Buoy One, Huntington: First bites
The New England clam chowder at the new Buoy One in Huntington. Credit: Newsday / Joan Reminick
New England clam chowder is all too often a pasty, gluey affair. Not so at the new Buoy One Seafood Restaurant in Huntington, where it came off as briny in flavor, satiny, almost brothy in texture, loaded with more clam pieces than potatoes ($5.95). Chef co-owner David Girard said it was made with minimal heavy cream, making it more of a Rhode Island-style clam chowder.
Grilled scallops sold by weight ($13.95 half a pound; $23.95 a pound), proved delicate and subtly smoky; the smaller amount was plenty for me. A side of grilled asparagus and another of mashed potatoes ($4.50 each) amounted to enough for two to four. My companion's seafood basket featured deftly fried breaded scallops, shrimp, clam strips and tilapia fillets; pre-frozen fries brought it down a bit. There was no dessert available; a chocolate mousse had been made but it hadn't set, we were told. This at 7:30 p.m. on a weeknight.
The place, by the way, is striking in its airy, whitewashed beachy-industrial look. Credit goes to co-owner Lorraine Girard, who is married to the chef and, according to him, a few classes away from a design degree.
This is the third branch of Buoy One; the original is in Riverhead, the second, in Westhampton.
Buoy One Seafood Restaurant is at 279 Main St., Huntington, 631-923-2550, buoyone.com.
