For A Pop Of Color, Stop Into These North Fork Restaurants
The worst of winter is now behind us. On the horizon: outdoor dining, beach weather, rosé all day. But wait! All this time, as the cold weather has bloomed outside, pushing us indoors, have we not been waiting for the return of color to our plates and glasses? The North Fork is back in the swing of spring, bringing all the colors of the rainbow to your plate. Here’s where to embrace a brighter palette right now.
Now celebrating their 73rd year, Aquebogue’s Modern Snack Bar offers North Fork diners’ delicious home-cooking, with a twist. If the neon lights on the exterior aren’t enough color to get your blood pumping, check out one of the restaurant’s colorful dishes inside, like pink-hued lobster bisque, one of the signature dishes, or the Reuben, a mélange of colors (sauerkraut, dressing, and hearty rye bread make this one of the more vibrant sandwiches on order). Even the turkey dinner, served with crimson cranberry sauce, is a visual symphony to behold. Paired with a playful and colorful cocktail, like the modern mai-tai — Captain Morgan, Malibu, lime juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice — it’s a colorful meal you won’t want to miss out on.
Mattituck’s Love Lane Kitchen, a warm and inviting place to dine as the weather is becoming more forgiving, has plenty of vibrant dishes on the menu to signal the start to spring. The chicken avocado mango salad hits all the right notes — and plenty of the colors of the rainbow — with bright green avocado, orange mango, red onion, and red leaf lettuce. Flavors come together with a mouthwatering cilantro-lime dressing that’s as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. The Baja fish tacos — a trio, made from mahi mahi — come with purple cabbage, mango salsa, and verdant jalapeño mayonnaise. It’s a dish that will make you go: mmm.
At the Dimon Estate, in Jamesport, the deep red beet salad is augmented by orange segments, pea green pistachios, snow white goat cheese, maroon bacon, and a hearty helping of arugula, making this salad one of the most colorful around. But the grilled, bone-in pork chop is close on the dish’s heels, with burnt sienna sweet potatoes, Kelly green roasted broccoli rabe, and a stunning horseradish-dill sauce that marries both aesthetic and palate.
Finally, head to Lucharito’s, with branches in both Mattituck and Greenport, for the pop of color you didn’t know you needed. Not only do these Mexican outposts offer some of the most vibrant décor in all of the North Fork, but their food is colorful, too. Try the sun-yellow Mexican street corn, served off the cob with chipotle mayo, cotija cheese, cilantro, and lime; the carne asada tacos, which come with a tangle of green cilantro, wedges of lime, a sprinkle of red onion, red radish, and salsa verde; or the vegetable-centric veggie grande nachos, which offer up a rainbow: onions, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole, beans, salsa fresca, and cheese. Wash it down with a candy colored Jarritos soda for a meal that’s too colorful to take your eyes off of.
