Dining Out On The North Fork

This week Arts & Living took a trip to the North Fork to uncover a few delectable dishes from the menus of Riverhead’s Seaside Grill and Greenport’s Claudio’s.

Seaside Grill

R

iverhead

208-0002

Most Popular: South Shore Club; entrée; $10.95

Signature: Kobe Beef Sliders; entrée; $11.95.

Chef’s Favorite: Spinach Salad; entrée; $10.95.

Located right next to the Hyatt Place East End’s outdoor pool and overlooking the Treasure Cove Resort Marina, Seaside Grill in the Hyatt offers a simple summer dining experience.

Executive Chef Sean Fountaine called the South Shore Club the most popular item on the menu because of the number of people who have enjoyed it in the few weeks the restaurant has been open.

The sandwich is made with roasted turkey, avocado, applewood smoked bacon, baby lettuce and tomato on toasted ciabatta bread.

“Being on the ciabatta makes it a little different,” Mr. Fountaine said at the grill on Wednesday. “And the avocado adds something too.”

For his signature dish, chef Fountaine chose the Kobe Beef Sliders. The dish offers three 2-ounce burgers and a side of coleslaw. Options include cheese, bacon and avocado.

“It is a combination of Kobe and Angus beef which creates a really nice flavor,” he explained.

The Spinach Salad was rated the chef’s favorite because of the combination of flavors. The salad is made with baby spinach, mandarin oranges, smoked gouda, toasted slivered almonds and is topped with a Dijon vinaigrette.

“It is something I came up with for a party and people really liked it,” Mr. Fountaine said. “The smoky gouda, with the sweet mandarin and the bite of Dijon come together really nicely.”

Claudio’s Restaurant

G

reenport

477-0627

claudios.com

Most Popular: Lobster; entrée; ranges from $35 to $85.

Signature: Baked Clams; appetizer; $10.

Chef’s Favorite: Shrimp and Chorizo Maison; entrée; $25.

Claudio’s executive chef Eric Kuna said the restaurant, which first opened in 1870 as “Claudio’s Tavern,” is most well known for its lobsters. It’s notable that the restaurant not only just celebrated its 142nd anniversary, but that a member of the Claudio family has been at the helm the entire time, according to the restaurant’s website.

Diners have a couple of choices to make when they opt to enjoy the lobster, according to Mr. Kuna.

“We can steam or broil them and we can stuff them with our shrimp, scallop and crab meat stuffing,” he said. “They are cold-water Canadian lobsters, which are sweeter with more tender meat. Our lobsters are probably the biggest draw here. The lobsters range from 1½ to 4 pounds and are served with fresh farm vegetables from a local East Marion farm, he reported.

When asked about the signature menu-item, Mr. Kuna chose the Baked Clams appetizer.

“They are made with Peconic Bay clams and a secret blend of herbs and spices,” the chef said. “It is actually one of our best-selling appetizers and a lot of people come here just for the clams.”

Mr. Kuna said the spicy Shrimp and Chorizo Maison has to be his personal favorite.

It is made with sautéed Mexican shrimp, ground chorizo sausage and a red garlic sauce and served over linguini.

“It’s just the way all the ingredients harmonize together,” the chef explained. “It’s really good.”