I don't make it out east much these days. Last Thursday I decided that after stopping to see my mother in East Northport I would make the trip out to Shelter Island to see an old friend of mine at his new restaurant. He had been asking us to come out and visit for a while now and he was overdue a delivery of syrups. He had ordered them some time ago but I hadn't had a chance to get out to visit.
My friend Adam Kopels and his wife Elizabeth Ronzetti opened the original 18 Bay in Bayville, Long Island in 2006. They received rave reviews and I must say for a good reason. Adam and I met at FCI back in our early cooking days. We spent many nights drinking beers and talking about food. Adam, although trained at FCI was hugely into Italian cooking. So much that he landed a great job at Mario Batali's Babbo shortly after it opened and stayed with that restaurant group for many years. After leaving there and spending some time in other NYC and SF restaurants Adam moved back to Long Island, a place he loved, to work. He then met Elizabeth and they opened a restaurant and began to make a name for themselves.
Last year he told me he was thinking about moving out east, closing 18 Bay and doing something closer to the farms and area where he loved to fish. After much searching they scored a beautiful space on Shelter Island. The new 18 Bay is located in one of the oldest buildings on the island. It once housed the post office, a general store and even an IGA. The restaurant is about triple the size of their old space. And the food they are turning out is as amazing as always.
Adam and Elizabeth are working their magic there year round. If you want to take a break from the city and go spend some time in the country, I would highly recommend visiting them at 18 Bay.
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