Foodstuffs: Italian Market For Montauk And Learn To Make Miso

Alimentari Beach, a new Italian family market that also serves pizza and espresso and cocktails, has officially opened its doors on Montauk’s Main Street, setting up shop in the heart of the hamlet in the old Tacombi Art Deco corner building.

Owners Tony Pyteski, Eric Eim, John Garrett-Young and Gary Costello (the same team behind TT’s Montauk, a Tex-Mex restaurant near the harbor on West Lake Drive) took the building down to the studs and restored it for the venture. In addition to selling a range of Italian market products including meats, cheeses, fresh pasta and more, the owners have also brought in chefs Massimo Laveglia and Nicholas Baglivo of Williamsburg’s L'industrie to create “Roman Style Beach Pizza,” farcita and sandwiches that guests can enjoy at outdoor tables — café style — or take home and to the beach. They also offer Italian cocktails like the Negroni and Sambuca Limonata.

The market’s pasta, flour, dairy and canned goods are sourced from Buon'Italia and Musco Foods, top purveyors of Italian imported goods for decades. The meat products come from Babylon Village Meat Market, a famous butcher up island with close ties to the owners. Alimentari Beach also has a dedicated espresso bar serving coffee from Afficionado Coffee Roasters and the market is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night bites.

The partners’ foray into the food business began in 2015, when Pyteski, Eim and Garrett-Young opened Freehold in Williamsburg, a 10,000-square-foot hybrid work space with a restaurant, cafe and bar venue. The cafe went on to become the highest rated coffee shop in Brooklyn in its first year of business.

In 2019, the trio came east to Montauk and opened TT's. They kept the restaurant going throughout most of the pandemic, as it was one of the few places friends and neighbors could go to eat in Montauk during that time. The first day TT’s opened, a large group came in to make a reservation for that first night. It turned out the customer, Gary Costello, became the fourth partner in TT's. The Costellos moored their boat in the harbor in front of TT's and had watched the space as it was being created and the family has been involved ever since.

When they decided to open Alimentari Beach, the pandemic convinced the four partners to switch the business model from an Italian restaurant to an Italian market, since markets are considered an essential business and could stay open when restaurants were forced to close their doors (something the owners believe Montauk could have really benefited from during the dark days of 2020). Alimentari Beach offers seating for diners all along the outside of the market space and inside is a chef’s table which is available for special dinners.

Alimentari Beach is in the heart of Montauk at 752 Montauk Highway.

On Saturday, September 18, from 2 to 4 p.m., Bridge Gardens and Peconic Land Trust will host a special cooking demonstration led by Justin Ruaysamran and Bridge Gardens director Rick Bogusch, who will teach participants how to create fermented miso paste.

Miso is a perfect addition to soups, stews and as an ingredient in marinades for fish or chicken to give it that “umami” flavor. Bring cooking to the next level, enjoy a tasting and take home the recipe to create miso in your own kitchen.

The workshop is $20 per person, but space is limited and prepaid reservations are required by contacting 631-283-3195 or email events@peconiclandtrust.org. The workshop will be held at Bridge Gardens, 36 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton.