisse, and steak au poivre will be served. The cost is $190 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

    There will also be a V.I.P. tent set up. Guests who pay the $60 admission fee will receive vouchers to use at the raw bar and drinks bar. Bottle service will be available in the restaurant’s lounge, where D.J. Lee Kalt will be spinning tunes. A Ferrari road rally will wind up at the restaurant at 6:30 p.m.

    Reservations for Andrra on Saturday night are a must, and a 50-percent nonrefundable deposit will be required.

Music and Fireworks

    Just a bit south along the harbor, the Harbor Bistro, another restaurant facing a marina on Three Mile Harbor Road, will open for dinner at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and have live music by Paul Gene and Michael Pour, along with a champagne bar, on its lawn overlooking the water from 6 to 9 p.m., before the fireworks show. Complimentary beverages will be served outdoors for children.

    The bistro is taking reservations for two-hour dinner seatings on Saturday night.

Spring Close

    Spring Close restaurant in East Hampton is serving lunch on Fridays through Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner service at the restaurant begins at 4 p.m. in the dining room or at the bar. Service continues until 10 on Sunday through Wednesday nights, and later on Thursdays through Sundays to accommodate late-night diners.

    The pizza oven is still turning out wood-fired pies.

Surf Movie Sundays

    The Backyard Restaurant at Solé East motel in Montauk is screening surf movies each Sunday through August, and will offer a pre-screening all-you-can eat barbecue at 7 p.m. for $25 per person, which includes a complimentary glass of beer or wine. Admission to the movies, shown outdoors at dark, is free. The film on Sunday will be “Single Fin Yellow.”

Chefs and Champagne

    The James Beard Foundation’s annual Chefs and Champagne event will be held on Saturday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. Among the East End chefs who will be cooking are Gretchen Menser of Fresno in East Hampton and Larry Kolar of the Backyard Restaurant. The event will include a silent auction to raise funds for the foundation’s educational and leadership awards programs.

    Reservations are $200 for James Beard Foundation members and $275 for nonmembers, which includes tastings. V.I.P. admission, which begins at 5 p.m., is $375 and includes a pre-event reception, silent auction preview, after-party, and reserved seating. Reservations can be made online at jamesbeard.org/chefsandchampagne.

Amagansett Market

    The Route 27 farmers market in Amagansett, which takes place on Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 6, has moved from the American Legion property to a new location. The market can now be found on the lawn of Miss Amelia’s Cottage, at the corner of Windmill Lane and Amagansett’s Main Street, just at the edge of the hamlet center.

    Vendors selling local vegetables, baked goods, prepared foods, and cheeses each week include the Blue Duck Bakery, Gula Gula Empanadas, Open Minded Organics, Anke’s Fit Bakery, and Regina’s Farm Stand.

Chefs Dinner

    Another annual culinary event, the Chefs Dinner at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, is coming soon. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. on July 28, the event will include a two-hour cocktail party, with hors d’oeuvres prepared by chefs from both Manhattan and local restaurants, including Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, James Carpenter of the Living Room, Bryan Futerman of Foody’s, and Jason Weiner of Almond.

    A wine dinner will follow, featuring a four-course meal prepared by a select few of the participating chefs, with wines chosen by Aldo Sohm, Le Bernardin’s sommelier. Dessert will feature a sneak preview taste of a sweet from Ina Garten’s forthcoming cookbook, “Foolproof.” There will be a live auction following the dinner.

    Tickets for the cocktail party alone are $150. Tickets for cocktails and the dinner are $750, or $1,500 and up for V.I.P. tables. Tickets for children, at $35, include a kids dinner and child care by Hayground Camp counselors.

    Reservations can be made online at greatchefsdinner.com. The event raises money for the school’s Jeff’s Kitchen and the Jeff Salaway Scholarship fund, both tributes to the late school founder.

East End Chefs

    An East End Chefs event with Arthur Wolf, the chef at Howlin’ Wolf restaurant in East Hampton, has been postponed a week, and will take place on Wednesday. Starting at 6:30 p.m.  at the Whalers Church in Sag Harbor, Mr. Wolf will prepare a meal featuring “cowgirl quesadillas” with caramelized onions, guacamole and mango salsa, organic salad and cornbread, pulled-pork sliders with coleslaw, and, for dessert, Valhrona chocolate marble swirl brownies.

    The cost is $30, and includes wine. Reservations can be made by calling the church.

   There are a few basic rules if you want to go into business: Pick something that people want or need, with a strong track record (7,000 years is good), and with an immediate following willing to serve as your guinea pig/test pilots.

    The latter precludes the funeral business, which leaves only beer.

    Vaughn Cutillo, a Montauk native, and his partners, Joseph Sullivan and Eric Moss, graduated from East Hampton High School together. They all served as town lifeguards and went on to graduate from Villanova University, the University of Colorado, and Hamilton College respectively. 

    During those formative years, they sampled and grew to appreciate beer — how, for instance, it could have been responsible, along with bread, for humankind’s plunge into technology. Without being fully aware of it, they may have channeled Ninkasi, patron saint of beer. Her 4,000-year-old recipe for barley beer was found written on a stone tablet in Mesopotamia. Back then, beer was consumed through straws from a communal bowl. Why not?

    Last week, the Montauk Brewing Company opened the front door to a little red barn-like building off Edgemere Street across from the Montauk Movie Theater, and immediately began attracting beer lovers.

    On Sunday in the barn’s gallery tap room, all three of the company’s founders stood behind the copper-topped bar taking turns drawing their Driftwood Summer Ale into glass-jug growlers, the late-afternoon sun igniting the brew’s rich amber tones.

    The gallery is located on the north end of the building. Pilot brewing takes place in the back alongside Mr. Cutillo’s father’s woodworking shop. “We’re doing the test-batching in Montauk, then we use other facilities. We’re brewing in Cooperstown [N.Y.], where we rent a part of a brewery. Within a year we will turn the whole [barn] building into a brewery,” Mr. Cutillo said.

    He said he’d always wanted to do something entrepreneurial in Montauk. Three years ago, Mr. Sullivan approached him with a dream of his own. “We thought the timing was right in Montauk. We ran with it. Eric went to the University of Colorado at Boulder. Brewing is huge out there, and he had a roommate that did it for years. Eric is our brewmaster, designs the beer. He has a real creative streak. We are learning by doing.”

    The business was incorporated in 2009, and the testing continued. The nascent brewery now has over 50 recipes that “we are tweaking constantly.”

    The Driftwood Summer Ale, the company’s initial offering, has gotten a rave reception, and is flowing well in Montauk. Beer connoisseurs can find it on tap at the Harvest and Crow’s Nest restaurants, Ruschmeyer’s, West Lake Clam and Chowder House, the Sloppy Tuna, and the restaurant known as South Edison.

    “We started doing tastings at my house,” Mr. Cutillo said, “small batches with a good input from friends who like to drink beer. Eric doesn’t get outwardly excited. He measures things on his own terms. Then, one day about a year ago, he said ‘I put this together. We got it.’ ” The Driftwood Ale was born.

    Mr. Cutillo said he and his partners had thought hard to come up with the right name. “We wanted to call it something with deep meaning in Montauk. We thought Driftwood Ale, with a piece of driftwood from Navy Road for a tap handle.”

    There are other brews in the pipe, so to speak. A porter is in the design phase, as well as a bitter, “an American bitter,” Mr. Cutillo was quick to add. “It won’t have an overpowering hoppiness, not a punch-in-the-face bitter, more of an Americanized use of hops.”

    A wheat brew is also coming, perhaps by the middle of next month. All the brews will have a Montauk theme, with good salty names that cannot be mentioned until the branding paperwork is done. “We’re not trying to rush this,” Mr. Cutillo said. “It’s young. We want to figure it out.”

    A visitor asked how the brewery founders rated their first creation’s reception, although the amber growlers, the way they were exiting the shop, spoke for themselves.

    “We’re thrilled,” Mr. Cutillo said on Monday. “We thought it would be popular, but we didn’t expect this. We’ve had great support from the town, Montauk’s so supportive. Everyone’s trying to get a keg of Driftwood.”

St. Luke’s Favorites

    Ellen White, formerly the executive chef at the Silver Palate gourmet store in Manhattan, will lead a team of cooks at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton on Monday as they prepare frozen, to-go entrees from recipes in a new church cookbook called “Favorites of St. Luke’s.”

    The group will cook up Bonac clam chowder, carrot-ginger soup, chicken pot pie, turkey chili, clam pie, and “Jonda’s Meatloaf,” a recipe that appeared in a 1948 St. Peter’s Chapel cookbook. The chapel is a summer adjunct of St. Luke’s in Springs.

    The meals and the cookbooks will be sold at the church’s annual summer lawn fair on Aug. 4. A grant from a parishioner will allow a portion of the proceeds from the entrees to be used to support Maureen’s Haven, an East End homeless shelter. Shelter residents will get to taste some of the cookbook dishes when church volunteers prepare meals for them in the fall.

Pepa Gourmet

    Pepalejefa, a new gourmet takeout shop, has opened on Sag Harbor’s Main Street. The shop has an international take and is named for a nickname once given a Spanish restaurant owner by Livia Hegner, the store’s owner.

    Ms. Hegner has put together fare based on her travels, family recipes, and European flavors and techniques. Offerings include hot and cold sandwiches, hot and cold soups (including an Andalusian-style gazpacho), salads, and entrees such as stuffed crepes, Moroccan chicken legs, and seafood lasagna. Desserts are available as well, as are light breakfast items. Packaged house-made dressings, spice rubs, and seasonings are also in stock.

    The shop is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

At Shiki

    Shiki, a Japanese restaurant on Montauk Highway in East Hampton, is now open for lunch from Thursday through Sunday. Service can be indoors or alfresco on the patio, and specials are offered for $12 each day, with two-for-one sushi rolls available daily.

    On Sunday nights, Shiki adds a two-for-one deal on sushi by the piece. Another special is a regular roll and a beer for $10. Happy hour takes place daily from 5 to 8 p.m., with half-price specialty drinks and house sake. Takeout is available.

Bites at the Bar

    The Plaza Cafe in Southampton is a new destination for those looking for a little nosh and a drink. A bar menu is offered Monday through Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m., on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and again in the evening from 5:30 to 10.

    The menu includes grilled seafood taco, tuna sliders, spicy rock shrimp tempura served with an edamame purée, lobster rolls, mussels, grilled pizza, and a vegetable plate.

Java Nation

    Java Nation, the popular coffee roastery and shop that relocated recently from Sag Harbor to Bridgehampton, is up and running in its new spot on Maple Lane. The cafe is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for coffee, pastries, and other beverages and snacks.

Chefs Dinner

    The skills of both metropolitan and local chefs will be on display at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton on Saturday during the school’s annual chefs’ dinner, a fund-raiser for a school kitchen and scholarship fund.

    Among the participants cooking are Eric Ripert, Josh Capon, Amanda ­Freitag, Doug Gulija, Arthur Wolf, and Claudia Fleming. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a two-hour cocktail party featuring hors d’oeuvres made by the entire lineup of chefs, for which tickets cost $150.

    Afterward, $750 tickets will include a V.I.P. sit-down wine dinner with a four-course meal prepared by a select few of the chefs, with wines chosen by Aldo Sohm, a sommelier at Le Bernardin. Additional information can be found online at greatchefsdinner.com.

London-Inspired Cocktail

    In honor of the 2012 Olympics, Navy Beach restaurant in Montauk will feature the “Mount Olympus” cocktail from tomorrow through Aug. 12. Described as “heavily influenced” by concoctions offered during the 1948 Games in London, it incorporates Hennessy, Grand Marnier, Lillet Blanc, and fresh lime juice.

Homegrown Cookbook

    Leann Lavin, the author of “The Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook,” will sign copies of her book at the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. The book features local restaurants and farms.

   If you are like 99 percent of the population out here in the summertime, you are probably grilling and barbecuing many of your meals.

    We have already covered the gas versus charcoal debate in this column, but have never discussed the importance of marinades. Marinades can make the difference between an okay piece of meat and a tender, flavorful one. Marinades can make a cheaper cut more palatable and interesting. Anybody can throw an unseasoned rib-eye steak on the barby and it will be delicious. But to take an inexpensive skirt or flank steak that has been bathing in soy sauce, garlic, and ginger for 24 hours, then quickly sear it and slice it against the grain, that is creative and practical. Of course, marinades aren’t just for meat; fish and vegetables can benefit from some additional flavor infusion, too.

    Marinades serve multiple purposes. Centuries ago marinades were often used after meats or fish were cooked. The acid properties act as a preservative. For tougher cuts, marinades act as a tenderizer, for vegetables and fish they are simply a flavor enhancer.

    Basically, an oily marinade will give lean, dry meat the fat needed to make it more appetizing and an acid liquid will tenderize. Marinating small fish in lemon or lime juice will achieve the same effects as cooking. Salt and other flavorings have a preservative effect.

    It is important to remember that if tenderizing and flavoring are your goal (such as with a butterflied leg of lamb), overnight marinating is suggested. For fish, just an hour will do. It is also essential to never put the cooked meat or fish back into the bowl or platter that contained marinade unless it has been washed. Additionally, if you wish to use some of the marinade as a sauce after cooking with it, it must be boiled for at least five minutes. If you’re a nervous Nelly, simply make an extra batch of the marinade to serve alongside.

    In Western cooking, marinades date back to the Renaissance when people would marinate meats and seafood in vinegar and spices both to preserve and flavor them. In the days before refrigeration the food was cooked first, then a marinade was poured over. Koreans have been marinating beef in soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and sesame oil since the 1500s. The Spanish introduced escabeche, a vinegar-based sauce, to Latin America in the 16th century. In Brazil and Argentina meats were often just salted and grilled, then enhanced with sauce at the table.

    Marinades can be tailored to suit whatever you are cooking. The acid, or tenderizing component, needn’t be just vinegar or citrus juice. Wines, buttermilk, yogurt, and even other fruit juices such as pineapple or kiwi work well. You can use olive oil (no need for an expensive one) or any other neutral oil. For a Tuscan-style marinade add red wine, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, onion, and orange rind. For Indian style tandoori chicken, mix some cumin, cardamom, garlic, and ginger into yogurt. For vegetables on the grill, some milder herbs such as chives and basil will enhance the flavor.

    The ideal container for marination is a big Ziploc bag, as this ensures that all surfaces of the meat are covered. Otherwise, any non-reactive bowl or dish will do. Be sure to cover and refrigerate whatever you are marinating.

    If you are short on time, bottled dressings make an easy marinade. Years ago, Wishbone Italian dressing was the go-to for barbecued chicken. There are also some decent bottled marinades, such as SoyVay, with the best product name ever!

    If being outside while you cook with no pots or pans to wash afterward isn’t enough to convince you, then this factoid could encourage you to get marinating and grilling. According to the National Cancer Institute, marinating food before barbecuing significantly reduces the levels of carcinogens. Or to get really technical, the acids in marinades reduce the heterocyclic aromatic amines.

    Here are some recipes to inspire you, including one from The Star’s very own Russell Drumm, the Barbecue King.

Click for recipes

Danny and Barbara’s Best Trout Recipe

    This recipe is an example of the marinade being added after the food is cooked. The original recipe, from my friend Daniel Zwerdling, suggests letting the fish sit at room temperature for four to six hours, then refrigerating for three to four days. I do neither. I serve the fish a few hours after preparation. It is a lovely first course.

    Serves six.

6 trout fillets

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup flour

2 Tbsp. yellow onion, chopped

1 cup dry white Vermouth

1/2 cup orange juice

2 Tbsp. grated orange zest

Juice of one lemon

1 tsp. salt

6 twists of black pepper

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Orange slices for garnish

    Heat oil over medium heat. Dredge trout in flour. Brown well on each side, cooking about three minutes per side.

    Put fish in deep dish in single layer. With leftover oil in skillet, sauté onion until golden. Add Vermouth and zest, boil for about 20 seconds. Add orange juice, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Let bubble and boil about another 30 seconds. Add parsley, then pour over fish. Let marinate a few hours before serving, or serve the next day.

Molasses Pepper Tenderloin

    This is my favorite way to prepare (splurge!) beef tenderloin.

        Serves six.

1 beef tenderloin, about 3 lbs.

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 cup molasses

3 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

    Combine beef with marinade ingredients and keep in refrigerator overnight. When ready to grill, take meat out of refrigerator one hour before cooking.

    Prepare grill. Sear meat on all sides over hot coals, then move to cooler side, open vents, and close grill lid. Be careful during the searing part, as the sugary molasses will want to burn, burn, burn. Continue to cook about 15 to 20 minutes for rare meat (120 degrees) or about 20 to 25 minutes for medium rare (125 degrees).

Sticky Orange and Chipotle Glazed Sweet Potatoes

    This recipe is adapted from one of my favorites, Douglas Rodriguez’s “Latin Flavors on the Grill.”

    He recommends this with barbecued chicken.

    Serves six.

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 tsp. salt

1 5-oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3 Tbsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotles in adobo)

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

    Boil sweet potato slices in salted water for four to five minutes, until partially cooked. Immediately drain and plunge into ice water to stop cooking. Drain again.

    In small sauce pan over low heat, combine orange juice concentrate, butter, chipotle sauce, and one teaspoon salt and stir until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

    Spread some glaze on each potato slice.

    Prepare medium fire in the grill with coals piled on one side, or with only one side of gas grill fired up.

    Arrange the slices on the hot grate opposite the heat source. Grill the slices for two to three minutes on each side, occasionally brushing with more glaze. With tongs or spatula, carefully transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Drumm’s Garlic Ginger Soy Marinade

    Rusty, The Star’s fishing columnist, among other things, relies on soy sauce as a base ingredient in fish marinades because of its salt content “and the flavor that seems to bring out, but not hide the inherent flavor of the fish in question, whether it’s baked on the bone, filleted, or grilled,” he said.

    This marinade is especially good with black sea bass, porgies, and bluefish. With striped bass, which Mr. Drumm describes as “a pretty fish with white flaky flesh” that’s “not much in the flavor department,” he recommends adding “a bit of fire in the form of a half-teaspoon of hot sauce or a dash of cayenne.”

    Marinates a couple of six to eight-inch long fillets.

3/4 cup soy sauce

1 minced garlic clove

1 Tbsp. lemon or orange juice or 1/2 tsp. zest

1 tsp. shredded ginger

Cait’s Baked

    Caitlin Baringer, who grew up in East Hampton baking with her mother, Jane Baringer, has returned to her hometown from California to establish Cait’s Baked, a baked goods business.

    Ms. Baringer is baking for Sam and Hillary Lester’s Pantigo Farm Co. stand, on Skimhampton Road at Montauk Highway in East Hampton. Available are seasonal fruit pies, carrot loaves served with coconut cream cheese frosting on the side, chocolate chip coconut cookies, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter and jelly cookies, and snicker doodles made with gluten and dairy-free ingredients. The Maidstone Club in East Hampton is offering Cait’s Baked whole wheat blueberry muffins at its weekend brunch, and some of Ms. Baringer’s desserts at its Saturday night buffets. She will also bake particular treats upon request, and can be reached at [email protected], and sometimes found at the farm stand.

Karen Lee’s Classes

    Another August brings Karen Lee, a well-known Manhattan-based caterer, cookbook author, and cooking teacher, to Amagansett for cooking classes presented at a private residence. The first will take place Wednesday, with others scheduled for Aug. 22 and 29. Each will center on the theme of “cook for taste, eat for health,” using ingredients that are organic and/or local.

    Participants in the initial session, on Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m., will learn how to prepare grilled local striped bass with roasted pepper sauce, grilled split organic chicken with fresh and dry herbs, quinoa pilaf, hand-rolled Linzer apricot cookies, and a seasonal surprise.

    The cost is $115 per person, and students may bring their own wine. Class size is limited to 12. More information on Ms. Lee is available at karenleecooking.com, and registration can be accomplished online at foodnow@ rcn.com.

Simply Sublime

    Simply Sublime, a health food store selling salads, smoothies, fresh juice, baked goods, coffee, and other natural foods, including vegan and gluten-free choices, has opened at 85 Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton. It is owned by three sisters from Montauk, Juliette and Jeannine Logie and Alison Burke. The store is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shop has a small yoga studio attached to it, where the sisters plan to offer community wellness programs.

Food Truck Derby

    Edible East End magazine and the Hayground School in Bridgehampton will sponsor the Great Food Truck Derby at the school grounds on Friday, Aug. 10, from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

     Local food trucks that will be on hand include Hayground School Pizza, Montaco, Hampton Coffee, Hamptons Foodie, Hampton Beach Cupcake, Silver Spoon Specialties, and Sweet ’Tauk. From Manhattan, there will be Rickshaw Dumplings, Food Freaks, Morris Grilled Cheese, La Bella Torte, and Hibachi Heaven. Food trucks rolling over from the North Fork will include Rolling in Dough from Greenport, and the Wandering Palate from Mattituck.

    Beer from the Brooklyn Brewery and the Southampton Publick House will be served along with wines from Wolffer Estate, Duck Walk, and Pindar Vineyards, and soft drinks including Zico coconut water, Apollonaris water, and Carpe Diem Kombucha.

    Tickets are $40 or $50 for adults, and $20 for kids 12 and under. They include one serving at every food truck for grown-ups, or a total of five for kids, and all the beverages you can drink, and may be ordered online at ediblemanhattan.com.

Osteria Salina Lunch

    Osteria Salina, at 95 School Street in Bridgehampton, is now serving lunch daily from noon to 3 p.m. Among the menu items are salads, mussels with herbs, garlic, white wine, and tomato, meatballs and sauce, fritto misto, with shrimp, squid, and zucchini, pasta dishes, pannini sandwiches, burgers, and more.

Chowder at Rick’s

    This week at Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe in Montauk, East Hampton Star readers will get a cup of New England or Manhattan clam chowder when they order the cafe’s lobster bake, which includes a lobster along with steamed mussels, clams, shrimp, and steamers, plus a baked potato and homemade coleslaw. Also this week, a menu special is fried whole-belly clams. For dessert, Rick’s serves traditional s’mores by the fire pit, along with a new  twist, peanut butter cup s’mores.

Cheese Choice

    Lucy’s Whey cheese shop in East Hampton will assist with entertaining by providing cheese plates made to serve parties of from 6 to 8 people, or larger gatherings of 10 to a dozen. Included will be a selection of three cheeses, totaling either 1 or 2 pounds, plus crackers, jam, and, on the larger plate, salami.

    Orders, which cost $75 or $95, must be placed by noon on Thursday for pickup on Fridays.

How to Fillet a Fish

    A sushi chef from Sen restaurant in Sag Harbor will demonstrate how to cut up a whole fish at 11 a.m. on Saturday during the Sag Harbor Farmers Market on Bay Street. Sauces from the restaurant will be on hand, so that sashimi-style bites of the fish may be served.

New at Cafe Max

    Two new menu items at Cafe Max have become so popular that they are now permanent additions. Tender Texas-style baby back ribs with barbecue sauce are served with coleslaw and fries, and a low-carb cheeseburger, tallying up at 32 or 33 carbs, is served with sweet potato fries, a low-carb bun, and coleslaw made with lower-fat mayonnaise and Splenda instead of sugar.

   Smokin’ Wolf

221 Pantigo Road

East Hampton

324-7166

Monday to Friday from 5 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday from noon

    So first, a little background. Turtle Crossing, which for years served up delicious Southwestern barbecue and other cowpoke grub, was transformed a few years ago into Turtle Crossing American Bistro. Gone were the cornball signs and signature dishes. Gone too, were the fans of the original. The owner, Stanley Singer, then sold the restaurant to his longtime chef, Arthur Wolf, who this season has reopened the space as Smokin’ Wolf.

    Some of the American Bistro interior renovations remain, large comfortable red Naugahyde booths, hanging light fixtures with big black shades, and nice wood plank floors. Some smoky mirrors have been added and the bar is bigger and prettier with a copper-topped surface. The only remaining kitschy elements are a startlingly ugly cement bulldog wearing a cowboy hat at the entrance and some suede chaps hanging on a hook by the door, as if Rusty and Slim just stopped by after ropin’ some city slickers.

    We began our meal with the hushpuppies, arugula salad, and the barbecued pulled duck quesadilla. The hushpuppies, 10 huge ones, were served with a chipotle mayonnaise and they were delicious. Crunchy cornmeal on the outside, moist with cheese and scallions on the inside. The arugula salad was lighter and more sophisticated than one would expect from a barbecue joint. The baby arugula leaves were mixed with slivers of endive and radicchio and bits of roasted cherry tomatoes. They kindly substituted goat cheese for the gorgonzola, which went very nicely with the simple vinaigrette.

    The barbecued pulled duck quesadilla is one of the returning stars from the old Turtle Crossing and it has always been one of my favorites, almost like Peking duck in a flour tortilla. It is filled with smoked duck meat, sautéed mushrooms, and what tastes like a bit of hoisin sauce, adding a touch of sweetness.

    For entrees we ordered the Six Gun loaded baked potato, fish tacos, and combination meat platter with one rib added. The Six Gun potato was loaded indeed. It was filled with chopped brisket, perfectly seasoned, melted cheddar cheese, sour cream, barbecue sauce, and scallions. The fish tacos were just right, crisped cod with a judicious amount of tangy crema topped with shredded purple cabbage and julienned carrots. Served alongside was a bowl of yellow rice, appropriately bland, and some outstanding black beans. They were spicy, smoky with bits of meat and a hint of oregano.

    Everything on the combination barbecue meat platter was delicious. You can get from two to five choices. We went for three meats, brisket, chicken, and pork, with one rib and two sides, coleslaw and baked beans. All of the meats were tender and smoky. The cornbread served with it, also reminiscent of the original served at Turtle Crossing, was sweet and moist and dense, and the coleslaw was really, really, really good.

    Perhaps this would be a good time to point out that Smokin’ Wolf offers many healthy options for those who may not go for the meaty, fried, and cheesy selections that dominate the menu. There are Satur Farms salads, veggie burgers with black beans and sweet potatoes, grilled salmon, pan roasted fish with spinach and quinoa, along with plenty of attractive sounding vegetables sides.

    Smokin’ Wolf was very busy on the night of our visit and, as we went on the early side, it was filled with families with small children. The service was excellent and efficient, mostly young staffers who were well trained, busing tables, refilling water glasses, and keeping things moving along. Prices at Smokin’ Wolf are moderate, possibly even more reasonable than Turtle Crossing’s were. Appetizers, quesadillas, and salads are $5 to $15, sandwiches, barbecue platters, and entrees are $14 to $34, sides are $7, and desserts are $8. I guarantee you will get enough food to need a doggy bag for leftovers.

    For desserts we tried the key lime pie, “cup of mud,” and fruit crisp. They were good, but perhaps not as good as everything else on the menu. The key lime pie was nice, had a good graham cracker crust, and the filling was dotted with lime zest, a nice addition for extra limey flavor. The cup of mud was hilarious, a layer of crumbled Oreos was topped with chocolate mousse, whip­ped cream, and warm fudge sauce. The fruit crisp was made with apples, which seems more appropriate for fall and winter, not summer when it could be composed with mixed berries or peaches. It was good nonetheless, with a nicely seasoned filling and crunchy streusel topping.

    The loss of Turtle Crossing was sad, the arrival of American Bistro a mistake. The new incarnation is most welcome. Congratulations, Mr. Wolf, your place is smokin’!