Dan's Papers - October 12, 2007

Buoy One
Seafood Market & Restaurant
1175 West Main Street
Riverhead
631.208.9737

Over the past couple of years, this outwardly modest restaurant just a mile or so east of Tanger Mall's southern entrance on Rte 25 has become a haven for fish lovers. There are two main reasons. Firstly, all of the fish is impeccably fresh. Mastic Seafood delivers twice daily and they also are supplied by carefully selected local diggers. The second reason is co-owner and Executive Chef, Dave Giradi, who is Johnson & Wales trained and also spent time cooking and learning in leading restaurants in France and Manhattan.

Don't expect anything fancy in décor, indeed you may be seated inside on a park chair originally from the Louvre Gardens in Paris - if the weather is good then the outdoor seating is recommended.

I have to say from the start that whenever we feel the urge to consume lobster, Buoy One is where we head for. Their clambake special, to me, really is the 'Gold Standard'. The lobster always is perfectly cooked, as are the delectable steamers and self peel shrimp and even the corn and baked potato are cooked to the same degree of care as the main ingredients.

Anyway, on this occasion, we resisted the lobster in order to try other dishes. I always sing the praises of shellfish au naturel but I have to admit that Dave's New Orleans style stuffed oysters showed me how imagination and talent can create something special. These were a delicious and very different starter. The panko-crusted oysters are stuffed with a mixture of ham, mirepoix, chopped oyster and shrimp meat and the result was a great blend of textures and tastes. Heather, our enthusiastic waitress, advised us to eat them slowly because they were so delectable and she was completely correct; they deserve slow appreciation. From these, we moved to a bucket of mussels, all very fresh and plump, but for our tastes the Asian sauce was a little too aggressive. Heather told us that this is one of the most popular dishes and that customers often ask for some of the sauce to take away - that's the beauty of dining, as with wine. There is nothing totally right or wrong, it really is each to their own tastes.

We have enjoyed their great seafood bisque before, so we decided this time on the Manhattan clam chowder. This was very aromatic with tastes of the sea mingling with the fresh vegetables in a great broth. It will be difficult to choose next time - maybe then we will move on to the New England clam chowder.

Talking with Dave before we ate, he extolled the locally caught bluefish that he prepares pecan crusted. Now, since moving here I have often been warned about the need for bluefish to be absolutely fresh so I have always settled for something else just to be safe. But knowing Dave and respecting his culinary expertise, we tried the bluefish and were really amazed by the superb texture and taste of this humble fish and certainly if this is on the menu, try it, because it won't be there unless it has just been caught. The mashed sweet potato and broccoli accompaniments were also very well cooked and presented

Dave's menu displays Asian trends in many dishes and the Thai glazed codfish served with jasmine rice and sautéed spinach was excellent. Another dish we tried at Dave's recommendation was sautéed tempe. Now I knew nothing about tempe but now I know that it is an Indonesian specialty made primarily from fermented soy beans (unlike tofu) and it is both vegetarian and vegan. Every household in Indonesia has its own special way to make tempe and here it was mixed with organic carrots and sweet red and green peppers. It is very different in texture from tofu, which I have to admit is not high on my best-loved list. Tempe is firm and when sautéed and served with a delicate but very flavorful sweet soy chili sauce, it was transformed into a very delicious dish. The accompanying ratatouille added its own special flavors. Obviously this is a great meal for non-meat or fish eaters. Although this is primarily a fish restaurant, meat and pasta lovers are well looked after.

We had absolutely no room left for desserts although the selection, which changes almost every day looked very appealing.

Buoy One serves some excellent beers at $3.50 to $4.50 and has a small but well priced wine list. Wines by the glass are $5.75 to $7.50 and bottles start at $18. Appetizers range from $5.50 to $17.95; Pastas and main courses from $12.95 to $24.95 for the great clambake.

Buoy One is a great example of the adage that if you cook well using excellent fresh ingredients and charge a reasonable and affordable price then your customers will not only come but they will return time after time - certainly we will.