Amagansett: Exile on Main Street
Pasta alla chitarra at Exile, Amagansett Credit: Peter Gianotti
Small plates and big flavors turn Exile Bar & Grill into the Hamptons' late-summer must-eat.
The restaurant took over the sleek quarters vacated by Mezzaluna Amg. And it's a terrific spot for what you want to order now: savory summer tastes with a Mediterranean accent, from lush pasta alla chitarra with pesto and cuts of ripe yellow and red tomatoes to smoky grilled sardines puttanesca, finished with capers, chopped black olives and peppers.
You'll find creamy, baked goat cheese, looking like an island in sea of snappy tomato sauce, ready to be spread on toasted bread; ditali pasta in an all-seasons chickpea puree spiked with garlic, tomato and olive oil; and a refreshing yellow-and-red watermelon salad, two blocks atop grilled haloumi cheese, all flecked with mint. There's crudo, fluke and tuna varieties; pork Milanese; poached lobster, deep-fried artichokes with lemon aioli, roasted beets with ricotta salata, patatas bravas, blistered shishito peppers, lots more.
Exile sends out fine smoky pizzas, too, with toppings such as mushroom-and-Taleggio cheese, speck, spicy soppressata. Margherita pies abound. A well-chosen list of artisanal American cheeses and cured meats domestic and imported will spur your appetite. For dessert, the chocolate pudding with cinnamon is essential.
Exile Bar & Grill, 231 Main St., Amagansett; 631-267-6399. ExileBarAndGrill.com
Pasta alla chitarra at Exile
