Huntington: The Black Lantern glows

The Black Lantern Sushi Den & Ultra Lounge, as it's fully titled, was a wintertime arrival in downtown Huntington. Signless and locked in by snow, the place didn't exactly call out to either passersby or drivers.

But the glossy eatery is making up for that.

Tables now spill onto the street, an al fresco area is set for the back, the sushi bar is working upstairs, and you enter a cafe-bar that gives the block a singularly futuristic niche, complete with bold lighting and highly stylized looks.

More important, the food is good, too.

That can be stated too often. The immediate impression here clearly is more lounge and nightspot than restaurant. And Black Lantern emphasizes, stresses, underscores, points up — did I say highlights? — a commitment to the green, the organic and the antioxidant. Meantime, the entryway image could be a set for a remake of "A Clockwork Orange."

Movie buffs also may smile at the black-and-white flicks unspooling on screens behind the street-level bar. (They include "Dementia 13" from 1963, that very early horror bonbon from a writer-director then known simply as Francis Coppola, produced by Roger Corman; and the less-memorable  "Black Dragons," starring Bela Lugosi, circa 1940.)

But back to The Black Lantern. Very good tempura, lively sushi rolls, tasty bun-less beef sliders, some snappy cocktails, and the prospect of fun on summer weekends. And maybe a bold sign will go up soon.

The Black Lantern Sushi Den & Ultra Lounge, 10 Wall St., Huntington; 631-923-2022.

This must be the place ...