Moby and Shuko

Every year a few new restaurants open out on the Eastern shores of Long Island where we have a house.  I am always wary.  I have consistently found that the food is pretty good at the end of June, still hanging in there by July and hits the skids in August.   It is a drag but it is a reality.  I end up cooking at home which is fine because the farmers markets are just teeming with so many delicious fresh ingredients.  I had a few meals at Moby’s.  I am happy to hear that they took over this location for the next three years.  They had a pop-up place in Montauk the last couple of years and it was fun.  They did a really great job redoing the space they are in.  It has a very cool beach vibe.  I also like that they don’t try to do anything fancy.  Just simple fresh ingredients and the menu changes based on what is available.  We went one night and it was really good and another night where it was just ok but I will still return, post August. Here are two of the things we had each time.  Burrata doused with olive oil and salt with a few pieces of toast (a little too soft on the toast).   It is a great addition just to have on the table. Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes with olive oil, basil and salt.  You honestly can not go wrong here.   They have pizzas, grilled fish, chicken, steak, etc. Then there is Shuko.  Shuko is a pop-up sushi restaurant from the former chef of Neta who also worked at Masa.  High hopes here.  Here is the thing, just order what you want, do not order the omikase.  The food is just as expensive as NYC which seems ridiculous but if the food was a good as NYC then perhaps it would not be.  I had been there a few times now and I found the sushi good not great and the salads pretty much the same.  We decided on our last outing to go with the omikase which is insanely overpriced and honestly sub-par for the food.  As Josh put it if the cost was 150% less than perhaps we would have felt differently. Here are few of the highlights.  The classic tuna and caviar dish.  It was fine but not that omg you get most of the time having this dish. This is the lobster dish.  Everything here was overcooked. This is the sushi plate that comes out at the end.  Kind of what we were all waiting for. I hope that if they return they rethink the concept and price but it appears that we might be the only people ( or at least one of the few ) that feel that way.  I believe they are set on opening a place in the city come September and am hoping that perhaps the sourcing is just better there.