Dan’s Taste of Two Forks Countdown: Southfork Kitchen

Don’t call it a comeback. A kitchen fire over Memorial Day Weekend may have forced Southfork Kitchen to close, but the Bridgehampton restaurant reopened just before July 4^th Weekend and hasn’t missed a step.

“You can’t knock winners down,” says chef Joe Isidori, who’ll be joining other Hamptons restaurants at the Dan’s Taste of Two Forks event on Saturday, July 16. “When we go down, we get right back up. The number one reason why is we have great, loyal, dedicated staff. If if weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have been able to open so quickly and start off where we left off. When the fire happened, we were an inch away from being perfect, and now we’re still just an inch away. And hopefully soon enough we’ll get to that perfect status.” [expand]

What Are You Most Looking Forward at Dan’s Taste of Two Forks… I’m looking forward to getting together with the other chefs and creating more of a chef’s community here on the East End. That’s something that can help the people coming to the event to see that, Hey, the East End of Long Island is a culinary destination, the next culinary hot spot. What California did 20 years ago, Long Island is ready to do today.

Favorite Dish at Southfork Kitchen… My favorite dish is our Montauk Bluefish au Poivre. We don’t serve meat here, so I like serve fish that I can treat like meat, like a steak dish.

Food That Defines Summer on Long Island… There’s just so much of it, but I’d say it’s whatever you find at a farm stand. The farm stands tell you summer is here. So when you’re driving down Route 27 and you see all those signs that say Strawberries, Sugar Snaps, Corn, Tomatoes, you know it’s summer on Long Island.

If You Had Two Forks in Your Hand Right Now, What Would You Like to Stick Them In…  A big, fat bowl of pasta!

The World Ends Tomorrow. Your Last Meal Would Be… My father was a chef, and he recently passed away, so my last meal would be anything my father would have cooked. He used to make beautiful pasta pomodoro, so my last meal would be that.

Favorite Local Ingredient… That’s obvious—bluefish.

If You Didn’t work in the World of Food, You’d Be… An artist

The Moment You Knew Food Was Your Calling… When I was five years old and tried to cook my mother breakfast…and almost burned down the house.

A Word That Defines How You Feel About Food… Obsessed.

When You Get to Foodie Heaven, the Guy at the Gate Will Say… When I get to Foodie Heaven, there’s no guy, it’s my old man sitting there. He’ll say, “What’s up?”

Dan’s Taste of Two Forks is on Saturday, July 16, at Sayre Park in Bridgehampton. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. [/expand]