Visit the greater Westhampton Beach area on a rainy Thursday night in May and it will be somewhat deserted. Visit Perabell Food Bar in Patchogue on rainy Thursday night in May and it is packed. What a difference a few miles can make.
Perabell Food Bar caught my eye when they won last year's Battle of the Burger contest put on by Long Island Pulse (Note: We are contemplating attending this year's August event, let me know if you want to join us). And it came recommended again to us by a local restauranteur and so we found ourselves on said rainy night in Patchogue.
The space is comprised of a large dining room and a bustling bar that offers some pretty sweet happy hour deals - half price burgers and wine! Our foursome settled into an oversize booth among the groups of moms on their night out, dates and a few families, like us.
Adult Chicken Fingers and Shrimps Tacos had come highly recommended from our friend. Sadly we couldn't find Shrimp Tacos on the menu so we settled for Chicken Empanadas, those Adult Chicken Fingers technically named Jumbo Chicken Fingers and a side of Tater Tots. Yes, they did have plenty of healthy options including entree size salads, fish and steak. But it was a fried apps kind of night. High end fried apps, if that makes you feel any better.
And we can't forget about the burger. The boys order was a split Steakhouse Burger with fries and extra pickles for Little D.
Hot rolls with a pesto butter arrived first. Being that pesto is a current obsession of mine, I was completely enamored by this choice. Then we waited. And waited. That bustling crowd meant slow service.
Finally, I mean finally, the boys burgers arrived. Certainly big enough to split, the patty was thick and juicy. Skinny fries were piled high with the right amount of salt. The boys went from starving to satiated in a matter of seconds.
We focused on our fried feast. The only thing really extraordinary about the Chicken Fingers was their size, they were indeed jumbo. Though when combined with the honey mustard, a new level was attained. Same for the chicken empanadas, the inside combination of chicken, chorizo, chipotle and cheese was tasty but the pastry was overly flaky. Dry even. Again, the sauce, this one was avocado, saved the day. And the best of all was alternating dipping the peppery tater tots in each of those two sauces.
Apps and few bites of the burger and fries were all we could handle tonight. Perhaps we will venture next time with the tuna tartar pizza and thai glazed short ribs or knowing us, it may just be burgers all around.
Until our next Burger,
KLB
Perabell Food Bar
69 East Main Street
Patchogue, NY
631.447.7766
perabellfoodbar.com
No comments:
Post a Comment