Dans Papers - June 8, 2007 - The Jamesport Manor Inn

It's impossible to conceive what went though the minds of Matt Kar and his wife Gail when they heard the news early one morning that their newly restored restaurant had been destroyed by fire only a few weeks before it was due to open. The Jamesport Manor Inn was originally built back in the mid 1800's and had been turned into a restaurant around 1965 but had been empty since 1999. Matt Kar owns the very popular Jamesport Country Kitchen and the Christopher Michael off-site catering company and when he purchased the old house, he and Gail decided to restore it to its former splendor. Fortunately, Gail took many photos of the interior and exterior of the house so when they decided to start again, after the fire, they had plenty of references. It is amazing that in nine months, they and their builders, Owen Construction of Calverton rebuilt the house, which is now absolutely beautiful and the quality of the workmanship and attention to detail is incredible.

But back to the food aspects. Eric Rickmers is the Executive Chef, a native of Long Island who, after culinary college in Manhattan and a spell in Alaska and travels in Asia, most recently cooked for six years with Starr Boggs. He describes his style here as being New American with a Mediterranean flair. He relies heavily on local produce and likes to change his menu daily, although I believe, based on our experience that some of the dishes we tasted should become signature dishes and hopefully be available regularly.

The dining room is naturally broken into smaller areas that make for a nice sense of privacy and the decor and settings are warm and comfortably elegant.

We started with a salmon roll tempura with mori, caramelized leeks and seaweed salad and this was a very tasty and rather different appetizer. The inherent taste of the salmon stood up well to the other rich tastes. We could not pass on the Reeves Farm asparagus, the season here is so short and Eric prepared this wrapped in prosciutto and served with morel mushroom and parmigian reggiano. Again, a very good blend of tastes and textures.

Speaking to Eric before we ate, he was enthusing about the superb quality and freshness of the Mattituck black sea bass that he was serving whole that evening. We shared one and it came with a very Greek style blend of Northville Farm baby beets served with their own cooked leaves, a dish that brought childhood memories back to Stella. The fish was a masterpiece - yes served on the bone it requires some work to fillet the fish but the result was doubly worth the effort. For our meat course we chose another dish that we had both grown up with in different countries, calves liver. Now unfortunately, there are so many, especially among the young, who blanch at the idea of eating such foods as liver or kidneys. I have to say that this was a wonderful dish and we both agreed that we have never eaten better liver. The liver was succulent, softly tender and accompanied by apple wood smoked bacon and a sauce that really complemented the tastes. This is a dish that should always be on the menu as long as liver of this quality is available.

Other wonderful sounding entrees included salmon, tuna, wild mushroom risotto, Kobe flat iron steak, veal chop and duck - really something for all tastes.

Desserts are all made in house, apart from a Briermere fruit pie. We only had room for the delicious drunken cherry and pistachio bread pudding and that with an excellent cup of espresso brought an excellent meal to a delightful close.

When dining here you must take the time to go up to the top floor, admiring the staircase and the paneling as you go, because Gail has turned the whole floor into an art gallery where the East End Arts Council are displaying works by local artists that are changed every two months. The gallery is beautiful and really shows the paintings to their best advantage.

The wine list is international in scope with many wines from the Mediterranean region as well as from Long Island. The prices are exceptionally sensible. You can get a bottle of wine from $16 with many around the $20 mark.

Appetizers range from $8 to 12; Main course from $25 to 30 and desserts are $8 to 9.

Matt and Gail Kar deserve so much credit for sticking to their dream, even after the tragedy of the fire. The new building is a tribute to their vision and the skills of the workmen who built it and the restaurant is a wonderful addition to the North Fork that will draw diners from far and near. Reservations are already necessary, particularly on weekends. The restaurant is currently open for dinner seven days a week and they plan to open for lunch, probably starting some time in late June.