East End Food Seen: Dia de Muertos, Schmidt's Market Closing & More

Check out this week’s East End foodie news bites!

Another fall means another Long Island Restaurant Week. This time, the promotion is taking place from November 6 to November 13, and a bevy of East End restaurants are  participating.

The concept behind the campaign is that from Sunday to Sunday, restaurants will offer a two-course $22 lunch and/or three-course $27, $37 or $44 dinner prix fixe menu every day that they’re open, with the exception of Saturday when it may only be offered until 7 p.m.

The A1 participants out east include Cove Hollow Tavern in East Hampton ($37), Jean-Georges at Topping Rose House ($44) and Elaia Estiatorio ($44) in Bridgehampton, Calissa in Water Mill ($44), Southampton Publick House ($22 lunch and $27 dinner), Saaz Indian Cuisine ($37) and Manna at Lobster Inn ($22 lunch and $27, $37 and $44 dinner) in the Southampton area.

More are expected to sign up before the promotion starts, so keep your eyes peeled on Long Island Restaurant Week’s website for updates: longislandrestaurantweek.com.

La Fondita, which means “little kitchen” in Spanish, is celebrating Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) with traditional specials, available Sunday, October 30 through Monday, October 31.

The specials include chile relleno de queso (poblano pepper filled with cheese and served with rice, refried beans and hand-pressed tortillas), chile en nogada (poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and topped with walnut cream sauce served with rice, refried beans and tortillas) and atole de piña, warm pineapple and corn meal beverage.

Joining in on the festivities, Coche Comedor, their sister restaurant, will be offering a duck tamale, turkey from the wood-fired rotisserie and, for dessert, pumpkin flan with maseca crumble. The multi-day holiday originated in Mexico and involves family and friends gathering together to remember and pay respects to deceased loved ones.

Solé East invites all monsters, ghouls, witches and ghosts to celebrate Halloween on Saturday, October 29 at 8 p.m. in The Backyard to mark the end of the season. The evening will feature free bar food, drink specials and a live DJ, and costumed guests will be entered to win a weekend stay.

Admission to the party is free and special room rates will be offered for the weekend. For reservations and information, call Solé East at 631-668-2105 or visit soleeast.com.

There is a plethora of wine happenings on the East End this fall, including Southold Social, offering special wine dinners every Thursday. James Beard Award-winning Chef Francois Payard and his team have meticulously selected bottles from local North and South Fork wineries for the dinners.

Each week, the dishes will be curated to perfectly pair with the local wine offerings. This area is particularly generous for winemaking because it’s completely surrounded by water, with wind and maritime temperatures perfect for vino. The fall harvest season is a terrific time to discover the local bottlings.

After 43 years in business in Southampton Village, Schmidt’s Market will close its doors on October 21. The father-son duo who manage the market, Dennis and Dan Schmidt, were informed by the property owners at the beginning of this year that they were putting the property on the market. The Schmidts are on the lookout for another location to reopen their beloved business, and are eyeing locations from Westhampton Beach to East Hampton. We’ll always be thankful to Schmidt’s Market for the morning coffee, egg sandwiches and fresh produce.

Did You Know?

Highway Restaurant and Bar is offering pink paloma cocktails in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The restaurant is also bringing back some favorite theme nights, such as Thai night on the first Thursday of every month and Peking duck nights on Fridays. The restaurant recommends reserving a table (and duck) ahead of time, as they are the quack of the town.

Slow Food East End will celebrate the fall harvest with a festival devoted to fermentation in collaboration with Jamesport Farmstead. A cornucopia of cabbages were planted for the event to honor the 200-year history of cabbage growth and harvesting on Long Island. On October 22, Slow Food will also lead a workshop in shredding and making sauerkraut with traditional tools.

Cauliflower is 92% water. Like its cruciferous cousins broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, collard greens and kale, it is very nutritious in vitamins C, K, B6 and minerals and antioxidants. In order to preserve most of its vitamins, we suggest steaming, stir-frying or roasting the cauliflower like Chef Philippe Corbet does at Lulu Kitchen & Bar.

Bits & Bites:

Observing Sober October? Some of our favorite local mocktails include The Birchwood of Polish Town’s frozen mocktails, North Fork Table & Inn’s grapefruit sage limeade, Bell & Anchor’s ginger sparkler and Astro Pizza’s portofino.

Pizza is back at Nick & Toni’s! The pies will be available Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday for dine-in and takeout, and include margherita, fungi, salsiccia and pepperoni.

When we say the Fab Four, your mind might think of The Beatles. However, we’re talking about the fabulous four Dopo restaurants, now in Southampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton and Bridgehampton! The new Dopo in Bridgehampton is located in the old World Pie space, thus inheriting the wood-burning oven.

Going by the name Dopo Il Ponte, it has been charmingly redecorated. The Caesar salad, fritto misto with crispy calamari, shrimp and branzino and eggplant Parmigiana are all top-notch. For dessert, order the tiramisu or rose water panna cotta with berries.

Food Quote:

“Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won’t be invited to cocktail parties.” -Oscar Wilde

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