Long Island Restaurants

Planet Bliss

Don't be surprise if, while dining on the wooden porch of Planet Bliss on Shelter Island, a deer appears on the roadside. But there's a lot more than the occasional deer sighting to recommend Planet Bliss (named for chef co-owner, Sebastian Bliss). Even if you're stuck dining indoors, the restaurant manages to exude the rustic allure of a Vermont hideaway, combined with the hip chic of a downtown Manhattan bistro.

Manhattan makes an appearance in the form of the restaurant's crusty, chewy, superior bread, which comes from the Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan. That bread is just one reason the bruschetta with goat cheese, crushed olives, roasted red peppers and basil is so satisfying. Flavorsome, too, are the crab-packed crabcakes with tamari ginger scallion sauce, as well as the shrimp satay, skewered grilled crustaceans with a honey lime ancho chile-cilantro dipping sauce. An off-menu special of crisp blue-corn crusted calamari features tender ringlets of fried squid with a chunky fruit salsa. Impressive, too, is an authentically Asian-tasting salad of hijiki (seaweed) with candied ginger and marinated carrots on Asian greens.

It's hard to imagine more tender lamb than Planet Bliss' entree special of three grilled chops with an herb and mustard sauce over a creamy roasted red onion risotto. Even the vegetable lasagna is better than most, thanks to lots of fresh herbs.

It was also those herbs that makes the organic hot turkey sausage with tomatoes and basil over linguini more than the sum of its parts. The summer garden plays a major role, too, in the penne topped with artichoke hearts, olives, watercress and cherry tomatoes. A hearty grilled pork chop picks up a woodsy depth from a sauce of mixed mushrooms and herbs. And you'll relish the rare seared tuna glazed with a beet-orange-ginger sauce, served over soba noodles and vegetables.

For dessert, try the warm raisin-studded bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Chocolate mousse? Darkly bittersweet, ultra-creamy. And raspberry pie, if available, is a summertime must.

So is a trip to Shelter Island and Planet Bliss. Whether or not Bambi decides to drop by.

Joan Reminick. STAFF WRITER
Reviewed 08-11-2000

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