Dan's Papers - May 9, 2008 -

Over the past thirteen or so years, this modest looking restaurant situated across from Shoreham Beach has won acclaim from many food writers for its exciting and innovative cuisine. Chef/Owner Wayne Wadington, who built this success from its foundations, now has Devin Delgardo as his Chef de Cuisine. Devin followed culinary school with cooking stints in Manhattan restaurants and at Oscar's in St. James, as well as a previous spell as a sous chef at La Plage, before returning here at the end of last summer to head up the kitchen as Wayne splits his time between here and his other restaurant, 'Caruso's' in Wading River. Following a chef/owner in his kitchen is not the easiest thing to do but from the time that we started on the first course of the chef's tasting menu that Devin had selected for us, we knew he had succeeded.

Gazpacho is one of our favorite soups and this rendition was totally different in its semi-deconstructed form with the cucumber featured as a sorbet with scallion creme fraiche that all came together with the red pepper and plum tomato base. The dish formed a wonderful mouth filling series of tastes and appreciable warmth to make this a must for anyone who really loves great soups. The bread was crisp and warm and the chive infused oil and balsamic reduction made us want to eat more bread thAn we really should have.

La Plage has always been renowned for its use of only the very best and freshest products, and the asparagus served with kumquats, endive, pistachio, Pecorino cheese and some wonderful prosciutto was not only a visual picture but a delight on the palate. Then came a perfectly cooked diver sea scallop with an accompaniment of some braised leeks and an interesting ginger-beet coulis and some lemon aioli. With these we drank a glass of a crisp fresh Gruner Veltliner from Austria and an intensely citrus New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that were both excellent with these dishes.

After a palate cleansing sorbet, Devin sent out a spring pea and mint ravioli that WAS totally full of quintessentially English spring and summer flavors, which then were deepened and heated by the accompanying, spicy, savory Merguez sausage bolognese sauce. Then came perhaps the 'piece de resistance'. Duck breast with ramps and a spicy orange confit and foie gras demi glace. We both agreed that we had never eaten a better duck dish anywhere. It was perfectly cooked, exquisitely balanced and the flavors were long lasting in our mouths. We drank a Spanish Rioja that showed just how good Spanish wines are - for some reason they often seem to be underappreciated in the U.S. The other wine was a very drinkable Cabernet Franc from Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard just down the road from the restaurant. You can't get much more local than that!

Pastry chef Kelly Donlan presented a lemon selection for dessert with semi-freddo, poppy seed cake, ice cream and curd each showcasing lemon in different ways and adding up to another beautiful presentation and a very delicate dish to conclude. Perhaps the cake could do with being a little more moist, but that was a very minor point.

Apart from their dinner menu, La Plage offers a very good value prix fixe lunch with three courses and a glass of wine and tea or coffee for just $25.00 and there is also an a la carte selection available with main courses from $13 to $15. Dinner appetizers range from $12 to $15; main courses from $24 to $36 and desserts from $8 to $11. The wine list has been very carefully selected to offer a very interesting and eclectic mix of local and international wines that should enable everyone to choose something to fit their tastes and their pockets! Wines by the glass start at $8.50 and bottles from $26.

The menu reads temptingly, the food looked beautiful on the plate and the tastes exceeded everything else. This is truly a restaurant that can hold its own against any other restaurant on Long Island and although it is certainly away from the main hustle and bustle of the LIE and the Hamptons, or the North Fork, it is very well worth the effort of discovery. This area of Wading River and Shoreham beach is still unspoiled by major development and there is a tranquility that adds to the wonderful food and charming, friendly and very professional service.