Tag Archives: restaurant week

Nommin’ Through the Hamptons: John’s Pancake House

30 May

On our 3rd morning in Montauk (after a few other Hamptons meals), we decided to try John’s Pancake House, which is right on main street in the center of town.  It reminded me of the pancake houses on the Jersey Shore. In fact, Montauk reminded me in total of the Jersey Shore, except with fewer teenagers. That is until the Montauk St. Patty’s Day Parade, which is an annual parade a few weeks after St. Patrick’s Day that for some reason magnetizes the teenagers from all over Long Island to show up, drunk, and make a mess.  (It got so bad we actually left Montauk just after the parade ended and the highschoolers descended). 

Anyway… back to John’s.

We were sat at a kitschy (and sticky) breakfast counter due to lack of seating.  The waitresses all look like they have been there forever.

DSCF8392

Mike went with the western omelet.  It was a very classic omelette with very classic breakfast potatoes.

DSCF8395

I got a side of the corned beef hash (which was a huge portion).  The charred side was delicious, though it had some of the gritty texture that makes corned beef hash a bit less than delectable. 

DSCF8398

And I got the banana pancakes.  These were classic pancakes with a bit of banana in them.  Could have used some more banana.

DSCF8401

Overall, John’s is exactly what it looks like.  A run-down, classic diner that has been around forever and serves classic, good-enough food that they have no desire to change.  It’s good fuel, but not exactly a tourist draw.

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Nommin’ Through the Hamptons: Montauk Yacht Club

29 May

It’s Hamptons Week in honor of the official start of summer! If you are going to The Hamptons this summer, check out all the posts from this week to get my recommendation on where to eat (and where not to).

Our second Restaurant Week Reservation was at Montauk Yacht Club.  We had a whole lot of trouble finding it (note: iPhone GPS puts it in a different location than it really is). The restaurant is actually called “Gulf Coast Kitchen” so be sure to follow those signs.

When you walk in, it’s simply beautiful.  Every room had a great look and feel to it.

DSCF8425

The view from our table was across a seating area and to the water.  

DSCF8427

Their menu was pretty good for Restaurant week with 4 selections each for the starters and the mains. 

DSCF8428

Mike chose the Chowder MYC that came with double smoked bacon, local clams, and fresh cream.  This was pretty good with some nice flavor, but one thing I love about chowder is the big pieces of clam and potato.  This was a bit more liquidy than I would prefer, but still quite nice.

DSCF8430

I got the Big Eye Tuna Tartar that came with shallots, Italian parsley, lemon zest, micro truffle salad, and crostini.

DSCF8431

This was gorgeously constructed and was a great combination of flavors.  I didn’t know what micro truffle salad was, but I was expecting something truffle flavor. Unfortunately, there was none.  This was one of those “over-promise and under-deliver” moments.  Had they never mentioned truffles, I would have eaten this happily and been on my merry way. But once the “truffle” was out of the bag, I wanted truffle.  

DSCF8433

For the main, Mike chose the grilled hangar steak with fresh salsa verde, roasted vegetables, and rosemary and sage potatoes.  This had good flavor and the salsa verde gave it a nice touch.

DSCF8439

I got a special that wasn’t on the menu but still counted for Restaurant Week.  It was a pork chop with some greens and potatoes.  Unfortunately, this was a bit disappointing. Not too big on flavor and in need of a sauce.

DSCF8441

The dessert selection included lemon tarts that Mike enjoyed while on his lemon kick.

DSCF8444

I chose the chocolate mousse cake that came with a passion fruit sauce. It was delicious but VERY rich.

DSCF8448

Overall, I enjoyed the Gulf Coast Kitchen at the Montauk Country Club, but I can’t say it was a brilliant meal. For $25 it was a well priced meal, but I’m not sure I can say it was great. The location, however, is stunningly beautiful and probably worth it just for that.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nommin’ Through the Hamptons: East by Northeast

28 May

Mike and I decided to take a long weekend in Montauk during the off-season.  I had heard lovely things about this town at the end of Long Island and the neighboring Hamptons towns.  We took the train out to Southampton and rented a car (note to self: DO NOT rent a car at Enterprise in Southampton again… WORST RENTAL CAR EXPERIENCE EVER) and then drove the rest of the way to Montauk.  

It happened to be Hamptons Restaurant Week, so we made a few reservations to try the a few of the restaurants in the area. Our first stop was at the very highly recommended East by Northeast.  

1DSCF8391

The restaurant is right on the water and in a beautiful location.  We found out that the restaurant ownership company, Fort Pond Bay Company, actually owns a Westchester restaurant that we frequent with Mike’s family in Dobbs Ferry, NY: Half Moon. It had a similar setup with a wall full of windows looking out on the water. 

DSCF8353

The Restaurant Week menu had a good selection of items, and dinner was just $24.50.

2DSCF8354

I had a lovely cocktail that was nicely summery.

DSCF8351

We decided to start with something off the Restaurant Week menu: a selection of raw oysters. They put them down in front of us and we noticed something… do you know what it is?

DSCF8356

How well do you know your shellfish?  If you have identified these as clams, you would be exactly right.  The waitress was very confused and flustered, and soon recognized that yes, she had mistaken the oysters for the clams.

DSCF8360

Luckily, that meant free clams for us!  And then out came the oysters.  Even better since they were local.

DSCF8361

Mike chose to start with the Chopped Iceberg Salad with Red Wine Dressing. It was fine.

DSCF8366

I went with the miso mussels with dashi and garlic. These were also… fine.

DSCF8372

Mike went with a special addition to the Restaurant Week menu, a burger with an egg on top.  This was also… fine.

DSCF8373a

My main course was Pork Tonkatsu with Coconut Risotto.  It was… fine.

DSCF8384

For dessert, Mike got 2 scoops of ice cream.  It was a bit of a strange concoction. Also… fine.

DSCF8387

I got the Chocolate Pots du Creme.  Which was… you guessed it… fine.

DSCF8389

Overall, our meal was… fine.  It was nothing special, nothing was good but nothing was bad. It was a very forgettable meal with some strange service problems throughout. Perhaps it was because it was the off-season or perhaps they weren’t giving it their all for Restaurant Week, but I was very surprised that a restaurant that came so well recommended was this blah. I’m glad we only paid $25 each for this meal, though our favorite part of the meal was definitely the oysters, which were off the RW menu.  I can’t recommend this place.

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →