ANTHONY’s KITCHEN & COCKTAILS 10 MAR 2022

By LONG ISLAND WINE DAD March 16, 2022

We were looking for a local place for dinner and landed on a relatively new place named Anthony’s Kitchen & Cocktails in Belmore. It is on the Northside of Merrick Rd. next to Oz General Contracting, replacing the Morpheus Greek restaurant (Figure 1). The inside is modest and still has the Greek Restaurant vibe, a fun family place (Figure 2). We opened with a round of drinks which included a fine Cosmopolitan and a Woodford Reserve™ on the rocks; both were generous pours (Figure 3). The cocktail and wine menu is a deep list of the classic drinks and a good selection of wine both by the glass and bottle. The prices were remarkably moderate. The beverage menu should be added to their website, allowing folks to map out what they will be enjoying that night. The food menu is straightforward, with a broad selection of traditional Italian favorites (Figure 4).

For starters, we had the Shrimp Cocktail and Grandma’s Meatball. The Shrimp Cocktail consisted of five medium-size shrimp on a bed of mixed greens accompanied by cocktail sauce (Figure 5). Grandma’s Meatball is large enough to share, beef only, Meatball resting on a simple marinara sauce and accompanied by a generous dollop of Ricotta cheese and some shredded lettuce (Figure 6). The Meatball was tender, juicy, good flavor, and well worth revisiting.

For mains, we had the Grandma’s Veal (Figure 7) and the Stuffed Veal Chop (Figure 8). Grandma’s Veal is a perfectly cooked generous portion of thin coated Veal. The accompanying sauce, wine, and lemon with butter and diced tomatoes. Plated with the Veal was sautéed spinach that complimented the Veal perfectly. The stuffed Veal was a large veal chopped pocketed and filled with Mozzarella, Prosciutto, and spinach, then finished with a light brown gravy including Mushrooms and Onions. The chop is plated with grilled asparagus and roast red potatoes. One could think of this dish as a slightly lighter take on a Veal Chop Valdostano one of my favorites but at a more modest price. The veal dish was paired with a glass of Dumini Amarone, which was a generous pour and complimented the heavy dish very well.

Regrettably, we had no room for any desserts as the meal was so good and very filling, so we will need to return and explore the dessert the next time. Anthony’s was a pleasant local find and surprise. Good food, good service, good drinks, and all for a very modest price.

We are looking forward to many more visits.