Photo courtesy of La Plage
According to The New York Times, La Plage, Wading River’s ode to French food, is the most romantic restaurant on Long Island. That feeling of romance has persisted, despite the year’s challenges (these days, you can eat outside, in an area festooned with Edison bulbs, and the restaurant itself enjoys unobstructed views of the Long Island sound from its interior windows).
What you get at La Plage, in addition to romance, is a traditional version of French-American cuisine. A gold and red beet salad comes with Bucheron goat cheese and Navel oranges, and oysters on the half shell are accompanied by a Birds of Paradise vinaigrette. I can think of few dishes that encapsulate the French ethos better than duck confit, which employs a duck’s own fat for a slow cook that turns everything meltingly delicious. La Plage’s version is served tableside, with a fresh chive risotto and exotic mushrooms.
Recently, the restaurant has added a take-out model, for the nights when the romance is better served up from the luxury of your own living room. I’m fond of the idea of an artisanal cheese plate with honey, crostini, and fresh fruit occupying prime real estate on my coffee table while I kick up my feet (ah, romance), just as I’m fond of the idea of digging into braised beef short ribs with potato gratin absent the confines of my fancy going out clothes. A make-your-own-sundae kit, the ultimate cherry on the evening, comes with nuts, hot fudge, and homemade whipped cream (and, of course, the proverbial cherry).
The restaurant is also offering family-style meal plans to go, for both small and large families (a small serves two to three people, for $75, while a large serves four to five, for $150). The meals include one appetizer, one entrée, and two sides. A choice of 10 appetizers includes items like steamed clams with chorizo, a tri-color endive and radicchio salad, and Prince Edward Island mussels with creamy pesto. Diners can choose between six entrees—pastas, meats, and fish—and eight sides.
Five options are available for a la carte dessert—and who can pass up crème brulee at the end of a meal, anyway? Takeout is available Wednesday through Sunday, or you can opt for in-person romance four days and five nights a week (the restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and closed for lunch on Sundays). Bon Appétit!
