B4 foteodch NOWONLINE: 100 Cheap Eats to try on LI I eL Explor newsday.com View our guides and listings of LI restaurants at newsday.com/restaurants Y PERR GE MAR webspecial Get afull plateofMarge Perry’s ThreeSimple recipes —fromapples to zucchini. newsday.com/food UNG YO DOUG FRIED CALAMARI La Tavola Trattoria, Sayville PETIT Can’t-miss AMIN BENJ cheapeats Want agreat meal at adecent price? signaturedishes Check out our weekly reviews. newsday.com/restaurants 10 LI favorites and 30 places to find them m co BY PETER M. GIANOTTI FRIED CALAMARI Listed as “hot tapas,” fried y. da [email protected] Squid could become an calamari is acrisp treatatCafe ws 1 Buenos Aires in Huntington.It endangered species here, ne oyou ever have dèjá VU,Mrs. grilled, stuffed, stewed or fried. arriveswith aside of chipotle Butit’s the crisp pile of rings aioli and vies with Argentine 17 Lancaster?” 20 and tentacles that’s the big flair amid the ceviche and the 7, ‘D “I don’t think so,but Icould catch. stuffedpiquillo peppers. check with the kitchen.” Cafe Buenos Aires, 23 Wall PUB This Q&A from “Groundhog Day” could Thom Thom in Wantagh isn’t St., Huntington, 631-603-3600. EPTEMBER satisfied with merelyfrying. cafebuenosaires.net IRISH describe the experienceatnumerous ,S Thekitchen offers kung pao THE AY restaurants via countlessmenus in Nassau calamari, sauced as if it’s Italian and Italian-American and Suffolk. chicken in Chinese restaurants, restaurants elevate squid almost HURSD feedme Some dishes arenearly everywhereand too with added crunch from as regularly as pasta. Thefried ,T ground peanuts. Who needs a calamari at La Tavola Trattoria in AY Restaurant openings, closings and manytastethe same. So,here’s adigestible fish house? Sayville is avery satisfying SD culinary events —get the latest dish report on 10 signaturedishes thathavetaken every dayonour blog. Thom Thom, 3340 Park Ave., version, with plentyofcrunch NEW newsday.com/feedme hold on Long Island —and the dining rooms Wantagh, 516-221-8022, outside and tendernesswithin. wheretheystand out. thomthomrestaurant.com Dip the rings in aspicy marinara B5 newsday.com/restaurants Explor sauceor, even better, ariffon lowernow.But duck themed restaurant in eL saucerémoulade laced with remains amenu staple, GreatNeck, is committed I horseradish. from all sources. to duck in manyforms. La Tavola Trattoria, Themain dish these days 183W.Main St., Sayville, Thecombo of seared duck is the seared Hudson 631-750-6900. breast and confit of duck leg Valleyduck breast, accom- latavolasayville.com is afour-star classic at panied by awhite-bean Mirabelle,inthe Three ragout and duck bacon, PASTAWITH WHITE VillageInn in StonyBrook. with an herbaceous jus. If CLAM SAUCE Currently, it’s accented with you’reinafull duck 2 If there’s aleading avol-au-vent of chanterelle mood, sample the foie candidate forthe national mushrooms and corn, gras. dish of Long Island, this is it. pickled cherries and roasted Lola, 113A Middle Neck Yo u’ll find it moreoften than eggplant. Theduck Rd., Great Neck, spaghetti and meatballs or liver-and-foie gras mousse 516-466-5666, lasagna —combined. with toasted brioche is alush restaurantlola.com waytoprecede it. An exceptional Mirabelle,150 Main St., FRIED CHICKEN production will be found at StonyBrook, 631-751-0555, Roast chicken is an unlikelysource: Bryant & 4 wonderful and lessings.com Cooper,one of Long Island’s barbecued chicken atreat; topsteakhouses. It’s a Beijing duck highlights grilled chicken, elemental; destination forstone crabs Chinese cuisine. Monsoon and chicken potpie,homey. in season and lobster Steak &Sushi in Babylon Butfried chicken’s appeal is anytime,but the buttery, prepares one of the best, a unassailable. rich linguine with white whole Peking duck served Southern cooking is clam sauceisamajor main fortwo,with cucumber, reveredatll Dent in Carle course. Youcan precede it scallion, hoisin, parchment Place, ashopping-center with clams oreganata, skin, shredded duck and restaurant that transports casino or on the half shell. steamed buns. you. Thefried chicken is Bryant &Cooper, Monsoon Steak &Sushi, exceptional, served with 2Middle Neck Rd., Roslyn, 48 Deer Park Ave.,Babylon, twoside dishes. Fried 516-627-7270, 631-587-4400, chicken and Belgian waffles pollrestaurants.com monsoonny.com Lola,the Mediterranean- See FAVORITES on B6 Jonathan’s RistoranteiN HuntingtoN mixes the tradi- tional and the contemporary, Italian with NewAmerican. Afterafine fritto misto or a saladwith beets and robiola cheese,order the expertly made spaghetti with Manila clams and roasted garlic, spurred by the little kick from avery serious habanero chili pepper. Jonathan’s Ristorante, KI 15 Wall St., Huntington, WS 631-549-0055, jonathansristorante.com ALBINO ONNE Almost equal parts New YV American and Italian, Cafe PASTAWITH WHITE CLAM SAUCE Testarossa stylishlyzooms CafeTestarossa, Syosset along with creative, ne consistentlyexcellent food. ws da Linguine with Manila clams y. goes pedal-to-the-metal co m with Calabrian pepper and basil. NEW Cafe Testarossa, 499Jericho Tpke., Syosset, SD AY 516-364-8877, ,T cafetestarossa.com HURSD DUCK AY Long Island ,S 3 duckling trulyis“the EPTEMBER big duck,” from roadside architecturetoahistory of ALES YB duck farming thatproduced 7, 20 morethan 7million JEREM quackersinthe 1960s. The DUCK 17 number is considerably Lola, Great Neck B6 food I eL Wheretoget LI’s favoritedishes Explor FAVORITES from B4 sauceand, adding some other ingredients, in the fired-up will enticeyou, too. And try penne arrabbiata and Roman the cheese grits, the cornbread, rigatoni all’Amatriciana. sweet-potatobiscuit, Hoppin’ Mamma Lombardi’s, John and sweet potato pie. 400 FurrowsRd., Holbrook, LL Dent, 221Old Country 631-737-0774. Rd., Carle Place, 516-742-0940, mammalombardis.com lldent.com Sergio’s is alongtime neigh- Orient Odyssey in Jericho ranks borhood favoriteinMassape- high among Long Island’s Chi- qua. Pastawith sardines, beef nese restaurants, foreverything braciola, tripe,porkchops from dim sum to mayonnaise with vinegar peppers, an PETIT shrimp with sugared walnuts. UNG orangesalad areall attrac- YO Deep in the extensive menu is AMIN tions. Likewise,perciatelli “golden fried crispychicken,” DOUG BENJ with tomato sauce, spaghetti with roasted garlic —arustic FRIED CHICKEN ZITI WITH RED SAUCE, above and on the cover and meatballs, stuffedshells, feast. Salamander’s on Front, Greenport Mamma Lombardi’s, Holbrook lasagna, bakedziti, ravioli Orient Odyssey,511 N. Broad- and manicotti. way, Jericho,516-719-0021, Sergio’s, 5422 Merrick Rd., orientodysseyny.com Massapequa, 516-541-6554, sergiositalianrestaurant.com Salamander’s on Front in Greenport is the destination BRANZINO formemorable fried chicken Thefish of the mo- with coleslawand cornbread, 6 ment, succeeding simple and to the point. Chilean sea bass and filet of Enjoyitwith an order of some-kind-of-sole,branzino is Buffalo-stylechicken wings, amild, unassertive Mediter- or quietlypick the Viet- ranean sea bass amenable to namese caramel duck legsto manypreparations. give another big birdequal Full-flavoredand carefully time. Outstanding to take out, cooked is the whole fish too. bakedinasalt crust at Casa Salamander’s on Front, Rustica in Smithtown. The 38 Front St., Greenport, moist, aromatic fish is com- 631-477-3711, KI plemented by atomato con- salamandersonfront.com WS cassé, with lemon, parsley and mustard, and filleted PASTAWITH RED SAUCE ALBINO tableside. Thesea of marinaraand Casa Rustica, 175W.Main ONNE 5 tomato saucecontinues to YV St., Smithtown, 631-265-9265, rise. Yo ucan getagood version BRANZINO Arturo’s Ristorante Italiano,Floral Park casarustica.net in the most informal place, in a pizzeria, offthe shelf.These Kyma in Roslyn leads the three areamong the leaders in restaurants thatfocus on simmering the sauce. whole grilled fish sold by the pound. Lavraki, or Scarpetta Beach is the Mediterranean sea bass,is handsomelydesigned lean and one of the main m oceanfront restaurant in choices, along with pompano, co Gurney’s Montauk Resort & black sea bass and fagri, or y. da Spa. Expect extraordinary pink snapper. ws pastas and atransporting Kyma, 1446 Old Northern ne exercise in perfection: the Blvd., Roslyn, 516-621-3700, simply named spaghetti, kymarestaurants.com 17 20 subtitled tomato and basil. 7, Sweet and superb,crowned Whole branzino al forno is with Parmigiano-Reggiano. aspecialtyatArturo’s Ris- Scarpetta Beach, 290 Old toranteItaliano,the veteran EPTEMBER Montauk Hwy., Montauk, establishment near the ,S 631-668-1771, ldvhospitality.com countyline in Bellerose- AY Floral Park.Itswims in on To mato sauceoverflows at greens, boosted by white HURSD Mamma Lombardi’s in Hol- wine and garlic sauce. ,T brook, whether you’reeating Arturo’s RistoranteItaliano, AY in the main restaurant or the ALES 246-04 Jericho Tpke., Floral SD adjoining pizzeria. Sample it YB Park, 516-352-7418, NEW with the spaghetti in mari- JEREM arturorestaurant.com narasauce, ziti with tomato MEATBALLS Emilio’s, Commack newsday.com/restaurants B7 MEATBALLS steamed lobster with Salt &Barrel in BayShore They come in many coleslawand corn on the cob livens up its stuffedclams Explor 7 sizes and from many is the reigning rendition. with andouille sausage, plus countries, from China to Swe- Louie’s Grill &Liquors, onion and breadcrumbs. They eL den to Italyand beyond. Yo u 395Main St., Port Washington, call foronlyasquirt of I can savorthem at apizzeria, a 516-883-4242, lemon. And the companyof restaurant, even at the eatery louiessince1905.com the restaurant’s tarragon in IKEA. And pick your fa- biscuits is obligatory. vorite, from beef to chicken to Jordan LobsterFarms leaves Salt &Barrel, 61 W. Main St., the combination of beef,veal nothing to mystery.Diners BayShore, 631-647-8818, and pork. and customersknowwhy saltandbarrel.com they’rehere. Lobster rolls Emilio’s in Commack is the and lobster cakes areavail- SALMON flagship of alittle Long Is- able. Butthe whole steamed It’s almost every- 1 land armada of eateries. It’s lobsters, from 1 /4 to 10 10 whereand prepared packed forterrific pizza, pounds define the place.