Minnow at the Galley Ho opens in New Suffolk

Andrea Tese is taking culinary sustainability to new heights with her new North Fork restaurant, Minnow at the Galley Ho. Not only are most of the ingredients local and seasonal, not only does the kitchen eschew shrimp, salmon and any other sea creature that does not swim in these waters, but she and chef Cheo Avila are trying their hardest not to buy anything that is packaged in plastic. “Catapano is happy to wrap their goat cheese in waxed paper for us,” she said. “It’s harder to find mayonnaise in anything but plastic jars.”

Seated on the restaurant’s generous porch, Tese gestured toward the panoramic views of Cutchogue Harbor. “All the plastic we use, so much of it ends up in the ocean,” she said. She hopes that people who are looking at the water will be compelled to want to protect it: “I want to educate people in a non-pushy, non-know-it-all way.”

A meal at Minnow hardly feels like an ecology lesson. The stunning setting was most recently Case’s Place but, for decades before that, was the Galley Ho, which Tese described as a “lively, salty, rough-and-tumble sort of place.” Tese, an avid angler and surfer who was raised in New Suffolk and in Manhattan, spent large chunks of her childhood hanging out there. That porch spills onto a wide lawn complete with picnic tables and cornhole, and the lawn stretches out onto the beach. On a clear day you can see Cutchogue’s Nassau Point, Robins Island, Shelter Island and the northern shore of the South Fork.

Avila, formerly of Greenport’s Kontiki, has created a menu that is no guilt, all pleasure. Raw-bar offerings include Peeko oysters (its headquarters are at the adjoining property), local little neck clams, black bass crudo (with basil miso and pink peppercorns) and porgy ceviche with wild fennel, red onion, cilantro and lime.

Cooked dishes range from blackfish almandine (crusted with almonds, Parmesan and lemon zest) and “duck frites” (seared Long Island duck breast served with fries) to house-smoked bluefish pate (on grilled sourdough bread from the East End microbakery 1610 Bakehouse) and a lobster salad served on the same bread.  Her supplier, Cutchogue’s Braun Seafood Co., sends over only lobsters trapped in Long Island Sound.

Ken Homan, Braun’s owner, has been an enthusiastic supporter of Minnow’s mission. “Ken only sells us fish that have been caught in pots or by rod and reel,” she said, “no trawlers and no nets.” And the plastic bins that the fish are delivered in go back to Braun for the next delivery.

Local vegetables get their due, whether shaved fennel with green apples and burrata, grilled little gem lettuce with strained yogurt and caramelized apricots or roasted carrots with caraway seeds. Menu prices range from $21 to $48.

Desserts are provided by North Fork baker Jessica Shearman, and her simple, flavor-packed pastries (don’t miss the Bakewell tarts with local fruits) also form the basis of a cafe menu that is available starting at 8 a.m. from Thursday to Sunday.

Tese and beverage director Amanda Akram put together a beer list from all local sources (Greenport Harbor, Shelter Island Craft, Ubergeek, Twin Forks and Kidd Squid breweries). The wine menu draws from Long Island (Bedell, Macari, Croteaux and McCall) as well as France and Italy.

Tese, a professional photographer, is a first-time restaurant owner and she acknowledged that she was “coming in blind to this venture. "Everyone said ‘don’t do it.’ Restaurateurs I know said ‘it’s the worst possible idea.’ But I really believe in this mission, and I want to see if I can make it work.”

Minnow at the Galley Ho, 650 1st St., New Suffolk, 631-734-8474, minnowrestaurant.com. Open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday, lunch Friday-Sunday (check website for hours). Cafe open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.