Dining Out In Montauk

When visiting Montauk, it’s hard to envision a menu without fresh seafood on it, and this week’s restaurants did not disappoint. Dave’s Grill owners Dave and Julie Marcley and Rick’s Crabby Cowboy owner Rick Gibbs and chef Bryan Coote sat down with Arts and Living last Friday to talk about the most popular dishes, chef’s favorites and signature items on their menus.

Dave’s Grill


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Most Popular and Signature: Dave’s “Original” Cioppino; entrée; $42.95.

Close Second Most Popular and Signature: Dave’s “Famous Thai Fish Stew”; entrée; $42.95.

Chef’s Favorite: Butter-Poached Lobster Roll; entrée; $36.95.

The most popular/signature dish, “Dave’s Original Cioppino”—or “cio” as owners Dave and Julie Marcley call it—has been on the menu since Mr. Marcley opened his eponymous dining spot 24 years ago. But that hearty seafood staple is getting a good run for its money. A newly introduced Thai-spiced variation of the dish, Dave’s “Famous Thai Fish Stew,” has been on the menu only this year but it is already almost as popular as the tried-and-true original fish stew.

The cio (pronounced “chee-o”) is made with the fresh fish of the day, plus lobster, scallops, clams, shrimp, mussels and calamari, all poached in a thick, rich fish and tomato reduction. Making the dish takes two days, according to Mr. Marcley, but the result is worth it.

“I think it really spells out what we’re trying to do here,” he said. “It brings together everything this area is about.”

The Asian counterpart, made with the same shellfish as the cioppino, is simmered in a spicy Thai fish broth reduction with coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves. Ms. Marcley said that her husband came up with the dish last winter while the restaurant was closed for the season (the last day this year will be October 22; the restaurant will reopen in mid-May 2012) and it was an instant winner with her.

“I told him that he had to write the exact recipe down right away,” she recalled with a smile on her face. “It was perfect.”

She added that the Thai version rivals the original dish, even though it’s fairly new to the menu.

“It’s a toss-up, almost a tie right now,” she said.

“It’s a Thai tie,” her husband joked. “Get it?”

Mr. Marcley’s favorite dish is the Butter-Poached Lobster Roll, he said. The sandwich, which comes with hand-cut, twice fried French fries and fresh homemade coleslaw (secret ingredients include apple cider vinegar, sugar and hot sauce), is a half pound of claw and knuckle meat, poached in warm butter and served on a toasted brioche roll. The result: buttery, lobstery heaven on a plate.

“This really puts the lobster roll on a whole other level,” Mr. Marcley said.

Ms. Marcley, who recommended an unoaked California-based Chamisol chardonnay as the perfect beverage compliment, agreed.

“It melts in your mouth. It’s the perfect summer dinner,” she said.

Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe


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Most Popular: Lobster Roll; entrée; $18.95.

Chef’s Favorite: Lobster Bake; entrée; market price, currently $44.95.

Signature: 18 Hour Pulled Pork; entrée; $19.95.

Owner Rick Gibbs and chef Bryan Coote both agreed that the Lobster Roll just flies out of the kitchen at Rick’s waterfront spot. The sandwich filling, made with fresh lobster meat bound with Hellmann’s mayonnaise and spiced with salt, pepper and lemon, is what Rick calls “a stripped down basic item with none of the filler.” The sandwich, served on a hot dog roll, is served with coleslaw and a choice of French fries or a baked potato.

Mr. Coote’s favorite dish on the menu is the Lobster Bake, one of the three quick-steamed “Crabby Bakes” choices on the menu—the other two are crab legs and ribeye steak—served with steamers, mussels, shrimp and clams, plus a breadstick, garlic butter dipping sauce, coleslaw and a choice of French fries or baked potato.

“It’s the presentation of all seafood on one place,” Mr. Gibbs said.

“It moves rapidly and stays fresh,” Mr. Coote added.

The owner recommended that diners also try the “world famous” onion rings, which are made from his grandmother, Angelina Demarco’s, recipe.

The signature dish might come as a surprise, until one remembers the name of the restaurant.

“Why pulled pork?” Mr. Gibb’s replied when asked how something other than seafood would be the signature dish. “It’s Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe; it’s seafood and barbecue.”

The dry-rubbed pork is smoked for 18 hours and then sauced with a North Carolina-style sweet barbecue marinade. As with the other entrees, the dish comes with coleslaw and a choice of French fries or baked potato.

Mr. Gibbs laughed when asked to explain the name of the eatery he has owned for 15 years.

“My wife, Jenny, and everybody thinks it’s about me, that I’m crabby, but it’s subliminal ... How could that be? I’m not crabby,” he laughed. “Seafood and barbecue, it just works.