Specialty Of The House: Cafe On Main, Amagansett

Ted Kopoulos, the chef and owner of the Cafe on Main in Amagansett, has come a long way since arriving from his native Greece on the South Fork 24 years ago. So far, in fact, that he barely considers himself Greek anymore.

As a newly arrived 17-year-old he washed dishes at Bridgehampton's Candy Kitchen, then made his way around the restaurant map here as a dishwasher, cook, chef, and as a waiter at the Palm in East Hampton, where he worked for nine years.

"I happen to like people," he said, explaining what's kept him in the business all these years. And people, it seems, happen to like him too.

Sitting in the dining room of his own restaurant on a blustery afternoon last week, it was clear that Mr. Kopoulos was in his element.

The fact that he and his wife, Laura, opened the cafe just this spring seemed incidental. Most of the customers who passed through greeted him by name, as if they'd been going there for years.

Transforming the space from a neighborhood pizzeria and deli to a comfortable cafe has been a labor of love for the Kopouloses. "I'm already a winner," Mr. Kopoulos said, after his wife left to pick up their children at school. "It's been a dream come true."

With a great deal of optimism and some of the skills Mr. Kopoulos had learned as a part-time carpenter, the couple renovated the space themselves in two and a half months. And, when the restaurant opened, it almost had a built-in set of regulars.

Waiting tables at the Palm, Mr. Kopoulos never let on that he had experience as a chef, so few realized that the knowledgeable server who offered sound advice about the menu had been on the other side of the kitchen doors at over half a dozen restaurants.

These included the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, where, under a French chef, his actual culinary training began, and at Chez Labbat and the Lighthouse in East Hampton, and the Sugar Plum and Cato's in Bridgehampton.

He didn't come to the United States with a suitcase full of recipes; instead, Mr. Kopoulos learned everything he knows about cooking in the United States, though it was a stateside taste of European food that ignited his interest. Sampling French food "brought back this taste, this European flavor," he recalled.

Now he experiments with different cuisines, combining what he likes best from French, Italian, American, and, yes, even Greek food. C.K.

Hunter Style Chicken

Serves four to six.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. breast of chicken

Flour

Mushrooms

Artichoke hearts

1/4 lb. cooked crispy bacon, strained and cut into cubes

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

Fresh ground pepper

Salt

1 can peeled tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

Vegetable oil

Method:

Cut chicken breast into one-inch strips and roll in flour.

Coat a large saucepan with vegetable oil and preheat over an open flame. Saute the chicken strips in the hot oil until golden brown. Add artichoke hearts, cooked bacon, sliced mushrooms, and chopped garlic, using additional oil if necessary. Add the wine, then the basil, parsley, pepper, salt, and peeled tomatoes.

Simmer for 10 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.

Serve over pasta, rice, or roasted potatoes.