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In recent history, Farmingdale has suffered from no scarcity of good burger options. Now, Burgerology has joined the fray, opening with a menu of pub fare, burgers, brews and milkshakes. 
Owner Eddie Galatoulas said he’s hoping the new spot will become a neighborhood mainstay for families — and after the sun goes down, for folks looking to catch a game or enjoy a good time with friends. 
 "That’s what we do best. It’s what we thrive on — the dad can come in and watch football and have a nice IPA, and the kids can have chicken fingers, fries and a shake," he said. 
As at locations in Huntington, Patchogue, Rockville Centre and Stony Brook, the menu centers on burgers crafted with prime beef, lamb, turkey, tuna, Kobe beef, or plant-based protein — with dozens of cheeses, sauces and toppings to add on. There are also wings and fried cheese curds; hand-cut fries sauced with truffle oil or chipotle aioli; mac with rib meat and gravy; fried chicken sandwiches (with or without bacon and a fried egg); and a good many salads. Brunches kick off with plates of rainbow-cookie pancakes.
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To drink, find a dozen beers on draft; plus spiked teas, mules and margs flavored with coconut or cherries, and milkshakes with or without booze or cookies mixed in. 
Farmingdale marks the seventh Burgerology location for the Galatoulas family, which entered the patty biz in 2015 when Eddie opened New York Burger Bar in Massapequa. In 2017, the Bellmore-based family opened the first Burgerology in Rockville Centre. In addition to the new shop in Farmingdale, he said he’s developing locations in Port Washington, Babylon and Bay Shore. 
Burgerology is now open for takeout at 247 Main St., Farmingdale; 516-875-3777, <a href="https://www.burgerologyusa.com/">burgerologyusa.com</a>

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Burgerology opens in Farmingdale

Popular burger chain opens new LI location

Scott Vogel

If you’ve longed for a world in which Arby’s sold its own vodka, I have some good news and bad news. Good: The sandwich chain began doing just that on its website in November. Bad: You long for a world in which Arby’s sells vodka. Worse: It’s all gone. The limited-edition spirit immediately sold out despite being French fry-flavored, available in both curly and crinkle-cut varieties — and yes, a seriously desperate bid for publicity. But if you were a 58-year-old fast food outlet known primarily for roast beef sandwiches and Horsey Sauce, how else would you get attention? 
Well, by coming up with another here-today-gone-tomorrow gimmick, of course. Witness Arby’s two new menu items, which purport to be the spiciest sandwiches in all of fast food nation. Their names are Diablo smoked brisket and Diablo chicken, and we are informed that the company has left no spicy stone unturned. Both sandwiches come dressed with a slice of spicy cheese (ghost pepper jack) and spicy condiments (diced jalapeños, peppery barbecue sauce, two shakes of "fiery seasoning") on a hamburger bun that must be spicy too, otherwise why would it be bright red? And for a finalstunt, each comes with a free Arby’s vanilla shake, presumably to neutralize the capsaicin mother lode. 
"Our research tells us that consumers are disappointed by fast food claims of spicy," reads the company’s news release. "We took that as a challenge." All the silliness turns out to be mere pretext for something truly serious, perhaps existentially so: shoring up Arby’s TikTok cred. Hence the sticker affixed to sandwich boxes imploring eaters to use a QR code and Take the Diablo Dare Challenge. ("Eat on camera. Try not to sip the shake.") A quick scan of America’s platform du jour reveals a heartwarming number of would-be influencers, each happily doing their best to ensure that Arby’s TikTok-baiting is a success, even if the videos exhibit a disturbing sameness. Most are seasoned veterans of TikTok challenges past, so they roll their eyes, smugly declare the heat to be rookie level, remind viewers to subscribe to their channels, and sign off. 
I recently snagged a Diablo myself, taking a couple of big bites before I’d even returned to the car. This was a mistake, as someone had clearly seen me coming and doubled the heat. 
Coughing, eyes watering, nostrils aflame, I lunged for my shake, stabbed it with a paper straw and sucked for dear life. Nothing. I employed furious, ever more Bissell-worthy suction in an effort to draw shake to lips but accomplished nothing more than a bent and destroyed straw. In my delirium it occurred to me, not for the first time, that humanity would ultimately need to decide which matters more, saving the planet or having thick shakes, because you can’t have both. 
The heat having still not crested, I was ready to pour anything down my throat, French fry vodka included, and am not sure what might have happened if I hadn’t had the bright idea to repurpose the mangled straw and paint several coats of vanilla shake onto my tongue. Thankfully, the first bites were an anomaly, and I ended up grudgingly admitting that the Diablo brisket is — surprise — not half bad. The smoked meat is tasty and the price, $7.49 for a sandwich and shake, a veritable bargain in these inflationary times. 
Your take-away: the Diablo Dare Challenge is both survivable and enjoyable. The Paper Straw Shake Challenge is neither. 
Diablo brisket and Diablo chicken sandwiches, both with free shakes, are available at all Island Arby’s locations through Feb. 6. I paid $7.49, your price may vary. For info, visit <a href="https://www.arbys.com/">arbys.com</a>.

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Are Arby's new sandwiches fast food's spiciest yet?

Food critic tries fast food's spiciest new sandwiches

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In 1955, Colonel Harland Sanders loaded a pressure cooker and a few bags of seasoned flour into the back of his Cadillac and hit the road, a trip that would prove fateful for him, and even more fateful for fine feathered Gallus gallus domesticus, which soon found itself facing an extinction-level event. Out of a desire to convince nearby Appalachian eateries to sell his fried chicken came an empire for which 850 million birds a year would eventually give their lives. Along the way, Sanders would coax hundreds of franchisees into taking a chance on his Kentucky Fried Chicken, persuade millions of Americans it was safe to eat out of a bucket, and — perhaps most remarkably — turn original-versus-extra-crispy into an actual thing. 
Some view Beyond Fried Chicken, the plant-based nuggets that the chain begins offering nationwide starting today, as KFC’s way of atoning for past sins. Others believe that the company is trying — like fellow brand Taco Bell, whose recent bold launch of a hot sauce packet recycling program has stirred the conscience of the industry — to reduce its environmental impact, apparently mistaking Colonel Sanders for Bernie Sanders. Then again, maybe it’s a response to consumers’ alleged growing interest in reducing meat consumption, an assertion belied by the fact that Americans ate more fried chicken last year than ever before, self-medicating their way through the pandemic. 
Beefless hamburgers might be everywhere these days, but until the Colonel’s collaboration with plant-based powerhouse Beyond Meat, no national chain had dared to offer chickenless chicken — shocking, as fried chicken is our country’s national dish. 
Though creating a pea protein-based nugget flavored with the Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices was no small task, mimicking the texture of actual chicken was even harder. "Our plan is to try to replicate that Kentucky Fried Chicken as close as we can, obviously without using the animal," KFC’s president told Bloomberg in September. Two-plus years in the lab came and went before the company declared the result a Kentucky Fried Miracle, the answered prayer of zillions of chickens and a few odd flexitarians in existence. 
I’m not up for canonizing the Colonel, but having tried BFC, will concede that it is a clever feat of food engineering, one capable of fooling all but the most devoted nuggeteer. It is not a low-calorie option (each piece contains 80 calories versus about 48 for a McNugget, although KFC’s are somewhat larger) or a low fat one. But gone is the gumminess of most supermarket iterations, and gone too is a taste that betrays any sort of relationship with the plant world. And while the "meat" lacks the juiciness of actual chicken, the breading seems of a piece with the rest of the Colonel’s original recipe edition. To be clear, I am no expert on the genre — generally, I avoid plant-based meat— but BFC’s morsels are certainly the most realistic I’ve tried. 
So hats off to KFC. They have fashioned a near-perfect virtual nugget, and a fine-tasting one at that. And yet, it’s beyond me why the company has brought Beyond Fried Chicken to market. Also beyond vegetarians, no doubt, who won’t want nuggets that share the fryolator with actual chicken parts. And perhaps beyond dieters and the health-conscious as well, who might reasonably wonder about the caloric and nutritional value of breaded-and-fried pebbles of pea protein. And certainly beyond chicken lovers, because, duh, it’s not chicken. So, who is the target audience? I can think of only one: 
BFC is for the birds. 
Six- and 12-piece orders of Beyond Fried Chicken, as well as combo meals, are available for a limited time at all Island KFC locations starting today. Prices vary, but start at around $7.99 for a 6-piece, and $14.99 for a 12-piece. For more information, visit <a href="https://www.kfc.com/">kfc.com</a>.

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KFC goes Beyond Fried Chicken with plant-based nuggets

Food critic tries KFC's new plant-based chicken

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Corin Hirsch

When it comes to comfort food, clams don’t usually command the narrative. Clams don’t care, though, as they’ve quietly reigned Long Island tables and bellies for centuries. Especially chowder. 
"We take a lot of pride in ours," said Paul Riggio, co-owner of DJ’s Clam Shack, which has just opened a fourth Long Island location, in Stony Brook. Once called "luxuriantly creamy" in a Newsday review, the New England-style chowder has won a few awards, and — along with warm lobster rolls, fried clams and conch fritters — also inspired long lines at the first DJ’s Clam Shack, opened in Wantagh in 2017. 
Locations followed in East Northport (2020) and Huntington (spring 2021, a franchise). Riggio said the Stony Brook DJ’s, which replaces a short-lived DP Dough on North Country Rd., is a homecoming of sorts for both him and partner Jeff Gagnon. Both grew up in the Stony Brook area. 
"We’ve known each other since 7th grade," said Riggio. "We’re just local guys coming back to the neighborhood." 
The newest DJ’s shares the beach-shack décor and seafood-centric menu of its brethren, from shrimp and mahi-mahi tacos and conch fritters to hot and cold lobster rolls and multiple spins on clams: The chowder, of course, as well as baked clams, steamed littlenecks with garlic, clam strips and fried Ipswich clams, served on a roll or heaped into a basket with fries. 
Prices start at $4 for fries and top out at $24 for a lobster roll. Riggio said beer and wine are forthcoming, once a license arrives, and upcoming daily specials will include lobster quesadillas, tuna tartare, chipotle-chicken sandwiches and lobster empanadas laced with lobster bisque and melted queso. 
The counter-dominant location has a handful of tables, and there will be a few outdoor tables in milder weather, said Riggio. 
DJ’s Clam Shack opens daily at 11:30 a..m. at 1007 Route 25A, Stony Brook; 631-675-9669, <a href="https://www.djsclamshack.com/stony-brook/#">djsclamshack.com/stonybrook</a>

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DJ's Clam Shack opens in Stony Brook

Popular clam shack opens new location in Stony Brook

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A churrascaria is probably one of the only places where you don’t need to fear men wielding giant knives — nor worry that a few dozen of them, called gauchos, have descended on the Walt Whitman Shops. 
"When we hand over a knife to a gaucho, it’s not just for cutting, it's for creating," said Erick Cienfuegos, general manager of Fogo de Chão in Huntington Station, which recently opened at the mall. 
For those unfamiliar with Fogo de Chão — a Brazilian steakhouse chain founded in 1979 — it’s advisable to skip breakfast (and lunch) to leave room for the unlimited grilled and skewered meats spirited through the dining room by uniformed gauchos in giant pantaloons and red scarves. These noir cowboy-esque figures (who sharpen their knives daily) will appear at your table whenever you turn a coaster from red to green, shaving slices of at least 13 different kinds of meat, from filet mignon, rib-eye and the signature picanha (or sirloin cap) to lamb steak and linguica sausage, as you grab each flap with little metal tongs. 
That experience, $62 per person ($41 at lunch), can go on for as long as you like, and also includes unlimited trips to the central "market table" — an icy, glam, gluten-free salad bar in the middle of the room constantly refreshed with salads, hummus, cheeses, fruit, salsas and meats; nearby is a feijoada bar serving up Brazil's signature black bean stew. Those who prefer the market table alone will pay $15 at lunch and $32 during dinner; certain cuts can also be purchased on their own. The centerpiece of the a la carte menu is Australian Wagyu NY Strip steak or rib-eye ($135 to $145) sliced tableside and served on a Himalayan salt block. Seafood towers and entrees ($22 to $99) and, for meatless eaters, a roasted cauliflower steak ($17, or $34 with the market table) round out that menu.
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The 250-seat restaurant, the chain’s 48th, takes the spot where Del Frisco and Legal Sea Foods used to be, and sports the signature Fogo de Chão airy feel of soaring windows and ceilings, and cush, elegant chairs. There's a bar at the front for caipirinhas, the cachaca-driven cocktails of Brazil. 
What sets the newest location apart is an additional bar at the back that faces the flickering gas flames where the meat is cooked, sort of like a sushi counter but for meat. Also new: A backlit case where tomahawk steaks are aging in full view, for 42 days. "We’ve been working with dry aged for awhile now, so every guest can see the whole process from the beginning to the end," said Cienfuegos, who has been with the company about six years and worked in New York City and Pittsburgh before coming to Long Island. 
Cienfuegos is one of 100 or so employees at the newest Fogo, as is chef and back-of-house manager Petro Delakas, a grill master who started working in churrascaria in his native Brazil before moving to the U.S. and joining Fogo de Chao a decade ago. 
Both men, who had worked together before, said there is a strong legacy of mentorship within the company. Gauchos (or gauchas for women) go through weeks and sometimes months of training. "At first we’re looking for a job, and we realize it’s much more than that," said Cienfuegos. "The same way they taught us, helped us to perform — we mentor and make sure the next generation transitions and continues the legacy." 
Unlike in Carle Place, this Fogo de Chão has an outdoor patio that will be covered and heated through the winter. The restaurant opens daily for lunch and dinner at 11:30 a.m., and weekend brunch ($31.95 for the market table alone, and $42.95 for churrasco) features an omelette station. 
Fogo de Chão, 160 Walt Whitman Rd., Suite 1108B, Huntington Station; 631-382-6161, <a href="https://fogodechao.com/">fogodechao.com</a>

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Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão opens at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station

All-you-can-eat steakhouse chain opens second LI location

Erica Marcus

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, the country’s largest high-end steak chain, is expanding its presence on Long Island with new restaurants in Lake Grove and Melville. The former, which takes over the old Bonefish Grill space at Smith Haven Mall, is scheduled to open today. Ruth’s Chris says that the latter, which will be located in what used to be Bertucci’s on Route 110, is slated for late January. 
The only existing Ruth’s Chris on Long Island opened in 1995 on Old Country Road in Garden City, just north of Roosevelt Field. 
The menu at all locations is a classic steakhouse mix: prime steaks ($49 to $68); standard sides and salads (such as wedge and chopped salads, creamed spinach, potatoes in many guises); a handful of seafood and chicken dishes; and starters like shrimp cocktail, crab cakes and fried calamari; plus some more contemporary items such as an ahi tuna stack and veal osso buco ravioli. 
The chain got its start in 1965 when Ruth Fertel opened a steakhouse in New Orleans. In 1977 the company began franchising. Now publicly traded, Ruth’s Hospitality Group operates 150 locations in 21 countries; about half of them are franchises. 
According to the New York State Liquor Authority, all three Long Island restaurants are operated by the same franchisee group: Cheryl Henry, Christy Chipman, Stephen Szucs, Marcy Lynch and Erik Jenkins. 
The newest Ruth’s Chris Steak House is at 472 Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, 631-973-4230, <a href="https://www.ruthschris.com/restaurant-locations/lake-grove/">ruthschris.com/lake-grove</a>

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Ruth's Chris Steak House to open locations in Lake Grove and Melville

Ruth's Chris Steak House to open two locations on LI

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You didn’t hear this from me. Not far from the geographic center of our island home, tucked inside an unremarkable strip center where you’d never think to look, there is a woman — perhaps the only person in the area — making and selling a true food treasure. It's an authentic aliment that sits at the apex of Puerto Rican holiday cooking, a little treat called pasteles, also known as impossibly cute meat pockets, a single bite of which can induce ecstatic states and lies about heritage. And the reason you didn’t hear it from me is, I have it on good authority that whoever blows Marisol Vega’s cover and exposes the location of the 2,000 or so pasteles she makes each year will be marked, sparking protest from in-the-know types who wish to continue enjoying her wares without having to fight for them, an anger from which no pastele protection program could ever keep safe. 
You know what? Let’s forget the whole thing. 
Forget the moment, eight years ago, when Roy Pelaez, the Bronx native and impresario behind Island Empanada, asked Vega if she knew how to make pasteles, which he had adored since boyhood. And forget too that Vega knew exactly how to make them — having been schooled by her Puerto Rican grandmother as a child in Brooklyn — and knew too why they are almost impossible to get these days. And no, it’s not a supply-chain thing. 
"The process is long," said Vega, who worked in the first Island Empanada in Ronkonkoma, which opened in 2011, and now owns her own franchise in Medford. "It takes maybe four days — two days to prepare, and two days to assemble them." Indeed, the time and labor required are no small reason why Puerto Rican pastele-making is synonymous with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, when extended family members typically gather in huge numbers, greatly expanding the workforce.
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"Here, you have just me and her," Vega continued, nodding at her assistant Yadira Romero in the Medford kitchen, "but back home the whole family would get involved. The kids would tie them, the grown-ups would grate the masa, the grandmas would make the meat. Everyone in the family has their hand in making a part." 
Pelaez, who apparently spent quite a bit of his childhood at the grating station, winced at the memory. "We used the old-fashioned cheese grater, which is quite sharp, and you’d hold it and grate and grate the root vegetables, and these older Puerto Rican women would just yell at you ‘Keep grating!’ until basically your knuckles were being smashed into the grater," he recalled. "There was some tough love there, and some great masa." 
These days Pelaez’s toughest job is coming to terms with the runaway success that is Island Empanada. His daughter is about to open his 10th location, in Oakdale, and the first to sell beer, wine and Pelaez’s own sangria. "After that we have another five stores that have been sold. The franchisees are looking for locations." He still seems baffled, albeit happily, by Island Empanada’s rapid expansion, so much so that he’s hardly had time to notice the growing hubbub over pasteles. Like empanadas, he said, they were a "huge hit immediately," although mass producing pasteles presents a unique challenge. "We have to keep it low-key because the demand far exceeds the amount that we could ever make." 
"Before she even puts up the sign up, I’m already there," Luis Medina told me. The Moriches resident has been known to take off work during the week just to make sure he and his wife don’t go pastele-less. "Being a Spaniard, I’m very picky, but they hit my taste buds perfectly," he said, which is why pasteles have become an integral part of the Medina table at Thanksgiving and Christmas. "We also cheat before then," he added with a laugh. "That’s why we have to keep buying more." 
Medina didn’t seem to have a problem with publicizing the Medford pasteles, but he was in the minority. I tried to get some of Vega’s customers to speak about them, for a while texting a guy named Santiago whom I’d heard sends pastele care packages year after year to family members around the country. Wouldn’t he love the chance to tell the world how wonderful they are? "No," came the reply. 
"She is going to have to make way more," insisted Damaris Ortiz, who has already ordered 10 dozen pasteles for holiday gatherings this season, having learned from past disappointments. ("I remember when they ran out last year. I was heartbroken.") The Mastic Beach resident and Puerto Rican native maintained that Vega’s pasteles are as authentic as they are delicious. 
In her Island Empanada kitchen, just after 8 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, Vega — where pastele production is confined to hours when the store is closed — exhibited results of the previous day’s work, a large container of meat filling, its glistening bites of pork shoulder long-simmered in sofrito and infused with fire-roasted peppers, tomato sauce and green olives. Nearby sat the container of masa, a thick paste of white yautia root, green plantains and pumpkin. That too had taken a whole day, even with an electric grater.
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Two years ago, when I first heard about Vegas’ pasteles from a die-hard fan, I didn’t understand the excitement. I’ve had tamales, I replied, which by the way is something you should never say to anyone who loves pasteles. Anyway, I soon discovered that the comparison does favors to neither dish. Corn masa, which gives tamales their distinctive sweetness and mealy texture, is not used in pasteles. The second half of the process, their assembly and cooking, is different as well. 
That was Wednesday’s assignment, and it began with Vega and Romero painting thin layers of achiote oil onto plantain leaves before carefully loading each with dough, meat, then dough again. After wrapping the pasteles in leaves and parchment paper, the packages were securely, elaborately tied with string. A final step saw Vega tying pasteles together in pairs, like a skydiving couple, and freezing them. They're sold frozen by the half- ($20) or full dozen ($36), while they last--and only at the Medford location. Customers just need to plunge them into a pot of boiling water for an hour and serve.
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Which brings us to the paragraph I’ve been dreading, the one in which I stumble through a description of pasteles’ specialness for the benefit of the unfamiliar. My first observation is that anyone unwrapping them and expecting tamales will be pleasantly surprised by how juicy and tender pasteles are by comparison, and that anyone who loves the heat and showiness of chili powder and cumin should stick with tamales. Pasteles are milder fare. 
Upon reflection and a thesaurus consultation, I have decided that the only word to describe them is delicious. (I know, sorry.) So delicious, you can well imagine people taking off work and racing to Medford whenever word arrives — via some back channel, no doubt — that Vega has produced another batch of pasteles for sale. So delicious, it makes perfect sense that a code of silence has descended on all lucky enough to get them, an unspoken promise to tell no one. So delicious, you never hear anyone crowing about them on social media, or slipping and saying something that might show up on a Google search, effectively controlling access to the mere 200 dozen pasteles Vega makes each season. So delicious, their anger upon discovering that the secret is out will be completely understandable. So delicious, they likely won’t rest until the stoolie responsible for this outrage has been hunted down and clocked. 
Good thing you didn’t hear it from me.

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Island Empanada's pasteles could be Long Island's most sought-after holiday dish

Secret's out: This eatery is serving LI's most sought-after holiday dish

Newsday's Scott Vogel takes a tour of a little-known operation making pasteles at the Medford location of Island Empanada.


Making pasteles at Island Empanada in Medford

Brookhaven Town

Suffolk

Long Island

Medford

Newsday

This eatery is making one of LI's most sought-after holiday dishes. Here's how.

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Keeping tabs on all of the halal places popping up across Long Island sometimes feels like a never-ending quest. "Was that one there before? Wait, when did that one open?" Inside each, you’re usually assured a dependable template — chicken or lamb over rice, gyros, falafel and its brethren drizzled with creamy white and spicy chili sauces, and plated quickly. What sets them apart, though? 
Die-hard halal fans may each have their answer to that. So does Mohamed Siraj Salahudeen, who developed his own ideas during decades of both eating at halal carts and managing restaurants and catering halls. About 10 years ago, Salahudeen opened what he said was the "first and only" halal-Italian restaurant in New York City, the Olive Tree, which operated in midtown for a few years. By the time he opened Salah’s Halal in East Islip last spring — a decidedly more casual place, named for his late father — Salahudeen had his brand signature down: Meats marinated overnight, falafel and sauces made fresh daily, plenty of fusion (think lamb-goat cheeseburgers and fried chicken sandwiches) and dishes made to order with nary a warming tray in sight. 
It’s a formula he’s also put into place in a second Salah’s Halal, which opened in September in the space where Commack Breakfast operated for decades. Salahudeen is an avid biker and has given the place a kitschy motorcycle theme, cast in bright reds and golds with a gleaming Suzuki Volusia bike parked in the dining room. 
Another point of differentiation: Sri Lankan touches dot the menu, from spice profiles to deviled sauce. 
"Everyone in Sri Lanka knows devil," said Salahudeen, who grew up there. Devel, or devil seasoning, is a blend of sweet, spicy and umami flavors, such as garlic, ginger, chili, citrus, tomato, soy and cinnamon; Salah’s kitchen serves it alongside chicken wings or as an addition to gyros, bowls and burgers. (The East Islip location also serves Sri Lankan-style coconut rice, but Commack does not). 
Barbecue, hot, blue cheese and the signature white sauces also make appearances on platters of diced chicken thighs, ground lamb, chickpea-fava bean falafel or fish over basmati rice; six gyros; seven burgers; and sandwiches such as Venom, a grilled chicken thigh with turkey bacon and sliced jalapeños that is named, like many dishes, for a motorcycle. 
"It’s semi-fast food," said Salahudeen, whose biker friends roared up en masse to the Commack grand opening a few weeks ago. "We grind the chilis, we make falafel from scratch, we marinate the chicken for 24 hours. I try my best to make everything healthy and fresh." 
Most platters, sandwiches and burgers fall between $9 and $13; among the sides are a ground-beef-taco, nachos, fries and a kebab roll. Later this fall, Salahudeen will offer American-style breakfast sandwiches, an homage of sorts to the longtime deli that was once here, and begin opening at 6 a.m. 
For now, Salah’s opens at 10 a.m. daily. Salahudeen, who is also an event planner and caterer, has plans for many more Salah’s both in New York and farther afield, fueled by a quiet determination to go head-to-head with the chains already established here. 
Salah’s Halal is at 95 Commack Rd., Commack. 631-486-2146, <a href="http://www.salahshalalfood.com/">salahshalalfood.com</a>

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Salah's Halal opens second location, in Commack

Halal chain opens second LI location, in Commack

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Nine years after debuting Greenport, Marc LaMaina’s rollicking taqueria-tequila bar chain Lucharitos opens in Melville today. It’s the biggest of the Mexican chainlet's five locations, the furthest west and the first in which he has a partner, Kevin Mannix of Syosset. 
The menu is very similar to the Greenport original. Starters ($12 to $22) include fried "Mexican ribs," lobster guacamole and bacon-cream cheese jalapeño poppers. Other dishes feature fillings that range from traditional (carne asada beef, pork carnitas, adobo chicken) to creative (pulled barbecued pork, grilled local duck, coconut shrimp). Choose among burritos ($14 to $17), tacos (orders are $11 to $14), nachos ($12 to $18), quesadillas ($9 to $16), and bowls ($8 to $15). 
The bar has an impressive lineup of tequilas; margaritas are made with fresh, housemade fruit purées and signature drinks include the Paloma (tequila, grapefruit and soda rimmed with Tajin spice) and Lucha punch (light and dark rums, Malibu, orange, pineapple and cranberry juice.) 
At 80 seats (plus more outside), the dining room is an exuberant blend of tile work — herringboned turquoise subway tiles on the wall, graphic black and white on the bar — plus a tropical mural by Greenport artist Kara Hoblin and, of course, paintings and prints of luchadores, the extravagantly outfitted Mexican wrestlers who are the chain’s namesake. LaMaina came up with the design himself, noting that most of its elements are from Lowe’s. (One exception: the floral oilcloths that cover some of the tables is supplied by an eBay vendor in Mexico.)
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LaMaina said that the restaurant’s success will rely on its staff. General manager Thomas Martino is a veteran of Chili’s and TGI Fridays; executive chef Joe Taffurelli has led both corporate and fine-dining kitchens. 
Lucharitos got its start in 2012 in a small Greenport storefront in which LaMaina had originally opened a bakery-cafe called Butta’Cakes. In 2015 it expanded into the neighboring space and in 2017, it spawned Little Lucharitos, a taco stand in Aquebogue. LaMaina bought a small farm in Center Moriches and, in 2019, set up a food truck there specializing in barbecue. The full-fledged restaurant and farm experience, which LaMaina calls <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/lucharitos-farm-center-moriches-mexican-1.46078969">Luchafarm, opened last year</a>, as did a Lucharitos Burrito Bar in Mattituck. 
But Melville is the first location that was purpose-built from scratch. "This was my dream from day one," LaMaina said. "This is a launching pad for us as a brand." Lucharitos is the latest restaurant to open in the Melville Mall spinoff; its neighbors include <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/food-and-drink/gregorys-coffee-melville-1.50230436">Gregorys Coffee</a> and the Mediterranean quick-serve chain, <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/cava-melville-1.50345594">Cava</a>, and will be joined soon by T.O.A. Asian Fusion. 
Lucharitos is at 834B Walt Whitman Rd., Melville, 631-271-3680, <a href="https://www.lucharitos.com/">lucharitos.com</a>.

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Mexican restaurant Lucharitos opens in Melville

Mexican chainlet opens new location in Melville

The pumpkins were stacked, the parking lot fast filling in Massapequa on Wednesday morning, as Long Island’s newest Whole Foods (and first on the South Shore) opened its doors after months of preparation. 
The 38,500-square-foot store, located in the former Babies R’ Us on Sunrise Highway, is the grocer’s sixth Long Island location (joining stores in Garden City, Commack, Jericho, Manhasset and Deer Park). 
Near the entry, the produce department showcases fruits and veggies in lush displays; look for the "local" labels scattered throughout, which highlight items sourced from Long Island, New York, and the greater northeast.
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As at all Whole Foods Markets, all of the meats and animal products in the Massapequa store adhere to the company’s cascade of ethical standards, which outline protocols for animal welfare, workplace best practices, and the environment. 
A fishmonger’s case offers wild-caught fish, harvested according to Whole Foods’ sustainability guidelines, which aim to protect fish populations and conserve overall ocean health. Find glistening whole red snappers and branzini, along with Blue Point oysters and little neck clams, along with shrimp, skewered into kebabs; crab cakes and salt cod fritter.
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Steps from the fish counter, the butcher shop features chops (lamb and pork), steaks (fresh, custom-cut, dry-aged or otherwise), roasts and semi-prepared things like chicken breasts stuffed with tomato and basil or à la cordon bleu. Any cut can be sliced or marinated to order, and for those seeking a window into how it’s made, there’s a fishbowl-style cutting station, where visitors can watch as workers break down sides of pork or beef into individual cuts. 
In every aisle, the Massapequa store puts an emphasis on local products. In the dairy department, Greek yogurt from West Babylon’s Nuonós Creamery is displayed alongside cups of Chobani; the frozen section includes pies from Seaford’s Brooklyn Square Pizza placed among the national brands. Near the produce section, a case holds 10 fresh handmade pastas from Severino Pasta Company in Westmont, New Jersey. 
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On the west side of the building, the store devotes extensive square footage to prepared foods. Visitors swinging by for a quick lunch can pursue the hot and cold bars, which feature plates such as spicy Thai pasta salad, orzo with spinach and feta, and baked mac and cheese. 
Salads, to eat now or later, can be built with greens and grilled veggies, plant- and animal-based proteins, fresh fruits and a long list of dressings and condiments, while an end bar offers handcrafted Mediterranean mezze. A cooler holds dozens of grab-and-go items (cranberry couscous; curried chicken salad, beef burritos, Buffalo cauliflower, devilled eggs,) many of which are also available by the pound in the deli. 
Other busy-weeknight dinner fixes include a pizza station, where customers can grab fresh pizzas to re-warm at home, or build a custom pie to bake while they shop.
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At the "Market Plate" counter, visitors can select packed-to-order entrées such as seasoned strip roast, teriyaki salmon, rotisserie chicken and vegan loaf with mushroom gravy were on the menu today. Customers can choose from nine sides — on opening day, these included maple-glazed Brussels sprouts with bacon and apple, mac and cheese, and truffled fingerlings. 
And, on the way out, a full line of baked goods runs the gamut from occasion cakes, ready for your kid’s "Happy birthday" inscription, to breads and pastries, any of which can be toasted in the store’s full-service onsite coffee bar. 
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Head spinning yet? Grab a coffee on the way out — it’s pumpkin spice season, after all … And if that’s not your thing, there’s always the seasonally changing café special — right now, it’s the butterscotch white mocha.

Food and Drink

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Whole Foods opens in Massapequa

At bar-slash-arcades and the like, food and drink is usually tangential to the experience: The cheap vodka tonics in a bowling alley, for instance, or the Korean-style sticky ribs at Dave &amp; Buster’s. Neither are primary draws, but both still carry their own thrill. 
Is there anything like that at Topgolf, I wondered? For those not familiar, Topgolf is a nationwide chain where you pay to hit golf balls into a vast driving range.<a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/recreation/topgolf-long-island-1.50320672"> The first Long Island location opened this summer.</a> In each of the 108 golfing bays — spread over three floors, which make Topgolf striking from the LIE service road — you can get plenty of beer, cocktails, flatbreads, wings and burgers delivered to your table. Inside, away from the main action, is an echoey dining room and bar that are low on ambience but where people can hang regardless of whether they're there to play. 
I’d read about Topgolf’s blood-orange bourbon mules, wok-charred edamame and deviled egg samplers (at least in Las Vegas and California) and injectable doughnut holes (in just about all of their 60-plus locations). In 2018, USA Today gushed about crispy sea bass sliders and a charcuterie-style giant pretzel board with soppressata, porchetta and cheese and fruit. For real. 
That was pre-COVID, and these unprecedented times have meant that most chains have stripped away anything vaguely "chef-driven." At Topgolf, the focus is on basic American bar food and sweet, pre-batched cocktails, including a mai tai so saccharine it made sense why people down the bar were sticking to Heineken. Committed drinkers can opt for giant, $18 cocktails-for-two called Golf Bags; one is a pineapple rum punch, the other combines vodka, gin, blackberries and Chambord. Ouch. 
You can sort of tell what you're in for, food-wise, before you walk into the building, so grand yet antiseptic is the facade, like an attempt at suburban futurism. There is little predictability to what works and what doesn’t: Wings, which should be a staple, arrived lukewarm and chewy. Improbably, it’s cheesy macaroni bites — sort of like arancini but filled with goey mac-and-cheese — hit some joy trigger deep in the amygdala. 
Gluten-free eaters are graced by the cauliflower-crust pizza, called a "farmhouse flatbread," loaded with veggies; it is overly glopped with ricotta cheese (adding to the 1,170 calorie count) but otherwise probably one of the finest and bougie-est things to eat here. 
Where Topgolf does not disappoint is the burger. If you don’t specify, it will be cooked medium, and yet this blend of brisket and chuck, on a toasted brioche bun and draped with melted white American cheese, has that addictive, transcendent beefiness that compels you to finish the darned thing off, and quickly. Fries are filler, probably not worth the calories. Injectable doughnut holes, on the contrary…rolled in cinnamon sugar and delivered in a bucket with "syringes" of chocolate sauce, et al — it’s for you to decide. 
Topgolf opens daily at 10 a.m. at 5231 Express Dr. North in Holtsville, 631-977-7645, <a href="http://topgolf.com/us/holtsville">topgolf.com/us/holtsville</a>.

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What to eat (or not) at Long Island's first Topgolf in Holtsville

What to eat (or not) at LI's first Topgolf

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When Lidl opens its doors at 531 Montauk Hwy. in West Babylon on Sept. 29, it completes the supermarket’s takeover of Long Island’s Best Markets, the local chain it bought in 2019. With more than 11,000 locations in Europe and, since 2017, 100-plus in the US, the Germany-based Lidl (pronounced LEE-dull) has been steadily increasing its American presence. On LI, 21 Lidls have opened in the last two years, and the company has said that it has plans to operate 50 stores on Long Island by 2029. 
In short: If there’s not a Lidl near you, there will be soon. (Click <a href="https://www.lidl.com/stores?gclid=Cj0KCQjw18WKBhCUARIsAFiW7JxU-lGla0epxBg9wWcrTrgQiQifwDdIKYpKK1CvADSgOksy1OJH7Z0aAn-TEALw_wcB">here</a> to find your closest Lidl.) 
Unquestionably, the main advantage Lidl has over traditional Long Island supermarkets is price. While prices at Lidl are markedly lower than what you’d expect to pay other grocery stores, selection is also drastically reduced. A traditional supermarket stocks about 20,000 different items; at Lidl the number is 3,500. Much of the difference is due to Lidl’s relative paucity of brand names: Some categories, such as mayonnaise, might have two or three name brands in addition to the store brand; other categories, such as paper goods, feature only Lidl labels. 
You also won’t see labor-intensive services such as a butcher counter, seafood counter or deli. All merchandise is prepackaged for sale, and the setup, with many items displayed in the cartons they are packed in, is more bare-bones than a traditional supermarket, too. 
(If you’re thinking "that sounds like Aldi," you’re right. Aldi is also a German-based supermarket chain with about 10,000 stores that is now expanding into the United States. In general, the eight Aldis on Long Island are a bit smaller than the Lidls, and they sell even fewer brand-name goods.) 
Over the last few months I’ve explored Lidl, shopping the stores in East Meadow, West Babylon and Center Moriches. In general I found the employees friendly and helpful, the stores clean and pleasant, and following COVID-19 protocols. If you’re inclined to give Lidl a try, here are 11 things that you won’t want to miss: 
Note: Prices are generally consistent across all local Lidls, but during weekly specials, prices may vary from store to store. 
Duke’s Mayonnaise
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A signature brand in the South, Duke’s is a hard-to-find cult item in these parts but, because Lidl’s first American stores were in Virginia, North and South Carolina (and its US company is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia), the chain adopted Duke’s as one of its standard brands. As opposed to Hellman’s (which Lidl also carries), Duke’s contains no sugar. A 32-ounce jar is $3.34 for 32 ounces. (Another peculiarly American item I came across was Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit mix for $1.78. I had to add my own shredded Cheddar but it produced nine very creditable biscuits.) 
Frozen shrimp
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Most of Lidl’s seafood is frozen — and most of the fresh items are salmon. While fish that has been quickly frozen and then slowly defrosted can be excellent, the only seafood that I regularly buy frozen is shrimp, and here’s why: Virtually all shrimp sold in American supermarkets and fish stores has been frozen — if you see it "fresh," it’s because it’s because the store defrosted it. Lidl stocks a wide variety of frozen shrimp — small to jumbo, peeled and unpeeled — but I was drawn to the wild-caught American shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico. The jumbos (10 to 15 to a pound) were a bargain at $19.99, but they went as small as 50 to 60 to a pound for $6.49. 
Tarte Flambée 
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This frozen French-style flatbread with goat cheese and olives reminded me of Trader Joe’s "Tarte d’Alsace" (topped with onions, bacon and Gruyere), a longtime favorite. Lidl’s tart did not disappoint. After about 15 minutes in the oven it emerged crisp-bottomed with the cheese still creamy. Pair with a green salad for a great vegetarian supper. Price $3.99 
Canned cherry tomatoes
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As you peruse the merchandise at Lidl, you’ll notice products bearing the label "Preferred Selection," often with a flag appearing below the type. Lidl considers these to be premium items, most of them are imported from Europe. I buy a lot of canned tomatoes and usually consider canned cherries a splurge but at 99 cents for 14 ounces, they cost less than many cans of Italian San Marzano tomatoes. (Lidl’s regular peeled canned plum tomatoes are a steal at 95 cents for 28 ounces but I found them tough.) 
Bronze cut pasta
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Another of Lidl’s "Preferred Selection" items is the bronze-cut pasta imported from Italy. Most macaroni, whether domestic or imported, is made by extruding semolina dough through a teflon-lined die. The old-fashioned method, using bronze or copper dies, is less efficient (and more costly) but produces a pasta with a pleasantly uneven surface that’s better at hanging on to sauce. These "better" pastas can run up to $8 a pound at specialty stores; at Lidl, it was $1.19 for a pound of spaghetti, $1.09 for "pipe rigate," fat little shells. 
Single origin chocolate
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If you’re a fan of fancy-pants dark chocolate, make sure you pick up a couple of these bars which come in colorful, gift-suitable packages and are also Certified Fairtrade, signifying that the cocoa farmers were paid a fair wage. With its 70% cacao content, the Madagascar bar hit my sweet spot; the 60% bar from Peru is a real crowd-pleaser. 3.52-ounce bars are $1.99. 
Croissants
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Lidl is proud of its bakery and with good reason. Breads, pastries and cookies are good across the board with special commendation going to the croissants, made with a large percentage of butter and costing $2.35 for a package of four. These are not the best croissants I’ve ever had, but they are without question the best 59-cent croissants I’ve ever had. Other bakery recommendations include the German sourdough bread and the oversized chocolate-chip cookies. 
Tart cherry fruit spread
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In addition to its regular line of preserves, Lidl also offers a "Preferred Selection fruit spread" of which my favorite was tart cherry, which rather than just tasting "red," actually tasted like tart cherries. Bonus: I’ll use the sturdy, wide-mouthed jar for years to store leftovers. $2.29 for 15.8 ounces 
Irish butter
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In Europe, butter is often "cultured," which means that the milk has been allowed to ferment slightly before being churned — and not that the butter likes the opera. The fermentation lends a richer, tangier flavor and, usually, a higher price tag. Lidl sells half-pound bricks of cultured Irish butter for $3.29 in both salted and unsalted versions, though I’ve never seen both at the same time. 
Produce
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Lidl’s produce section is relatively small. Each store receives a fresh delivery every morning and prefers to display only a day’s worth of product at a time. (For this reason, if produce is your main quarry, you’d be advised to shop early in the day.) I found a 2-pound bag of crisp, unblemished organic Gala apples for $2.89; organic bananas were 59 cents a pound; conventional bananas were 44 cents a pound. I bought a 2-pound bag of lemons — 6 heavy specimens — for $1.99. 
Beyond groceries
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Each Lidl store devotes about 15% of its floor space to nonfood items, ranging from to apparel for kids and adults, blood-pressure monitors and heating pads, car covers and windshield sun screens, rakes and brooms, art supplies and seasonal holiday items (such as animated books that move on their own for Halloween). New items show up every Wednesday and, once they sell out, are not restocked. (I wish I’d bought two of the 60-spool sewing thread sets I saw last December $7.99 and am still wondering about $2.99 pushup bras I passed up.) Among the items that I couldn’t resist on my most recent trips to Lidl were a set of four tiny refillable silicone toiletry bottles ($3.49), a nylon sleeping bag ($19.99) and a 4.2.-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven for $24.99. (I’m not saying this pot will last as long as a comparable Le Creuset; I’m just saying it costs about a tenth of the price.)

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The groceries you'll want to buy at Lidl, Long Island's new supermarket chain

There are now 21 Lidls on LI. Here's what you should be buying there.

Newsday's food critic Erica Marcus takes a tour of Lidl in Center Moriches, giving five tips for shopping at the German grocery store chain that's taking over all of Long Island's Best Markets.


5 tips for shopping at Lidl

What you need to know about shopping at Lidl

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Proving that there are always undiscovered micro-niches for pizza, the slim, chewy pies from Riko's Thin Crust Pizza have landed in Mineola, about a year after the first Long Island location <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/rikos-thin-crust-pizza-levittown-1.49428215">opened in Levittown</a>. 
The Connecticut-based chain has staked its corner of the pizzaverse with hot-oil pizza, a cheese pie drizzled in chili oil. There are at least nine other pies on the menu, from margherita to clam-bacon to a Hawaiian-style with ham and pineapple. There's also gluten-free pizza. The 13-inch pies ($9.95 to $15.75) cook for 10 minutes in a 500-degree gas-fired oven, leaving them decidedly more chewy than crisp. 
If you want to dip your toes, so to speak, into hot-oil pizza before committing to an entire pie, slices are $3. The rest of the menu is given over to salads and customizable salad-topped pizzas, as well as baked wings and a few desserts. 
The Mineola version of Riko's is a smaller, more takeout-focused version of its Levittown cousin, but those who decide to eat in will find a spiffy dining room with oversized vintage photos of the founders' families, a handful of tables, a flat-screen TV and a window counter, plus a few bistro tables outside. (The spot is a few blocks from Mineola's LIRR station, along Old Country Rd.). 
The company started in Stamford, Conn. in 2011 — there are three locations in the state — and appears to be aggressively franchising, with Albany and eight other U.S. states as targets for new pizzerias. 
Riko's Thin Crust Pizza is open daily at 124 Old Country Rd., Mineola, 516-214-0414. <a href="https://www.rikospizza.com/">rikospizza.com</a>

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Riko's Thin Crust Pizza opens second Long Island location, in Mineola

Growing pizza chain opens second LI location

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This is a time in which a shocking number of Americans say that they are addicted to chicken nuggets. Even accounting for hoaxes, this is as funny-tragic as the recent finding that nearly 48% of the country’s restaurants now contain some sort of fried chicken sandwich. 
Given all this, no one should be surprised that today marks the nationwide release of Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco, the name a distinct disappointment coming from the folks behind Naked Chicken Chips and Kit Kat Chocoladillas. Marketing-wise, the new menu item would seem a slam dunk. The universe of folks who love either tacos or chicken sandwiches is large, and the number of those who love neither vanishingly small. But just because we love two things does not mean we will love them together, otherwise Lady Gaga’s Oreos would be hitting pay dirt, along with Keurig margaritas, emoji Eggo waffles, Pepperoni Uncrustables and — soon — Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Mountain Dew. 
But Taco Bell’s own mashup tested well in Charlotte and Nashville earlier this year, two cities whose fast-food recommendations must never be ignored. I remained skeptical. 
Karma intervened: T-Bell began offering preview tastes of the new tacos during its Happier Hour (from 2 to 5, if you’re wondering) last week on the exact same day that my horoscope read "consider getting out of your comfort zone." In the moment it seemed like too much of a coincidence, and only later would I wonder if astrologers can be sued. 
2:05 p.m. found me politely requesting two sandacos (spicy and original) at the nearest T-Bell counter. "You’re the first one," said the mystified cashier. I beamed with pride, not realizing that this presaged several minutes of confusion followed by a brief but intense argument behind the prep station. Eventually, a bag appeared with two paper-wrapped tacos buried under a ceremonious shower of sauce packets. 
How much can one reasonably expect from anything costing $2.49 these days? I submit that it’s more than a 4-inch bready shell "shaped in an iconic taco form," in TB’s highfalutin words, dressed with two oversize chicken nuggets and a squirt of sauce. 
At any rate, my sandacos ($4.49 for two) arrived looking like neither sandwiches nor tacos but largish canapés, the sort of thing they pass around at engagement parties for couples who aren’t going to make it, or perhaps the snack a host might quickly rig up for guests who show up unexpectedly, just to make sure they never do that again. 
A few early reviews have suggested that the chicken itself is the sandwich’s breakout star, so good it ought to be sold on its own. Uh-huh. According to the company, the meat is marinated in "jalapeño buttermilk," then coated with ground-up tortilla chips, then deep-fried. All of which is to say, T-Bell went to a lot of trouble only to produce something that Ronald himself might mistake for a McNugget. 
The bread is soft but airless, like someone slashed the tires on a bao bun, and the taste is simple and flavorless. 
 The taco’s best part (it’s all relative) is the creamy chipotle sauce, which has apparently impressed enough of the right people to earn a place on supermarket shelves. Yes, it conjures images of a summer evening in Tijuana as imagined by a jar of mayonnaise, but at least it’s trying. 
And that’s it. Oh wait. While both sandacos cost the same, the spicy one distinguishes itself, barely, by a couple of rings of jalapeño garnish. The peppers look shriveled and dull, as if ashamed that it’s come to this. Peppers, I feel you. 
Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco is available at locations Islandwide starting today. Prices are $2.49 for one, $4.49 for two. <a href="https://www.tacobell.com/">tacobell.com</a>

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Food critic tries Taco Bell's Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco

Food critic tries Taco Bell's new chicken sandwich taco

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Are you a Cava newbie? Judging from the line at the Long Island's first location of the fast-casual chain, you might be outnumbered. 
A few days after it opened in mid-August, Cava — which landed in the new shopping center in front of Uncle Giuseppe's in Melville — had a lunchtime queue that stretched through the dining room. Based on the speed with which people ordered Mediterranean-style bowls and pita sandwiches, the fast-casual spot is familiar to those who have visited one of Cava's other 137 U.S. eateries. 
Cava was founded by three Greek-American friends in Rockville, Md., in 2006, and blankets the Washington, D.C. area with quick, healthy-ish bowls of grains, greens and protein. The chain has since expanded to 14 states, with nine locations in New York City. The mélange of flavors and textures can seem zany — for instance, a lemon chicken bowl ($11.47) has 10 other ingredients besides grilled chicken, including red-pepper hummus, feta and the chain's quasi-famous pickled onions, doused with a preserved-lemon vinaigrette. 
Besides a few "chef-curated" bowls and salads ($11.47 to $15.01), most of the seasonally changing menu is modular: Customers choose a base (rice, greens, black lentil) and a protein, from harissa-honey chicken to braised lamb to falafel. Toppings include cabbage slaw, avocado and pickled onions, and dips and spreads such as red-pepper hummus, "crazy" feta (infused with jalapeño) and roasted eggplant can be added as well. Each is finished off with one of eight dressings, such as lemon-herb tahini or skhug, the Middle-Eastern hot sauce. 
The result is a colorful, messy-looking bowl whose flavors somehow, improbably, sync. (The same system is also applied to pitas sandwiches, which start at $10.67). 
On the drinks front are juices, Maine Root sodas, flavored lemonades (think blueberry-lavender) and proprietary Cava waters. Visitors can dine on wooden benches, at window counters, or on the stone patio, which has a few umbrella-topped tables. 
Earlier this summer, <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/food-and-drink/gregorys-coffee-melville-1.50230436">Gregory's Coffee opened</a> in the space adjacent to Cava; in coming weeks, satellites of Lucharito's and TOA Asian Fusion are due to open in the same plaza. 
Cava is open daily from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 834 Walt Whitman Rd. in Melville; 631-301-3809, <a href="https://www.cava.com/">cava.com</a>

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Fast-casual Mediterranean chain Cava opens first Long Island location, in Melville

Fast-casual Mediterranean chain opens first LI location

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Uncle Louie G’s distinctive blue-and-white-striped awnings shade the thresholds of scores of Italian ice shops throughout Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens — plus a few in New Jersey and one in Lindenhurst — but, until May, Nassau County was a Louie G’s-free zone. That changed when a spiffy new location took up residence in Oceanside, in the same Long Beach Road shopping center as A &amp; S Fine Foods and Captain Mike’s Seafood &amp; Lobster. (The shop’s flagstone facade precluded the construction of an awning, but the blue and white stripes are a recurrent decorative element inside.) 
Uncle Louie G’s got its start in Brooklyn in 1998. The Oceanside store is a franchise, owned by Alex and Danielle Petito and Steven and Joann Feinberg; all frozen treats are kosher made in Uncle Louie G’s plant in Staten Island and there really is something cold for everyone: 24 flavors of dairy-free ices such as cantaloupe, bubble gum, lemon, root beer, tropical rainbow; 23 flavors of ices that contain some dairy such as cappuccino, spumoni, piña colada and cake batter; 35 flavors of ice cream such as apple pie, Brooklyn cheesecake, pralines and cream, vanilla Snickers; and four vegan "ice creams" including coffee and strawberry. Rabbi Jacob Klass of Kahal Bnei Matisyahu provides kosher supervision. 
Ices and ice cream are available in cones and cups, sundaes, shakes, smoothies and floats and, to go, in pints and quarts. Catering is also available. 
Uncle Louie G’s is at 3384 Long Beach Rd., Oceanside, 516-208-3137, <a href="http://unclelouiegee.com/">unclelouiegee.com</a>.

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Uncle Louie G's Italian Ices & Ice Cream opens in Oceanside

Brooklyn-based Italian ice chain opens in Oceanside

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Ever since its inception in 1954, the Burger King corporation has worked tirelessly to convince Americans of the superiority of flame-broiled patties, or as they were once known, burnt hamburgers. Its success in this vein speaks to the genius of the royal chain’s marketing department, which like Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, adapts, reinvents, and finds ways to remain relevant, despite waning public support for the monarchy. . 
Which brings us to this month, and two campaigns for recognition and acceptance — one by the LGBTQ community, which is celebrating Pride, and BK, which is celebrating the national debut of the Ch'King. Earlier this month, in a bid to establish it as the most woke chicken sandwich on the market, the fast food giant announced via Twitter that it would make a small donation to the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group for every Ch’King sold. In a further bid to separate theirs from other fried chicken fiefdoms, BK vowed to make such donations "even on Sunday," a reference to Sunday-shuttered rival Chick-fil-A and the notorious 2012 episode in which its CEO inveighed against gay marriage, championing instead "the biblical definition of the family unit." 
The first interesting thing about the Ch’King is its name. Never in the history of punctuation has an apostrophe been forced to labor so, standing in for no fewer than five letters by my count, and that may well be a conservative estimate. The second interesting thing is the price. The Ch’King is $6.49 on Long Island — cha-ching! — perhaps the only place in America where it costs so much. Chicago’s Ch’King is $3.89. It’s $4.99 in New York City and Los Angeles, $5.39 in Miami, $5.49 in Boston. Long Island, you are being snock’rd. 
But perhaps money is no object for you. Perhaps, improbably, you possess both vast wealth and a love of chicken sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. How are we to judge the Ch’King and other instances of fried fowl? In the end, it all comes down to cragginess. 
Besides "juicy," there are few words that flatter a chicken sandwich’s ego more than "craggy." A craggy chicken sandwich is one whose batter solidifies into high cliffs and deep ravines when the breast is plunged in oil, turning it into a true triglyceride whisperer. The Ch’King is more craggy, crackly and crunchy than its competitors, and also appears to contain more meat. 
Equally admirable, at least in this regard, are the Spicy Ch’king and Ch’King Deluxe (in which a single tomato slice and a couple of lettuce leaves completely transforms a sandwich into something costing $7.19). Not so BK’s ancient, Pre-Craggozoic-Era chicken sandwich, still on the menu and as perfectly flat and oval as a NASCAR track ($6.49). Honorable mention goes to the Spicy, which glistens with a sweet-peppery-deceptively-magenta glaze. It also packs a capsaicin hit that, if it won’t exactly clear nostrils, at least puts them on notice. And it certainly out-burns Popeye’s et al., either that or I bought some bum Pepcid. 
Otherwise, the meat inside is tender, the bun is, you know, a bun, and there are pickles that many swear are appreciably superior to BK’s rivals. For my part, I will resist comparing and contrasting fast food pickle slices, not ready to reckon with the tragedy that is my life. 
Ch’King sandwiches are available at Burger King locations Islandwide. For $6.49.

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Food critic tries Burger King's long-awaited Ch'King sandwich

Food critic tries Burger King's new chicken sandwich

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A fast-casual chain that had little-to-no presence on Long Island a few years back, is finding its footing — Qdoba has opened its fourth Long Island location, in Massapequa. The chain also operates in East Meadow, Plainview and Farmingdale. 
Customers can build their own Mexican meals — burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, salads, quesadillas, nachos — with proteins such as grilled steak, slow-braised pulled pork and slow-smoked beef brisket; then add rice, beans, cheese blends, pickled jalapeños, guacamole, salsas and sauces. 
Or, dive right in to signature bowls (all are less than $10) including chicken tacos, an Impossible fajita burrito or the newly introduced Mexican cauliflower mash with chicken. 
Delivery is available via DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub and Postmates. 
Owners (and brothers) Jeff and John Froccaro of the Burger Brothers Restaurant Group also run Qdoba locations in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and Fresh Meadows, Queens. The duo plan to venture further out into Suffolk County with Hauppauge (670 Motor Parkway) and Bay Shore (331 Main Street) locations. The Froccaros also own more than 30 Burger Kings across the Island. 
Qdoba is at 4870 Sunrise Highway, Massapequa. It's open Sundays to Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 p.m., 516-590-7450; <a href="https://www.qdoba.com/">qdoba.com</a>

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Qdoba Mexican Eats opens in Massapequa 

Mexican chain opens 4th LI location, in Massapequa

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Are burgers the new pizza? Maybe not yet, but consider this: To make way for the newest Burgerology, in Stony Brook, a brick pizza oven had to be smashed to bits. 
"They'd built the whole restaurant and bar around the oven, and we could not get it out without breaking it into a million pieces," said John Falcicchio, who manages the six-week-old location on Route 347 in a space that used to be occupied by an Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. "We had some trying days here." 
After the Galatoulas family leased the space late last fall for what would be their fifth Long Island location — others are in Rockville Centre, Huntington, Patchogue, and Syosset, and there is one in Astoria — Burgerology opened in March after a few months of build out. There's plenty of brick, a mural of Einstein and other scientific luminaries, seating for about 100 people and an indoor-outdoor bar that lends a relaxed open-air vibe. The menu, focused on burgers, fries, milkshakes and oversized cocktails, is the same as in all of the sister restaurants. 
The chain that Eddie and Georgia Galatoulas launched in Rockville Centre in 2017 is growing rapidly, said Falcicchio. Even during the depths of the early pandemic, Burgerology opened its biggest location<a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/burgerology-patchogue-burgers-1.44260829"> in Patchogue, in April 2020</a>; a Burgerology Express followed in Syosset this April (April 2021, that is) sporting a compressed menu — seven burgers instead of 16, plus a few salads, fried-chicken sandwiches and milkshakes. "Our concept translated well to takeout and delivery," Falcicchio said. "Burgers and fries keep well during transport." Danny Panagatos is a partner in the Stony Brook location. 
The bill of fare is a canon of calories, from apps such as onion rings and fried cheese curds to prime-beef burgers, buttermilk-fried chicken sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac-and-cheese, tacos, milkshakes and sundaes. It's the food of girding comfort, such as The Double Trouble burger — a tower of two patties, two kinds of cheese (Cheddar and American), bacon and house sauce, plus lettuce, tomatoes and pickles; it comes on a toasted torta bun, and fitting it all into your mouth is a puzzle. That burger costs $18.95, three bucks more than the baseline classic cheeseburger (topped with American cheese). Most apps fall between $8 and $12, while mac-and-cheese clocks in from $11 to $14 and ornate milkshakes start at $14. The drinks menu runs to several pages, from 12 taps of beer to popsicle mojitos, margaritas, 100-ounce beer towers, Red Bull mules and $40 giant flasks full of things such as peach sangria. The lab theme extends to spritzers that come smoking from the addition of dry ice. 
Will this be the last Burgerology for awhile? Not by a long shot, said Falcicchio: Another is on deck for Farmingdale, and the chain is soon expanding into Westchester County. 
Burgerology is open daily for lunch and dinner, unlocking the doors at 11:30 a.m. Monday to Friday and 11 a.m on the weekends. Find it on the north side of Route 347 at 2302B Nesconset Hwy. in Stony Brook. <a href="https://www.burgerologyusa.com/">burgerologyusa.com</a>

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Burgerology opens in Stony Brook

Popular burger chain opens new location in Stony Brook

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After casting its line in Wantagh and East Northport, DJ's Clam Shack has landed in a waterview spot on the northern edge of Huntington. 
High school buddies Bruno Surace and Gregory Sliwak have opened the third LI location, and first franchise, of the growing shellfish chain built on clams in myriad forms — chowder and fried, mostly — as well as hot and cold lobster rolls, conch fritters and pints of cold beer. In Huntington, the setting is the former Halesite space of Crew Kitchen and Bar, whose French-country vibes have been replaced with more casual, weathered beachy tones. Inside are a few tables and high-tops, while the front patio has a view (at least, across the street) of Huntington Harbor. 
The original DJ’s was opened in Key West in 2009 by Jeff Gagnon, a Long Islander, and Doug Bell. A <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/dj-s-clam-shack-review-seafood-restaurant-in-wantagh-serves-new-england-flavors-with-a-tropical-twist-1.14615421">Wantagh location followed in 2017</a>, with Gagnon's childhood friend Paul Riggio coming on as a managing partner; that spot grew a cult following and, often, lines outside. In 2020, <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/djs-clam-shack-east-northport-1.50027333">a larger DJ's Clam Shack opened in East Northport</a> sporting a full bar and a few outdoor tables. Huntington is the first bona fide franchise, according to Riggio. (The Key West location <a href="https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/episodes/kickin-it-in-key-west">was featured on season 19 </a>of Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.") 
Sliwak said the restaurant gets most of its clams from the docks in Freeport, and chef Ronnie Walshc is executing roughly the same menu as in the other locations: New England-style clam chowder ($7), conch fritters ($12), grilled hot dogs ($6), Kung Pao calamari ($12) and clam strips ($11) are among the snackier plates; hot and cold lobster rolls ($19), Ipswich fried clams (market price was $30 on a recent day), and tacos (mahi mahi, fried shrimp, chicken or pork for $11 to $13) are also on offer, as are daily specials such as lobster bisque. 
Surace is a co-owner of Amity Ales in Amityville and has put together a lineup of "staple" beers, plus a few local brews and a cooler with bottles of Peroni and cans of rosé; he said frosé and other specialty drinks are on deck for warmer weather, as is live music on the patio. A grand opening is scheduled for April 18, with proceedings still taking shape. "Maybe Greg and I will swallow fire," joked Surace. 
DJ's is open daily from noon to 8 p.m. at 134 New York Ave., Huntington, 631-470-4468. <a href="https://djsclamshack.com/">djsclamshack.com</a>

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DJ's Clam Shack opens 3rd Long Island location, in Huntington

Longtime high school friends open 3rd clam shack

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When the Florida-based chain I Heart Mac &amp; Cheese <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/i-heart-mac-cheese-patchogue-1.26433916">first arrived on Long Island two years ago</a>, in Patchogue, the concept seemed so destined to flourish here that two entrepreneurs signed on to open <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/i-heart-mac-cheese-long-island-1.29137981">23 more locations here.</a> 
Then COVID happened, putting brakes on Vinny Greco and Dan Dollard's plans to blanket Long Island with build-your-own mac-and-cheese bowls and grilled cheese sandwiches. "Once the pandemic hit, everything slowed down," said Greco, from permits to hiring. On March 31, he and Dollard finally opened their first I Heart Mac &amp; Cheese — in a Hauppauge space that they leased two years ago. (They do not own the Patchogue location). 
The cheerful spot, which has a few tables, industrial detailing and a busy counter, is very close to Hauppauge High School, and Greco said many of the 30 or so people he hired are high schoolers. "We want them to bring their friends, and we want to do a lot with the sports teams," said Greco, who also owns two Hurricane Grill &amp; Wings on Long Island and said the pandemic illustrated the importance of connecting eateries with their communities. 
CIA-trained chef Michael Blum co-founded I Heart Mac &amp; Cheese in Fort Lauderdale in 2015, shaping the concept of customizable mac-and-cheese to meet various dietary restrictions, from gluten-free to vegan (for instance, the signature cheddar cheese sauce is free of gluten, and plant-based alternatives abound). The chain, owned by Steve Giordanella, has since expanded to dozens of corporate-owned and franchised locations in various states. All draw on the same assembly-line model: Customers choose their base (cavatappi pasta, gluten-free pasta, quinoa, Tater Tots, broccoli or cauliflower) and then pick from myriad cheeses, vegetables, proteins and sauces to finish their bowl, which is sent through a machine to bake until molten. Customized bowls start at $8.95, while signature bowls start at $5.95 for a classic mac-and-cheese and top out at $15.95 for a lobster-topped version. A coconut-based vegan cheese sauce and Beyond Meat sausage and beef crumbles are among the plant-based options. 
Build-your-own grilled cheese sandwiches start at $8.95, with choices at every turn: Three types of bread, 9 kinds of cheese (including cheddar, Muenster, bleu cheese and the like), various meats and proteins, and veggies. Those who can't decide between bowls or sandwiches can cast their lot with "the best of both worlds": mac-and-cheese, short ribs and melted cheddar spilling from beneath two slices of toasted sourdough slathered with barbecue sauce, for $10.95. 
After Greco sees that the Hauppauge location is humming along, he said he and his partner will explore opening more locations. A grand opening is planned for later this spring, with a bonus in between: On National Grilled Cheese Day, April 12, I Heart Mac &amp; Cheese will offer buy one, get-one-half-off grilled-cheese sandwiches. 
I Heart Mac &amp; Cheese is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 812 Wheeler Rd., Hauppauge. 631-780-6182. <a href="https://www.iheartmacandcheese.com/">iheartmacandcheese.com</a>

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I Heart Mac & Cheese opens in Hauppauge

Mac-and-cheese chain opens Hauppauge location

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With its newest outpost, Burgerology is preparing to take on Big Burger. Burgerology Express in Syosset is a streamlined version of Long Island’s three existing Burgerologies. In Huntington, Rockville Centre and Patchogue the menu features 17 elaborately topped burgers, 15 sandwiches, plus fries, salads, tacos, appetizers and a roster of creative milkshakes. In Syosset, said partner John Galatoulas, "the menu is simpler and more limited, and the prices are much lower." Everything has been streamlined "so we can begin to compete with Shake Shack, Smashburger, Five Guys." 
John is the son of Burgerology founder Eddie Galatoulas. He started in the business when he was 18 and worked his way up from dishwasher. Now, at 23, he is driving the Express concept. The Galatoulases selected their seven most popular half-pound burgers and reworked the recipes for quarter pounders. To ensure consistency, the patties are cooked on a programmable two-sided grill. 
Which burgers made the cut? The Classic, the Mac Attack (with mac ’n’ cheese), the Atomic (Jack cheese, chipotle aioli and pickled jalapeños), the Saratoga (barbecue sauce and onion straws), the Ben Franklin (Cajun seasoning and blue cheese), the Henry Ford (bacon-blend patty with cheese and caramelized onions, the Baconology (bacon-blend patty with cheese and bacon jam) and a Garden burger with spinach and avocado. Prices range from $6.99 to $9.95, or about half of what they are at the other Burgerologies. Make any burger a double for $2.75. 
Fries are still hand-cut, beef is still prime. There are also three fried chicken sandwiches and four salads. A few of Burgerology’s signature milkshakes — Rainbow Cookie, Campfire and Cookie Doughnut — are served ($7.25) along with classic flavors ($5.75) 
Right now the narrow storefront, which used to be Mamoun’s Falafel, accommodates about 17 people and you can order either at the counter or at a self-serve kiosk. (An app is in development.) 
Eddie Galatoulas, who is also a partner in Massapequa’s New York Burger Bar, plans to open a full-service Burgerology in Stony Brook in early spring. 
Burgerology Express is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 408 Jericho Tpke, 516-588-1400

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Burgerology Express opens in Syosset

Local burger chain debuts express concept in Syosset

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In a time when <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/fried-chicken-long-island-1.50091065">chicken sandwiches</a> are thriving across the Island, it's only fitting for Chick-fil-A to open its seventh local location, in Smithtown. 
Long Island native Bryan Beasley, who also franchises the Atlanta-based chain’s Commack spot, opened March 4 as a drive-thru only establishment. 
Aside from its signature pressure-cooked chicken sandwiches, the menu includes nuggets (pressure cooked and grilled), wraps, salads, soup, fries and macaroni and cheese, among other fast food staples. This location is among those introducing its newest grilled spicy chicken deluxe sandwich (spicy grilled chicken on a toasted multigrain brioche bun, topped with Colby-Jack cheese, lettuce and tomato). 
A full breakfast lineup also is available from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with such offerings as chicken biscuits, grilled chicken and egg white sandwiches, sunflower-multigrain bagels and Greek yogurt parfaits. 
With its opening, Chick-fil-A will give 100 workers at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center free food for one year, replacing its traditional grand opening celebration. It will also donate $25,000 to Feeding America, with funds being distributed within Smithtown to help fight hunger. 
Chick-fil-A is at 530 Smithtown Bypass in Smithtown. It’s open Mondays to Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Garden City, Westbury, Hicksville, Farmingdale and Port Jefferson Station also have Chick-fil-As. <a href="https://www.chick-fil-a.com/">chick-fil-a.com</a>

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Chick-fil-A opens in Smithtown

Chick-fil-A opens new location in Smithtown

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It is in the frigid waters of the North Pacific, especially the Bering Sea, that America’s fast food restaurants do most of their fishing, dodging crab pots and "Deadliest Catch" film crews in their never ending quest for Alaskan pollock. A type of cod favored for its abundance, mild flavor and contributions to abstract expressionism, pollock is almost always what the quick service industry means by the word fish. Visited upon it are instruments of torture designed to filet, mince, bread and deep-fry away any resemblance to actual fish, living or dead. But Americans eat them on sandwiches by the millions anyway, particularly during the present Lenten season, when some Christians forgo eating warm-blooded animals in favor of cold-, which usually means fish, the reptilian options being few. 
Not coincidentally, this is also the time for pescaterian premieres, and in 2021 there is no bigger fish in the season than Popeye’s, which earlier this month added a fish sandwich to its menu for the first time ever. Having created a chicken sandwich that caused the earth to careen wildly off its axis in 2019, inducing "Lord of the Flies"-level mayhem and scheming all over the land, it made sense for the Louisiana-based chain to target fish next. Fish sandwiches are the latchkey children of Fast Food Nation--neglected and mostly unloved by the industry’s titans and their empires built of cows and chickens. Except for the next few weeks, that is. 
Popeye’s, ever the drive-thru dissident, cast its line in the direction of a different ocean fish—flounder—in hopes of reimagining the fish sandwich and perhaps leaving a few pollock for the polar bears. Would lightning strike twice for Popeye’s, I wondered, quite as if the question mattered. There was only one way to find out: by eating an entire school of fast food fried fish—say it three times fast—while maintaining my sanity. 
At press time, I had accomplished one of those goals. 
ARBY’S 
The roast beef behemoth wins the prize for most adorable name with its King’s Hawaiian Fish Deluxe ($3.99) which I—for one foolish, quixotic second—thought might mean mahi mahi instead of pollock pollock, or at the very least some cornball tiki Don Ho pineapple slices. Alas, no and no. The sandwich, available for a limited time, takes its name from the company behind the bun. At first, that makes about as much sense as the formidable sheet of Cheddar therein, whose main effect is to make you wonder again who it was that decided fish and cheese go together. Eventually it dawns on you that the sweet and seeded bread is the best part of this sandwich. Its rhomboid plank of fish is remarkable only for an oddly bitter taste to the breading accented by a few notes of high school cafeteria.The only word for a sandwich like this is aloha. 
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WENDY’S 
Having previously offered something called a Premium Cod Filet sandwich, and before that a North Pacific Cod Sandwich, the chain’s recent announcement of a new Lent-ready Crispy Panko number ($4.19) caused a frisson of excitement among the faithful. Enthusiasm turned to disillusion, however, when Wendy’s revealed that it had ditched cod in favor of, yes, Alaskan pollock, a fish whose main difference from Pacific cod is a narrower tail. Nonetheless, the sandwich does better with pollock than all the competition, its large, Arkansas-shaped patty both buttery and flaky enough to complement a crunchy exterior that, if not really panko, at least knows what panko is. 
WHITE CASTLE 
You never really appreciate tartar sauce until it’s gone, I discovered, upon biting into the Panko Breaded Fish Slider ($1.89), which is composed solely of pollock, cheese and the chain’s signature yo-yo-ish bun. Tartar’s contributions to flavor are debatable, it’s role as lubricant is not. As soon as any part of this sandwich enters the mouth, it heads straight for the roof, to which it bonds with remarkable strength. It’s tempting to blame the adhesive properties of panko, but if so, there is precious little to blame, White Castle having apparently decided that panko is not an actual thing but a fancy way of saying crunchy. The fish was no worse than elsewhere, but the cheese remained a mystery. Every time I pried the sandwich open—an oyster knife would have been handy—the breading came off with the bread, a thin layer of orange trapped between them. 
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BURGER KING 
This flame-broiled, grill-marked kingdom has an unfortunate weakness for hyperbole. The Whopper isn’t a particularly large hamburger and the Big Fish sandwich (2 for $5) is no biggie. Its filet, a breading event in which pollock has a cameo, is but three inches square and tastes like it looks—white. At a price of two sandwiches for five bucks, I suppose it’s value might be considered big, an important consideration in these lean times. Still, even at $2.50 a head, we deserve more from the King than a zinger magnet (the BF is nobody’s BFF, it’s unfit for a knave, etc.). As is, the Big Fish fades from memory almost before it’s eaten, and might disappear from consciousness entirely if not for the belching. 
POPEYE’S 
Which brings us at last to a Cajun Flounder sandwich ($4.49) that will likely not generate buzz on the level of Popeye’s chicken sensation, which is too bad because the former is actually more impressive, the rare fish sandwich that actually tastes like something. Cayenne and other spices bring real heat to a batter that’s crunchy, not soggy like so many of its rivals. The portion of flounder is notable too, especially given the price, its saltiness nicely balanced by a sweet brioche bun. Between that, Popeye’s quarter-inch pickle slices, creamy tartar, good sense to nix the cheese, and insulated foil bag, the Cajun Flounder sandwich is a worthy follow-up, a beacon of light in a sea of despond. The achievement might pale in comparison to Bigelow’s or any other true fish sandwich, but at least there’s one fewer pollock-oholic behind the Fryolater.
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MCDONALD’S 
The arched juggernaut is also the birthplace of the modern fast food fish sandwich, and as such deserves its share of blame for all that came after it. And yet the Filet-O-Fish ($5.87) is also something of a marvel, at least in an "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" pod people sort of way. Between its steamed, smooth earmuff of a bun and perfectly Bicycle pack o’ pollock is a squirt of the finest tartar sauce in all of quick servia, a tarty tartar whose little Chiclets of dill pickle are more than a decorative element. That might not seem cause for celebration, but a flavorsome condiment really is crucial to the success of these sandwiches, which need all the flavor they can get. If you are wondering how Americans came to prefer fish sandwiches that neither taste nor appear like fish, look no further than McD, which has been extruding these clones since the early ’60s. 
<h2>The standard bearer</h2> 
First the caveats. At $17.50 a pop, the fried flounder sandwich at Bigelow’s (79 N. Long Beach Rd., Rockville Centre) is almost three times more expensive than a Filet-O-Fish, and nine times more than WC’s fish slider. And neither of those places ever claimed to be fish-focused, unlike this South Shore landmark, which has been breading and frying since long before Ray Kroc met the McDonald brothers. Still, this is a sandwich worth saving for, a sandwich that gets right what almost everyone else gets wrong, starting with the fish itself: two large filets that have somehow escaped long years in a freezer case. And praise be the batter, a proprietary blond breading that gets its crunch from corn meal and its light, clean taste from corn flour. And if all you’ve ever had is supermarket tartar sauce, Bigelow’s house-made version may well prove revelatory—sweet and thick with a strong but not overpowering pickle relish presence. A sandwich like this deserves a high-quality brioche bun, and Bigelow’s choice of a generic hamburger one is surprising, and not a little disappointing. But don’t let that stop you. Religious or not, this place will restore your faith in fried fish. (More info: 516-678-3878, <a href="https://www.bigelows-rvc.com/">bigelows-rvc.com</a>)
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Food critic reviews fast food fish sandwiches at McDonald's, Popeye's and more

Food critic reviews fast food fish sandwiches

If your area code is 516 and you’ve been missing P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps, Dynamite shrimp, Crispy Honey chicken or Mongolian beef, relief has arrived in the form of P.F. Chang’s To Go in Plainview. The chain's new concept, which started rolling out last year, has a much smaller footprint, a slightly smaller menu and offers only takeout. 
Nassau’s sole P.F. Chang’s, at Samanea New York (formerly the Source Mall) in Westbury, closed in March 2020, citing coronavirus as the reason. The new location, in Plainview Centre, takes over the old e.l.f. cosmetics store between Chocolate Works and Northwell Health’s Urgent Care. (Long Island’s other two locations are at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, which is open for dine-in, delivery and takeout, and Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, open only for delivery and takeout.) 
According to Damola Adamolekun, CEO, the company had already embarked on a strategy that focused on off-premise dining when "we experienced a year that brought an incredible shift in dining habits and industry practices." The first To Go locations opened in Chicago; the next four, in Manhattan, theretofore a P.F. Chang-free zone. More locations are planned for Florida, Colorado and Texas. 
Even though there’s no dining area, the new venue still exhibits P.F. Chang’s opulent décor. All cooking is done on the premises and the menu, which was edited to eliminate dishes that don’t travel well, is only slightly abbreviated — five dim sum items instead of six, 11 lunch bowls instead of 15, 19 mains instead of 21. 
For now, all orders must be done <a href="https://order.pfchangs.com/store/5721">online</a> or via the P.F. Chang’s app, and it’s pickup only; delivery will probably be added at a later date. 
373 S. Oyster Bay Road, Plainview, 516-534-5274, <a href="https://www.pfchangs.com/locations/us/ny/plainview/373-s-oyster-bay/7012-plainview.html">pfchangs.com</a>.

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P.F. Chang's opens to-go-only location in Plainview

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