HEY KDH READERS, WARM UP TO WINTER DEALS AT FABULOUS FRESNO!

Fresno is definitely one of my top five fav restaurants in the Hamptons. I love it because: it has a cozy dining room, flattering low lighting [always an obsession for me], it’s perfect for a date with husband or dinner with a girlfriend, the service is very attentive, they have a female chef [which is rare in the Hamptons] but most of all~ because the food is fantastic! Haute Hamptons restaurateur David Loewenberg [Red Bar, Little Red, The Beacon]  has co-owned Fresno with his business partner Michael Nolan since 2004.

Chef Gretchen Menser has put together a perfect prix fixe menu which is available now through winter and is offered nightly [except holidays] in the dining room until 6:30 p.m., and all night at the bar. The cost is $28 for two-courses, and $30 for three-courses.

Chef Menser cooks with a European sensibility, keeping flavors exciting and clean whilst working with as much local product as possible.  This philosophy aligns with Fresno’s tradition to offer a spectrum of new American fare and local bounty emphasizing simple yet sophisticated preparation.  Fresno also loves to wine & dine East Enders with a series of wine maker dinners and monthly wine tastings.

First course selections may include: soup of the day; artisanal baby greens with Bartlett pears, manchego cheese, pumpkin seeds and sherry vinaigrette; white bean and roasted garlic hummus with grilled pita and marinated olives; and chicken liver pate with pickled beets and rye toast points.

Main courses include: mezze rigatoni Bolognese with beef, veal, pork, truffle oil and pecorino Romano; chicken Milanese with arugula and goat cheese salad, roasted tomato sauce; grilled center cut pork chop with fingerling sweet potatoes, shaved Brussels sprouts, pancetta and port wine demi glace; moules frites with PEI mussels with shallots, garlic & thyme in a white wine broth and fries; plus a Fresno burger with lettuce, tomato, red onion and pommes frites.

*For a $2 supplemental charge there is pan-seared Scottish salmon with couscous, roasted fennel, zucchini, olives and smoked tomato sauce; and for a $5 supplemental charge a grilled hanger steak with pommes frites and sauce verts.

Dessert courses feature: a warm Valrhona chocolate cake with Nutella–fluff center [ohhh my!] and hazelnut gelato; warm caramel apple bread pudding with cinnamon gelato [repeat: ohhh my!]; lemon buttermilk pie with sour morello cherries. For a $3 supplemental charge there are a coconut cream tart with chocolate wafer crust & prickly pear coulis; classic vanilla crème brulée and Fresno’s groovy cookie plate
with affogato gelato.

*Location: 8 Fresno Place, East Hampton; [631] 324 8700 orwww.fresnorestaurant.com)