Looking to squeeze the last few drops of fun out of
your summer weekend? Make a Sunday afternoon date for frozen margaritas, sunny socializing and dining alfresco on Island Park's Barnum Island.
Barnum Island, the little corner of this South Shore enclave best known for producing former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, is a small but bustling restaurant district nestled next to Reynolds Channel. The party begins with local restaurants serving brunch at noon and keeps rocking with cool drinks and live entertainment until the wee hours of Monday morning.
You can leave your car in one of the restaurant parking lots - or your boat in a slip on the channel - and walk from party to party.
Define Sadlowski, 31, a mortgage broker from Franklin Square, is a regular at Paddy McGees, where she often enjoys a drink on the deck. For the whole enchilada, she'll cross the street to Montego Bay Grill & Bar or Jordan Lobster Farm. Here's a quick look at Island Park hot spots where you can close out a summer weekend in style.
Paddy McGees
6 Waterview Rd.
516-431-8700
paddymcgees.com
Though busy Paddy McGees features a full-service restaurant with indoor dining and a bar decorated with fishing trophies, most of the Sunday crowd congregates on the 50-yard-long (that's half a football field), boardwalk-style deck along Reynolds Channel. The view isn't exactly romantic (the industrial side of Long Beach bristles across the water), but the crowd is cheerful and friendly, and the salt air invigorating. Last Sunday, young women roamed around hawking Jell-O and yogurt shots, couples dallied along the waterfront railing and small groups of revelers relaxed in the tied-up boats. (There's a $25-$50 docking fee on Sundays.) A raw bar served a steady stream of clam-slurping customers.
Later in the evening, the crowd changes to a dressed-to-the-nines Rock & Republic jeans-wearing clientele from Brooklyn and Queens, Sadlowski says. At that point, a $10 cover charge kicks in.
Montego Bay Grill & Bar
2 Pettit Place
516-897-0686
montegobayli.com
A Sunday visitor described Montego Bay as " Florida without the beach." It's a bright, breezy place with seating inside, on the street or at the 60-foot-long, horseshoe-shaped bar. The frozen piña coladas come cherry-topped. You also can cool off with strawberry or raspberry margaritas or banana daiquiris. The menu offers salads, pasta and lobster. You can even glimpse the water from the bar. Shorts and T-shirts are OK, says general manager Billy Crandell. He estimates the Sunday crowd ranges in age from 21 to 50. Live entertainment keeps them moving from 6 to 10 p.m.
Places to dine in Island Park:
If you're part of the crowd cruising Island Park's waterfront on the weekend, you may want to check out one of these close-at-hand places for a real summer meal:
Jordan Lobster Farms
1 Pettit Place
516-889-3314
