Dan's Papers - June 27, 2008 - Soundview Restaurant

Sitting on the outside deck, literally over the rocky shoreline and crystal clear waters of Long Island Sound, you remember that we are privileged to live in one of the most beautiful areas of a great and beautiful country. Truly this has to be one of the most spectacular places on Long Island to dine and it is easy to understand why so many Greek Americans in particular, came to have a house on this stretch of coastline because of its similarity to parts of the Greek Islands.

Apart from these highly prized outdoor dining tables that need to be reserved in advance, the restaurant also offers the same beautiful views from many of the inside tables.

Nancy Santiago has had many years of service in the kitchen here and this year has taken over the role of Executive Chef. Her objective is to continue to make full use of the best of local produce and many of the regular dishes will continue on the menu.

We started with the mussels in a white wine sauce with diced tomatoes, garlic and herbs and enjoyed them to the full. The chicken quesadilla had a very delectable flour pastry shell and a filling of marinated chicken, roasted red peppers, scallions and cheeses with sour cream, and a tangy guacamole completed a dish that was eagerly demolished because it really was one of the best versions of this dish that we had experienced in a long while. This should be one of their signature dishes. They have an attractive selection of salads and be warned, the portions are large and so they are great to split. We did this with the Caesar salad that came, thankfully with some delicious anchovy fillets that were tasty and not over salty.

While we were eating we were also chatting with Rachel Levin Murphy, the charismatic owner and also at her suggestion tried a glass of Lieb White Merlot - a wine totally new to us and was it good! A blend of 90% merlot and 10% sauvignon blanc fermented with no skin contact so keeping the final wine straw colored, it has great tastes of citrus and grapefruit and makes a delicious drink on a summer day (or probably any day, for that matter).

For our main dishes we enjoyed the pan-seared codfish with Mediterranean style julienned vegetables in a puttanesca sauce that was colorful and tasty. The fish was perfectly cooked, very white and this overall was another very good dish. We also sampled the lamb chops that were coated in maille mustard, rosemary and porcini mushroom crust. The chops were large and meaty and were well complemented by the grilled asparagus and mashed potato. The selection of entrees really does have something for all tastes whether they be fish, meat or poultry oriented and they also have a good choice of pastas.

Desserts are mainly made in house and the apple pecan cake was well balanced and brought a very good meal with a spectacular view to a close. We did not stay to see the sun go down but it must have been wonderful.

This is a very good place to eat because they offer good food well cooked and at very reasonable prices. Indeed the complete lunch is only $15 and offers a choice of entrees plus soup or salad and dessert and Rachel told us that lunch time is always a busy one. The dinner menu has starters from $5 to $12.50 and main courses run from $20.50 to $26.50. The wine list is short but shows the bond that exists between the restaurant and the local wineries. The restaurant is open after July 4 seven days a week for lunch and dinner and on Fridays there is live music from the 'Singing DJ'.

Sitting in this beautiful place, eating and drinking well- and of course, Soundview also has its recently restored motel next to the restaurant, which also shares the wonderful views. Soundview is wonderful.