No Reservations? Get It Delivered

While urbanites are used to having food delivered to home or office, the practice has not been pervasive on the South Fork. For several years, however, two services have been catering to the edible delivery needs of summer residents. Far from ubiquitous Chinese takeout, however, these companies deal with luxury restaurants. They are bringing first-rate steaks from the Palm, langoustines from the wood-burning oven at Nick and Toni's, and spicy Tuscan seafood stew from Sapore di Mare to the door.

One such service is the Southampton-based A La Car. The other is the national Dial-A-Dinner, which even brings favorite foods from restaurants in the city to the summer retreats of Manhattanites in the Hamptons.

The owner of Dial-A-Dinner is David Blum of Manhattan and Montauk. He says Manhattan to the Hamptons deliveries account for 25 to 30 percent of his business here.

Usual Suspects

While visiting friends on the East End one summer, Mr. Blum recalled, the actor George Hamilton had his favorite eats from Arcadia, a Manhattan restaurant, flown in by Dial-A-Dinner. Yes, flown in, on a charter plane that landed at the East Hampton Town Airport.

"It went with a delivery person," said Mr. Blum. And more often than not, a Dial-A-Dinner delivery person is outfitted in a tuxedo.

The usual suspects - Billy Joel, Alec Baldwin, Ron Perelman - are regular customers, Mr. Blum said this week. But other notable deliveries have included one several years ago, when $3,500 of Petrossian caviar was brought out from Manhattan at the behest of Imelda Marcos, the wife of the late deposed Filipino president Ferdinand Marcos, during a brief East Hampton stay.

From The Big Apple

Its willingness to bring orders out from the Big Apple is among the things that make his business different, Mr. Blum said, though a somewhat sizable order is necessary. "It's amazing how many people order from the city, three hours away," he said. "You know what it is, people are used to special things they like."

Can't find a poached salmon comparable to that at La Cote Basque? Fear not, Dial-A-Dinner will bring the incomparable to you. Have to have one of those popular cakes from the Little Italy bakery Ferrara? With advance notice, no problem.

This is the sixth season for A La Car, owned by Alex Oliva, a self-described Manhattan transplant who has lived in Southampton for 30 years. He began his business, which delivers the food of 22 restaurants from Westhampton Beach east to Amagansett and Springs, when he craved such a delivery himself.

"Can Afford More"

"Why can't I call and have someone deliver food from my favorite restaurant?" was the question that got him thinking, Mr. Oliva said. "We're dealing with a consumer that's pleased we're bringing food to their home."

Though Mr. Oliva does not deliver food that comes from the city, he noted that his customers call him, often several days ahead, from Manhattan. Others call on their car phone, while traveling the Long Island Expressway on their way out.

"Can you have dinner there ready for me when I arrive?" Mr. Oliva said they ask.

In Mr. Oliva's words, many of the wealthier South Fork residents "can afford more of anything."

Both businessmen also agree, though, that, in Mr. Blum's words, "regular, everyday people order with us" as well. The cost of delivery for either service is 20 percent of the total bill, not including a tip.

The Restaurants

Both services share three common participating restaurants - Nick and Toni's, the Palm, and Sapore di Mare in East Hampton. Others that are listed in Dial-A-Dinner's brochure, which has offices in East Hampton and Southampton, are Della Femina and the James Lane Cafe in East Hampton, Caswell's and Gurney's Inn in Montauk, and Mirko's in Water Mill. Mr. Blum noted that his business will pick up at any restaurant if the customer asks.

A La Car's other participants are, in East Hampton, the Quiet Clam and the Annex; Citron, Serafina, Harbor Rose, and Chili Peppers in Sag Harbor; Bridgehampton's Razzano's and Sagaponack General Store and Cafe; Al Dente, Savanna's, 75 Main, the Porterhouse, La Parmigiana, Wings to Go, and Fletchers in Southampton; Giorgio in Hampton Bays, and Westhampton Beach's Tierra Mar, Sam's Hampton Square Cafe, and Baby Moon.

Pizza Boy

Mr. Blum started his business in Manhattan at the age of 17, a pizza delivery boy trying to raise money for his bills at the University of Miami. He takes pride in being "the first" to offer such a delivery service, which he began in the early 1980s.

Now Dial-A-Dinner offers its services from 5 to 10 p.m. seven nights a week year-round, though more advanced timing is required in the off-season, as well as for lunch and brunch orders.

A La Car is open for business seven nights a week, from 5 to 9:30 p.m., from approximately Memorial Day weekend to Christmas. Both businesses promise delivery within the hour, though, needless to say, a Dial-A-Dinner trip from Manhattan would require more time and planning.

Party Services

Along with meal orders, A La Car will bring its customers San Pellegrino water, LavAzza coffee, and cigars from the Cigar Bar in Sag Harbor.

Dial-A-Dinner, which also operates in Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., offers, according to Mr. Blum, not just home delivery but "more of a fine dining experience." It also will act as a caterer in helping to plan private parties and doing all the work involved, except cooking. Sunday brunch parties are particularly popular, Mr. Blum said this week.

And, who would want to do it themselves, especially when they can afford otherwise?