Feed Me
The dish on Long Island's restaurant and food scene
Joan Reminick
In an ongoing search to find Long Island’s best restaurant values, restaurant critic Joan Reminick has plowed through more pad thai, penne ala vodka and pulled pork than she cares to admit. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Joan grew up in a happy home whose only shortcomings were culinary. After a childhood of cooked-to-leather steaks, canned peas and Ore Ida fries, she made it a personal mission to seek out food that’s fresh, lively and carefully prepared. Married to her teen sweetheart, she received a B.A. from Brooklyn College and an M.S. from Hofstra University and taught English and Humanities in a Long Island high school for several years. When her two children were born, she embarked on a writing career and has had both fiction and nonfiction works published in national magazines. She also edited the Zagat Survey of Long Island Restaurants and wrote the book “Exploring Long Island with Newsday.” In addition to doing weekly “Cheap Eats” restaurant reviews, Joan hunts down restaurant news items and writes restaurant-related articles. These days, her motto is: making Long Island a better place to eat, one blog entry at a time.
Stango's in Glen Cove - first bites at Suozzi restaurant
Photo credit: Newsday/Joan Reminick
The house was almost fully packed the night I stopped into Stango’s at the Orchard in Glen Cove, the reinvented version of what is thought to be Long Island's oldest Italian restaurant. Co-owner Helene Suozzi was seating guests, her husband, former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, schmoozing table to table. Everywhere you looked were vintage photos of local families.
More important to me...
Read more »Chico's Tex Mex Grill opens in Syosset
Photo credit: Handout
Chico’s Tex Mex Grill makes its Syosset debut in the former home of a self-serve yogurt eatery. According to co-owner Marcello Caccialino, the counter service spot offers seating at three tables. Takeout is big here.
On the menu are Santa Fe wings ($4.95 to $8), a fajita salad ($6.95; add $2 for chicken, $2.50 for steak, $3 for shrimp); arroz con pollo, or chicken with rice ($7.50); ...
Read more »Peppercorn Cafe - newly cracked in East Patchogue
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Just opened in East Patchogue is Peppercorn Cafe, which takes over the former home of South Country Inn. The casual restaurant has 14 tables and a full bar.
In charge of the kitchen is Chef Dave Moritz, who cooked at Off Key Tiki in Patchogue and Westhampton Steak House in Westhampton.
While lunch and dinner are now being served, the place will launch a breakfast menu May 22. Moritz's...
Read more »South Indian newcomer spices up Hicksville
Photo credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
Just added to the intriguing mix of Indian restaurants in Hicksville is Taste of Madras, serving a menu of Southern Indian specialties. The restaurant takes over the former Curry Club space.
Owner Raj Ram, who hails from Chennai, named some dishes you probably won’t find at most local restaurants. Under the menu heading of “extreme South Indian delicacy” are aapam, fluffy pancakes with egg...
Read more »Sushi spawn opens in Bethpage
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Sumou, a 13-year-old standby for Japanese food in Bay Shore, just opened a Bethpage offshoot, now serving sushi and more in the former digs of Ozumo. Owner Gary Hu said the past six months have been spent in renovation.
On Sumou’s menu: shrimp dumpling soup ($5), crispy duck salad ($11), tuna and avocado pizza ($11), a spider roll ($11), fish teriyaki ($15) and seafood tempura ($16).
Sumou...
Read more »Italian food classics come to Long Beach
Photo credit: Handout
Villagio, the Long Beach offshoot of a decade-old Whitestone restaurant, is now serving a menu of Italian classics from family recipes.
The restaurant got off to a bumpy start. As owner Dominick Loccisano tells it, he bought the place 10 days before superstorm Sandy hit. “We were flooded and then had to renovate.” The restaurant opened in December.
Along with a roster of brick...
Read more »Hibachi and sushi roll into Lynbrook
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Lumix Hibachi & Sushi Lounge has taken over the Lynbrook space that, for years, housed Pizzeria Uno. Some of Lumix's owners are also partners at Xaga in Merrick and Hewlett.
From the sushi bar come such items as tuna tataki ($10), a yellowtail jalapeño roll ($6), a Sunrise roll fashioned of spicy tuna with tempura flakes and avocado ($12) and a sushi regular combo platter ($18). Kitchen...
Read more »New and Turkish in Mount Sinai
Mavi Grill & Deli brings the fare of Turkey and the Mediterranean to Mount Sinai. The table-service restaurant is owned by a married couple — native Long Islander Lauren Iaria-Kola and Turkish-born Tuncay (T.J.) Kola; the two originally met in California.
On the menu: Mavi delight for two, with hummus, falafel, babaghanoush, grape leaves, Feta cheese, Kalamata olives and pita ($9.95);...
Read more »Point Lookout gets new pub
Photo credit: Handout
The Point Ale House & Grill, which took over the former digs of The Bay House last August, just came under new co-ownership. And a new chef has come on board.
Frank Pignataro, who cooked at E.B. Elliott’s in Freeport, said he revamped the pub-style menu to jibe with the restaurant’s craft beer selection. “It blew my mind that there was no seafood before,” he said. Now, Pignataro offers...
Read more »Mother's Day vegetarian Indian buffet
Photo credit: Nancy Borowick
For an unconventional Mother’s Day brunch, consider the Indian vegetarian buffet at Chennai Dosas in Hicksville.
For $11.95 a person, you get to eat as much as you want from a buffet with two kinds of soup, six vegetarian curries and a choice of either a made-to-order dosa (a light lentil crepe filled with a spiced mashed potato mixture) or an uttapam (a pancake version of the dosa)....
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