Long Island Restaurants

Main 415

Owner Erwin Schnellinger, center, with kitchen manager Angelo Filograno and executive chef Michele Prisco, right, at Main 415, which serves continental and new American fare. (Newsday Photo/Ken Spencer)

The matchless voice of Ella Fitzgerald sometimes arrives with the appetizers at Main 415, a restaurant full of that old feeling.

After honing the cutting edge, and then dutifully slicing themselves up, several occupants of this address departed. Main 415 brings in a warmer, very traditional approach.

The dining room has been refreshed, in light, neutral hues. The well-fueled fireplace still blazes on cue. And at the right time of day, you'll enjoy a water view just beyond the parking lot.

Inside, the pace is relaxed, the service solicitous, and diners-of-all-ages content. Actually, Main 415 is two establishments in one. The more casual cafe offers wraps, burgers, salads and the like, plus plasma TV in a separate area that runs full time.

The formal main restaurant carefully and skillfully balances continental cuisine and new American fare.

The five-onion soup gratinee, heightened with leeks and shallots, is a mellow, sweet starter with a hint of sherry. Fresh lobster meat enriches the house's creamy lobster bisque.

A lobster casserole arrives as one half of a small, stuffed lobster, the meat sauteed with brandy, put back in the shell and finished with a breadcrumb topping. But that mantle is singed.

The translation of clams Milano: tender, dime-size New Zealand clams sauteed with white wine and butter. Then, however, they're tossed with bread crumbs, which, unfortunately, provide a near-sandy texture rather than more flavor.

Instead, try the zesty tuna tartare, an artful construct spiked with cilantro, chives, lime juice and balsamic vinegar. Or the sesame-crusted tuna, in a ginger-shot beurre blanc, accented with wasabi and a roasted pepper aioli.

The plump Maryland crab cakes also are recommended. They show up on mesclun that's dabbed with a sweet-tart pomegranate reduction, and could double as a mini-entree. The tasty house salad adds goat cheese to mesclun, packed in a ring of cucumber, surrounded by wedges of orange, apple slices and roasted walnuts. The tricolor and the Caesar are respectable versions of the standards.

A little tower of mozzarella, eggplant and shrimp, held together with pesto mortar, opens the appetite -- as does the chilled, shellfish-laden seafood platter for two highlighted by oysters and lobster.

The kitchen dispatches plenty of lobsters. The two-pounder stuffed with crabmeat is very good. But you'll be equally content with either the pristine steamed or broiled renditions. Call ahead if you're looking beyond 31/2 pounds.

Red snapper alla Livornese, with olives and capers amid the tomatoes and onions, delivers the familiar spark. The competition comes from potato-crusted roasted salmon; Chilean sea bass, in a macadamia nut-and-onion crust; and Asian-style tuna, with notes of ginger, hoisin and wasabi, and a stir-fry of vegetables and rice.

Linguine with clams enlarges the picture with pancetta, broccoli rabe and a light sauce defined by garlic and pinot grigio. Asparagus and saffron bolster the workmanlike lobster ravioli.

Juicy, grilled pork chops take a Teutonic turn with mellow sauerkraut and sauteed apples. Rostbraten Bavaria plays a similar theme: a flavorful, pan-seared sirloin covered with onions. The Viennese-style veal cutlet, pounded and breaded, goes a schnitzeling with an eggplant tart and lingonberry sauce.

Main 415 prepares a thick, precisely cooked and lushly sauced shell steak au poivre, with whole peppercorns detonating each mouthful. Anyone concerned about that bite can sample the shrimp-decorated rib steak, straightforward grilled sirloin, ample filet mignon, or share a husky porterhouse steak for two, three or four.

By now, you could be at capacity. But the smooth ricotta-and-cream cheese cake mandates at least a forkful. Cherry-crumb and coconut-custard pies satisfy more than the compact lemon meringue pie, dry Italian cheesecake, routine creme brulee and dull almond tart. The tiramisu contains a welcome jolt of espresso.

And you may exit humming to vintage Sinatra, all through the night.

Reviewed by Peter M. Gianott, 4/17/05.

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Wheelchair Access