Southampton Restaurant Review: Lunch at 75 Main

It had been too long since our editors gathered to lunch at 75 Main in Southampton. It’s a summer hotspot that’s open year-round, and the people-watching is always stellar through their windows.

Our newest editor Brian Cudzilo had not yet had the pleasure of a 75 Main lunch. Here’s his take:

“I was tempted by the Salmon BLT on the brunch-lunch menu. As a pescatarian I run into this often: The grilled salmon, whole-wheat bread, tarragon mayonnaise and the L and T were all enticing. But the B…I prefer not to order a dish and ask for something to be left off. I know how much work goes into matching, comparing and contrasting tastes within a dish and I’m always afraid that the flavor will be off in some way without one ingredient, especially an important one. So I passed (but boy did I used to love a good BLT).

There was the Smoked Salmon Platter with a toasted bagel, cream cheese, sliced red onion, tomato and capers…I was hungry and needed something to combat the lightheadedness caused by the perfectly spiced Bloody Mary I’d ordered and drunk a bit faster than I should have. So Roasted Honey Balsamic Salmon it would be—a choice I certainly don’t regret. Served with toasted couscous risotto, which I feared could be bland-bland, was certainly not-not. Our server Ella’s suggestion of medium doneness was a good call: slightly crispy on the outside, cooked through the middle and not at all dry. It was mmm-mmm.”

Stacy ordered the Chicken Fajita with peppers, onions, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, guacamole and sour cream. This is not a small fajita and it comes with a generous side of shoestring fries. Pretty fajita and naughty side dish. Pretty naughty, but nice for a holiday lunch grabbed between bouts of shopping.

Summer editor and music writer Dr. Daniel W. Koontz considered the merits of the Prime Black Truffle Burger with its roasted garlic aioli but settled on the Crab Cake Benedict and gobbled it up with all of its hollandaise sauce and home-fry tastiness, noting, “There’s a certain half-life of eggs Benedict.” He clearly got it all down with time to spare, and then enjoyed a cup of decaf coffee.

Maybe next time we’ll all enjoy a round of those deep red Bloody Marys served with lemon and lime…

75 Main is located at 75 Main Street in Southampton, 631-283-7575, 75main.com.