Healthy, creative and contemporary American food is making its way to the Village of Northport. Owner of the former Cause Café, Stacey Wohl, will be opening Our Table in the same space on Fort Salonga Road on March 2. To head the kitchen, she hired Chef Michael Heinlein who previously served as the executive chef at The Grill in Hauppauge and Wild Honey on Main in Port Washington.
“I live in Northport and eat organic and healthy food and so do my kids and neighbors,” Wohl said. “When Michael suggested this [approach] to me, I felt it was a no-brainer because more emphasis is being placed on this [eating style] and I think it will be a big service to the community.”
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Chef Heinlein is working with local purveyors for Our Table’s produce and meats to deliver all prime and organic selections. The kitchen will prepare seasonal dishes based on market availability and cater to food allergies.
“Foodies will be able to appreciate the different accoutrements in each dish and the level of care in how we prepare the food,” Heinlein said. “We don’t take any shortcuts.”
Tuesday through Saturday there will be an a la carte menu available along with a six-course chef’s tasting menu featuring five savory and one sweet course.
Jumbo lump crab cake. image: our table
As far as small plates go, Chef Heinlein recommended the jumbo lump crab cake (made with no fillers) accompanied by roasted vegetable caponata and piquillo pepper aioli, and General Tso’s crispy octopus dressed in a broccoli puree with black rice, toasted cashews and citrus. For the entrees, diners can’t go wrong with the potato crusted wild Scottish salmon with corn-leek-mushroom ragout, yukon gold mashed potatoes and spring pea puree or the grilled grass fed skirt steak served with potato-bacon hash and tomato-red onion salad.
And after a long workweek, there’s arguably no better way to refuel than with Our Table’s Sunday brunch, which runs from 10am-3pm. Instead of using English muffins or bread to serve the eggs Benedict, Chef Heinlein will deliver it on crispy eggplant, fresh mozzarella and grilled tomato drizzled in a pesto hollandaise. Also, there’s an option for make-your-own omelets, lemon-ricotta French toast and loaded burritos.
“Weekend breakfast is becoming more of what dinner used to be,” Heinlein said. “We want people to sit with their friends and family and enjoy their breakfast [opposed to conventional grab & go egg sandwiches].”
Pan seared striped bass. image: our table
When 4pm hits, Sunday Supper will kick in and feature a three course chef’s choice prix fixe where guests can chose from five appetizers, five entrees and five desserts for $27.95. The a la carte menu will also be available.
The restaurant’s ambiance has a rustic flair. Think reclaimed wood, industrial ceilings with exposed pipes and pendant lighting. There’s also a cherry bar that will be used to house local craft beer and organic wine once Our Table gets a liquor license by the end of March.
“We want to welcome [guests] to our table,” Wohl said. “It is like coming into someone’s house, a welcoming place that hopefully you want to keep coming back to again and again.”