Blue Sky Mediterranean Lounge
63 Main St. Sag Harbor, NY 631-725-1810
Critic rating:
You can get a taste of Italy or Spain, Greece or France, and points between at Blue Sky Mediterranean Lounge -- a variety of pizettes sidle up to such dishes as chickpea and white bean confit and a Tuscan lasagna. There's also nightlife, if that's what you're after, with a lounge featuring live music after 9 p.m. on Thursdays all year, although Friday and Saturday night performances usually skip the busier summer dining season.
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sunday. Ambience: Very Good Service: Very Good Reservations: Recommended Credit cards: Accepted Accessibility: Steps at entrance and step to bar
Photo credit: Photo by Gordon M. Grant | The entree Paella D'Espana (priced at $24), with lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, chicken, chorizo, orzo and roasted garlic tomato broth, is served at Blue Sky in Sag Harbor.
Everyone needs some Blue Sky. The newest summer place gives you a window on Sag Harbor, plus a few fireworks to spark the weekend. Blue Sky takes over the address of longtime resident Spinnakers, the name of which stays immortalized in tile at the entrance. Step in, and it's a very different spot. Lots of exposed brick and black-and-white photos of waiting rowboats welcome you. So does executive chef, managing partner and maitre d' Giuseppe Desiderio, a veteran of the departed Ristorante Capri in East Hampton and last year's wine bar, Grappa. His breezy, Mediterranean-inspired menu and easygoing approach suit the season and the mood.
THE BEST
You can get a taste of Italy or Spain, Greece or France, and points between. Nibble on a tasty brick-oven pizzette. The Parma is topped with shavings of Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, arugula and truffle oil; the Sorrento, with oven-roasted tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Or sample a bruschetta of Tuscan-style bread with shrimp, hot peppers, arugula and peppery aioli; and another with sweet sausage, broccoli rabe and pecorino cheese. Breaded and pan-seared lamb chops arrive with refreshing minced cucumber-and-yogurt sauce. Rigatoni Siciliani adds roasted eggplant, basil and mozzarella to red sauce. Cod finished with rosemary-spiked beurre blanc flakes on cue. Veer toward Valencia with a satisfying paella full of shellfish, chicken, and chorizo sausage; turn Milanese with an ably pounded veal chop, under a mantle of arugula, tomatoes, onions and basil oil; head to Provence via tuna with olive tapenade, capers and cherry tomatoes. And celebrate the Fourth of July with ice cream.
THE REST
The lobster spring roll: crunchy but overdone. Pungent steamers drift in a salt-lick strong butter-and-garlic broth. Chicken breast San Daniele, with eggplant, prosciutto and fontina: tender but ordinary.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sunny
Blue Sky Mediterranean Lounge
