Letter From Dan's Wine Guide Editor: Our Adopted Island

With the end of summer approaching, I realize that it is nearly a year since David and I left Orient for Shelter Island. We foolishly thought that, since Orient is almost an island itself - it is barely attached to the rest of Long Island by a slender strip of sand at the causeway in East Marion - and since we live during the week on a much bigger island (Manhattan), we understood what it meant to live on a real island. We were wrong. Though hurricanes and tropical storms have at times rendered Orient an island in the true, however temporary, sense of the word, the tide eventually recedes and once again you find yourself part of a much greater whole.

Not so here on Shelter. Island life has a way of making the people who live on them cooperate with each other in ways Mainlanders, or Off-Islanders, don't demonstrate as readily. There is an inherent interdependence that requires a certain etiquette not easily embraced by some people. An island, especially one the size of Shelter, is very finite, and you will, eventually, run into virtually everyone at George's IGA. Remember that when you're tempted to be rude or short-tempered to someone at Jack's Hardware or the pharmacy, or when you cut someone off or speed or don't dim your high beams. It will get noticed.

It may sound like there are a lot of unspoken rules, and I guess there are, but life on Shelter has many rewards. While there are no vineyards that I know of, there are a number of excellent restaurants, some with very good wine lists.

One of the newest is Café 27, next to Julie and Sebastian Bliss' Planet Bliss (go there for very good organic dishes and great Cosmos), opened by chefs Thomas and Kyle Ritzler. Thomas, a native Islander, found inspiration in Key West, and Kyle in Guam. Both are CIA grads. The menu features French and Asian influences, and there are many vintages available by either glass or bottle at the attractive wine bar.

Heading toward the South Ferry you'll find Vine Street Café, owned by Terry and Lisa Harwood formerly of Union Square Café. This chic spot attracts a sophisticated crowd, and the offerings are among the best on the East End. Manager Chris Calloway overseas the dining room and the excellent wine list with a deft hand. "Plats du jour," or daily specials, include jumbo prawns and bouillabaisse, but don't miss the crispy calamari salad, steak frites with aioli and succulent oven-fried chicken.

Back up north you'll dine exceptionally well at Joann Piccozzi's and Robert Mullins' Onshore Restaurant at the Dering Harbor Inn. Chefs Chris Meenan, Joe Smith and Myrna Ortiz dazzle with house-made sausages, fresh fish and perfect - yes perfect - side dishes of tiny carrots, baby beets and grilled pencil asparagus.

An unavoidable part of living on an island is getting on and off of it. Many people refuse to live here because they don't want to "deal with" the ferries. It's true that if you miss the last one you are stranded, unless you swim or go for a midnight sail on your boat, assuming you have a boat and are sober enough after a night of fine dining and drinking to sail it. So when you come for dinner make sure you know when the last ferry leaves for the night.

On the other hand, if you live here you're not stranded at all. You're simply home.

-S.W.Simm

Susan Whitney Simm is Dan's "Through the Grapevine" Wine Guide editor. Email ssimm@optonline.net

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