Dan's Papers - July 25, 2008

There are two camps when it comes to new restaurants in the Hamptons. One groans, "Do we really need another restaurant?" The other delights, "Yay! A new restaurant." I'm of the second camp, so I was delighted to try out Ziggy's on the Bridge/Sag Turnpike.

First, it is one of the most beautiful, open, airy - dare I say "Hampton-y" - restaurants out here, designed by Steve Morris of Woodstock. You feel like you're sitting out at a surfer beach - albeit a very cool, clean, upscale one. The walls are light sky blue, low partitions feature a white fence on the bottom with beach grass seemingly preserved in opaque Plexiglass panels atop. The surfer theme is carried out with a gorgeous surfboard, sepia print '60s surfer photos, two large yet unobtrusive flat screens running outrageous surfer footage, and doorways and architectural shapes behind the bar that echo a surfboard shape, but in an aesthetically successful way.

Ziggy's offers great beachy drinks like the Montauk Mojito, Jolly Roger martini, Grapefruit Crocodile with Ruby Red Absolute - plus a selection of good, reasonably priced wines by the glass, and, thank you, a non-alcoholic beer.

The food at Ziggy's is very fresh and simple. We started with Coconut Shrimp with pineapple chutney - crunchy, greaseless, with a really fresh coconut-ty flavor. The Rippin' Peel + Eat Shrimp, boiled with Red Stripe beer and spices, was very nice and very spicy. Perfect for my taste. It is the most expensive thing on the menu, at $18.95. Ziggy is from Israel, and as one would hope, he nails the Falafel Taster. The ads are correct - it is the best falafel east of the East Village. The two types of hummus (spicy and mild) are smooth and delicious. The pita was grilled, the Israeli Salad with lemon juice and olive oil - fabulous. We also tried chicken and veggie kabobs. Again, fresh to the hilt, served with fluffy herbed couscous, that great salad or fries and grilled pita. A very nice lunch or light dinner, ranging in price from $13.95 for all veggie, to $16.95 for shrimp. Of course there are burgers, half-pounders served with fries, for just under $10.00, and pita sandwiches. For desserts, brownies and blondies with glazes and berries were delectable, as was the cheesecake.

One final, important note about Ziggy's. It's very rare to find a child-friendly restaurant that adults actually want to go to, let alone eat at. Typically, child friendly usually translates into a place that is so loud you don't hear children yelling, or so grimy that it doesn't matter what junior drops or spills anywhere. Ziggy's is child friendly for the right reasons - there's a playground in the back that rivals the best in town (and outdoor seating so you can keep an eyeball on the little ones); a kids menu; the flat screens; and an enormous lava lamp that I wish I owned. Not to mention, Ziggy's is the first certified green restaurant in the area - one nice detail was that, instead of reams of paper for use with crayons, the tables are honed slate from Brazil - horizontal chalkboards.

And when the night falls, after 9:00, and the kids are in bed, Ziggy's is a totally cool place for adults to have a light bite, a great drink, and still feel like they're outside, cost-averaging the high price tag of a Hamptons' beach rental or summer share.

Ziggy's is open for lunch and dinner daily, from 11 a.m. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m, but the music swings on until 2 a.m. They also feature live reggae every Sunday night at 10 p.m.