Where would I go if I had to find dishes for both a:
- Supper club dinner party?
- My last meal?
The answer is a New York deli. You can‘t go wrong and you certainly can’t beat the combination of salads, meats, fruits, cheeses, breads and desserts that you can find. Now there are chains of Gourmet Markets that are like deli’s on steroids that are fantastic.
Last week we visited relatives in Montauk New York. Maureen and Brian drove out from Yonker’s for the weekend. They were having a dinner party that night and stopped at Citarella’s, a gourmet market in Easthampton, to pick up 3 or 4 dishes for a ready-made dinner party. There were lots of great options but Citarella’s is famous for their food and being proud of their product. Brian pointed out while he was sure the artichoke hearts were great, but $16 for two was a little crazy.
(Citarellas’ Gourmet Market in Easthampton NY)
(Pictures of Fort Pond Bay in Montauk NY)
This reminds me of the story that Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa tells. Her first shop was in Westhampton (The poor man’s Hampton) where my mom lives. She opened up her second shop in Easthampton. In the first week a guy came in and Ina saw him hemming and hawing over the lobster salad. Ina worried that she had overpriced her salad at $20 a pound. She asked the guy if he needed help and he said: “Yes I am just not sure if I need 5 or 6 pounds”. She knew she was in the right Hampton.
We also went to Sag Harbor for lunch. Back in the 1800’s Sag Harbor was a center of the Whaling industry. Today it is a quaint old town with lots of shops, marinas and restaurants. We love to go to Schiavoni’s Grocery to pick up salads for a picnic lunch in the park, on the harbor. Schiavoni’s is an IGA and has everything from cleaning supplies to gourmet food fare.
The Hamptons are great, but you can get amazing food in thousands of deli’s across the New York area. Traditionally, deli’s were place where you bought sandwiches. The deli meats and breads are fantastic. Where I grew up in Westchester, north of New York City, you didn’t get subs or heros. You got wedges. They were called wedges because they were served on wedges of Italian bread. The breads were so good that anything that came on them would taste great. Give me a bologna wedge from Lake Farms in Silver Lake NY, and I have died and gone to heaven.
Today most delis have an assortment of salads and side dishes, as well main courses such as chicken/veal cutlets, chicken Piccata, eggplant parmesan, and on and on. To make a long story short, you can get all kinds of great things without having to cook anything. The good news is that while this type of offering used to be unique to New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, today you can get it in a lot of the U.S and in markets around the world.
In the end, to be a great supper club host/hostess you don’t need to know where to cook, you just need to know where to buy.
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