Review: The State Room in Patchogue

After honing his craft in Manhattan, Los Angeles and Miami, Bellport native Francis Derby returned home and set out to elevate the dining scene in a town perhaps better known for its drinking scene with The State Room.

Once a general store dating back to the late 1800s, the former upstairs of BrickHouse Brewery is now a swank velvet and leather cocktail bar that serves a changing selection of small plates with an emphasis on seasonality and creativity.

"We like to let the farms dictate what we make," said Derby, a champion of nearby farms like Early Girl and HOG (Hamlet Organic Gardens). Equal highlights on regional seafood and sustainably sourced proteins, he gets visibly excited introducing diners to new and unexpected ingredients during their time in his hands.

Start with Parker House rolls that come with house-churned butter and a rotating seasonal marmalade like black plum or Cara Cara orange. Move onto beef tartare on crumpets dolloped with Béarnaise sauce or housemade duck sausage with pickled cherry, fennel, and smoked almonds.

There are pastas such as linguine with local clams and fennel confit, a stuffed sweet pea cappelletti with chanterelles (in spring), a honeynut squash and chamomile cappelletti (in fall), even a simple pomodoro made with nearby Early Girl Farms’ tomatoes becomes special here.

Small-scale mains might include a butter poached skate with a summer corn ragu or a hanger steak au poivre with crispy sunchokes.

Beverage director Bert Weigand’s bar is the ideal complement to Derby’s food — "it’s this awesome back and forth," says Derby — whetting palates with ancillary flavors. The cocktail program changes as often as the food menu, with inventive drinks like the Amoxicillin, a ginger-infused mezcal with turmeric-honey, lemon, anisette, and peated scotch.

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By Marie Elena Martinez

marieelena.martinez@newsday.com@mariesworlds

A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.