Dan's Papers - May 16, 2008

On a May evening when the beauties of the blossoming trees were largely dimmed by incessant rain and wind, we drove to the end of South Jamesport Avenue, which looked more like a Montauk ocean view than a bay view. It was even more comforting than usual to race from the car to the cozy bar and dining rooms of the Bayview Inn. The lit fireplace added to the warmth of the welcome. We had come to try out some of the new dishes that Chef de Cuisine Tom Lopez has devised for his summer menu that will be in operation from now on.

In the years that we have known Tom and enjoyed his cooking, we have always been heartened by the very obvious love that he has for his profession and how he is always thinking about ways in which he can make his menu even more attractive and slightly different without radically changing a style of cooking that has won him such a devoted following of regular diners.

Fish and seafood are always key components of his menus, so we were not surprised to hear that he had chosen a number of seafood dishes for us that evening. We also are never surprised to see something on the menu that we have never come across before. Last time it was 'Strangalopreti' pasta and this time it was the Japanese Togareshi seven flavor spice that he used on the scallops that he served with micro greens and radicchio and an Asian rice wine vinaigrette. This, quite simply, was a dish to savor. The sweetness of the tender, perfectly cooked scallops was matched by the gentle warmth and mingled flavors of the spices and accentuated by the astringency of the micro greens and tartness of the vinaigrette. This dish should certainly be a winner and diners should not be put off by the label of 'spicy' because, as with all his cooking, the essence is to create a harmonious blend and this certainly succeeds.

Next came a dish that without doubt we both consider should be the season's signature dish here. Tom took the emptied head and tail of a lobster, filled in the body with fettuccini and surrounded it with large lobster pieces in a delicate, creamy, slightly peppery, lobster coulis with fresh basil. The dish looked exquisite and tasted even better, so if you love lobster, look out for 'Lobster Thomas' on the new menu. As I write this I can still recapture the tastes!

After these first two courses, we could happily have gone back into the cold wet night enthused by the food we had eaten, but when we were told that the next would be soft shell crabs, we changed our minds and were not disappointed with the succulent, plump crispy crab sitting on a small mound of a colorful and very tasty mixture of creamy garlic mashed potato and spinach. Another very attractively presented and well balanced dish that carried on the very high standard of the evening. Then came some local Jamesport oysters, crusted in herbs and panko, lightly fried and served with a delicate but tasty horseradish mayonnaise. Finally, we tasted a lobster empanada, which had superb pastry and the tomatillo salsa was great.

I think Tom would have been prepared to go on, but we had reached the point of no return, simply tasting one of his incredibly light blueberry crepes served with fresh blueberries and a passion fruit sauce and a mere mouthful of homemade butterscotch pudding with whipped cream and crushed home made praline. The sambucca and strong espresso brought a great tasting session to a close and certainly, based on everything we sampled, diners are going to have a lot to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead because Tom Lopez continues to show the unbridled passion for his creations that is going to keep the restaurant at the Bayview Inn of the top dining spots on Long Island.

They have a small wine list and we drank the very good house Chardonnay that is created for them at Lenz by Eric Fry. Wines by the glass are $8 for a generous pour and by the bottle they start at $26. Appetizers range from $8 to $12; Main courses are from $21 to $33.