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The dish on Long Island's restaurant and food scene
Chennai Dosas replaces Dosa Diner in Hicksville
Photo credit: Newsday/Joan Reminick
Chennai Dosas entered the thriving Indian restaurant scene in Hicksville last month when it opened in the strip mall storefront that last housed Dosa Diner. As you see from the above photo, it's still awaiting a permanent sign.
Like its predecessor, the place serves a vegetarian South Indian menu with an emphasis on the stuffed lentil rice flour crepe known as the dosa. A once-over of the...
Read more »Palermo, North Massapequa: Home of zeppole pizza
Say hello to zeppole pizza, an invention both zany and inspired. It's the hottest thing going at the months-old Palermo Pizzeria, a combo pizza parlor and dining room in North Massapequa.
As chef Dani Abruzzo tells it, a lightbulb went on when he dropped a freshly made ball of zeppole into a pot of marinara sauce and couldn’t resist tasting the result. Not bad. Great, in fact. So now, Abruzzo...
Read more »Highway Diner opens in East Hampton
Photo credit: Arthur Bijur
Not all Hamptons openings happen when it's warm out. Highway Diner & Bar made its debut last month in the East Hampton space that last housed Rugosa. Landmark to look for: World War II tank.
Owner Gunnar Myers characterized the new place as “a beachy diner with an easy, groovy vibe” and a modern, sophisticated edge, complete with steel and quartz bar.
Chef Robert Gurvich, who...
Read more »This week's restaurant review, plus 2012 best eateries
Photo credit: Johnny Simon
In this week’s Dining Out review, Erica Marcus finds a keeper in Vintage Bar & Grill, which takes over the Jericho space that, for 35 years, was home to Capriccio. Chef Michael Cacaro, who “knows the local dining landscape” serves up a “crowd-pleasing” array of dishes with Italian, New American and Asian-fusion influences.
Also, you can find Newsday's top restaurants for 2012...
Read more »Grill 454, Commack, to close Jan. 1
Photo credit: Photo by Doug Young
Grill 454 in Commack has posted on its Facebook page that New Year’s Eve will be its final night. A dinner event is planned for then.
The restaurant, which combines seafood, steak and Italian specialties, opened about a year ago in the shopping center space that had housed Charlie Brown's Steak House. It received a single star from Newsday’s Peter Gianotti, who praised its eggplant Parmigiana,...
Read more »Cedarhurst Cafe is closed
Photo credit: Agaton Strom
Cedarhurst Cafe in Cedarhurst is now part of local history.
The place originally opened in 1994 but, last year, moved to a spot facing the LIRR station.
Co-owner John Cordoba drew a large lunch crowd with his inspired and offbeat salad combinations. A spinach portobello “burger” was served atop a combination of mixed greens, haricots verts, baby zucchini, sun-dried blueberries,...
Read more »Stop the music; Christmas is over
Christmas has passed and — call me Scrooge — soon, too, will the holiday hodgepodge of music filling restaurants and stores all over Long Island. I'm not talking about Bing Crosby, Elvis, Bruce or even The Waitresses — although there is such a thing as too much of even the good stuff.
There are, however, some Christmas music-and-food pairings that simply don't work. Case in point: At...
Read more »Aegean Grill, East Northport: First bites
Photo credit: Newsday/Joan Reminick
A recent dinner at the new Aegean Grill in East Northport featured warm and efficient service. The space, which used to house Gyro Time, now sports an outside vestibule that traps cold air. Also new are heavy drapes on the lower portions of the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the place. Still needed: full-length drapes to stem the chill that, nonetheless, wafts in.
A bowl of chicken...
Read more »Public House 49, Patchogue: New chef, new look
Photo credit: Handout
Matthew Birnstill, a chef whose credentials include 1770 House in East Hampton and the former Red Dish in Commack, just took over the kitchen at Public House 49 in Patchogue. The gastropub has seen its share of kitchen changes since it first opened in 2009. In fact, Birnstill is the first full-time executive chef the restaurant has had in almost two years.
At the moment, Birnstill said, the...
Read more »Opa Grille in Williston Park: Apps make the meal
Photo credit: Newsday
Last week I succumbed to the charms of small plates. I found myself at Opa Grille, the 2-month-old Greek restaurant that replaced Toast & Jamz in the H-Mart shopping center on Hillside Avenue in Williston Park.
The appetizer menu contained two of my favorite Greek starters, grilled octopus ($13.45) and the aromatic Greek sausage called loukaniko ($7.95), and so, in the manner of so many...
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