Casual fare for a sunny weekend
The exterior of Legal Sea Foods in the Walt Whitman Shops mall. Credit: Howard Schnapp, 2009
Slipping from July to August (yes, that fast), you could use a casual, satisfying meal. Something sunny, something dependable. Something like what you'll find at these eateries.
The relaxed, time-capsule style of the Modern Snack Bar in Aquebogue suits the season. The weekend specials include roast pork and stuffed flounder. You'll also find buttery bay scallops, a tasty lobster salad, and very good pies, from coconut custard and banana-cream to lemon meringue and strawberry-rhubarb. Modern Snack Bar is on the north side of Route 25; 631-722-3655.
Legal Sea Foods is one of the reliable fish houses in Nassau and Suffolk, with branches at Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington Station and Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City. Have an Arnold Palmer (half iced tea, half lemonade), nibble on a lobster roll or fish-and-chips made with cod, maybe sample fried trout or steamed lobster. In Huntington Station: 160 Walt Whitman Rd., 631-271-9777; in Garden City, 630 Old Country Rd., 516-248-4600.
In the restaurant hub of Rockville Centre, Blue Moon stands out for an old-fashioned approach, informal appointments and some fine coal-oven pizza and crisp panini, homey soups and husky pastas. Hearty calzones, too. Blue Moon rises at 25 N. Park Ave., Rockville Centre; 516-763-4900.
Legal Sea Foods in Huntington Station
