Foodstuffs: Music Meets Mykonos, Sweet Treats And Italian In Hampton Bays

As a restaurant, Calissa in Water Mill may be best known for its Greek eats, but beginning this week, it also becomes the place for music with the likes of Wyclef Jean, Questlove, Rev Run x Ruckus, DJ Cassidy and others performing in the weeks ahead.

Calissa has partnered with BCL Entertainment to launch an eight-week, live-music series. Called “Calissa Sounds,” the series launches on Friday, July 16, with a performance by Wyclef Jean, followed by deep house electronic duo Bob Moses Club Set on July 23, Armand Van Helden on July 30, Capital Cities DJ Set on August 6, Questlove on August 13, Rev Run X Ruckus on August 20, DJ Cassidy on August 27, and St. Lucia and RAC performing a collaborative DJ set together for the first time ever at Calissa on September 3 to close out the season.

Calissa Sounds will bring live entertainment under one roof to create the ultimate Mykonos meets the Hamptons mashup music-driven experience. Conceptualized by three New Yorkers, “Calissa Sounds” was born after a conversation between restaurateurs James Mallios, Kylie Monagan of Civetta Hospitality and live event producer and founder of BCL Entertainment Bettie Levy. The trio bonded over their love of the Mykonian vibe and style of live performances they had experienced on the island over past summers.

They concluded they wanted to bring an unmatched experience back to patrons, clients, friends and family who missed vibrant dining out with live music for the past 16 months. Calissa’s expansive outdoor terrace allows for a safe set-up to have room to listen to music while conversing with friends.

Reservations with table minimums for “Calissa Sounds” can be made by visiting calissahamptons.com. Performances will kick off at 10 p.m. Bottle service will be offered and the kitchen at Calissa will stay open until midnight during each performance night.

Calissa is at 1020 Montauk Highway in Water Mill (1020 Montauk Highway) and it offers seafood and Greek dishes such as salt baked fish, seafood pasta and Mediterranean mezze, seven days a week all year round along with an award winning wine selection.

If it’s summer, it must be the season for dessert, and this year there are some intriguing sweet offerings at local eateries on both the North and South Forks.

Situated on the docks of Montauk Harbor La Fin (474 West Lake Drive), a French farm-to-table kitchen, bar and lounge, is offering a chocolate trifle, a soothing and silky dessert made of peanut butter mousse, creme anglaise and chocolate shavings.

No one can deny that Key West, Florida, is renowned for its Key Lime Pie — but did you know that here on the East End the area has its own legendary version? It’s true. At the Lobster Roll (a.k.a. Lunch) on the Napeague Stretch (1980 Montauk Highway, Amagansett) Chef Andrea is well-known for her treats, sweets and dessert assortment, and now has added her frozen key lime pie to the repertoire. The perfect decadent dessert for summer, the pie features a creamy, tangy and refreshing key lime filling with a slightly sweet graham cracker crust.

In Sag Harbor, K Pasa’s new go-to sweet treat is a coconut and passion fruit panna cotta. Panna cotta (Italian for cooked cream) is a traditional dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin. The perfect panna cotta should be silky smooth and firm to the bite — with some wobble. K Pasa’s panna cotta hits the mark and does so with American-Mexican flare that takes the dessert to a whole new level with flakes of shaved coconut and fresh passion fruit (or maracuya).

Finally, visitors to the North Fork would do well to check out the chocolate pots de crème at Claudio’s on Main (111 Main Street, Greenport). This chocolaty goodness has a silky smooth texture and hits the palate with notes of guilt-free pleasure — topped with fresh seasonal berries and coco nibs. Anyone feeling coco for chocolate, should let Claudio’s chocolate pots de creme drive them mad.

For a casual Italian American experience in Hampton Bays, locals and summer visitors alike turn to Salvatore’s Restaurant.

Nestled in the heart of the hamlet are menu offerings including a wide selection of pastas and appetizers and Salvatore’s iconic pizzas from its wood fire oven.

Entrée highlights include Mario’s macaroni with rigatoni, sausage, broccoli, garlic and EVOO; shrimp pesto with pesto cream sauce, angel hair pasta, sun dried tomatoes, Parmigiano and garlic (with options for gluten free or whole wheat pasta); and chicken parmigiana served with a choice of pasta or side salad.

Also on the menu are cheese calzones with mozzarella, ricotta, and provolone, Philly cheesesteaks and the “Bello Bello Burger.”

But at Salvatore’s, the main attraction is the wood-fired pizza, including the “Capricciosa” with gorgonzola, pear, truffle honey and basil; the “San Gennaro” with cotto ham, stracciatella, fior di latte, pistachios and basil; and the “Tartufo” with truffle mushroom sauce, fior di latte, cremini mushrooms and basil. A healthy option of cauliflower crust substitution is also available.

Thursday is Pasta Night, where gusts build their own pasta dinner with a sauce, protein and vegetable. There is also Social Hour Monday and Wednesday to Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. with $10 pizzas, reduced price appetizers and cocktails like cucumber jalapeño margarita and spiked blueberry lemonade.

For brunch at Salvatore’s, there’s a $25 bottomless mimosas option (hour-and-a-half limit) and full menu. Specials include smoked salmon Benedict and lemon ricotta buttermilk pancakes as well as the “Hangover Burger” with 8 ounces of beef, cheese, bacon an egg over easy and home fries.

Salvatore’s Restaurant is at 149 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays. For more information, visit salvatoresofthehamptons.com.