FOODIE
Three For Lunch In Huntington Village
By Pete & Mike/ foodie@longislandernews.com

Too often we see the word hectic associated with the holidays. The Foodies say the season is hectic only if you let it be. Sure, it’s easy to get caught in the go-go-go atmosphere of shopping, wrapping, planning meals and cleaning house. But somehow, the spirit of the season gets lost in all that activity. How about spending a little time with family and friends, and enjoying a wonderful meal in classy surroundings? Does that sound more like it?

Would you like it even more if the price of a top rate meal came in at close to $20 per person?

Head to downtown Huntington – for lunch!

The Foodies have discovered that lunchtime in the dining capital of Long Island offers an opportunity to experience what keeps some of the area’s top restaurants’ tables filled at the dinner hour, and for not much more than the price of a diner. The culinary stars that garner rave reviews in the dinner hour are behind the lunchtime offerings. Lunchtime entrees tend to be more casual, and often are right from the dinner menu at a scaled-down price. The atmosphere, the impeccable service, the overall experience, it’s otherwise all the same.

There’s no better way to spend an hour. With some of the island’s top dining spots, a trip to Huntington village will put you in walking distance of some top-rate meals.

JONATHAN’S RISTORANTE
We’re always in the mood for Jonathan’s Ristorante on Wall Street, where owner Roberto Ornato’s recent remodeling made a good thing even better. An atmosphere that’s both classy and comfortable, a menu that shows off a lifelong love of cooking, and a skillfully selected wine list have consistently earned Jonathan’s accolades, not the least of which came from the James Beard Foundation.

Ornato brings more than culinary skills to the table. His restaurant is refined, but not stuffy. There’s a comfort level learned at tables in his native Italy where food and family are inseparable. Lunchtime is a great time to celebrate both.

Regular diners will recognize much of the lunchtime menu. Roberto’s incomparable Calamari Fritti ($10) needs no introduction. Fresh Tuna Salad ($15) features seared Yellow fin tuna and over radicchio, bibb and avocado with a ginger/mango vinaigrette. Jonathan’s famous Crab Cakes Salad ($14) is a flavorful garden sampling – mesclun greens with grilled asparagus, grilled zucchini, Portobello mushroom and string beans – topped with Maryland Crab Cakes. Shrimp Kabob ($12) over a corn, radish and avocado salad is a marriage of flavors.

Tramezzone ($12) is a sophisticated treatment of Italian classic flavors with grilled organic chicken breast on fresh focaccia, with a pesto mayo, tomato and mozzarella.

We often opt for the salads. The classic Caesar ($8) is in capable hands at Jonathan’s.
Insalata Romana ($9) is a celebration of garden flavors –arugula, tomatoes, fennel, onions and cucumber – topped with shaved Parmigiano. Make either a meal with the addition of chicken ($13) or shrimp ($15).

Fresh pasta offerings include the Pumpkin Ravioli ($15) with butter and sage, Parmigiano and a magical Ameretto cookie dusting.

The lunchtime menu is extensive, and Roberto is eager to please, so don’t be shy.

Jonathan’s Ristorante: 15 Wall Street, Huntington • 631-549-0055
Lunch: Monday – Saturday, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

MAC’S STEAKHOUSE
When Mac’s put Huntington on the Island’s steakhouse map, the buzz around town was all about the $21 Kobe Beef burger. Well here’s a tip: lunchtime at Mac’s is everything the dinner experience is – world-class food, impeccable service and elegant surroundings. That Kobe Beef Chopped Steak ($17) is every bit as good as its dinnertime counterpart, and that goes for everything.

A destination restaurant, the word for Mac’s is impressive. It’s high-ceilinged interior is dramatic. On a recent visit, we were seated in a private glass-enclosed room adjacent to the restaurant’s well-stocked wine room. Available by reservation for parties of six or more, it’s worth scaring up a few friends for the experience.

Lunchtime appetizers include our favorite, Maine Lobster Roll ($16), Baked Clams ($8), the bolder Clams Casino ($9) and an elegant Shrimp Cocktail ($11).

Salads range from a Chopped Salad ($7) to Mac’s house salad ($10) with goat cheese and an intriguing hickory smoked bacon. The Caesar ($9) is with a Parmesan crisp and garlic croutons. Add chicken ($12) or shrimp ($15) for a meal.

The Sirloin Burger ($13) on a brioche roll is beef in competent hands, and the same can be said of the Strip Steak Sandwich ($16). Seafood entrees include Prawns ($19) in wine sauce over risotto; and Grilled Salmon ($19).

Of course, Mac’s is a steakhouse and their prime dry-aged cuts stand with the best.
Buttery Porterhouse ($37/pp served for 2-4); New York Strip ($38) the Cowboy Cut Ribeye ($44); and the Filet Mignon ($29) are worth the experience at any price.

Mac’s is one of the restaurants owned and operated by Reststar Hospitality Group whose eateries include the Bistro Cassis, Bistro Citron, Pomodoro and Pomodorino restaurants.

Mac’s Steakhouse: 12 Gerard Street, Huntington • 631-549-5300. Lunch: Monday – Friday, 12 – 3 p.m.

WILD FIN
Huntington’s Wild Fin is a secret that shouldn’t be kept. On the scene for just under a year, Wild Fin’s Manhattan-style sophistication is from Steven Del Lima, previously of Bayville’s RSVP. Creative cookery flows from the open kitchen to tables in a high-ceilinged room warmed by exposed brick and ochre-washed walls.

Like the jazz music that fills the dining room, the Wild Fin menu is upbeat and always surprising. Seafood is the specialty of the house, but literally anything that emerges from the kitchen is a satisfying arrangement of flavors and presentation.

Recommended appetizers include the Flash Fried Calamari ($8); Ahi Tuna Tartare ($11) is a sophisticated treatment of the new classic, with rice vinegar, soy marinated cucumbers, and orange-coriander aioli.

Wild Fin’s take on crab cakes, a Pan Crisped North Pacific Seafood Cake ($10) with jalapeno corn sticks, asparagus-tomato succotash and an apple-bourbon glace, is heartily flavored.

On the entrée side, the Key West Shrimp P.B.L.T. ($14) is a star that appears only on the lunch menu. It’s a tasty sandwich of Hickory-seasoned jumbo shrimp with roasted Portobello mushroom, apple-wood smoked bacon, lettuce and tomato on grilled sourdough. Order it for the intriguing bacon.

You’ll also find the bacon on the Grilled Chicken Club ($10); and we’d ask for it on the “Angus” Burger on fresh Brioche roll with a homemade garlic-dill pickle. The Caesar Salad Crisp ($8) is a meal on its own, or add grilled chicken ($3) or Hickory Grilled Jumbo Shrimp ($5).

Our dining experiences at Wild Fin, both lunchtime and dinner, have been skillfully guided by maitre d’ Jan Janusz, whose warm manner and attentive service are a part of what will keep us coming back.

Wild Fin… As they say in the fish business, it’s a keeper.

Wild Fin: 368 New York Avenue, Huntington • 631-549-5757. Lunch: Tuesday – Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

So there you have it, fellow Foodies— the inside skinny on how to enjoy three of Huntington’s hottest destination restaurants without the weekend wait. Enjoy.

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