FOODIE
A Year Of Dining In Huntington
By The Foodies/ foodie@longislandernews.com

2009 was full of surprises for Huntington’s culinary world. We bid farewell to some old friends, said hello to a few new ones, and sought out some of the best deals in town. We also embarked on the Town’s first Restaurant Week to showcase all that the “Little Apple” has to offer. The result? A year of new adventures in the foodie business.

New Kids On The Block

Huntington welcomed several new restaurants to town this year, with Blond and Porto Vivo and La Bottega in Huntington village among the ranks.

Less than seven months old, Blond (335 Main St., Huntington 631-424-6300
www.blondrestaurant.com) boasts a New American menu incorporating strong flavors like wasabi, pesto and goat cheese masterfully used by Blond’s chefs. Approachable but sleek, the restaurant is warm and inviting, with carpeting, a fireplace, tables and fancy booths against walls of creams and wine colors.

The work of owner and executive chef Sam Nelovic and head chef Seth Sloan, our favorite dishes included yellow fin tuna tar-tar, served raw atop a crispy wonton square, and sautéed chicken breast Napoleon with vegetable ratatouille, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese and herb chicken demi.

And who can leave Blond without dessert? The fried Oreo shot stole our hearts, simply for the uniqueness of it. An Oreo cookie dipped in batter and fried, it is served atop a shot glass of milk. It’s small, it’s delicious, it’s $2 – it’s perfect.

Since opening at the end of August, Porto Vivo (7 Gerard St., Huntington 631-385-8486 www.porto-vivo.com) has established itself as a deserving contender on the Huntington hot list, with an Italian menu designed to give guests freedom of economic choice (entrees range from $14 to $48). Owned by Joy Mangano of Home Shopping Network fame and her Swiss-born, European-kitchen-trained son-in-law, Philipp Seipelt, the restaurant’s stunning, multi-level contemporary interior has made a former antiques warehouse inviting, and a host of celebrity sightings – from Billy Joel to Serena Williams to chef Todd English – have made for plenty of buzz.

At a “Chef’s Table” food and wine experience showcasing the kitchen’s creativity, executive chef Steven Lecchi and consulting chef John Doherty presented a warm, roasted butternut squash flan flavored with garlic and porcini mushroom theatrically served in an eggshell, and the star: a single Blue Point Oyster topped with an icy pomegranate granite. Coriander and orange dusted venison tenderloin and braised venison short ribs were delightful.

La Bottega (9 Wall St., Huntington 631-271-3540) boasts 68 panini, but that’s far from the whole show. Greenlawn’s Joe Quirke co-owns the Huntington location with his wife Phyllis, Raymond Polito and his wife Rose. Entrees, salads and pasta dishes are generous and tasty, making this a great stop.

Fine Dining

Café Buenos Aires (23 Wall St., Huntington 631-603-3600 www.cafe buenosaires.net) is where food and culture converge in an experience that can be described as exotic, delicious, unique and enticing. The face of the restaurant is Argentina-born Hugo Garcia, whom we like to call Huntington’s unofficial Argentinean ambassador.

With a glass of sangria in hand, we love the corn empanadas, grilled lobster and filet of anything inside a puffed pastry over risotto. The four-cheese fondue with bread and assorted meat skewers is definitely a dish to order at the bar with friends. A crepe filled with dulce de leche from Argentina served with bananas is a standout dessert.

La Spada (315 Walt Whitman Rd., Huntington Station 631-549-3033
www.laspadarestaurant.com) is not your typical Italian restaurant. With a portion of the menu dedicated to grilled specialties and an emphasis on “fresh and simple,” the restaurant caters to those seeking a high-end Italian dining experience.

Owned by Joe Tamburello, of East Northport, and his partner, chef Emilio Valle, the restaurant’s stars include bruschetta, Arrosticini - grilled lamb shiskabobs – and a pork chop topped with spinach and gorgonzola.

Recession Busters

Five Guys Burgers and Fries (350 Rte. 110, Huntington Station 631-271-4144 www.fiveguys.com) brings big juicy burgers to town in a jiffy. The portions are ample and affordable, and despite your good intentions to have “just one” fry, it ain’t happening. A regular burger ($4.39 - $5.79) comes with two patties sandwiched between a roll with all the fixings your little heart desires; if it’s one patty you’re craving, ask for a “little” burger ($3.29 - $4.29.) We go for a regular cheeseburger with grilled onions, mushrooms and barbecue sauce. The fries are crispy, salty and savory while keeping that all-important potato flavor in the skin-on morsels.

We also enjoy Faz’s Tex-Mex Grill’s (38 Gerard St., Huntington 631-271-4333 www.faztexmex.com) sizable Tex-Mex pizzas, and Northport Feed and Grain’s (73 Main St., Northport Village, 631-651-2684 http://feedandgrainnorthport.com) promise of a good meal at a good price, the $14.95 lobster and mussels special and the Feed & Grain Burger.

Old Favorites

Jonathan’s (15 Wall St., Huntington 631-549-0055 www.jonathansristorante. com) will always be one of our favorite places. We revisited the restaurant many times this year to enjoy owner Roberto Oronato and executive chef Tito Onofre’s masterpieces.
As the “ristorante” in the name implies, the 15-year-old restaurant’s menu is rooted in Italian cuisine. Our “must order” is the Fritto di carciofini – tender baby artichokes sautéed in basil oil. Stars among the entrees include the Risotto ai Funghi, a delicate preparation of Italian Arborio rice balanced with earthy mushrooms and truffle oil; Salmon con Favetta, a hunk of gamey-tasting Scottish salmon atop a pile of favetta, escarole and lemon citronette; and Capesante e Carciofini, a trio of seared jumbo scallops with those sautéed baby artichokes and string beans.

At Bravo Nader (9 Union Place, Huntington 631-3351-1200 www.bravo nader.com), chef / owner Nader Gebrin’s idea of a great meal is to catch a fish in the morning and cook it for dinner that same day. It happens often enough and when it isn’t Gebrin hooking the fish, it’s one of his network of local fishermen. As far as we’re concerned, fish, pigs, beef, even lowly vegetables, can consider it an honor to pass through the kitchen at Bravo Nader. The pork chops that started his career are still stars on the menu. The crab cake is a generous patty of fresh crab meat with a crisp – baked, not fried – coating and served on a bed – or it is bath – of fresh tomato, corn and vegetable compote. A hearty lamb shank is expertly spiced and cooked to falling-off-the-bone tenderness, while a classic seafood fra diavlolo over angel hair pasta offers the fruits of the seas in there finest form.

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