Photo courtesy of Elaia Estiatorio
If takeout is the new dining in, I’m all in. On a recent evening, when the week had me worn down and beaten up, I was relieved to find respite in a very large bag of takeout from Elaia Estiatorio, a savior from the boredom of my own two hands (I am a capable cook, and I am also bored with myself, this many months into the pandemic). Inside the bag were untold luxuries, the greatest of which was the knowledge that I was in someone else’s hands.
Tucked away off of Bridgehampton’s main drag (Main Street), Elaia can be easily overlooked, and that’s a shame. I realized it doubly as I ate through double-thick lamb chops (suitable for eating with one’s hands, which I recommend): sometimes we require a small reminder regarding the places that we just don’t pay enough attention to. Consider this a wake-up call to pay more attention to the places that may have escaped your notice before.
Other dishes that arrived at my dining table included expertly cooked octopus; stuffed squash blossoms drizzled with local honey; a Horiatiki salad with a plank of feta that satisfied every crunchy, salty urge my palate possessed; a trio of spreads that included an impossibly creamy melitzanosalata, or smoked eggplant dip; a roasted half chicken, served with lemony potatoes; and still-warm packages of grilled pita.
Tucked away off of Bridgehampton’s main drag (Main Street), Elaia can be easily overlooked, and that’s a shame.
In another lifetime of mine, I spent the better part of a decade living in a Greek neighborhood in Queens, and every once in a while I think back on those days and on the meals I don’t get to eat anymore. In this sense, dinner at my own kitchen table was a kind of trip back in time—a rare opportunity to move these days, when travel of any kind feels impossible.
You can participate in a revelatory takeout dinner experience, too, though it may not transport you to Queens (that may only be me). Feed your family or feed a few extra friends: the Opa Dinner for four includes five spreads, two Greek-style salads, a choice of two chicken entrees, and a choice of two seafood entrees. As a coda to dinner, finish with something sweet: Cretan cookies, made with olive oil, cloves, and cinnamon; Greek yogurt with cherry preserves and honey; baklava; or the Sweet Package, which includes a selection, including some additional items, like a chocolate bar.
