Dan's Papers -November 21, 2008 - Tweed's Restaurant & Bison Bar

Now enjoying its eighth year of business, Tweed's is truly a restaurant for all seasons but in many ways it really comes into its own in the Fall. On a chill, somewhat damp evening, there is that immediate sense of welcome and warmth as you enter. This has always been a charmingly decorated dining room but now with new banquette seating stretching the length of the room, soft lighting everywhere and pleasant background music, it is even more elegant, and the enormous bison head continues to 'smile' down over the great long bar. Read the story of the bison posted under it. This truly was an historic beast - one can only hope it appreciated being shot by Teddy Roosevelt

As we enjoyed some of that great bread that Tomcat Bakeries supplies, we studied the menu with interest because it had been quite a while since we had last eaten here. Executive Chef Jeff Trujillo remains one of the most enthusiastic chefs you will ever meet and with the extensive use of bison meat in appetizers and main courses, the menu proved to be very interesting and promised some delicious tastes. Owners, Ed Tuccio and Dee Muma own a large bison farm on the outskirts of Riverhead and some of the meat comes from their animals.

We started fairly conservatively with some perfectly cooked jumbo shrimp served with Jeff's special guacamole that was very delicate but full of flavor. Then we had to try something new to us both. Smoked goose breast is a rarity and it turned out to be well worth trying, very tender and with subtle tastes and this is something that is really worth choosing if it is on the menu.

We always love good soup and the pumpkin bisque showed light creamy tastes without any hint of heaviness or cloying. The mix of pumpkin and spices was exquisite again this should be a definite choice if you love good soup.

For our main courses Stella chose the Peconic Bay scallops that were incredibly sweet and you can only long for the day when the bay is once again full of these delicacies that rival anything you will ever taste. Jeff's presentation did them full justice in never swamping their delicacy. I chose the bison hanger steak because hanger steak is great but it is also one of the most demanding cuts to prepare because the meat has to be just right and the cooking can easily mar it and make the steak very chewy. Now with bison meat you really have to leave yourself in the chef's hands. Forget what level of 'doneness' you choose with beef. Bison has such low fat that it is only too easy to overcook it -so leave it to the chef as I did and then enjoy the depth of tastes and the textures and the beautiful wild mushroom cream sauce that accompanied it. Both dishes came with a nice selection of fall vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. These were impeccably fresh but were a little too al dente even for us who love al dente vegetables.

For our dessert we shared a very good Key lime pie that had the right degree of tanginess. Jeff told us that pumpkin pie and a flourless chocolate cake should soon be on the menu to complement the already good, if somewhat conventional, choices.

Tweed's has a good selection of wines both from Long Island and further a field, and wines by the glass are from $9 to $12 and from $28 by the bottle. Appetizers are from $11 to $15; main courses from $23 to $41.

Tweed's also has a sister operation named Dark Horse Catering (631-745-6769) where Jeff employs his culinary skills for offsite catering of all sizes and descriptions.

Tweed's has developed a definite personality as a restaurant where the warm, comfortable elegant surroundings are more than matched by the quality of the food which is now a match for any other top kitchen on Long Islands and has the special qualities of offering the best of some wonderful bison meat and that great huge bison head that will still be smiling down as you contentedly finish your meal.