Classic American: Gordon Ramsay returns (and so do I)
Shrimp BLT salad at Classic American Credit: Newsday, 2011 / Joan Reminick
Just the other day, I hit Classic American in West Babylon for lunch. The Gordon Ramsay makeover seems to still be running on all cylinders. In fact, I learned from chef Kevin Gaertner that Ramsay stopped by last month for a follow-up "Kitchen Nightmares" show, to be aired this fall.
But back to my lunch. A chicken chipotle panino with Cheddar was a smoky, juicy, melt-y treat. And a shrimp BLT salad was bright and fresh, made with lots of shrimp, fresh corn salsa and tomatoes. It was the bacon I had issues with. Gaertner said it was Ramsay’s idea, to grind it raw (in a food processor) before frying it up. What ended up on the salad was a kind of bacon dust — no discernible fat, true. But no crunch, little flavor and hardly any substance.
Hey, nobody’s perfect; not even the Kitchen Nightmare himself.
Classic American is at 691 Rte. 109, West Babylon, 631-226-3663.
