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Best Hamptons Eateries
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BY BETH LANDMAN KEIL AND STEVEN GAINES |
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 1.
New Paradise Cafe
Robert Durkin of Robert’s in Water Mill has jettisoned the Asian accents,
added the word New to the name, and introduced a New American menu.
• 126 Main Street, Sag Harbor; 631-725-6080. Appetizers start
at $7.50, entrées start at $22.
2. Jean-Luc
What was Peconic Coast is now Jean-Luc, he of the eponymous restaurant
on West 84th. “A little less French, a little more American,” he
murmurs diplomatically.
• 103 Montauk Highway, East Hampton; 631-324-1100.
3. Jimmy Farrell's
If you can’t stand the wait at the Palm on Sundays, you can still
break up your trip home by stopping at this new steakhouse. And
ask for the oxtail marmalade.
• 62 Montauk Highway, Westhampton; 631-288-5700. Appetizers
start at $8, entrées start at $21.
4. Witch's Rock
The Hamptons’ first Costa Rican spot! Named—and why not?—after a
Central American surfer’s break. Sirloin with rice and beans just
$16—vaya, por fin!
• 450 County Road 39, Southampton; 631-259-8999. Appetizers
start at $7.50, entrées start at $18.
5. Gianni's
Farewell, Caswell’s; hello, Gianni’s, a well-priced southern Italian
place a mere gnoccho from the ocean. Look for Far East Enders Peter
Beard and Ralph Lauren.
• 17 South Edison Street, Montauk; 631-668-0303. Appetizers
start at $6, entrées start at $12.50.
6. Napeague Stretch
Langan’s John Mahon and Gunnar Myers of the Tenth Street Lounge
(wait, it’s still going?!?) have made the Inn at Napeague into a
beach lounge.
• 2095 Montauk Highway, Amagansett; 631-267-6980. Appetizers
start at $5, entrées start at $11.
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1.
Mirko's
Hidden away in a parking lot behind the post office
in Water Mill, this pleasantly formal establishment — now entering
its nineteenth season — is the best-kept secret on the East End.
The restaurant's fiercely loyal following of Southampton dreadnoughts
has no interest in venturing any farther east, where all those "new
people" live. And they don't have to. Chef Mirko Zagar's European-style
kitchen produces a wide selection of dishes, including Croatian stuffed
cabbage, mustard-seed-crusted rack of lamb, and an addictive dessert
of caramelized oranges with Grand Marnier sauce over vanilla ice cream.
• Water Mill Square, 670 Montauk Highway; 631-726-4444; www.mirkos.com.
Appetizers start at $12.50, entrées start at $22.
2. American Hotel
This legendary Sag Harbor restaurant is known to regular customers
as "Surly Manor," but you'll be just fine as long as you don't offend
the management with your manners, your cell phone, your short pants,
or the tone of your voice. Owner Ted Conklin's impeccable taste pervades
all, from the epic menu (foie gras, caviar, sushi, bison, and shellfish)
to the luxe setting, and he metes out restaurant justice with a velvet
fist ("I don't care if you're Steve Kroft, no T-shirts in the dining
room.").
• Main Street, Sag Harbor; 631-725-3535. Appetizers start
at $8, entrées start at $22.
3. Sunset Beach
This Shelter Island restaurant created by hotelier André
Balazs looks as if a tornado had lifted it — like Dorothy's house
in The Wizard of Oz — from its foundation in Ibiza and
deposited it whole on Crescent Beach, along with the live D.J. and
ambient-music mix. The crowd is tan, young, and pretty; the fare is
bistro (tasty fish, steak-frites, grilled vegetables); and the sunsets
across the bay are so perfect they look like special effects.
• 35 Shore Road at Crescent Beach, Shelter Island; 631-749-2001.
Appetizers start at $7, entrées at $19.
4. Star Room
Will the homos homogenize or will the Star Room in Wainscott
remain a gay and lesbian bastion? Two fairy godfathers, advertising
executive Scott Storbo and banker Scott Gray, bought the place in
February 2001 and waved their magic money wands: pouring on five coats
of paint, adding a wall of glass doors, and luring former Della Femina
chef Kevin Penner to invent a Southeast Asian menu that includes a
tangy langoustine appetizer and Penner's signature dish of pan-seared
halibut. The sold-out crowds so far include curious cognoscenti, gourmands
after Penner's handiwork, and a few middle-aged gay men.
• 378 Montauk Highway, Wainscott; 631-537-3332. Appetizers
start at $10, entrées at $26.
5. Tierra Mar
Two years ago, chef Todd Jacobs moved his six-year-old
operation from a more traditional setting on the Montauk Highway to
the Westhampton Bath & Tennis Hotel, a huge oceanfront wedding-and-bar
mitzvah ballroom with a glistening chandelier and seating for more
than 200. Jacobs made his bones working as a chef at the American
Hotel — and his wine list (with more than 600 labels) and his
varied and extensive menu (including local boneless flounder, Long
Island free-range duck, and ostrich) prove it.
• 231 Dune Road at the Westhampton Bath & Tennis Hotel;
631-288-2700; tierramar.com.
Appetizers start at $6, entrées at $25.
6. Nick & Toni's
Some people actually go to the East End's highest-profile
restaurant to watch the chefs artfully flip whole fish in the wood-burning
oven and enjoy Mediterranean dishes like fava-bean salad with fresh
pea shoots, micro-greens, and shaved Pecorino cheese, but most are
too busy ogling fellow diners like Steven Spielberg, Gwyneth Paltrow,
Tom Hanks, Melissa Etheridge, and Martha Stewart.
• 136 North Main Street, East Hampton; 631-324-3550. Appetizers
start at $9, entrées at $22.
7. red/bar
East Hampton residents' heading to Southampton for
a meal is like downtown people's going uptown for dinner — the
place has to be a powerful draw. This American brasserie is such a
magnet, and with its bentwood chairs, large windows, and candlelight,
it manages to be both romantic and social. The endive-and-watercress
salad with Stilton, fresh pears, and hazelnut vinaigrette and the
Maine salmon with truffled celery purée would actually be worth
a drive from the city if there weren't already a Red Bar there.
• 210 Hampton Road; 631-283-0704. Appetizers start at $7,
entrées $21.
8. The Plaza Cafe
This New American restaurant, tucked behind the Southampton
Cinema, may not be a scenester's destination, but the high-ceilinged
room, with its fireplace and fresh flowers, serves creatively prepared
fresh local fare like shepherd's pie with lobster and shrimp, and
sautéed striped bass with black-bean arugula salad, mango salsa,
and chipotle aïoli. Leave room for homemade desserts like chocolate-mocha
torte with cappuccino ice cream and chocolate sauce.
• 61 Hill Street, Southampton; 631-283-9323; plazawinedinners.com.
Appetizers start at $8, entrées at $19.
9. Pacific East
Don't despair as you see lobster and shiitake pancake
with champagne and kim-chi cream, Jakartan grilled filet mignon with
tamarind barbecue sauce, or honey-toasted-coconut baked Alaska being
whisked under your nose. Chef Michael Castino has also created a low-fat
seven-course tasting menu, which weighs in at less than 750 calories.
If you're seeking a quiet dining experience, you're better off skipping
Saturday night. The bar crowd gets so deep you can't appreciate the
dramatic room with its flowing white curtains.
• 415 Main Street, Amagansett; 631-267-7770. Appetizers start
at $7, entrées at $23.
10. Babette's
Sooner or later, everyone, including Bill Clinton
and Jerry Seinfeld, pops into this café, best known for its
organic breakfast selections like steamed, vegetable-stuffed egg-white
omelettes with turkey bacon and a side of steel-cut oatmeal, or French
toast with ribbons of cinnamon and real maple syrup. Babette's also
serves lunch (don't miss the smoked-tempeh burrito) and is surprisingly
cozy for dinner — when you won't have to wait 40 minutes in line
with the post-workout throngs, all sweaty and edgy with hunger.
• 66 Newtown Lane, East Hampton; 631-329-5377. Appetizers
start at $9.95, entrées at $18.95.
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