The Patio, which burst onto the scene last year and catered to those Long Islanders who love to eat and drink on the water, is reopening for the season this Thursday, April 12th. Located in the Freeport Inn and Marine, the restaurant and bar features an outdoor lounge area, a bar that opens its doors to the outside and a great food menu that will be sure to be even more popular this year as more people learn about it.
We can now welcome Joe’s Crab Shack to Long Island, with their newest location opening up now on the south shore of Nassau County, in Oceanside.
If one of the more unique restaurants on Long Island is hidden behind an ordinary strip center facade, we wonder how many people actually do know about it. We hadn’t heard much about it until we visited, but now that we’re aware of it, Mara’s Homemade is going to be a part of our never-ending rotation of great restaurants on the island.
Hidden amongst the 2-for-1 happy hours, freezer-burned fried clams, and pizza joints in Ocean Beach is a gem where delicious, creative food can be enjoyed alongside the lapping waves of the Great South Bay. Eating at The Hideaway will make you joyous that you found (and were admitted to) this “hideout” of epicurean delights.
The Heat Miser finally gave us a break, so we ventured outside to have lunch at Northport Feed & Grain. We’ve been meaning to visit this place for months since it’s one of the few restaurants in downtown Northport that offers outdoor seating and we’re all about al fresco dining anytime it gets above 60 degrees (and, in light of recent temps, under 100!). Not only was the setting charming, but the food was delicious.
A newcomer to Island Park has been creating quite a bit of buzz in the short week or so that it has been open, so we thought that we’d shoot on over to Pop’s Seafood Shack & Grill to see what it was all about. In the process, we endured a bit of a wait, got soaked by an out-of-nowhere rain storm and spotted a rainbow; but also may have found a new south shore favorite in the process.
La Parma II in Huntington is more of an institution than just a restaurant. There’s four La Parma’s on Long Island (Oceanside, Port Washington and Williston Park rounding out the other three). What sets La Parma apart from the rest is their family style menu, quality servings and the history that comes with being one of the best restaurants on Long Island.
With the weather warming up here on Long Island, this is a perfect time to beat the summer rush and hit a few of your favorite outdoor spots. Jordan’s Lobster Farm in Island Park may not be known to you, but we’ve been relying on their fresh lobster, clams and various other seafood offerings for quite some time. It’s affordable, outdoors and waterfront (there’s indoor seating, too.)
This week’s edition of Fairway Friday takes us into the recipe book of Alan Riesenburger, Fairway’s Executive Chef. Chef Riesenburger has a long history in the food world, from his beginnings in his hometown in Capetown, South Africa and then to his current position at Fairway. He’s sharing with us a recipe for Pan Seared Swordfish with a Papaya Mango Salsa. This is perfect timing as swordfish steaks go on sale starting today through May 5th for $9.99. For step by step instructions and a picture of the finished dish, continue on.
Freeport has a great stretch of waterfront restaurants on their Nautical Mile and on a visit to this area, we were given a choice of about 12 or so restaurants to dine in. It was unfortunate that we chose Blue 42; as we walked away discouraged, unsatisfied and with a lot less money than we had walked in with.