Long Island Restaurants

Downtown Bar & Grill

Ron Hoffman, a consultant at the new Downtown Bar & Grill, has that rare knack of instantly making a newcomer feel like a regular. I felt that way on both visits to the attractive new bistro, decorated with historic photographs of downtown Mineola. It's a place that somehow feels as though it's been around for years.

A recitation of the evening's specials comes with a lot of friendly banter. After ordering, it was nice to relax with friends over a pitcher of the restaurant's potent, fruity sangria. The drink went well with house-baked bread, served with an addictive basil-scented hummus.

A favorite starter was the Santa Fe salad, a toss of organic baby greens, preserved apricots and sliced almonds, glossed with a mint-orange vinaigrette. Another hit was an Asian spring roll fashioned out of a tortilla stuffed with julienned vegetables. But some of the dishes had way too much going on, such as the portobello mushroom with Gorgonzola cream, polenta cake, cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic and a shiitake demi-glace. Better was crisp-fried calamari, the squid yielding gently to the tooth, accompanied by a garlic cream sauce. We ordered an appetizer-size portion of gnocchi made with purple Peruvian potatoes and tossed with sweet Italian sausage and jumbo shrimp in a light champagne-saffron cream. As good as the semolina and potato dumplings tasted, the dish was mega-rich; a couple of bites was plenty.

From the list of specials, I ordered the rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. The chops were medium rare, juicy and flavorful. The same held true of a beautifully cooked Long Island duck breast. A shame, though, that it was surrounded by a veritable lake of raspberry sauce. Almond-crusted red snapper was light in texture, nicely paired with a tropical fruit salsa and roasted garlic couscous. But roasted tilapia was overwhelmed by a cloak of creamy sauce. On the other hand, a hoisin- and ginger-marinated skirt steak was ideal, tender and savory. Simplicity often works best.

As a finale, I enjoyed the lush chocolate marquis topped with chocolate ganache as much as I did the crème brûlée sampler, vanilla, coffee and coconut. Tops was a classic New York cheesecake drizzled with caramel.

While a few dishes here may need editing, it's apparent that the kitchen cares - and that the place has the makings of a keeper.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 9/5/07.

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