A Wednesday Photo Essay

Today during my lunch hour, I:

put (free) air in my tires

 

looked under the hood of my car

drove to tappan beach

 and took some photos

 

 

(soaring)

 

and came back to a delicious lunch, leftovers from my wonderful romantic dinner cooked by my beau!

xoxo

Margaritas and a (Junior League) Mixer!

Last night Patrick and I met Jeff at Meson Ole! in Patchogue for margaritas and dinner. We had a big ol' pitcher of delicious margaritas and the three of us downed it! We also attacked the chips and salsa, which are pretty damn addictive. We had a really great time catching up and telling stories about our jobs and life. Danced to Shakira in the car on the way home and collapsed in bed. Good times.

Today was Super Saturday at the Junior League of Long Island, and it was a lot of fun! I met some fabulous new Provisionals and I think that we have a great group coming in this year. I'm really excited about our Junior League Provisional Project, Kids in the Kitchen. Kids in the Kitchen is an initiative by AJLI to promote healthy eating and physical activities for kids. From the AJLI website: The goal of the Junior Leagues' Kids in the Kitchen initiative, which is supported by The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. and its member Leagues, is to empower youth to make healthy lifestyle choices and help reverse the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health issues.  I'm really happy that JLLI has chosen this as our Provisional project, especially since obesity is an epidemic in our nation and I firmly believe that healthy eating and healthy habits must be implemented in our youth so they can make informed decisions about food and wellness. When I was younger, even though TV was a part of our lives, we did go outside and play pretty frequently. Now, I rarely see kids playing outside after school. I'm confident that our Provisionals will hold an excellent event and help make a difference, even if it's with a small group of children.

It's Saturday night and what are my plans, you may ask? I'm staying in at the moment, working on some stories for our JLLI newsletter. My beau is coming home from PA tonight so I'm excited to see him later on. Patrick and I are going to IKEA tomorrow to pick out some furniture and things for our apartment - I'm so excited about moving in! I love picking out furniture and tchotchkes.

Enjoy your Saturday night, kids!

Porter's On The Lane

It’s been a little over a year since Porter’s On the Lane opened, and in that time, it has become a fixture in Bellport Village’s dining scene. Owners Jenni and John Giannott and Mike and Tim Kelly have really outdone themselves in providing diners with a diverse menu showcasing Long Island’s fine seafood offerings.

Head Chef Dan Morgan takes great care in serving primo dishes using the freshest ingredients possible. Porter’s On the Lane has a cohesive menu with local seafood, steak, and a variety of salads and soups.On the particular Saturday evening we went there, their Soup of the Day was a delicious sounding lobster bisque.

            Mandi and I spent a cool Saturday evening dining on the front deck. The atmosphere was very relaxed, and the porch offered a great view of the sun setting over Bellport Lane. The service was very friendly and attentive, from our server to the busboys who brought us our bread and Pellegrino. We started off with sampling the West Coast Oysters from the raw bar with the Prince Edward Mussels. The West Coast oysters were incredibly fresh and crisp and tasted wonderful. I recommend dabbling a bit of Tabasco sauce on the oysters...absolutely delicious. The mussels were also fantastic, but then again, who isn’t a fan of mussels?  If you aren’t a fan of mussels, try the mussels at Porter’s. You’ll convert. The white wine, garlic, butter, and crème fraiche added a pleasing sauce to the mussels, which were absolutely addictive. Even the bread and butter were delicious and unique. The butter was not your typical plain butter- it was a soft, creamy garlic butter. 

            I sampled the Shrimp Scampi, a wonderful pasta dish perfect for a late summer evening. The seared jumbo shrimp were very fresh and the spinach, artichoke, and plum tomatoes all added a very healthy touch to the dish. Mandi had the filet mignon stuffed with brie and spinach, and according to her, it was a pleasing blend of flavors. The mashed potatoes accompanying the filet mignon were light and buttery.  

             One word can be used to describe dessert at Porter’s: wow. The Gianotts also own Carla Marla’s ice cream parlor across the street, and their prowess definitely shows in their creative and delectable desserts. The butter-toasted pound cake was decadent, buttery, and warm. The strawberries and cream were very fresh and the pound cake used in the dessert was very light. The Porter’s brownie came with a small sample of vanilla ice cream, and it was divine. The chocolate just melted in your mouth......mmmm. 

            Porter’s On the Lane also offers an extensive wine list as well as beer and spirits. They are also open for lunch Thurdays-Sundays from noon-4pm. Tuesdays are Chops n’ Claws nights, with a 3 course prix fixe menu for $29.95. On Wednesdays at the bar, there’s a Beers, Buckets, and Blues special with live music by Skip Bennett. There’s a Blue Point beer special and $5 bucket appetizers, so come on down! On Thursday nights, pianist Henry Hade of Movin’ Out plays live music from 7-10. Bar specials are offered Tuesday-Friday nights, and happy hour is on Fridays from 5-8 pm with $6 martinis and $3 drafts. Please note that Porters on the Lane will be changing to its fall menu on October 1^st. 

“It’s been a year and three months. It’s nice to have a full summer here and you know, we have experience with the village with Carla Marla’s,” Jenni Giannott reflected about Porter’s first year in Bellport. “We love our staff. They make it nice to come to work.” 

            For more information, visit www.portersonthelane.com or call (631) 803-6067. What's cool is that you can also place an online reservation via their website. Porter’s On the Lane is located at 19 Bellport Lane in Bellport Village.

Fall is Here!

Today I woke up at 6:30 AM to bring my favorite vet, Mandi, to work. We headed out at 7 AM, stopped at 7-11 for coffees (mine pumpkin spice, of course), and hopped in the HOV lane on the L.I.E. We FLEW past all of the traffic and we managed to reach Exit 37 by 8 AM. As we passed Christopher Morley Park, we saw a bunch of tents and tables and flowers, and a sign that said "Farmers Market TODAY". So naturally, curiosity got the best of us and we had time to kill, so we turned around and visited the Farmer's Market.

We saw:

 There were vendors selling seafood (complete with live crabs in a bucket), handmade natural soaps that smelled positively delicious, flowers, bread, fruit, veggies, and so much more! Mandi bought some Swiss chard from the Peconic farmers, and we both purchased apples (at $1.35/lb!) and apple cider from Orchards of Concklin in upstate Pomona (Rockland County). The apples were so crisp and refreshing. The apple cider, though, was YUMMY. It wasn't tart - it had a fullbodied flavor. 

The Nassau County Farmer's Market is definitely worth checking out. It's right off of Exit 37 on the L.I.E. at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn. It will be held every Wednesday from 7AM-1PM until Thanksgiving. Support Long Island and upstate farmers!

On the Horizon...

Whew, today was one heck of a day. Nuff said.

I'm excited because tomorrow night I get to interview Johnny Knapp and the guys over at the Corner Store Cooperative in Bellport Village. We'll be publishing a feature about the guys, their vision, and the hottest new hangout in Bellport in a coming issue of The Long Island Advance. Knapp, Tyler Healy, and Quinn Sherman were featured in the October 2009 issue of Vanity Fair and in the New York Times. I can't wait to check out what they've done with the space and their upcoming projects!

In other news, ladies: check out Super Saturday at the Junior League of Long Island this weekend! Located in Roslyn, the Junior League of Long Island is a training organization teaching women the inner workings of a non-profit organization as well as promoting voluntarism! The Junior League has built a playground at the Family Service League in Bay Shore, built a computer lab at a facility in Bellport, as well as completing many other fabulous projects benefiting communities around LI. We're a fun group to hang with, so come on down to Roslyn from 10am-1pm on Saturday and meet us!

I'm heading over to Carlo's Pizza in Shirley with my beau for a slice and a soda, cos I need comfort food  right now.  And what better comfort food than a warm slice of Long Island pizza??

...all about my weekend!

This weekend was highly anticipated. Why? Because I got to go back to Porter's On The Lane in Bellport Village and write another review! Mandi and I headed over to Porter's on Saturday night and we sat on the deck overlooking Bellport Lane. It was a cool night and it was absolutely gorgeous! We sampled the raw bar and dessert was EPIC. Curious? Read more about it HERE, or support your local newspaper and pick up a copy of this week's issue of the Long Island Advance!

After dinner Saturday night, I headed over to East Islip, picked up my dear friend Bill. It was one of those nights where we wanted to see where the night took us, and the night took us to Babylon Village and Mary Carroll's pub. It was my first time checking out Mary Carroll's, and I wasn't disappointed. Bill and I grabbed our Blue Point Blueberry Ales and Blue Moon and watched the Yankees game on a plasma TV. We stayed there for a while and then we headed back to Bay Shore and to the Playhouse Pub for martinis! The Playhouse is located next to the historic Boulton Center theater, where we saw Vienna Teng perform two years ago. I sampled the Chai Berry martini, and DAYUM it was strong, but oh, so good. We stayed there the rest of the night and had a great time.

Sunday! Went to the gym, parked myself on the couch with a pumpkin spice latte and wrote my review of Porter's for the Advance, and headed out to Painters' in Brookhaven Hamlet with Gerry. I had never eaten dinner at Painters' before - it's my go-to spot for strong appletinis and great dancing when I want to stay local. Gerry and I tried the sushi tuna on crispy wonton skins with Asian slaw and wasabi aioli, and it was delicious! Our salads were also fantastic - Gerry got the blackened steak salad and raved about it. I had the apple walnut salad with grilled shrimp and gorgonzola, and it was a perfect late summer salad.

After dinner, we headed over to the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport and caught a performance of A Chorus Line. It was mind-blowing!!! For those of you who haven't seen A Chorus Line, it's a musical about actors auditioning for a Broadway chorus line. The musical is set in 1975, and some of the themes (growing up, performance anxiety, sexuality, familial relationships) remain current. The actors and actresses did a great job with this performance, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you're in the area!

The Pine Grove Inn, Patchogue NY

Overlooking the Swan River is a gem of a restaurant, and if you can believe it, it’s been around for nearly a century. Since 1910, Patchogue’s very own Pine Grove Inn has been known for its impeccable, personalized service and excellent German cuisine.

Michael Rizzi has owned the Pine Grove Inn since 2001 and since that time he has led his family and staff in taking the restaurant to the next level. From catering events to holiday dinners to Octoberfest, they do it all.“We’re really proud to have something for everyone, especially German and lighter fare,” said Rizzi. “We have wine dinners and psychic nights, and we have more of a family friendly kind of thing.” Michael Rizzi and his staff will accommodate different tastes and are willing to make something that’s not on the menu- all you have to do is ask.

Executive chef Robbie Rizzi creates traditional German dishes like the Pine Grove Inn’s award-winning roastbraten and sauerbraten along with sandwiches, burgers, and seafood dishes. The Rizzis take pride in the fact that they use locally grown produce and utilize local businesses for all of their needs, from electricity to foodservice. The organic greens are from Deer Run Farms in Brookhaven, and the seafood is all locally caught.

Patrick and I sampled the eggplant rollatini and the fried soft shell crab appetizers. The fried soft shell crab is only in season for another week, so hurry up and try it! It was crisp and went well with the mashed potatoes and tartar sauce. The eggplant rollatini was also a delightful appetizer. Our main courses, however, were beyond our expectations. I had the sesame-crusted tuna on rice pilaf, an eclectic dish with a pleasing balance of sweet and savory. The homemade wasabi added a huge kick to the tuna and added to the overall effect. Patrick had the tenderloin of beef stroganoff, which he described as “just perfect, the sauce was rich and flavorful.” Dessert was Kahlua coffees, which were absolutely delightful with German rock candy sticks – a nice, sweet touch!

Speaking of which, for all of the beer aficionados out there, take note: the Pine Grove Inn offers a menu of German, Belgian, and local brews. Not into beer? Dana, the bartender, can whip up one of the Pine Grove Inn’s specialty drinks like the Perfect Cosmopolitan or the Concord Grape Martini, made with fresh grapes. There is also a complete wine list with premium wines sold by the glass as well as by the bottle. According to Michael, Dana makes the best cocktails, so you should definitely come on down.

Check out their Octoberfest, which will continue through the month of (duh!) October. The Pine Grove Inn also offers a Sunday brunch buffet for $25.99 as well as a three course prix fixe dinner for $24.95. Happy hour is from 12-6pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with a complimentary buffet at the bar on Fridays from 4-7 pm. They cater events, large and small, and they also have live music on Friday nights and Saturday nights. Bottom line: the Pine Grove Inn truly offers “something for everyone”.

The Pine Grove Inn is located at #1 First Street in Patchogue. For more info, visit www.pinegroveinn.com or call (631) 286-9843.