East End Sweets: Beyond Cookies at Tate’s Bake Shop
August 28, 2012
Tate's chocolate chip cookies are distinctive: perfectly flat, deep caramel brown, speckled with chocolate, and crunchy all the way though. And flavors reach far beyond the classic chocolate chip. There’s oatmeal raisin, double chocolate chip, white chocolate with macadamia nuts, whole wheat chocolate chip, and even a chipless chocolate chip. Aside from cookies, which are sold in just about every Hamptons and NYC market, Tate’s also serves delicious cakes and sweets, which are exclusive to its Southampton bakery. Here are a few of our favorites.
Apple Walnut Cake: A hearty snack served in large rectangular wedges. It’s the sort of apple cake a grandmother bakes, and serves with tea, of course. The surface is a tad crunchy, with a light sprinkling of sugar, and the plush interior is sweetened with brown sugar, tender chunks of baked apple, and toasted walnuts. It’s perfect for breakfast, dessert, or afternoon tea.
Cream Cheese Brownie: These are a godsend for those who love fudgy brownies. Each dense and decadent square has nearly equal parts semisweet chocolate brownie and cream cheese topping. The cream cheese is generously swirled into the batter and the best bites are where chocolate and whipped cream cheese meet.
Marie Antoinette Cake: This colorful and extravagant confection lives up to its name. From bottom-to-top, layers go like this: buttery yellow cake, raspberry jam, raspberry buttercream, über-moist chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and a final layer of yellow cake. The whole thing is covered in vanilla butter cream and topped with a marzipan and apricot glaze. Cake crumbs and almonds are pressed into the sides to fully dress the cake.
—KATHY YL CHAN
Lunch Plans: Revisiting Rowdy Hall
August 23, 2012
Tucked into a quaint block of East Hampton Village mews, Rowdy Hall has been a longtime local favorite since it first opened in 1996. A true neighborhood gem, it’s a cozy spot for a family meal before catching a film, or a solo lunch seated at the bar. Courtyard seating is available during the warmer months, while the fireplace often roars in the off-season.
What to order now at Rowdy Hall? Well, it’s tomato season! Recent additions to the lunch starters include a local Balsam Farms heirloom tomato salad with roasted red onions, basil pesto, and ricotta salata, as well as a classic wedge salad with Applewood smoked bacon, plum tomatoes, and blue cheese.
New sandwiches like the heirloom tomato and avocado sandwich on multi-grain bread with sprouts, hummus, and a side of vegetable quinoa salad; grilled tuna with salsa verde; and rock shrimp po’boy are now served alongside the famous Rowdy burger—aka the perfect hangover cure.
For the more sophisticated clientele, a “sipping menu” of six liqueurs is featured daily and includes Venezuela’s Diplomatico Reserva rum, the Italian brandy-based citrus- and vanilla- infused Tuaca, and Johnnie Walker Green, a blend of fifteen year malts.
Rowdy Hall is open year-round seven days a week, serving lunch from noon to 3:30 PM and dinner from 5 to 11 PM. An abbreviated menu is offered between lunch and dinner. 10 Main St., East Hampton, 324-8555
East End Sweets: Making a Meal of Dessert at Little Red
August 22, 2012
As panna cottas go, Little Red’s rendition is a supple and milky success. It’s fragrant, freckled with vanilla beans, and bedded on loose, housemade caramel sauce, which is just the tiniest bit smoky. You'll want an espresso on the side.
But seeing as there are only a few weeks of summer left, you might be temped to take advantage of Little Red’s seasonal sweets. The strawberry shortcake is served with a still-warm tarragon biscuit and bounty of local strawberries. Instead of whipped cream, the dessert boasts whipped crème fraîche—which makes it all the more luxurious. (Why does anyone bother with cream when there’s crème fraîche?)
And then there's the fresh lemon tart. The filling is classic curd, but the crust has a nutty cornmeal crunch. More sinful is the dark chocolate marquise—two wedges of pure chocolate ganache with candied hazelnuts and ripe raspberries. 76-C Jobs Lane, Southampton, 283-3309
—KATHY YL CHAN
Top Shelf: Sake-tails at Montauk Beach House
August 21, 2012
Beach House Sangria
With all the spirits available now, bartenders can get more creative than ever—but you don’t see a lot of sake in the mix. The Montauk Beach House is the creative exception to the rule. Its Beach House Sangria is made with TY KU Junmai Ginjo Sake, St. Germain liqueur, chardonnay wine, orange juice, and pineapple juice. The fruitiness of the juice and elderflower liqueur help cut the slight bitterness of the sake for a crisp and refreshing result. Owned in part by musician CeeLo Green, TY KU has just 68 calories per serving and is gluten-free. So drink up! 55 South Elmwood Ave, Montauk, 668-2112
—MARCIA FROST
Drink This: 3 Lean, Green Hamptons Juices
August 20, 2012
After a weekend of indulgence, we crave nothing more than a fresh cocktail of fruits and veggies. To narrow our search, we asked three of the East End’s foremost juicing authorities what they recommend for a morning pick-me-up. Loaded with vitamins and fat-fighting nutrients, each of these three juices offers a quick and healthy cure for a case of the Mondays.
Green LOVE at Organic Avenue
Organic Avenue’s most popular juice is a blend of leafy greens, including the ever-popular kale, celery, romaine lettuce, cucumber, Swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, lemon, parsley, and pear for sweetness. There’s also a zing of lemon, which helps shoo away toxins. 28 Jobs Lane, Southampton, 283-2600
The Transmutation Smoothie at The Juicy Naam
Created to simultaneously burn fat and support immune function, this multi-purpose drink is made with coconut water, black sesame seeds, essential fatty acids (EFA) oil, and the Naam’s proprietary transmutation powder, which is packed with 17 vegetable juice powders, algaes, seaweed, spirulina, and all things green and life-giving. Needless to say, the smoothie is an antioxidant powerhouse and the ultimate Monday cleanse. 51 Division St., Sag Harbor, 725-3030; 27 Race Lane, East Hampton, 604-5091
Kale, Parsley, Celery, Apple, and Lemon Juice at Babette’s
Not only is this verdant juice the most popular of Babette’s concoctions, it’s also the healthiest. Both refreshing and delicious, the drink is a flurry of antioxidants, calcium, iron, and vitamins A, B, C, and D. Throw back one of these, and consider your immune system properly looked after. 66 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 329-5377
—VICTORIA HINOJOSA
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