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MONSOON HITS BABYLON
It's another bank job for the Bohlsen Restaurant Group. The group's flagship, Tellers Chophouse, is situated in a stately former First National Bank of Islip. Now brothers Michael and Kurt Bohlsen have renovated the former Bank of Babylon to house their newest venture, the recently opened Monsoon Asian Kitchen and Lounge.
The building looks fiscally conservative from the outside, but the 9,500-square-foot interior has been transformed into a swanky, two-level eatery that can accommodate 200 diners.
Michael Wilson, a veteran of two other Bohlsen properties, Verace in Islip and Prime in Huntington, runs the kitchen at Monsoon. He and the group's corporate chef, Cornelius Gallagher, have created a menu that pays tribute to four Asian cuisines -- Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese. The 50-item lineup is concise, but manages to cover the Pacific waterfront with sushi (the inevitable Monsoon roll, $19, features lobster, spicy tuna, avocado and jalapeño), dim sum, cold appetizers (e.g., Vietnamese summer rolls, $9), hot appetizers (skirt steak yakitori, $8), noodles and rice (pad Thai, $12) and mains ranging from miso-glazed black cod ($24) to the Vietnamese classic shaking beef ($29).
Monsoon's wine list, curated by Bohlsen beverage boss Paolo Villela, offers about 100 wines, including six on tap, seven by the glass and 11 half bottles. Also on offer: signature cocktails, beer and eight sakes.
For now, Monsoon is open for dinner seven days a week, but lunch and a dim-sum brunch are in the offing. Monsoon Asian Kitchen and Lounge is at 48 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, 631-587-4400. -- ERICA MARCUS
MILL POND CHEF TO OPEN MARKET
Chef David Intonato, who earned a constellation of stars from Newsday at Jamesport Manor Inn and Mill Pond House, plans to open a specialty food shop in Northport.
Intonato no longer is cooking at Mill Pond House. He will be preparing for the opening of the shop in early spring.
The Purple Elephant Specialty Foods & Market will be situated on Route 25A in Northport, at the Britannia Marina & Yacht Club.
Intonato plans to offer prepared foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. His selections will include rotisserie fare, cold-pressed juices, Georgio's Coffee, artisanal cheeses, fresh pastas, house-made sauces and breads from more than 30 New York City bakeries.
There will be a "small seating area," he said. Intonato added that he will highlight biodynamic and organic produce from K.K. Haspel's farm in Southold.
For more information: 631-651-5002. -- PETER M. GIANOTTI
