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In Season

You'll fall for In Season.

Bright and creative, Islip's new restaurant feels as refreshing as an October Sunday. The American cuisine of chef-owner Christopher Hunter will have you ready to visit year-round.

Hunter and company have taken over the former home of Cafe Nuvolari, redesigned the place in earth tones and revived it with a spirited kitchen and warm, contemporary style.

The modest dining room still has those columns stuck in the middle, now two-tone and softer on the eyes. Cooking utensils are part of the decor, as are letters spelling "bistro" in a spot that expands the description. Desserts are listed on mirror boards, specials detailed by an attentive staff.

You should go straight to the oversize cup of lobster "cappuccino," a silky, frothy production full of subtle flavors, from the nutmeg foam to the aged Cheddar biscotti.

The "savory spiced pumpkin risotto" is exactly that, but the autumnal expression does have a few nuggets that are extremely al dente. Bowtie pasta goes Mediterranean with feta and tomatoes, but the tour is nearly undone by slightly undercooked eggplant. Very tender braised short ribs, atop a fragrant mirepoix, is a rich bridge from appetizer to entree.

Roasted beets with spiced walnuts, goat cheese and tangy mache sparks the appetite, as does a "mache and squash" union of roast delicata, acorn and spaghetti squash, toasted pumpkin seed, and blood orange. Contrast it with the union of bosc pear, frisée and applewood-smoked bacon finished with a mustard-seed vinaigrette.

Hunter's lush, caramelized sea scallops encircle a delectably creamy "two way cauliflower" combo of florets and velvety purée accented with turmeric oil. A snappy special of pan-seared swordfish, almost salmon-hued from its shrimp diet, swims in as if from the Aegean, with tomato water, chive oil, and a zesty feta-tomato-black olive ragout. The competition comes from coriander-seed crusted wild salmon with an alliance of Brussels sprouts and fennel.

Peppercorn-sparked duck breast is a bit chewy, but the co-star of confit of leg is tasty, all flanked by sweet potato-and-Vidalia onion hash, braised napa cabbage and a jus hinting of smoky tea.

The mild, delicately braised lamb shank benefits from a parsnip-driven root vegetable entourage. Steak frites, fibrous and good, arrives with a paper cone of rosemary-dusted french fries and a mushroom-and-asparagus ragout. The thick and juicy center-cut pork chop, with parsley-green peppercorn sauce, rests on near-hard green lentils.

Hunter's cross-borders sweet is a diverting, crisp-edged white bean-and-cranberry cake, completed with ice cream and whipped cream. An airy vanilla custard with strawberries and the dense flourless chocolate torte tastily represent the extremes. The light, individual pucklet of graham-cracker dusted cheesecake also is recommended.

But the essential dessert is a deep-dish, smooth creme brulee. These days, of course, it's either butternut squash or pumpkin.

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