TABLE 71: In any restaurant, the table nearest the bathrooms or the kitchen are considered the worst tables in the house. At Huntington hot spot Blue Honu, the restrooms are tucked far enough from the dining areas to not be an issue. But the kitchen… that’s a different story. The table right next to Blue Honu’s open grill area is known on the restaurant’s seating charts as Table 71. It’s right next to the sometimes very noisy kitchen, and the traffic passing by the table is often so intense that wait staff practically create wind gusts as they fly past. Yet many of Blue Honu’s regulars actually request Table 71 when they’re making reservations. Why . . . “Anybody who sits there gets the royal treatment,” explained a restaurant spokesperson. If the chef is slicing up a tenderloin, a few slices will be thrown to the “poor souls” at Table 71. Extra appetizers, desserts… not to mention the extra attention, make the worst table in the house the one that’s most in demand. So ask for it by name… and tell them the Foodie guys sent you.

NEW PASTRY SHOP: Word on the Foodie street has Fiorello Dolce, an upscale pastry shop, scheduled to open this month, a few doors down from Off The Wall. The proprietors, we are told, are the folks from Huntington’s Red on New York Avenue. They will be serving retail and the trade with Italian and American pastries including: croissants, brioche, tarts, cakes, chocolates, truffles, gelato and cookies all to be made on premises.

PAN ASIAN: The newly renovated Sitar Restaurant (665 West Jericho Turnpike, 631-271-8600) has recently added a Pan Asian menu to their existing Indian fare. They are offering for the sixth year, a Mother's day brunch/lunch buffet as well as a dinner buffet with about 50 items featuring several different stations with chefs cooking in front of the guests.

MEET ME AT FINNEGAN'S: The Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, which is what they’re calling themselves again these days, has scheduled its next Business After Hours networking event for this Tuesday, May 9 at Finnegan’s (5 Wall St., 631-423-9696) in Huntington Village. The Chamber’s meet-and-greet events are part social occasion, part business, and always a good time. Chamber members (and who can say if a few non-members stop in) will begin to fill the venerable watering hole at 5:30 p.m. and we’ll venture to say that many will be quite surprised at the turn the place has taken. In most ways it’s the same Finnegan’s as we know it, but since Lessing’s brought their culinary expertise to the premises, the bar is earning a reputation for excellent dining. So stop by… maybe you'll run into the Foodies.

WHITMAN MALL IS COOKING: Food fans can enjoy a unique, free, day-long, celebration of food, wine and cooking at Walt Whitman Mall on Saturday, May 13, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Host of Food Network’s “Sara’s Secrets,” celebrity chef Sara Moulton, chef of the executive dining room at Gourmet magazine and food editor for ABC-TV's Good Morning America, will highlight the live cooking performance event hosted by TV host Bill Boggs. The event also will feature culinary demonstrations by local popular chefs including Tom Schaudel, executive chef and/or owner of several of Long Island exciting restaurants including Huntington’s Rockfish, as well as Syosset’s Coolfish; Guy Reuge, chef/owner of Mirabelle in St. James; Zane Smith, chef at Oyster Bay’s Wild Honey; and others. You’ll enjoy food and beverage sampling, sponsor pavilions, wine seminars, cookbook sales, autograph and book signings and other fun culinary.

BEER FEST: The first Long Island Beer Festival will be held on Friday, May 12, 6 to 10 pm at the Hilton Long Island Hotel in Melville. Tickets ($45; designated drivers $10) are available online at.longislandbeerfestival.com. The festival will benefit North Shore Animal League in Port Washington – the world's largest no-kill pet rescue and adoption organization which is worthy of your support. The Beer Fest will bring together for the tasting, hundreds of exclusive gourmet beers and samplings of the specialties of dozens of Long Island’s finest restaurants. Also, tutored tastings, guest speakers, and live music!

Send news of the food world to Foodie@LongIslandernews.com

Main Menu