Wantagh's Snaps
A Food-Taster's Workout
By Ron Beigel
Scott Bradley is living the dream.
After paying his dues at Long Island hot spots Mirepoix, Tupelo Honey and Passion Fish, he now has is own cozy neighborhood joint in Wantagh, Snaps, to do his thing. Decked out in red curtains and red paper sconces with a gold tin ceiling, his place is quietly knocking out $25 price fix and an even better asortment of reasonably priced tasting menus. With the price fix you can enjoy the great, meaty Short Rib Quesadilla in a light shell, or the meltingly tender salmon toro sashimi with seaweed salad($7 and $6 on the regular menu) as appetizers. There are also four entrees offered under the price fixed that came straight off the regular menu and usually go for $18 to $23. Choose from sublime chicken with white beans, broccoli rabe and sausagein a light garlic sauce or a chunk of salmon helped by an olive aioli and shreds of orange fennel red onion salad. Bacon-wrapped Trout, another intersesting-sounding entree on the price fixed, had thickly cut rashersof bacon envoloping a flakey filet, providing the extra taste jolt that fish needs. It sat on smoky mashed potatoes. Steak brasciole tasted a tad overcooked and was overpowered by the charred tomato salsa. Butgarlic fries, which camein a paper cone, were addictive. The price fix is a good deal, but for a reviewer or an indecisive diner, the tasting menus are the main attraction here. For $35 you get 6 courses, for $45 you get 8. Add $15 and they'll pair the whole dinner with various wines. The 6 course repast included a carrot-ginger soup served cool, with a definite infusion oforange, which brightened the blend, but i wasn't wild about it. The Salmon Sashimi came next and the exotic Asian theme continued with a creatively presented tuna tartar livened up with ginger,sesame and wasabi caviar. The Bacon wrapped trout appeared next, then the brasiole. Bradley doesn't scimp on dessert either, serving up his signature s'mores, complete with graham crackers, Hershey bars, marshmallows and ofcourse, a bunson burner. We returned on another weeknight to attempt to eat everything we missed the first time. The $45 tasting menu went a long way in helping us complete our mission. The heirloom tomato gazpacho was cool and thick and a great start. Creamy risotto dotted with grilled vegatables was served in small quantity in a large bowl, followed by the salmon and its olive aioli. A square of five spiced monk fish paired with a circle of vegatable fried rice was a nice component of the menu, but i would have been disappointed had i ordered it as an entree. It just didn't have enough oomph to it. Wok-crisp duck salad served in the ubiquitous white take-out container wasn't crisp like the great Thai versions i love, and the duck, while plentiful, was a bit bland. The Thai vinaigrette helped the shredded carrot, and a layer of soba noodles was discovered at the bottom. Maybe because i was sampling everythingmy wife had from her price fix, including the short rib quesadilla that we could't help but order again (you readers can order the two salads we didn't try), by the time the veal schnitzel came out I was really filling up. It was tender, and the artichoke spaetzle and fried parsley were nice additions (especially the parsley). Hanger steak can be ordered two ways: with those great garlic fries, or the low carb way, on a bed of greens. It was grilled rare and although it was said to have a jerk sauce, nothing was very spicy. I felt like waving a white napkin in surrender by then. But dessert wasn't going to be passed up, no matter how much waddling we would have to do. The apple tart on the tasting menu is very delicate and infused with cinnamon. Covered with a scoop of spicy ginger-flavored ice cream, it almost competed with the s'mores and it's alot neater. The creme brule is more custard-y than creamy, and has berries on top. Strawberry peppercorn sorbet with a balsamic vinegar reduction tasted just like plain homemade sorbet, with no discernable kick. I could've used it. By this time, i needed a kick in the pants just to make it out to the car.
|