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FREEZING FUN Polar plunges on LI newsday.com/recreation

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MELISSAMCCARTBYmelissa.mccart@newsday.com

When Farmingdale native Marc AnthonyBynum opened Hush Bistro three yearsago, he introduced of-the-moment tast-

ing menus and his take on fine dining ingredients.Yet, the two-time winner of Food Network’s“Chopped” also wanted his place to be a hub forcouples and families who’d stop by for a burger, akale salad or St. Louis-style ribs, a dish that earned

national love with a shout-out from “O, The OprahMagazine” in July.

But Hush Bistro isn’t the only place on MainStreet cooking up bold dishes or pouring your newfavorite drinks.

Suddenly, dozens of places are attracting LongIslanders to this quintessential Main Street, fromlongtime mom-and-pops to spirited new spots.Here is a guide.

Jeff Rumman opened Vintage Wine Bar and Bistro last year, offering variety and value in wine, beer and eats.

Famished

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WEB EXTRA: 31 specialty pizzas you need to try

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in Farmingdale?Main Street eateries bolster a booming town

AVERAGE MEAL PRICE PER PERSON $ = $15 $$ = $30 $$$ = $60 $$$$ = $100

webspecialGet a full plate of Marge Perry’sThree Simple recipes — from applesto zucchini.

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cheapeatsWant a great meal at a decent price?Critic Melissa McCart’s reviews fitthe bill.

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feedmeRestaurant openings, closings andculinary events — get the latest dishevery day on our blog.

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MARC ANTHONY BYNUM’SPROGRESSIVE PROJECTS

A sliver of a restaurant thatseats 26, now for dinner only,Hush Bistro has assembled memo-rable multicourse meals as wellas casual experiences. It startsat the bar, with an ambitiouscocktail list, and a substantivecollection of craft brews andwines by the glass. Consider astarter like foie gras on toast,gnocchi with tomato and pearlonion, mushrooms, pecorinoand brown butter. Or go for thedeviled eggs and kimcheeburger from the bar menu.Around the corner, check outSoup-or-Hero Kitchen for lentilsoup and New England clamchowder, inventive sandwiches,fresh-squeezed juice and coldbrew coffee to go.

Hush Bistro, 291 Main St.,Farmingdale, 516-293-4874,hushamericanbistro.com, $$-$$$

Soup-or-Hero Kitchen, 396Conklin St., Farmingdale,516-927-8484, $

SOUTHEAST ASIAN SOUPSAND SNACKS

When The Rolling Spring Rollopened on Main Street in 2013,it was one of the internationalrestaurants that drew residentsfrom outside Farmingdale.Many of them had become fansof what started as owner JoeBui’s food truck. Pho steals theshow at the restaurant, with itsfragrant broth scented with staranise. Rice noodles nest in thebottom of a bowl layered withthin-sliced beef brisket andmeatballs (the place also serveschicken and vegetarian pho).Doctor the broth as you gowith basil, bean sprouts andspikes of lime. Turn up the heatwith jalapeño slices andsriracha. Be sure to order crispyspring rolls with that pho.

189 Main St., Farmingdale,516-586-6097,therollingspringroll.com, $-$$

Amodest slip of a restaurantthat has resided here for morethan a decade, Tiny Thai is theplace for familiar Thai comfortfood. Consider a tom kha gai withchicken and coconut, or the hotand sour tom yumgoong spikedwith lemongrass. Share a plate ofsteamed dumplings, little pouchesofminced pork and shrimp,crunchywater chestnuts and sa-vorymushrooms. Consider a sweetand savorymeat snack like sataychicken,marinated in coconutmilkand herbs and servedwith a side ofpeanut sauce.

187 Main St., Farmingdale,516-694-3302, $-$$

LOCAL MICROBREW AND ANEIGHBORHOODWINE BAR

Open since July, Lithology Brew-ing is the first place in town brew-ing its own beer in-house. A tinylittle spot with Wednesday-to-Sun-day tasting-room hours, it has bigambitions — winning a silvermedal at this year’s New YorkInternational Craft Beer competi-tion for its American-style brownale. The brand comes from KevinCain, Lee Kaplan, Marc Jacksonand Manny Coelho, home brewerswho opened their own brick-and-mortar spot in July. For such asmall place, there’s plenty tochoose from, with 10 taps thatinclude house pours like the GoldCoast IPA and L. Bees Knees withhoney, sage and rosemary. A fewguest taps dispense a rotatingroster of local brews. Look forWednesday growler fill-up deals.

211A Main St., Farmingdale,516-962-0585,lithologybrewing.com, $

If you’re looking for wineflights, here is your spot.Owner Jeff Rumman’s VintageWine Bar and Bistro opened lastyear, offering value and varietyamong wine, beer and eats.With equal representation ofOld World and New, more than40 wines list for $10 to $12 aglass. If beer is your jam,choose from 30 craft beers(including seven on tap) andthere’s a full bar. Eats rangefrom the nontraditional Sicilianegg rolls or kung pao pierogiesto bruschetta, pizza, and meatand cheese boards.

185 Main St., Farmingdale,516-586-8833,vintagewinebarbistro.com, $-$$

See FARMINGDALE on B8

Pho steals the show at The Rolling Spring Roll, former food truck operator Joe Bui’s eatery.

A burger on brioche from the bar menu at Hush Bistro wears an egg.

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Patrons crowd the bustling upstairs bar during happy hour at That Meetball Place.

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ON THE COVER Joe Bui of theRolling Spring Roll, Marc Bynum ofHush Bistro and Jeff Rumman ofVintage Wine Bar and Bistro onMain Street in Farmingdale.

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ITALIAN-AMERICAN,OLD AND NEW

Having opened in June,Vespa Italian Kitchen is a mag-net on Main Street, with aboldly lettered sign and tex-tured wood facade. Thoughyou won’t find Italian scootershere, you will find a red-saucemenu tailored for moderncravings, such as kale in asausage soup thick with whitebeans, along with an array ofvegetable choices as mains andsides. For lunch, look for dealslike a half-salad and sandwichfor $13.95, a half-salad and soupfor $10.95 and 10-inch pizzasthat start at about $9.

282 Main St., Farmingdale,516-586-8542,vespaitaliankitchen.com, $$

With the modest charm ofan old-school Italian-Americanspot, Tre Scalini is a family-stylerestaurant from Angelo Bar-rera that’s good for a crowd —the dining room seats nearly100. This is the place for ossobuco, whole branzino orchicken Caprese.

196 Main St., Farmingdale,516-249-0140, tre-scalini.com, $$

Here’s a place for pickyeaters looking for a fast Ital-ian meal on a budget. LaBottega, having opened in2013, offers a huge menu, anendless array of panini thatstarts with pork, chicken,turkey, steak or cured meat.Yes, there are vegetables,both on the sandwiches andthe bruschetta with tomatoand avocado, grilled zucchinior ricotta. Gluten-free folksaren’t ignored, with saladsand tailored breads. Look fora kids’ menu and a fewdesserts, too.

257 Main St., Farmingdale,516-586-8195,labottegafarmingdale.com, $

BIG BARS AND OUTDOORSPACES

The newcomer on the block,That Meetball Place, is a con-vivial spot that’s a sibling tothe one in Patchogue. If everybar stool is spoken for on theground level, head upstairs fora different scene — a cozy,intimate indoor-outdoor bar.For eats, consider a nontradi-tional meatball dish like meatloaf or chicken Marsala, anover-the-top salad or a winter

classic such as butternutsquash soup.

206 Main St., Farmingdale,516-586-8880,thatmeetballplaceli.com, $$

One of a handful of locations

from a local chainlet here since2008, Croxley’s Ale House is anunpretentious bar. A magnetfor sports fans, there’s noshortage of seating — it alsohas a year-round beer garden

— nor is there a shortage ofbeer, with more than 50 brewson tap, and more than 40 bot-tled and canned. Weekdayhappy hour runs 11:30 a.m. to 7p.m. Fridays usher in a freebuffet from 4 to 7 p.m.

190 Main St., Farmingdale,516-293-7700, croxley.com, $$

A cushy-yet-casual spotthat has anchored the streetfor a decade, Library Cafedisplays a formidable barwith a library ladder andmany shelves of booze. ThisLessing’s family restaurantalso is a meeting spot for allages, from grandmas to girl-friends. Look for food truck-inspired finds like waffle friesand tacos, comfort food clas-sics like potpies and meat

loaf, and standard bar foodeats — the menu offers awide reach.

274 Main St., Farmingdale,516-752-7678, lessings.com, $$

MEXICAN FARE, REGIONALAND OTHERWISE

Don’t be surprised by thetemptation for sangria or amargarita at Caracara MexicanGrill — here since 2011 —where colored ceiling lightsand bouncy tunes can turn aweeknight into somethingmore festive. For a starter orsnack, servers make gua-camole tableside. Continueon with tamales, tacos orenchiladas with rice andbeans. Tortas, or Mexicansandwiches, are served withfries. Brunch also is popular,with breakfast tacos, Mexicanomelets and quesadillas conhuevos.

354 Main St., Farmingdale,516-777-2272, caracaramex.com,$$

Pozole or pork and hominysoup stud the menu at Chichi-mecas, a restaurant from Ale-jandro (Alex) and MariaGonzález that opened in 2012.The couple behind Hunting-ton’s Oaxaca and Quetzalcoatlshow off a serious side ofMexican cuisine. Barbecuefans take note of the Mexican-style mesquite-smoked ribs,chops, pulled pork and smokedchicken dishes that point tothe restaurant’s name.Chichimecas refer to long-agonomads who migrated fromnorthern Mexico, eventuallysettled in the central regionand were known for smokedmeats.

169 Main St., Farmingdale,516-586-8646,chichimecasrestaurant.com, $$

ALSO VISITThe Republic Pub217Main St.Wings over Farmingdale221 Main St.Grecian Grill261 Main St.Dark Horse Tavern273Main St.Cascarino’s Pizza & ItalianRestaurant302Main St.Dominican Restaurant 4305Main St.Ubaldo’s346Main St.

FARMINGDALE from B6

Osso buco with potato gnocchi is one of the popular entrees at Tre Scalini.

Vespa Italian Kitchen and Bar opened in June on Main Street.

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Smokin’ hot in Farmingdale

It’s been a long time coming.At just over a square mile, Farmingdale,

with a population of just under 9,000, hassolid housing stock, good schools, Farming-dale State College, green spaces and easyaccess to highways and the LIRR.

Yet, Main Street had lacked pull, prompt-ing a group of residents to band together,starting in 2006, for some collective soul-searching. The result was a roadmap forsprucing up Main Street, a combination ofstreetscape and facade updates, mixed-usedevelopment and events to attract moreresidents and nonresidents downtown.

A decade after that roadmap, a new build-

ing from the Farmingdale-based BartoneProperties development has debuted nearthe train, which will offer more than 150apartments and 20,000 square feet of retailspace, from a Starbucks that’s now open torestaurants under construction. They in-clude GM Burger Bar from The GeorgeMartin Group and a sushi restaurant fromthe restaurateurs behind MoCA in Wood-bury and ToA in Huntington. A few blocksaway, at 231 Main St., Hauppauge-basedStaller Associates Inc. is building a facilitythat will offer nearly 30 apartments and3,000 square feet of retail space.

—MELISSAMCCART

food newsday.com/food

Village lures new residents as well as restaurants

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