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Michael Domitrovich grew up in restaurants. His grandparents owned a soul food spot called Ham Heaven in Detroit, Michigan, his parents opened an establishment of the same name in Tribeca, and then later owned and operated a Cajun restaurant, Lola’s, on Martha’s Vineyard.
But despite spending his entire childhood in restaurants and much of his adulthood in the kitchen, Mr. Domitrovich has never formally held the title of chef. At least until now.
This year, at 26 years old, he has taken the reins of not one, not two, but three restaurants at the Montauk Yacht Club. As executive chef, Mr. Domitrovich oversees breakfast, lunch and dinner at Hurricane Alley, Gulf Coast Kitchen, and Barracuda Bar and Turtle Lounge.
“It’s an insane challenge,” Mr. Domitrovich said in a recent interview, “but my training was growing up in the business.”
A playwright, author and artist, Mr. Domitrovich has lived in New York City for the last eight years. Three of his plays have been staged Off Broadway, and many of his other productions have been staged at regional theaters. An alumnus of New York University, Mr. Domitrovich explained in a recent interview that he began cooking informally and catering small parties soon after arriving in the city.
After traveling extensively and sampling regional cuisine from the Caribbean to Mexico, he said he was particularly taken by the flavors of the Gulf Coast. During his time in New York, Mr. Domitrovich also wrote a food-centric memoir, “Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile’s Hunger for Home,” with fellow playwright Eduardo Machado.
Based on these experiences, he said, he decided to develop his abilities in Southern and Gulf Coast cooking.
“You write what you know,” he said, “and I think you should cook what you know, too.”
When he arrived in Montauk this winter, he said, he devised a series of menus based on foods from the Gulf Coast. He said that although the restaurant is centered on a regional concept, he planned many recognizable, accessible dishes in order to take advantage of local seafood and produce.
Mr. Domitrovich also said he wanted all three of the restaurants to take on a family feel, rather than a structured corporate or hotel ambience.
To help him create that kind of experience, he brought his family with him to Montauk.
His mother, Lola, is the kitchen manager, and his father, Paul, also works in the restaurant. And his uncle, Mark Sertich, is the restaurant manager, while Briana Holt, his best friend from high school, is the pastry chef.
Breakfast is served at Hurricane Alley from 7 to 11:30 a.m. In addition to all the regular breakfast choices, Mr. Domitrovich pointed to the “Breakfast Sammy,” a hot, pressed sandwich with two fried eggs and bacon, ham or sausage and cheddar, swiss or jack cheese, $12, as a customer favorite. He said the crab cake Benedict with poached eggs, hollandaise, salsa cruda and homefries, $18, is a signature dish.
The restaurant offers an assortment of extras, including Cuban pressed toast, $4, plain yogurt, $5, yucca fries, $5, and homemade chorizo patty, $6.
Hurricane Alley’s all-day menu, served from noon until closing, includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches and platters.
Appetizers include Gulf Coast chowder, a pink chowder with Montauk clams, tasso ham and sweet potatoes, $8, and homemade hand mashed guacamole with fresh, fried tortilla chips, $15.
Salads range from the “French Quarter,” a Cajun caesar salad with spicy croutons and Dijon caesar dressing, $12, to the Gulf Coast cobb with lobster, tomatoes, shallots, bacon, avocado and deviled egg, tossed with blue cheese dressing, $28.
Sandwiches include the “Hurricane Burger,” with melted jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions and chipotle mayo, $14, “Muffuletta Mix,” stacked high with ham, salami, provolone and olive salad, pressed on Cuban bread, $15, and the “Oyster Po’Boy,” a fried oyster sandwich with lettuce, tomato, pickled onions and remoulade, $17.
Mr. Domitrovich cited the “Cuban Mix,” with slow roasted pork, ham, swiss, mustard, and pickles, pressed on Cuban bread, $15, as a house specialty.
Platters, served with a choice of Cajun fries, potato salad, Texas slaw or mixed greens, include Mama Lola’s fried chicken, $18, and carnitas, roast pork soft tacos with pickled onion, salsa cruda and shredded lettuce, $18.
Dinner is served at Gulf Coast Kitchen, a more formal dining room, Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 5 to 11 p.m.
“Barracuda Bites” include Long Island duck sliders on mini sweet potato biscuits with carmelized onions and house-made tangerine marmalade, $12; coconut shrimp with key lime tartar sauce, $15; and mini lobster rolls, $19, which “people go crazy for,” according to Mr. Domitrovich.
Appetizers range from mussels sauteed with grilled tomatoes, shallots, tequila and ancho cream, $13, to crab cake con lobster, topped with lobster salad, corn salsa and key lime tartar sauce, $18.
Soups include Gulf Coast chowder, $8, and watermelon gazpacho, sweet and spicy with cilantro pesto, $8.
Salads include Gulf Coast greens tossed with candied pecans, crispy shallots, and sour orange dressing, served with goat cheese croquetas, $12, as well as the “French Quarter” and Gulf Coast Cobb.
Entrées include blackened swordfish and chips, with key lime tartar sauce and string bean fries, $34; barbecued sea scallops sauteed in secret spices with hominy grits and two corn macque-choux, $36; and filet mignon, grilled with saffron mash, grilled asparagus and tamarind steak sauce, $42.
Mr. Domitrovich said that the Cajun-flavored flounder meuniere, bathed in brown butter sauce with pecan rice and stewed okra, $32, and the Yucatán-inspired striped bass tikin-xic, glazed in achiote and sour orange with warm corn tortillas, sweet plantains, salsa cruda, and habañero salt, $38, are both kitchen favorites.
Sides, all $6, range from crock of shells and cheese to collard greens to saffron garlic mashed potatoes.
The Barracuda Bar and Turtle Lounge features a fully-stocked bar and an assortment of appetizers drawn from the menu selections available at Hurricane Alley and Gulf Coast Kitchen.
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