KidMontauk

Photo credit: NEWSDAY,THOMAS A. FERRARA, June 25, 2008

Jack and Gianna gave this week’s pick a quadruple thumbs up!!!! The Hideaway, located at Diamond Cove Marina, is a very special eatery. This colorful café serves fresh southern Mexican cuisine prepared fresh daily with lots and lots of LOVE! Just the way I like it.

Frieda Reichert, a warm and loving woman, who with her husband Skip, created The Hideaway almost four years ago, greeted us with open arms. The first words out of her mouth (outside of hello and welcome) were, “We offer many gluten-free options and we are food allergy sensitive.” A restaurant after my own heart (I am gluten-free)! And a great thing to know for those with dietary restrictions. The reason the majority of Mexican cuisine is gluten-free is that the primary grain used is corn—a gluten-free grain. This eatery is also a vegetarian’s heaven. And as far as the kids are concerned, there are tons of choices from tacos to rice and beans as well as some typical favorites—chicken fingers and quesadillas. In addition to the Mexican fare there are steamed seafood offerings as well as BBQ. My dad, who is a rib fanatic, said that Skip’s ribs were the best he has ever had.

Jack and Gianna had a blast (and so did Heather and I). The kids played outside around our super huge picnic table with umbrella (there are many to choose from as well as indoor seating). There was plenty of room to move around and play, which meant less whining (yeah)!

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This Sunday morning Heather and I went to Gin Beach (at the very end of East Lake Drive) with the little ones. Neither of us packed lunch cause we were eager to take the gang to Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Café and Marina. And that we did! Rick’s looks like a big red barn on the water located kinda across from the Montauk Airport. We came by car, but you can also come by boat or plane. How cool!

A playground for kids it is! Indoors is spacious as well as the outdoors. We sat outside under the “dining tent” with the whole gang so Jack, Gianna and Nina could run around (Hunter’s not running anywhere yet!). Not sure where else in Montauk you can find space like this—Rick can accommodate big groups without any worry. Even last minute! And if there’s a weekend wait, there is live music to entertain.

Serving lunch and dinner, there are several varieties of fried and un-fried fish and shellfish; pulled pork, chicken and ribs for those who love BBQ; as well as burgers and salads. Also, there is a veggie burger for those plant lovers; the lobster roll sandwich is a favorite among pilots and the king crab legs are always a must. There’s a raw bar and the Crabby Bake is hot stuff offering steak, lobster or crab legs with steamers, clams, mussels and potato for only $39.95. And, can’t forget to tell you that the steamers were the BEST I have EVER eaten (and I am a steamer lover!). Kids menu offers a variety—we had fish nuggets that were local and fresh!
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What a pleasure to be writing about “The Good”. Not only is it the lunchtime hot spot for us locals, but also the place where I cultivated my passion for health supportive foods some 25 years ago—I was a Good cook every summer from 1986-1991.

So I imagine you get that I am a HUGE fan!!! If I could, I would move in for it feels like home to me. And the food is my culture—healthy and wholesome. Not only is there a café with lots to choose from, but you can also buy everything from cucumbers to cookies to cleaning products and rest assured that everything is of the highest quality (no funny stuff in anything).
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