Sea Cliff day trip: Find new shops, a top restaurant and more
A pumpkin-nutmeg chocolate truffle, a pair of mother-daughter handmade pocketbooks and a Norman Rockwell-style painting with a twist have one thing in common: They can all be found making their debuts in stores and exhibits in Sea Cliff.
DREAMS WEST
359 Sea Cliff Ave.
Manager Melanie Lynch, left, and owner Aimee Dibartolomeo at Dreams West in Sea Cliff. Credit: Linda Rosier
In the '70s, Dreams East was a popular spiritual-healing shop in Roslyn Village. Dreams West owner Aimee Dibartolomeo recalls, "When I was a kid, I bought my first pair of Birkenstocks in that Roslyn Village shop. It was a magical place. I remember telling my friends one day I wanted to open my own Dreams East." Over time, Dreams East relocated to Sea Cliff. This year, when Dibartolomeo heard the Sea Cliff shop was for sale, she jumped at the chance to recreate it with a contemporary spin.
Dreams West in Sea Cliff sells items including locally made cutting boards, bracelets and inspirational stones. Credit: Linda Rosier
And so, she did. Handmade products created by Long Island artisans are displayed in individual sections — as if they’re "shops within a shop." In addition to crystals and stones, you’ll find mother-daughter pocketbooks, blankets, suncatchers, paintings, photographs, handmade jewelry, skin care and aromatherapy products, essential oils, incense, clothing and books.
A new, sleek studio is also part of the shop. Yoga for all ages and reiki sessions are offered weekly, plus classes involving sound healing, blanket knitting, "how to read tarot card" classes, psychic, intuitive and astrology readings, and a mommy-and-me aromatherapy class. On Nov. 9 and 10, a nationally well-established hypnotist, Scott Schmaren, will lead a weekend retreat in the store. Dibartolomeo says, "I want to bring the community in, and bring them to a place that feels safe and they can decompress from everything in life while they’re in workshops."
Participants in a sound healing meditation conducted by Graciela Bustos at Dreams West in Sea Cliff. Credit: Linda Rosier
MORE INFO: 516-200-5533; dreamswestli.com
IT'S JUST DISHY
64 Roslyn Ave.
If you inherited a crystal vase and a plastic flamingo and don't know what to do with them, they'll be a perfect fit in It's Just Dishy, Sea Cliff's new consignment shop with quick turnaround. Through online auctions as well as sales in the shop, co-owner John Bryant will find a home for things you don't need. "I take stuff people don't want to deal with," Bryant says. "If you don't want it, somebody else is going to love it."
He doesn’t set a hard-and-fast price for merchandise. Instead, bring in an item you’d like Bryant to sell. He’ll take a photo of it in his studio, create a reasonable starting price and put it up for sale on his online auction (auctionninja.com). Bryant runs his auctions for a week or more. As soon as it ends, the highest bidder wins.
Nearly all pieces are from Long Island and the tristate area, so drop-offs and pickups are convenient. You’ll find everything from funky neckties to nostalgic Christmas ornaments and area rugs. The sky is the limit. "I’m a recycler of people’s treasures," Bryant says.
MORE INFO: 646-651-3278; by appointment only
COCO CONFECTIONS + COFFEE
365 Glen Cove Ave.
Ann Durban, of Centre Island, left, prepares a chocolate mold alongside owner Terry Kenniff, right, during the truffle-making workshop at COCO Confections + Coffee store in Sea Cliff. Credit: Newsday / Steve Pfost
At this gourmet chocolate and coffee shop, owner-chocolatier Terry Kenniff is now offering hands-on truffle-making workshops. He leads participants through every phase of the truffle-making process — the history, geography, chemistry, math and physics. "It makes you think when you eat a delicious piece of chocolate how much goes into making it," he says. Everyone leaves with 20 truffles they've created themselves.
Chocolate ganache is poured into a mold, left, resulting in the finished chocolate truffles during the truffle-making workshop at COCO Confections + Coffee. Credit: Newsday / Steve Pfost
Chocolate workshop student Stephanie Maslin, 44, of Rockville Centre, joined a recent session on Sept. 26. "I loved pouring and swiping the chocolate, flipping it over and using the chocolate machine," Maslin says. "I felt like a real chocolate maker."
MORE INFO: 516-277-2657; coco-li.com; register for truffle workshops online, $85 per person
SEA CLIFF VILLAGE MUSEUM
95 10th Ave.
Illustrator Norman Rockwell accepted very few students during his lifetime. Harold Ransom Stevenson, a longtime Sea Cliff resident and magazine illustrator, was one of them. He and Rockwell continued to be friendly for the rest of their lives.
A new exhibit, "Stevenson Academy-The Legacy of Harold Ransom Stevenson," highlights illustrations and paintings created by Stevenson (1924-1985). "Rockwell’s folksy-Americana style is very present. The exhibit screams the 1940s and '50s," says Courtney Chambers, director at the Sea Cliff Village Museum. Yet, as Stevenson’s works fill the walls in the gallery, the combination of the two artists’ sensibilities blend seamlessly.
As a commercial illustrator, Stevenson created more than 60 covers for 60 publications. Quite a few are on display in the museum.
MORE INFO: 516-801-3401; seacliffmuseum.org; exhibit runs through Dec. 18; admission by donation
FOSTER
39 Roslyn Ave.
Pea greens and potato crisps with parsley, arugula and housemade chive ranch dressing at Foster in Sea Cliff. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
During a stroll in Sea Cliff, check out this farm-to-table restaurant. It’s one of Feed Me's Top 50 restaurants. In addition to dinner and weekend brunch, a trial lunch menu is offered on Thursdays and Fridays through mid-November. Pea greens and potato crisps, a tempura fish-of-the-day sandwich and shrimp and grits are just a few of the creative, light and luscious dishes.
MORE INFO: 516-759-0100; fosterrestaurant.com