HungryHamptons: Best of the Hamptons 2010
Jeff Zalaznick — May 26, 2010
Always Hungry’s guide to the best places to eat in the Hamptons.
We have already put together a user-friendly guide to what and where you should eat while you are driving to the Hamptons, so now we can move on to the fun stuff. A guide to the best foods that the Hamptons has to offer. What to eat when you get there. From jelly doughnuts, to soft shell crab sandwiches, to big nights out for dinner, these are the best things that you can put in your mouth this summer. Print this baby out, unleash your inner fat kid, enjoy the AlwaysHungry 2010 Hamptons Guide, and start crossing these off your summer to-do list.
AlwaysStrong: Bonanza’s (Oyster Bay, Long Island)
Arthur Bovino — March 12, 2010
Bonanza Fries at Bonanza’s in Oyster Bay on Long Island.
Location: Bonanza’s
Address: 25 Shore Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
Contact: (516) 922-7796
Hours: Winter, daily, 11:00am-4:00pm; Summer, 11:00am-close (usually around 8:00pm).
Grade: A-
Always Hungry Recommends: Bonanza Dog, Bonanza Fries, and Raspberry and Peach Ices Combined.
Long before the Western, the name Bonanza on Long Island has been associated with homemade Italian ices. Given that Bonanza’s was started by John “Chick” Bonanza 115 years ago, this family-run business almost stretches back to a time when the Old West existed. These days, their little red shack is just as associated with dogs and fries doused with great, messy, piles of dripping chili and cheese. They’re made the way you would have made them for yourself when you were a kid if someone had let you.
AlwaysTraveling: Super Duper Weenie (Fairfield, CT)
Jeff Zalaznick — May 04, 2009
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Gary Zemora was working as a chef at Pasta Nostra, a respected South Norwalk Italian restaurant, but he just couldn’t shake the image of a painting he had seen of the 1977 Super Duper Weenie truck. Originally owned by Robert Turner, who first parked it in Norwalk, CT, the truck was sold to Neil Farans, the owner of a Texaco station, who was burdened with selling the thing until Gary Zemora emerged as the truck’s saving grace.
Zemora quit his job and opened up shop in 1992 with the mindset of a serious gourmand. When the restored roadside hot dog truck developed a cult-like following, it was time to open a sit-down restaurant to better accommodate the legions of loyal Super Duper Weenie diners. Now located in Fairfield, CT, the specialty of the house are the locally-sourced, smoked hot dogs, which are split down the middle and cooked on a griddle until a crusty shell seals the succulent juices inside. The dog that Gary uses is very important to him, and when you ask him about it, he laments for the local butcher from which he once sourced his hot dogs. On his old butcher, “A great man ran this business for 50 years, and then his son comes in and fucks the whole thing up.” He is happy with his current meat, but admits that it will never compare to what he once had. Luckily, he maintains such a high quality operation that no one else would notice, but, like many great chefs, Zemora is a perfectionist. Only fresh-baked rolls will suffice, and Zemora’s high-standards also inform his homemade condiments— meat chili, onion sauce, coleslaw, and sweet and hot relishes (both made from scratch with Zemora’s own pickled cukes). With such care put into the accoutrements, it’s only fitting that the menu offers spellbinding combinations like the Dixie (meat chili and coleslaw) and the New Yorker (sauerkraut, onion sauce, mustard and hot relish).
Fresh cut and served hot out of the fryer, salt-and-pepper French Fries are a must whether you’re eating a New Englander (sauerkraut, bacon, mustard, sweet relish and raw onion) or Super Duper Chicken Nuggets. Even the nuggets get the homemade treatment. Pounded cutlets are sliced, tossed in the Super Duper seasoning blend, then deep-fried to golden perfection. Although it feels weird to say it, these may well be the best chicken fingers that I have ever had. Not only because they are treated with such care , but also because they are served with the most exquisite homemade BBQ sauce, and with a specially sourced honey mustard that totally seals the deal. Zemora also is famous for his soups. During my visit, he forced some New England Clam Chowder on me, and, much to my surprise, it was delicious. The clams were fresh, and the broth had the perfect consistency. Making soup is a passion of his, and something that he often does for off site catering. Super Duper Weenie is the ultimate road trip food stop when it comes to cuisine and charm, and the perfect amuse bouche on a drive up to New Haven for pizza. Next time you are heading north on I-95, make it happen.
HungryHamptons: North Fork Table & Inn (Southold, NY)
Jeff Zalaznick — April 24, 2009
With predictions of 80 degree weather this weekend, and the summer in the near future, it seems pertinent to highlight The North Fork Table & Inn. It is a wonderful place to eat and stay after a day of wine tasting along the North Fork of Long Island, or as a break from the chaos and mediocre food of the Hamptons.
Restaurant: North Fork Table & Inn
Address: 57225 Route 25, Southold, NY, 11971 (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: B+
Recommended Dishes: Crisp Cod and Yukon Gold Potato Cakes, Yellowfin Tuna Tartare, Long Island Duck, Coconut Tapioca, Warm Sugar and Spice Donuts
Crisp Cod and Yukon Gold Potato Cakes
With Truffled Tartar Sauce and Micro Herb Salad
Bright white walls, dark wooden plank floors, ceiling beams and simple but classy décor dress the dining room of North Fork Table & Inn. Picture an old Quaker house upscaled for haute cuisine. The renewed ambiance in this Southold bed and breakfast (once Coeurs de Vignes) is the setting for food by a husband and wife team: Executive Chef Gerry Hayden (formerly of Aureole) and Pastry Chef Claudia Fleming (Gramercy Tavern). The duo left the chaos of the city for their busy kitchen in bucolic Eastern Long Island in 2006.
From February through December, Hayden and Fleming’s artfully-plated dishes focus on local, seasonal ingredients. Put it on your nice weather to-do list now.
Sashimi-Grade Yellowfin Tuna Tartare
Served raw with Szechuan Pepper, Lime and Miso Emulsion, Shiso, Mint and Arugula Sprouts
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