Meritage Wine Bar in Glen Cove and more Long Island restaurants to try this weekend
Steamed mussels in coconut curry sauce served with grilled ciabatta at Meritage Wine Bar in Glen Cove. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Long Beach has the Atlantic waves, but Long Island’s only other incorporated city, Glen Cove, is a great destination for communing with the water, in this case, Hempstead Bay. Welwyn Preserve and Garvies Point Museum and Preserve both provide acres of nature walks and beach access. The newest waterside feature is Garvies Point, a half-mile strip where luxury apartments, landscaped promenades and a ferry terminal (still in progress) overlook Glen Cove Creek, an inlet from the bay. While you're in Glen Cove, check out these three spots.(Pro tip: Don’t leave Glen Cove without stopping at Razzano’s, one of Long Island’s very best Italian pork stores.)
Heritage Bakers (1 Garvies Point Rd, Glen Cove): Back in 2017, when Garvies Point was little more than a construction zone, David Shalam had the prescience to move his three-year-old bakery into a 2,700-square-foot space just across the street from the nascent development. His stock in trade was popovers sold wholesale, but the new location allowed him to explore the world of artisanal breads and establish a lovely dining room where customers could enjoy a cafe menu featuring sandwiches, scones, muffins and, of course, popovers, which come plain, crusted with Parmesan, and dredged in cinnamon sugar or herbes de Provence, or filled with pastry cream and fruit. During the pandemic, Shalam put the bakery on hiatus, but he has started it up again albeit with shorter hours and a slightly smaller menu. For now, the bakery is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday to Sunday. More info: 516-676-8989, heritagebakers.com
Popovers are the specialty at Heritage Bakers in Glen Cove. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Meritage Wine Bar (90 School St., Glen Cove): When you’re in Glen Cove, you’re never more than a stone’s throw from a trattoria or pizzeria, but Meritage, Alex Fiorentino’s innovative, four-year-old eatery, takes a broader pan-Mediterranean approach, lassoing Spanish, Italian, Greek and French influences. Wine-wise, the by-the-glass list runs to 25 wines or more, drawn from across the world. To work through a few inside Meritage’s atmospheric dining room — blanc de blancs from California, xinomavro from Greece, Spanish Rioja — feels like a micro-adventure. Chef Julius Miranda is a master of pasta and has a way with a charcuterie board, too. More info: 516-801-0055, meritagebar.com
Butternut squash with house made pappardelle with brown butter sage, wilted greens, walnuts and parmesan served at Meritage Wine Bar in Glen Cove. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Sami’s Kabab House (284 Glen St., Glen Cove): Will Afghan kebabs break the curse of 284 Glen St.? Sami’s Kabab House is the newest tenant in the Glen Cove property that has housed short-lived restaurants serving Italian, Brazilian barbecue and Greek. The year-old spot is the second location of the well-regarded Sami’s Kabab House in Astoria, Queens, and its concise menu features lamb chops and seven grilled kebabs. All are served with Qabuli Pulao, a pilaf made with long-grain basmati rice garnished with shredded carrots and raisins that have been glazed with sweet, cardamom-scented syrup. The same rice serves as a bed for a meaty lamb shank in the Uzbeki Qabuli Pulao. There are plenty of vegetarian mains served with rice; eggplant and okra are particularly esteemed in Afghan cooking. More info: 516-629-6100, samiskababhouse.com
At Sami's Kabab House in Glen Cove, the chicken Afghani kebab is made with boneless thighs and served with Qabuli rice pulao, garnished with sweet carrots and raisins. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
