Tucked neatly in the back lobby of a Winthrop Hospital building in Garden City lies Mumon Japanese Cuisine. Open for the better part of the last three months, Mumon is a bright star in the local asian cuisine arena on the island. Owned by a distributor of seafood up and down the east coast, it seems a likely fit and an assurance that Mumon will receive the finest seafood available on a continual basis.
Continue reading "Mumon Japanese Restaurant in Garden City" »
Although just launched, we have a feeling that Eating Long Island will be around for a long time to come. With a focus on only restaurants and bars on Long Island, this site will serve up some great reviews and some tips on where you must visit, and where to avoid as well. Since they don't have a developed database of restaurants available at their disposal, you may notice that they're linking to ours. This is a great resource that we hope that you'll use in conjunction with East of NYC.
By Sam Jacobs, Brooklyn Correspondent
The visit with Kristina's parents continued through to the following Sunday, and included two more meals and a snack. The first of these meals was dinner Saturday night at Robin Des Bois, a French Restaurant on Smith Street situated in an old shoe store. The place is decorated with a combination of random provocative French posters and calendars as well as a statue of The Virgin Mary looming high above one of the tables. Kristinas parents, the good Catholics they are paid little attention to the decor and concentrated on the food.
We shared a plate of saucisson and a bottle of Cote Du Rhone. Her dad and I each had a skirt steak with a peppercorn sauce and a side of potatoes au gratin. Kristina and her mom each ordered the half chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes. We sat in silence for the next 20 minutes - our chewing and occassional wine slurping the only sounds at the table. Yeah, it's that good.
We finished up, and went for an ice cream at Uncle Louie G's up the street. This is a mini chain, and is absolutely fantastic! I became a regular at the Smith Street location over the summer, and got to the point where they were saying hi to me and recommending flavors they knew I hadn't tried yet. It was around this time I realized I needed to lose some weight.
The following morning we ate breakfast at the Carrol Gardens Diner...more on that another time though. 718-596-1609
~Sam
By Sam Jacobs, Brooklyn Correspondent
I've been rather absent from this site lately. I've been very busy with other things including getting engaged (thank you, thank you), work is busy (for now), and I've started a new diet and exercise program that I'm hoping will help me lose close to 20 pounds (ha!). Needless to say I haven't been dining out as often as I'd like to, but that's not to say I haven't at all. The truth is I only started the diet a week ago, and if you try hard enough you can find healthier options in most restaurants if you try hard enough.
However, prior to my turning over a new leaf I tried the new Smith Street hot spot, Char No. 4. The space lay empty for the majority of the six years I've lived on Smith Street. Char No. 4 opened to rave reviews from foodies and traditionalists alike. They boast a menu of hundreds of kinds of whiskey ranging from $2 glasses of higher than Jim Beam quality, to glasses over $100. They also cure their own bacon. Whiskey and bacon...get more manly, I dare you to try.
Char No. 4 played a significant part in my newly engaged life as Kristina and I, and her parents and mine converged on the restaurant a rainy Saturday morning in September to celebrate and meet (the parents) for the first time. Our dads got along like old war buddies while our mom's thought up nifty things to do for the wedding. I concentrated more on my poached eggs over ham with bacon gravy and biscuits, a side of their house cured bacon (best! bacon! ever!), and a Bloody Mary made not with vodka, but with a smoky bourbon. The bacon (did I mention it is the best ever?) is crisp and just smoky enough. And if I haven't mentioned smoke enough, the place smells slightly of grill smoke (which lingers in the air and on your clothes even after you've left.)
Char No. 4 is a welcome and delicious addition to the Smith Street family of restaurants and bars.
~Sam
This post has been reproduced from our friends over at LENNDEVOURS
I love when I taste a Long Island red with complexity and substance... especially when I find out later that it's only $16 at the winery (and no-doubt available for under $15 at shops).
One such wine is Jamesport Vineyards' East End Series Cinq. It's a kitchen sink blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, syrah and pinot noir that surprisingly doesn't taste like a bunch of leftovers thrown together.
Medium crimson red in the glass, there are nice, fairly effusive aromas of black cherry preserves, blackberries, black pepper spice and even a subtle smoked meat component that is interesting.
Medium bodied with soft tannins and just a little acidity the flavors are very similar to the nose with maybe a bit more smoke and oak apparent.
It's not a mind-blowing wine. It's not going to set the world ablaze or knock you over the head... but that's a good thing. This is a good every day local red.
Producer: Jamesport Vineyards
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Price: $16
Rating: 
About Lenn Thompson:
Lenn a proud Pittsburgh, PA native, moved to Long Island
nearly a decade ago and promptly fell in love with the region's dynamic and
emerging wine industry. An Internet marketing guru by profession, he founded LENNDEVOURS.com, his wine
blog, in early 2004 to share his passion for the wines of New York with his
readers. It has since grown into the premier source for New York wine commentary, tasting notes and news.
Formerly the editor of the Long Island Wine Gazette and contributor to Edible Brooklyn, he serves as the wine columnist for Edible East End, Hamptons.com and Dan's Papers in the Hamptons. He is also a regional editor for Appellation America covering the Long Island and Hudson River Valley regions. He lives in Sound Beach, NY with his wife Nena, son Jackson and trusty beagle, Ben Roethlisbeagle.
By Dina Shingleton, Suffolk County Correspondent
What's better than a sushi restaurant opening within walking distance of your house? A sushi restaurant that actually serves decent sushi, with attentive staff, and trendy atmosphere within walking distance to your house!
OK, so maybe Liki Sushi in Amityville isn't within walking distance for everyone, but ample parking and it's location on Merrick Rd make it the perfect go-to spot for a bite after work when you're too tired to cook.
Last night my husband, two year old daughter (yes, they're kid friendly too), and I sat down in a private booth with beaded curtains and chowed down. We started out with the Jalapeno Yellowtail appetizer. Certainly a nod to the famed dish at Nobu, it was just spicy enough without going overboard. The yellowtail was just slightly too thick, but maybe I'm used to the paper thin shavings at Nobu that seem to melt away. Of course, Liki doesn't charge Nobu prices, so to hold them up to that standard is probably unfair.
We ordered Edamame as well, mainly for Maddie (our two year old). If you haven't yet given some to your little one, give it a try! Maddie pops 'em like candy! A miso soup and a bowl of white rice rounded up Maddie's meal. We dump about half the rice into the soup and let her have at it. She thinks it is delicious, and we're happy to oblige!
The husband and I tried some sushi rolls. I had the Fire Dragon Roll (spicy tuna, cucumber on top with tuna, avocado, and spicy wasabi sauce) and a Negi Hamachi roll (yellowtail and scallion). The Fire Dragon Roll was done well. Not too much rice, excellent texture, and not too cold (I don't like eating ice cold sushi). My only complaint was that for a roll called Fire Dragon it didn't seem that spicy. Fire Dragon is a pretty dramatic name, and I was expecting dramatic spice. It fell a bit flat, but nothing extra wasabi couldn't solve.
My husband had the standard spicy tuna roll and a Boston roll. He said both were rather tasty. I tried his spicy tuna and thought it lacked spice, but he didn't agree, so maybe I was just having a bad taste bud day.
All in all I think Liki Sushi is a great go-to sushi spot. I know we'll certainly be back either to dine-in or to take-out.
One little block on Park Avenue in the Union Square / Gramercy Park area is littered with restaurants and bars. Between 19th and 20th Streets there are Angelo & Maxies, City Crab, Sugar Cane, Sushi Samba and L'Express. With all of these restaurants available so close to one another, you can literally never have to leave this one-block radius. On a recent Monday night, we took our hungry selves and settled into City Crab. I had only been there once before, back in 1998 or so, and have been looking to get back there ever since. Upon entering the restaurant, the bar area is on the left while just beyond that are high tables so that you can eat in the bar area but still enjoy their full menu. There's an upstairs and a downstairs dining room which both have great views thanks to the floor to ceiling windows looking onto Park Avenue.
The menu, as the name suggests, relies heavily on seafood (namely, crab.) For our appetizers, we ordered the tuna carpaccio, which was thin-cut rare-tuna drizzled in a soy-glaze with seaweed salad. For entrees we had the Striped Bass and the Twin Lobster Tails, which we chose to have covered with a crab meat stuffing for an extra $12. The dessert was amazing as well, with our huge helping of Oreo Ice Cream covered with crumpled Oreo's.
We happened to be there for a special dinner out, but this restaurant was casual enough to just stop by after-work for Happy Hour or with the kids for a great night out. When in Union Square / Gramercy Park, we can fully reommend this seafood hot spot for all of your dining needs. 212-529-3800
I recently met a friend for breakfast in Port Jefferson at Toast. I had been wanting to visit here since I learned the owner was someone that I had once worked with at a restaurant way back when where I was the chef and he was a young busboy. Needless to say he's all grown up now. Terry and his wife Jennifer run this a great little spot that serves as a coffee house offering creative breakfast and lunch items and then transforms into a Wine and Tapas bar on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Opened now for 6 years it has a young vibe with and energetic staff, their daughter Sienna was enjoying breakfast at the counter herself, so you know the kids are happy here too.
I chose a feather light whole wheat waffle with fresh blueberries, bananas and a sprinkling of powdered sugar and yes real maple syrup!! Yum. While my friend did her best to make a dent in her special of the day, an overstuffed omelet with turkey, asparagus and a jalapeno cheese, crispy browned potatoes and thick toast topped off the plate along with what appeared to be a homemade salsa. Steamy hot mugs of bottomless coffee and we were all set. Breakfast is a mix of interesting french toast, pancakes and waffle and omelets. While lunch is an offering of salads, burgers, wraps and not your ordinary sandwiches. Three evenings a week tapas and wine are a popular addition. Take advantage of the fact that now that the summer is over; the streets are a little less crowded, you can find a parking spot and then walk off your indulgences while enjoying this waterfront village.
631-331-6860
