Small Bites

Good morning and happy Monday.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record (or all those posts you’ve been reading on Facebook), but please. Can it stop raining? I was off from work last week (even though I had some Small Bites posts ready to go), and it rained every single day. My first day off, Monday, actually looked like the best on the forecast, so I headed to Ocean Grove for the day. But not before stopping at one of my favorite taco joints, Surf Taco.

I got the eponymous taco: Surf Taco, “fresh cod battered in tempura topped with shredded cabbage, Pico de Gallo, white cilantro sauce and a squeeze of lime.”

I braved it out on the beach for about an hour, then called it quits. Too cold. Too cloudy. But I can’t leave the shore without heading to Klein’s for tuna. So I stocked up on a piece of fresh-caught local fish and two dozen clams. I cooked them the next two nights. Monday night’s supper:

Seared tuna, greens from the garden, boiled corn on the cob with butter. I’m pretending it’s actually summer.

Tuesday night it was nasty and cold, so I made the clams with linguine, following a recipe from the Food Network’s website based on one from Esca.

Man that was good. Pancetta, clams, wine, red pepper flakes, homemade chix broth.

Mmm.

I must have been still in the mood for Italian, because on Wednesday, my husband and I headed down to Arthur Avenue. Can you believe it? I’d never been to Dominick’s. We shared….

Stuffed clams:

(Amazing.)

Linguine with calamari:

(Too chewy. LIke it had been frozen.)

Chicken Francese:

(Terrific — light, bright, cripsy and lemony.)

And stuffed peppers (with meat and mushrooms):

(Fantabulous: meaty, hearty and just a bit spicy.)

What fun to go to Dominck’s… the food’s great, but also atmosphere is so convivial and the service so genial. I was double-kissing the waiter and saying ciao by the time we were leaving.

Thursday lunch I indulged (again). I had picked up a pint of lobster meat at Stew Leonard’s and made my friend and myself lobster rolls. Just a bit of mayo, lemon juice, S&P and my secret ingredient: chervil.

Can’t beat that. (See, I told you I was pretending it was summer.)

For supper that night, more corn and greens, served with chicken we butterflied and grilled:

I did the corn Mexican-style this time, with mayonnaise, cotija cheese and sprinkled with ancho chili powder.

Saturday night we had leftovers, and, last night, my friend invited us over for hot dog and hamburgers:

My friend made a delicious batch of baked beans, and I brought over asparagus from the farmers market, which I had marinated according to Nate Appleman’s Smoky Glazed Asparagus recipe in Food&Wine this month.

Mmm. Now that’s one good week of eating, wouldn’t you say? Happy to give recipes for any of it. Just ask.

Meantime, here’s what people have been talking about while I was off:

Doug has some absolutely amazing suggestions for what to do with Dad on Father’s Day, plus he gives dining suggestions near all of them. Great work! (HT)
Emily finds hip customers and delicious food at Tangerine Thai in Tuckahoe. (NYT)
John Ubaldo of John Boy’s Farm is the only farmer in the Northeast to raise English Berkshire pigs, “the Kobe beef of pork.” He has 120 and will sell the meat in the spring at the Pound Ridge and Muscoot Farm markets. (NYT)
Dara gets her first CSA share of the summer. (CITK)
Stew Leonard’s Lobster Rolls. (HT)
Sharon loves the ribs at Q in Port Chester. (TGL)
Todd visits Table Local Market. (WE)
Julia’s first taste of Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown. (WME)
A few differing opinions on Martinis & Chocolate in Eastchester. (CH)

Oh and PS: I’m so sorry to see that chef Brett August has been eliminated from The Next Food Network Star show. But he’ll keep blogging here on Small Bites throughout the season.

Photo Caption: lj061509local002