aMano Osteria & Wine Bar, 13550 Main Road, Mattituck, 631-298-4800

by Roy Bradbrook

First, an explanation - 'aMano' means 'by hand' - and here it has the connotation of 'hands on' and paying attention to detail. Not surprising, when you learn that this restaurant, just completing its first year of operation in the space where Red Door operated for many years, has Tom Schaudel and Adam Lovett as co-owners, you get excited. Tom is legendary in the Long Island culinary scene (and beyond) for the number of excellent restaurants he has created in recent years and Adam has a long experience in the restaurant business with Star Boggs and most recently at Jedediah's with Tom.

In the social scale of Italian restaurants, an osteria is usually defined as being simple, with emphasis on good wines. The decor at aMano is elegantly simple and though the waitstaff are casually dressed in t-shirts and jeans, this does not reduce their level of professionalism in any way.

As part of the redesign, a brick oven was installed for pizza and bread and the foccacia we enthusiastically ate as we studied the menu was really a treat and totally addictive. aMano is continuing to offer its $24.95 prix-fixe until Memorial Day weekend and frankly it had one of the best selections we have seen and we had no hesitation in choosing our meal from it with the exception of a shared salad that opened our meal.

One of the philosophies here is to use not just the best and freshest ingredients but also to source them locally wherever possible. Long Island chefs are fortunate to have suppliers such as Satur Farms, whose golden beets were roasted to bring out their deep but delicate tastes in combination with arugula and slow roasted fennel. This salad, topped with another local gem, Catapano Farm's renowned goat cheese and lightly dressed with a citrus vinaigrette was everything that a salad should be. Well-balanced, perfectly dressed and very refreshing.

We next enjoyed plump, perfectly cooked asparagus, wrapped in some of the best tasting proscuitto ever and the truffled Pecorino cheese added just the right lift to it. The other dish was a complete contrast, both visually and taste wise but was equally enjoyable. The barbecued octopus was incredibly tender and again the accompaniment, this time a white bean salad with lobster oil, was perfect.

We chose a fish and a meat main course dish from the prix fixe menu. The two large pieces of swordfish were very moist, extremely fresh and perfectly grilled. The fish was served with some a mixture of finely shaved fennel, blood oranges and black olives that provided an excellent moist and tangy accompaniment. The meat dish we selected was far more robust in nature. Pork osso buco had all of the deep rich tastes you would expect and the very plentiful pieces of very tasty pork were literally falling off the bone. This also gave us a chance to sample one of the risottos. The herbed risotto was really great and the whole dish was one that highlighted the culinary skills of executive chef Jim Liszanckie and sous chef Arnoldo Sandoval. One minor point was that the vegetables were very al dente and could have benefited from slightly more cooking time.

Items that also caught our eyes from the main menu were the pizzas, of course, the delectable sounding selection of risottos and Tom's renowned carbonara with smoked duck, pancetta and taleggio cheese.

For our shared dessert we selected the Valrohna chocolate terrine served with vanilla poached cherries and whipped cream. With a cup of strong espresso this was a great finish to a truly first class meal.

Apart from the prix fixe, the regular menu prices range from $9 to $12 for appetizers and from $18 for main courses. Pizzas are $12 to 14. The wine list is comprised of Long Island and Italian wines and wines by the glass are from $24 and upwards.

They also have special offerings most evenings. Sunday is Family Night with half price pasta. On Tuesday, ladies receive a free glass of wine with dinner. Bottles of wine are half price on Wednesday and Thursday is truly a night for pizza lovers because they are half price.

This is a restaurant, which deserves to succeed because of its attention to quality and value. Judging by the way that the restaurant was filling up, even early on a Thursday, many who enjoy good food at affordable prices have already realized this.

Back to Contents