Food

New eateries, more outside dining options, a brunch box for delivery, and more

"The Hamptons Kitchen" is one of the best representative regional cookbooks you could hope to find and use and give. Fatalis fatum, the decision is final.

Restaurants are allowed to welcome guests indoors now that Long Island has entered phase three of reopening as of Wednesday, but because of safety concerns, several East End eateries are opting to stick with outdoor dining and takeout instead.

A caterer's food store comes to East Hampton, lots of outdoor dining options, what's going on in Southampton, and more.

Dark cuisine comes from "Chuuka Ichiban" or "China's Number One," a 1990s Japanese manga by Etsushi Ogawa about a boy chef in 19th-century China who battles an underground crime syndicate called the Dark Cooking Society. The concept has occasionally veered into strange food combinations merely for shock value, but some are born of necessity and genuine creativity.

After getting permission for outdoor dining from state and local officials, East End restaurants are finding creative ways to make room for as many customers as possible this summer.

East Hampton Town is now accepting applications from restaurants and food stores to use public and private property for temporary outdoor dining.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ina Garten was already looking out for the welfare of her two million-plus Instagram followers. “Hunkering down at home with Jeffrey and a few overnight Belgian waffles for dinner,” she wrote under a photo of a fluffy, syrup-soaked waffle topped with bananas.

South Fork restaurants with existing outdoor spaces began welcoming guests on Wednesday, and those without were working with town and village governments to set up temporary open-air outposts.

In spite of a shady backyard and miserable soil in Sag Harbor, the chives and parsley return first. They can be snipped constantly to add to salads, roast birds, baked potatoes, any vegetable dish, egg salads, and grilled fish.

New openings, new specials and family meals for take out, and new vendors from the city are in the mix this week.

Restaurants can begin offering outdoor dining as part of phase two of the economic reopening, which will begin early next week, and municipalities will be given leeway to approve sidewalk and even street dining in order for businesses to meet state guidelines.