For decades, the bright Modern Snack Bar sign in Aquebogue has served as a landmark, telling commuters just how far they are from home as they head east or west. And while the restaurant may have the word “modern” in its name, many come back time after time for the traditional home cooking they have come to love.
Popular dishes include the Key Lime Garlic Oysters, a menu item Otto Wittmeier, who runs the restaurant with his brother John, says has been “on fire,” the Roast Long Island Duckling, which comes from Crescent Farm across the street, the Roast Turkey and of course, the award-winning Lobster Salad.
“We’re not wandering off the path to discover new food,” Otto said. “We got food that people love, so why not serve it every day? That’s what we do.”
And of course, no one can forget the mashed turnips. The simple side dish, that Otto said has one secret ingredient, is a hit among those near and far. John explained that people often order the mashed turnip in advance, buying mashed turnips by the quart or pint. The containers of the sweet, mashed turnips, priced from $5.45 to $9.95, can be stored in the freezer.
With the side dish being a popular Thanksgiving staple, John and Otto recommend taking the container of mashed turnips out of the freezer a few days before Thanksgiving to thaw.
John added that day trippers will often stop by The Modern Snack bar just to order a pint of the mashed turnips to enjoy cold on their way home from a place that John described as an escape.
“They come out here and it’s another world,” John said. “And they come to the snack bar and it’s like another world too. It evokes a happier time.”
Dessert is also a must at the Modern Snack Bar, with the most popular dessert being the Lemon Meringue Pie made famous by Otto and John’s mother Wanda Wittmeier.
“She’s the architect,” Otto said of his mother, who took ownership of the restaurant in the early 1950’s with her husband John. “She started this when it had six seats and a couple stools. And they kept adding on and adding on.”
Before the restaurant became what it is today, it was just a true snack bar with a grill, six counter seats and a pass-through window. Today, it can serve 125 guests, many of whom are already planning what they’re going to order when they see that bright sign made by the Neimeyer Sign Company in 1956.
Because of the pandemic, however, Otto and John cut the seating down to 72 seats and put up dividers between the tables. “The customers like them, so why take them down?” Otto remarked.
But the Modern Snack Bar is still the kind of place that diners remember coming to as a child with their parents, only to return years later with their own families.
“It’s not unusual if there’s a big party, there might be four generations sitting at that table and the snack bar has been part of all their lives,” John said. “So that’s pretty rewarding.”
It’s not just the food that keeps people coming back, as they feel the Modern Snack Bar is a second home. Many have come to know waitress Rosetta Bulak, who has worked at the Modern Snack Bar for over 30 years since she was 17, on a Thursday afternoon greeting many of her customers by name.
“People will get upset if they can’t sit in this room,” Otto said, pointing at the dining room located towards the front of the restaurant. “Because that’s Rosetta’s room.”
Such a family dynamic is rare today, John added. “You don’t get that at Applebee’s.” The Modern Snack Bar closes for the season on December 12 and re-opens in the spring.
