South Edison

Just one block south of town, South Edison reflects Montauk's fun and casual atmosphere. Walk right off the beach to try the extensive raw bar, a wide selection of wines and beers, and their signature Pickle Martinis garnished with house-made local veggie pickles. After dinner, don't miss the extraordinary desserts created by Frank Fuschetto, formerly of Jacques Torres Chocolate.

Image via South Edison website

Using all natural products from organic and sustainable farms whenever possible, the team at South Edison feels privileged to be surrounded by passionate local farmers and fishermen: "With their devotion and our creativity, we prepare foods with honesty and integrity."

Keith was pretty excited to try this restaurant for dinner, and it was just around the block from our hotel, so we had an easy evening stroll.  Though we made reservations, it did not seem as any were necessary as the entire dining room was bare when we arrived.  We perused the menu, and of course, spotted more seafood items that we wanted to try.

 

First, we ordered more local oysters from the raw bar.  Tonight featured Blue Points from Long Island Sound, CT; Montauk Pearls, and Wild Montauk both from Montauk, NY.  The Blue Points (top row in the picture above) were the meatiest and had a very delicate briny flavor.  The Wild Montauk (middle) were too salty for me, and the Montauk Pearls were my favorite of the three and were very light.

 

We also shared the Day Boat Fluke Sashimi with heirloom tomato, chili jam, shallot, jalapeno chili, kaffir lime leaf, and cilantro.  The fish was cut pretty thick, but was very fresh and I liked the bright burst the tomatoes gave.  The chili jam was a little funky though, and had a strong Asian fish sauce smell to it.

 

Next, we indulged in the Rock Shrimp that are fried in cornmeal batter, and served with fried pickled ginger and a spicy aioli.  This dish was the most generous portions of them all, and a great little appetizer for sharing.

 

 

 

We picked the Broccolini with saffron vinaigrette and basil and Truffle Fries with grated Parmesan, truffle oil, and basil as our 'vegetable' sides.  They were both mediocre.  The broccolini was very tough, and the fries were lukewarm with barely any truffle flavor.

 

 

We shared a main dish of South Edison Clam Bake.  We expected a large bowl or platter, instead got the same size bowl as our fries.  Inside was a piece of lobster tail and the small claw, a couple topneck clams, Italian sausage, a couple shrimp, one red bliss potato, one pearl onion, and a piece of grilled corn all in a lovely lemon-white wine-tarragon broth, topped with shredded gin-braised leeks and a crostini.  I really liked the broth, only wished there was more seafood to share.  The dish would be perfect for one person though.

Overall, we had a okay meal.  It was a bit overpriced.  Plus, we've had better seafood and were just expecting a lot more being so near the beach, and reading about the chef's background.  I did appreciate the attention to local ingredients and suppliers.  The vibe was cute and the sound track was awesome (80s & 90s pop).  We didn't order any dessert, because we wanted to walk down the strip and find ice cream instead.  But, I hear they have some good offerings.  The place did start to fill up as we were leaving, so perhaps it is still popular after all.

Total Rating: 3.43
Food: 3.5, Price: 2.5, Service: 3.5, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 5

What I ate:

Oysters

 

Day Boat Fluke Sashimi

heirloom tomato, chili jam, shallot, jalapeno chili, kaffir lime leaf, cilantro

 

Rock Shrimp

cornmeal batter, pickled ginger, spicy aioli

 

Broccolini

saffron vinaigrette, basil

 

Truffle Fries

grated Parmesan, truffle oil, basil

 

South Edison Clam Bake

lobster, topneck clams, Italian sausage, shrimp

lemon-white wine-tarragon broth, red bliss potatoes, grill corned,

pearl onion, gin-braised leeks, crostini