Restaurant Review: Amarelle

By April Gonzales

Steve Amaral opened his new restaurant Amarelle with his partner Lisa Fallon in Wading River a month-and-a-half ago, and already they have seen diners return more than once for the fresh from the farm and sea dishes that they create six nights a week. The tapas-inspired menu will change seasonally - local produce and crop harvests will determine ingredients. All offerings on the menu can be either appetizers or entrées, so for grazers, ordering three or four appetizer size servings is the ideal way to dine.

A wealth of food industry experience is evident with each presentation. Amaral went to Johnson and Wales for culinary arts. Before he returned to the East End, ice carving for big resort hotels in Maui was one of his artistic ventures. He also owns Black Tie Caterers, which has served both the North and South forks for several years and brings that experience and the catering menu to his restaurant.

Lisa Fallon, our chef for the evening, is a familiar face from cooking classes at Loaves and Fishes in Bridgehampton. She creates food and drink recipes for Jose Cuervo, and she worked in the test kitchens of Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray. She also really enjoyed the recipe development experience she had while working with the California peach board and the fig board for marketing.

Fallon likes contrasts in her food - crispy, smooth and a dash of tart came across with her first offering, an homage to the restaurant's name which means sour cherry duck rillette with preserved cherry on a crisp. Having worked for the Food network doing food styling for Bobby Flay and Emeril, her presentations are attractive, inviting you to stop and anticipate the experience of eating before diving in.

We took advantage of the smaller portion sizes to explore the menu. Our first choice, the roasted corn chowder, was right off the cob. A little parsley, tiny sun-dried grape tomatoes, crab and a touch of cream made it the perfect summer soup.

Next was followed by handmade gnocchi with shitake mushrooms and English peas in a brandy cream, garnished with bean sprouts. The dish combined the musty, earthy vegetable flavors to perfection.

The lobster potpie's crust was flaky and doughy at the same time. Only slightly sweet, it covered a rich mélange of lobster chunks, shitake mushrooms, peas with finely diced celery and onions in a tarragon cream base. Rich, delicious and very satisfying, all it needs is a salad to round out a full meal.

The risotto cakes were redolent with memories of my mother-in-law's cooking - old-fashioned Italian rice cakes that she made for special occasions. Thyme, white wine, parmesan and shallots flavor the risotto which is breaded, buttery and crispy on the outside. This appetizer size cake had a marvelous after-taste. It was served with ribbons of local vegetables in a white balsamic dressing that crossed the palette like vegetable spaghetti. To be just a bit fussy I would have to say I would have preferred the vegetables a bit more al dente. As the season changes so do the veggies that accompany the risotto cake.

Under the farm heading we chose the Kobe beef medium-rare, which came perfectly cooked over a warm potato salad made with goat cheese and a side of caramelized cippolini onions. An accent of arugula pesto cooled down the mix of traditional flavors.

And from the sea we tried the local fish special, which was striped bass accompanied by a medallion of beluga lentils, blended with spinach and pepper strips that would be a great side dish or vegetarian entrée. A white corn butter sauce encircled the fish and lentils, but they were both stood on their own without it.

Chocolate mousse with coconut cream on top, side- dressed with swirls of caramel and dark chocolate and seated on a chocolate cookie crust had the added surprise of cracked pepper - you take bite, it bit back.

Amarelle is 35 minutes from Southampton Village and there are several ways to get there. Perfect for after-golf or apres-vineyard hopping, Sound Avenue has bucolic vistas of farmland.

You can make reservations or view the menu online at amarelle.net.

Amarelle: 2028 North Country Road, Wading River. 631-886-2242. Open every day but Monday, for dinner. Tues., Wed., Thurs. and Sunday, 4:30 - 9:30; Friday and Saturday until 10.

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