Just in case you live in a cave and missed it, Hamptons Restaurant Week ran from March 31 through April 6 and by all accounts it was another successful week of good food at good prices.


With a 14-month-old son at home and our nearest family member four hours away, I was only able to take advantage of the $21.95 price for three courses on two nights - once with my friend Dan and once with my wife - which is a shame because I would have eaten out every night at any of the participating restaurants.


This week, we'll focus on my visit to Southampton Publick House with my friend in food Dan, who is a huge fan of craft beer, meaning that we went to the right place.


Southampton Publick House isn't new to me - I've enjoyed their beers for years and eaten there a time or two before - and it's an extremely comfortable place to enjoy a meal. When we arrived on a Monday night, there were several tables filled with various groups. With my little guy at home, I always note when a restaurant is family friendly and this one is in spades. In fact, there were a couple of families with children my son's age there on this night.


In my experience, the Southampton Publick House does, as you might expect, pub food well. Burgers, wings and the like are no doubt the most popular menu items - and with good reason. On this night, the special Restaurant Week menu did include a lot of items that I'd count as pub fare, but that doesn't mean that the food wasn't well done.


While we perused the menu, I had a pint of Extra Special Bitter, which was terrific. I love the bitter flavors that hops bring to the glass. It's not over-the-top here though. Dan had the Espresso Stout, which he also enjoyed.


Now on to the food. I started with the Potato & Pale Ale Soup, which is made with their Pale Ale, and topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, and chopped scallions. It was hearty, delicious and the kind of comfort food that I always like on a cool, rainy night. Dan opted for the Clams Casino Casserole, which was well seasoned and tasty. Other starters on the regular menu include Mussels in Beer Broth, Seared Tuna with Wasabi and Teriyaki Glaze, Mesquite Chicken Quesadilla Rossa, and Irish Nachos.


Its hard being allergic to shellfish (and not really enjoying much seafood) living on Long Island. I try to "eat local" whenever possible, but obviously I miss out on a wide range of terrific, fresh local seafood. Seafood dominated the Publick House’s Restaurant Week menu, so I settled on the Chicken Picatta, which was good. What was spectacular, however, was how the recommended beer pairing, their always-delicious Double White Ale, went with the chicken.



Come early and stay late!
Dan had the Surf and Turf special - two lamb chops with stuffed shrimp. The lamb was very flavorful and made this a real steal - probably the best value of the night.


Any night of the week you’ll find a range of things on the menu to tempt you for dinner. Highlights include - Cajun Grilled Duck Breast, Ginger Glazed Atlantic Salmon, and Sully’s Famous Baby Back Ribs. For dessert you’ll find Crème Brulee Cheesecake, Caramel Apple Pie, and Snickers Chaos Pie.


As consistently good as the food was, the real stars of the night were the beers. After we were done eating, we were joined by Spencer and Evan - brewmaster Phil Markowski's assistant brewers - for beer, conversation, and more beer.


The passion that these two share for beer is awe-inspiring and as we sipped on snifters of an amazing, rich, complex Abbott Ale 2004 - a Belgian-style quadruple that Spencer dug out of the beer cellar for us - we talked about varying beer styles, the hop shortage, the American beer market and some future food and beer parties he has planned. Beer is an extremely underrated partner for just about any food you can think of. Unfortunately, too many Americans think about Bud and Coors when they think about beer. That's what breweries like Southampton Publick House are up against, but they have the beers to change anyone's minds.


If you haven't tasted Southampton Publick House’s beers, you owe it to yourself to do so. My personal favorites are the Saison Deluxe, Biere de Garde, and a newly released, limited-edition farmhouse beer - Biere de Mars. Markowski literally wrote the book on these style beers. They are among the best I've tasted.


As the night wound down, the Abbott 12 and Saison gone, I found myself wishing the Southampton Publick House were much closer to my own house. If it were, I'd be there a few nights per week, minimum.



The Southampton Publick House is located at 40 Bowden Square, Southampton, 631-283-2800, www.publick.com, and is open daily.






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Lenn Thompson lives in Sound Beach with his wife Nena and infant son, Jackson. He is the former editor of the Long Island Wine Gazette and writes about local wines for several media outlets including AppellationAmerica.com , Edible East End, and his blog LENNDEVOURS.com. He loves hearing from readers and fellow local wine enthusiasts. You can email him at lenndevours@gmail.com.