100 ways Long Island restaurants are getting creative in 2020
Whether moved by desperation, boredom, indomitability, ingenuity or some magical combination of all four — the fact is, restaurants and bars, farm stands and markets, bakeries and sweet shops, even town boards and supermarkets, have birthed ideas both big and small. Some might never have seen the light of day otherwise, many are so good they deserve to live on.
Below is a list of 100 potables, edibles, innovations and reconsiderations we’ve come to love in this time of pandemics, one that’s far from exhaustive. Think of it as a snapshot of an extraordinary time, a testament to Long Island’s food community, whose resilience, energy, integrity and love of great eating may one day come to define this era as much as the turbulence that gave rise to it.
1. Steakhouses like Manhasset’s Bryant & Cooper and Islip’s Tellers turning into butcher shops
2. Al fresco pizza bar at La Parma II in Huntington
3. Takeout windows where none existed before,like at Danford's in Port Jefferson
4. Matt Hisiger’s fried chicken at LB Social in Long Beach
5. Seniors-only hours at supermarkets
6. Making waffelinis at home from Garden City’s Uncle Bacala’s
7. Babylon Village’s virtual restaurant crawls
8. Local chefs offering virtual cooking classes
9. Restaurants offering free food to those in need
10. “Bored Game” pizza boxes at Farmingdale’s Main Street Pizza Co.
The "Board Game" pizza box at Main Street Pizza Company in Farmingdale. Credit: Main Street Pizza Company
11. Happy boxes at Hatch in Huntington
12. Wholesalers like Gra-Bar Fish, Baldor and Main Street Meats delivering to the public
13. Bobbique in Patchogue adding pastrami sandwiches to its menu
14. Drive-through white peach margaritas at Peppercorn’s in Hicksville
15. Summer berry Key lime pie at Biscuits & Barbecue in Mineola
16. Pork chop Parmesan at South Edison in Montauk
17. Morrison’s in Plainview removing a racially insensitive poster from its wall and donating money to the Emmitt Till Memory Project
18. Grab and go tent at the LakeHouse in Bay Shore
19. Popcorn and soda pop graduation presents at Pentimento in Stony Brook
20. Adult lemonade stand at Farmingdale’s Whiskey Down Diner
Alyson Kanaras opened an adult lemonade stand at Whiskey Down Diner in Farmingdale. Credit: Ashlie Mekulivic
21. Ditto K. Pacho’s stand in New Hyde Park
22. Ditto the stand at Park Place in Floral Park
23. Eating Sandbar’s chickpea fries while watching the sunset in Cold Spring Harbor
24. Drive-thru breakfast with Sail Away coffee at Rust & Gold in Huntington
25. Getting sushi from, of all places, Maroni Cuisine in Southold
26. Discovering how easy it is to make restaurant-style Buffalo wings at home
27. Street food and margarita stand at Hermana’s Kitchen in Lindenhurst
28. Lobster shack and boat kits at View in Oakdale
29. Garden City’s Tocolo Cantina and other eateries temporarily closing in support of Black Lives Matter
30. Dogs delivering beer
The Golden Retrievers of Six Harbors Brewing Company in Huntington. Credit: Karen Ravn-Heuwetter
31. Bakers-in-training kits from Panera Bread
32. Lobster tacos at Dirty Taco & Tequila
33. Shah Halal in Huntington Station's cold cheese platter homage to Little Vincent’s
34. Penne broccoli gratinato at the Woodbury Butera’s
35. Birthday Buzz boozy ice cream at Beginnings in Atlantic Beach
36. Cooler picnic for four at the North Fork’s Main Road Biscuit Co.
37. Live music and fried chicken to go at Chadwicks in Rockville Centre
38. Tie-dyed T-shirts at Mattituck’s North Fork Doughnut Co.
39. Eating outside at Dos MexiCuba Cantina in Rocky Point
40. Adult happy meals at Babylon’s The Brixton
The Adult Happy Meal at The Brixton in Babylon includes a cheeseburger, fried chicken slider or steamed bun, fries and cocktail. Credit: Kahnscious Media
41. Restaurants and bars rededicating themselves to sanitation efforts
42. Jamesport Vineyards offering free glasses of wine to health care workers
43. Spring cookie decorating kits at Polka Dot Pound Cake in Rockville Centre
44. Lining up for wings at Hot Box To Go in East Islip
45. Getting a meat and cheese box for the boat we don’t have from Prime in Huntington
46. Virtual dance party at the Nutty Irishman in Farmingdale
47. Blueberry mango crisp at Coastal Kitchen in Bay Shore
48. The brunch box at Rockville Centre’s Parlay
49. Curbside beach delivery courtesy of Brixx & Barley in Long Beach
50. Relaunch of Bagel Boss’s shipping service
"Relaunch of Bagel Boss's shipping service Bagel Boss has relaunched its shipping and subscription box service. Credit: Newsday
51. Tailgate karaoke at Pita Pit in Hauppauge
52. Sangria bar at Michaelangelo’s in Massapequa Park
53. Coconut cheesecake with guava frosting at EmpanadaVille in Mastic Beach
54. Tiny Market at Tullulah’s in Bay Shore
55. Cereal doughnuts at Babylon’s Doughology
56. Quarantine barbecue kits at Green Hill Kitchen in Greenport
57. Margarita stand at Mercato Kitchen in Massapequa
58. ITA Kitchen in Bay Shore adding lobster rolls to its menu
59.Spectral Haze at Blue Point Brewing Co. in Patchogue
60. Frozen vodka cherry lemonade at Oyster Bay’s Coach Meeting House
Coach Meeting House in Oyster Bay has opened a drive-through slushie bar. From left: blood-orange margarita, vodka strawberry lemonade and front-porch sweet tea with Jack Daniels. Credit: Coach Meeting House
61. The Sweet Peace in Lynbrook’s individually boxed doughnuts for socially-distant celebrations
62. Steak sandwich at Robke’s in Northport
63. Whole Foods Markets giving free masks to shoppers
64. Green Street Food Truck’s buffalo-tofu-mac-n-cheese sandwiches
65. Outdoor seating comes to Oyster Bay Brewing Co.
66. Celebrating a quarantine birthday with Key lime pie at Patchogue’s Rhum
67. Discovering all the things you can do with ground chicken and turkey when hamburger meat is scarce
68. “Little Habana” patio at Huntington’s Babalu
69. Party lights at Stone Creek Inn in Quogue
70. Visiting the restaurants at blackownedlongisland.com
Co-chef Asim Henry and chef-owner Antoine Reid at Bayview Kitchen in Amityville. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
71. Snaps colonizing its parking lot in Wantagh
72. Ditto George Martin’s parking lot in Rockville Centre
73. Asparagus with ramp ravioli at Orto in Miller Place
74. Vegan cucumber gazpacho at Carissa’s the Bakery in East Hampton
75. Take and bake enchiladas at Swell Taco
76. Looking for great food and finding it on the curb, of all places
77. Virtual pub crawls in Patchogue
78. Ditto lots of other crawls
79. Pineapple shakes at Gingerbites in Huntington Station
80. Carbone opening a pop-up in Southampton
Carbone's meatballs are on the menu at the Manhattan restaurant's "pop up" in Southampton. Credit: Major Food Group
81. Adult ice pops at Lindenhurst’s Restoration Kitchen
82. East Setauket’s Madiran hosting virtual wine tastings on YouTube
83. Iced lemon poppy seed nut butter at Laurel’s in Bohemia
84. “Quart”-antine cocktails at Kasey’s in Rockville Centre
85. The Carltun in East Meadow baking fresh bread for its own market
86. Chris Perrotta’s jerk chicken at Blackbird in Wantagh
87. Mosaic in St. James pivoting to interesting comfort food
88. One word: Walktails
89. North Hempstead allowing restaurants to set up tables in municipal parks
90. Finally figuring out how to bake sourdough
Sourdough bread. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
91. Thatch Island Oyster Farm giving them away for free at Thom Thom Steak & Seafood in Wantagh and Catch Oyster Bar in Patchogue
92. Greenport’s Low Tide Beach Bar at The Halyard
93. Lobster Cobb salad at Sullivan’s Quay in Port Washington
94. Virtual Showtune Sundays at Pavilion, Fire Island Pines
95. Restaurant-quality food at drive-in movies
96. Painkillers and video skits by employees at Dunns River Lounge in Rockville Centre
97. Impassioned stand against racism by Blacksmith’s Breads in Long Beach
98. Speculoos croissants at Schmear Bakery in Port Washington
99. Drunken chicken sandwich at Roslyn Social
100. Sidewalk palm trees at Vittorio’s in Amityville
The new outdoor dining area at Vittorio's Steakhouse in Amityville. Credit: Newsday/Scott Vogel
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.
