Montauk Restaurant Review: South Edison

Year three at South Edison in Montauk—a lot of people have gotten used to this place. It’s not hard. The couple at the next table told me and my son, Teenage Boy, that they come here every time they’re out from the city.

I considered the local wines—from Channing Daughters, Wölffer and Grapes of Roth, and local beer from Montauk Brewing, Long Ireland and Blue Point, but went with a Montauk Mojito of rum, mint and macerated berries (mainly blueberries). It was a fine start to dining on The End.

We passed on the bread and rich, whipped butter and ordered up some Hand Cut Fries to try them…once again. Salty, hot, perfectly textured, skins-on, just like we remembered them.

Teenage Boy was being vegan so he got some locally-sourced Red Russian Kale Chips, while I went for a Lobster Bun. The chips were quite salty with a surprisingly delicate texture, instantly addictive in the vein of popcorn. We “ate them gone.”

And oh that Lobster Bun! Rich, sweet, tender lobster meat on a brioche bun with drawn butter and a single slice of cucumber. Wow! How could I ever eat lobster on anything other than brioche after this little baby? Why would I?! Damn.

South Edison’s chefs made a dish of falafel with local eggplant, served with olives and grains on the side for Vegan Teenage Boy (VTB). The falafel was formed into four perfectly round balls and topped with cilantro pesto.

Our waitress confirmed that the scallops were an excellent choice for my entrée, pointing out “Scallops are in season!” So Black & Blue Local Sea Scallops it was. So rich and tender, I somehow made room for all of those sweet, large scallops. Nicely served with English pea purée and golden quinoa—I guess that tough grilled radicchio was just for looks. Its color did provide a nice contrast.

Vegan Teenage Boy was impressed that our waitress sported an Escher tattoo on her arm.

Though we were tempted by the Pineapple Coconut Upsidedown Cake, we were quite pleased that the friendly general manager Benjamin met our request for sorbet. Passion Fruit for Vegan Teenage Boy, Strawberry-Basil for moi. After one taste, VTB forcibly swapped sorbets and downed the Strawberry-Basil, exclaiming, “Wow! This is good!” We both liked the tart passion fruit sorbet too, the seeds providing a nice contrast in texture.

I finished the meal with a piece of sticky taffy. This was a mistake. It was a little too much sweet, shoulda stopped with the sorbet. Ah well, there’s always the next trip out to Montauk…

South Edison, 17 South Edison Street, Montauk, 631-668-4200, southedison.com