American Beech and more Long Island restaurants to try this weekend
A chicken sandwich topped with fried egg at American Beech, a hotel and eatery in Greenport. Credit: Newsday/Scott Vogel
Dining al fresco in Greenport is on everyone’s North Fork bucket list, or should be, so numerous and unique are the town’s offerings. Want to enjoy summer in the great outdoors in style? Read on.
Fortino’s Tavern (102 Main St., Greenport): While the dining room of Mike and Nikki Fortino’s two-year-old establishment is cute and quaint enough, just outside is what might be the most beautiful place to eat on the Island at the moment, Preston’s Dock, which the couple has outfitted with string lights, potted palms and a number of sensibly, romantically, spaced tables. The views are as lovely as the breezes, and the food is no slouch either, the seafood-centric menu showcasing pots of mussels, shrimp fra diavolo, and striped bass straight from Southold Fish Market, although the kitchen also knows its way around veal saltimbocca and other hearty fare. More info: 631-477-6401, tinostavern.com
Little Creek Oyster Farm & Market (37 Front St., Greenport): You’ve no choice but to eat outside at this decade-old love letter to the North Fork’s favorite mollusk, and the picnic tables and bar stools go quickly, thanks to owner Ian Wile’s carefully curated, daily-changing selection of local oysters, available baked or on the half-shell. Snag any seat that’s free and pencil in a list to the kitchen, but don’t neglect the rest of the menu: The eatery’s smoked fish dips (the bluefish is excellent), shrimp and crab roll and ceviches are all crowd-pleasers. Wash it all down with beer, wine or, best of all, Little Creek’s G & T with cracked pepper. More info: 631-477-6992, littlecreekoysters.com
American Beech (300 Main St., Greenport): The cozy brick patio at this boutique hotel — gorgeously decorated with wicker fixtures, baskets of ferns and walls of bamboo — feels like something out of Hemingway’s Key West, and it’s a good bet that Papa would have loved the Lucky Gamble, a creative concoction of green chartreuse and bourbon. Everyone, meanwhile, will love the eatery’s fried chicken sandwich, a perfect lunch of breast meat topped with a fried egg on a soft brioche bun, accompanied by shoestring fries. Brunch’s homey fare includes a solid biscuits and gravy, while Crescent Farms duck and NY strip with a za’atar rub headline the dinner menu. More info: 631-477-5939, americanbeech.com
Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.
