Dan's Papers - September 5, 2008 - Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant

Alexander Dumas remarked many years ago that 'nothing succeeds like success' and this outwardly modest restaurant situated between Riverhead town center and Tanger Mall on Route 25 would totally qualify as a prime example of the truth of his adage.

Seven years on from when co-owners Dave Giradi and Rob Pollifrone took over what was a fairly run down fish market and restaurant, Buoy One now ranks at the highest levels of seafood restaurants across Long Island and devoted patrons come from all part of Suffolk and Nassau Counties and even further beyond to enjoy seafood at its best.

Dave is the Executive Chef and followed classical culinary school with time spent cooking in France and here he has trained a very good kitchen staff to prepare dishes to his standards at all times, very necessary for a restaurant that is open from 11 a.m. till late evening seven days a week throughout all the year - no post summer shut down here, simply a move inside when the outdoor dining area becomes too cool.

This also is a very family friendly place and the waitstaff are very helpful and professional.

On a wonderful summer evening, we started with a bucket of delectable steamers something that to me epitomizes Long Island seafood. Then came one of their specialties, coconut shrimp. Dave adds a definite Asian flair to many of his dishes and these succulent very large coconut crusted shrimp went very well with a tangy Thai style dipping sauce. We were also persuaded to try the panko crusted stuffed oysters, another specialty of the kitchen and even though I still affirm that oysters are meant to be eaten au naturel, they really were very good and we needed little or no persuasion to finish them off.

For our main courses, Stella chose the striped bass which had great texture, perfect whiteness and intriguing tastes and she said that the accompanying whipped sweet potato was excellent. I chose the soft shell crabs and enjoyed the blend of crunchiness and softness and the delicate tastes of two of the plumpest and freshest tasting soft shell crabs I have ever enjoyed. Rob explained that they are dedicated to freshness and that they have twice daily supplies to ensure this freshness and they do not have a freezer on the premises.

There are a number of desserts available each day and we enjoyed the warm molten chocolate cake that was light and full of good chocolate flavors. Also, if ice cream is your choice, just across the road is the famous Snowflake Ice Cream Shoppe with its multitude of home made flavors.

With our meal we drank the tap beers, Blue Moon and Killians, both of which were great with our food. They have a short and well-priced wine list as well. Speaking of well priced, Rob told us that they deliberately did not put any of their prices up this year because they saw the tightening economic situation and wanted to keep the restaurant still affordable, especially as many of their customers come more than once a week. Appetizers range from $5.50 for crab cake to $17.97 for a very large bucket of steamers that would be enough for three or four. Main courses are from $13.95 to $24.95 for what must be the best Clam Bake on offer. For $24.95 you are served a good sized steamed or broiled lobster plus shrimp, steamers, mussels, vegetables and a baked potato - a real feast.

Even though we did not have this treat on our visit, by sheer chance we were back here on our own the following day because our daughter and family were visiting over the Labor Day weekend and Stephanie had a great desire for lobster. At the end of her clambake she declared herself extremely well satisfied and looking for a return trip. On this visit the Thai glazed cod fish, the sesame crusted salmon and the swordfish were also declared winners and our two grand children tucked into their pasta dishes with relish.

Buoy One does a high volume of take out orders and also specializes in offsite parties so everyone is kept very busy but they all seem very happy in what they are doing, which is another very important measure of success.