While we’re not often in the New Suffolk area on the North Fork of
Suffolk County, we took the advice of those in the know and headed out
to this waterfront “legend”. Getting to the restaurant on the Peninsula
that is New Suffolk was almost as fun as eating in the restaurant, with
the threat of rain looming over our heads as we drove down New Suffolk
Avenue with our top down. The scenery was beautiful and passing by each
of the grand homes in the area made us dream of one day having a second
home in the area. Not exactly located directly on the water, so much as
across the street from it, when you’re in Legends you don’t realize
that distance as you’re sitting inside and relaxing over a great beer
and a very good seafood dinner. The restaurant itself is of interesting
character. On one side you have your sports bar with a
filled-to-capacity crowd enjoying the game with their brew in hand. On
the other side is the great dining room that is closed off from the
rest of the restaurant. The “No Children Permitted” sign pointed us
into the room that we wanted to enjoy our quiet night out together.

The
dining room has a nautical them as well. On the wall and on the ceiling
there are decorative items made out of long boats. Some hold lit
candles while others act as the backdrop for ceiling fans. As you sit
down you notice what sets this restaurant and bar apart from the
others. The offerings on their beer and wine menu are staggering. It is
certainly one of the largest drink menus that I have seen around the
area. Located mere minutes from Long Island’s finest vineyards, there’s
a combination of local and worldwide wines. Borghese, Macari and Martha Clara are all represented on the wine menu (for more on local wines visit LENNDEVOURS).

The
menu in the dining room was seafood focused, as one would expect from a
waterfront establishment.  We started off our meal with a delectable
shrimp appetizer and salad.
 The shrimps were large and since I wasn’t sharing this appetizer, it
was more than enough.  The sauce was sweet and added a great texture to
the shrimps.  For my entree I decided upon the soft-shell crab,
lulled by the prospect of the crunchy tempura over the soft crab.
 Covered in a batter and fried, it was slightly greasier than I had
expected, but I made my way through the batter and at most times just
got down to the crab itself.  Fresh and soft, it was wonderful.  The
crab was served on top of sticky rice and was completely surrounded by
a light sauce filled with large chunks of lobster, scallions and
cilantro.

With the summer season upon us, you can expect a restaurant like
Legends to be hopping during the weekend nights.  We got lucky with the
rain, as it was a Thursday night and most of the weekend traffic out to
the Hamptons was waiting the moisture out.  It didn’t end up raining
that night, so what we got was a first-class meal in a first-class
establishment while still enjoying the quiet atmosphere of an
off-season night, in the height of the summer season.