Corbin & Reynolds

Corbin & Reynolds equals grand room and good time.

This is the big-buzz cafe every downtown wants, and one that's sure to be a destination for local dining. It's a high, handsome setting for casual, new American cooking.

There's a forest's worth of polished, dark wood here, and enough exposed brick to build a small Georgian at an address, you're told, that previously hosted a sneaker store.

The look is a testament to considerable investment in art direction and set decoration, even if they do insist on hiding the tablecloths under sheets of butcher's paper.

Black-and-white photos decorate the place, with images of old Long Beach, sailing and, at the revolving door, a small framed photo of John Wayne. It is the Duke's kind of joint.

The old-fashioned, up-front style and appearance give a long- .established ambience to Cor.bin & Reynolds, which is named for Long Beach notables, the former who brought the railroad to the city and the latter who once was mayor.

They would approve. The bar is busy, the dining room packed, and the crowd ready to spill onto the frosty street. Reservations are taken only for 4, 5 and 6 p.m. After that, you're on your own.

Chef Brian Schlitt will be familiar to diners who've been to The Seafood Barge in Southold, or the Argyle Grill & Tavern in Babylon. He puts together a menu that goes from sand.wiches and burgers to steaks, chops and fancier seafood.

Frequently, the food is very good. The pulled duck taco, with black beans, onions and guacamole, is a satisfying starter. So are the braised, boneless short ribs, with bacon-scallion mashed potatoes.

Schlitt prepares a husky, creamy, thick New Englandy clam chowder, and a rather thin white bean-and-vegetable soup. Plump .Buffalo chicken wings have the oblig.atory tingle, along with essential blue cheese dressing.

But the Maryland crab cakes are short on shellfish and come across bready and dull. And sesame-seared tuna arrives cold as the weather.

Salads are respectable alternatives. Try the poached pear production, with good greens, crumbled Gorgonzola and a vinous drizzle. Or the chopped salad with vegetables, feta cheese and a light, balsamic vinaigrette. The Caesar salad, while generous, could use more bite.

Pastas are skippable. A special of gnocchi with tomatoes is heavy going. Ravioli are thick-skinned. Toasted spaghettini with rock shrimp: bland.

The restaurant does best with an .excellent, oven- .roasted rack of New Zealand lamb, rosy and delicious, perched atop roasted garlic-mashed potatoes and haricots verts. The grilled Black Angus sirloin also is recom.mended, thick, fibrous and juicy, with bacon-scallion spuds.

A "slow-roasted pork T-bone chop" does have heft, but it's pretty dry. .Succulent, onion-crusted chicken is a mild and tasty choice, but when they offer that pepper mill, you'll ask for a few twists.

Grilled, herb-marinated swordfish is appealing, fresh and moist, but could use a squirt of lemon or some tropical touch. Yet, the salmon stuffed with feta, spinach and .roasted .garlic, in a beurre blanc, will lead you toward the basic, grilled .salmon.

The dessert selections are presented for observation. The better picks are a "molten lava" chocolate cake, with the expected moist center, and the chocolate mousse cake. Bread pudding, cheesecake with chocolate and caramel, and apple cake are the also-ates.

Guinness and Bass, Saranac and .Samuel Adams flow from the taps. Wines by the glass are ample. Bottles of Dom Perignon stand next to vases, as if poised for a .celebration.

It's coming.

Reviewed by Peter M. Gianotti, 2/8/04.