36 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • OCTOBER 2017 36 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 36 LONGISLANDPRESS.CO M • SEPTEMBER 201-----------TUTU111
FOOD & DRINK
San Remo’s fire
and a hot Indian lunch
Plus Billy Joel and Sir Paul sightings, canned wine and chefs on the run
By JEFF and VERA WURST
Plenty of fine Italian restaurants line
Sunrise Highway between Lynbrook
and Rockville Centre. One is San
Remo, known as Dino’s until last fall,
and a bastion of Ligurian specialties
like pesto and grilled seafood.
Owner-chef Rafael (Ralph) Mekic,
formerly the chef at Alberto’s in
Forest Hills, hails from Montenegro
and embraces Liguria’s coastal flavors
and nutty tastes. We opened our
meal with balsamic-drizzled grilled
calamari (Jeff) and grilled octopus
(Vera); both choices delighted.
Vera selected Veal Ossobuco alla Milanese
featuring a traditional gremolata
sauce: garlic, anchovy, parsley, and
lemon zest. Jeff got veal scaloppini,
here called Veal alla San Remo, bearing
vivid grilled tomatoes and Buffalo
mozzarella in Barolo wine sauce.
We shared house-made black ink
linguini, starring fleshy pieces of
shrimp, firm shitake mushrooms,
hearts of artichokes, peas and cherry
tomatoes in a virgin olive oil and
garlic sauce. From the wine cellar,
we picked a white, Villa Rosa Gavi di
Gavi ($36) to escort the seafood, and
a red, Giribaldi Barbaresco ($55) for
the meats. Both satisfied.
Chose tiramisu for dessert: it’s
smooth, scrumptious and firm. If
you go – and go you should – leave
enough time for a leisurely meal. Fai
con comodo, as they say in Italy.
San Remo, 328 Sunrise Highway,
Rockville Centre, 516-764-0800. Weekdays
prix fixe three-course menu, $28.
Pastas $17.50-$28. Entrees $21-$39.
• • •
Billy Joel dined with Gov. Andrew
Cuomo al fresco at Nick & Toni’s one
recent Saturday evening … Kevin
James was spotted at The BBG in
Williston Park, snacking on appetizers
… Also at Nick & Toni’s Labor
Day week was Scarlett Johannson
and Colin Jost, tete-a-teting over a
late dinner … Sir Paul McCartney
and his family dined at Duryea’s in
Montauk … Retired Yankee great
Bernie Williams chowed down on
a steak at the bar at Indian Wells
Tavern, East Hampton … Pharrell
Williams and Justin Timberlake got
their barbeque fix at Townline BBQ.
• • •
If you’re tired of the usual Indian
lunch buffet cliches, try New Chilli &
Curry in Hicksville. The menu comes
in Hindustani (Northern Indian),
Hakka (Indian-style Chinese) and
Thai flavors for appreciative, multiculti
midday crowds. The buffet table
groans with goat masala, diwani handi
(wok-fried mixed vegetables) mapo
tofu (Szechuan meets New Delhi
vegan), tandoori chicken and more.
Owner Kumar Chhetri presides serenely
over the multilingual feasting.
Lunch buffet, $9.74; Tues-Fri 11:30
a.m.-2:30 p.m. 106 Woodbury Road,
Hicksville. 516-932-9180.
• • •
Oktoberfest specials abound. Oak
Chalet at 1940 Bellmore Ave in
Bellmore is Bavarian year ’round, but
never more so than during October.
Sample German specialties accompanied
by the music of accordionist
Frank Rapuano.
Mirabelle Tavern at the Three Village
Inn (150 Main Street, Stony Brook,
631-751-0555, hosts a four-course
beer pairing dinner on Thursday,
Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. The evening features
a four-course prix menu paired with
Oktoberfest craft beers. Cost: $58 per
person including tax and tip.
• • •
Like doughnuts, but hate the heavy
taste? Foughnuts – think faux
doughnuts – of Great Neck has added
Pina Colada and Mango Passion
Fruit to their array of baked (not
fried) doughnuts. More new flavors
are coming.
• • •
Somm like it hot. The third batch of
Wölffer Pink Gin is in and we hear
it’s selling fast. So is its new batch
of 139 Cider. Wölffer now produces
more cider than wine. You heard it
here first.
Lieb Cellars has introduced Long
Island’s first canned wine under
their Bridge Lane label. It was only a
matter of time.
• • •
Chef Enko Purisic, also from Montenegro
and former owner-executive
chef at La Bistecca in Valley Stream
and Branzino in Lynbrook, is now
executive chef at Chazz Palminteri
Ristorante Italiano on 46th St. in
New York, near the Chazz Palminteri
Broadway hit, A Bronx Tale.
Michael Ross is now executive chef
at Salt & Barrel in Bay Shore. Prior,
Michael was sous chef at Jewel and
owner-chef at Fiddleheads.
Jeff is a practicing attorney. Vera is
a retired school teacher. Both love
Long Island food and wine and are
delighted to share their discoveries
with you. Contact them via lipressfood@
gmail.com.
Wölffer has released a new batch of 139 Cider.
Best of the Wursts
