Sagaponack
4 West 22nd St., Flatiron, NY
After a recommendation from an Immaculate Board Member (since put on probation, sorry Fred), we headed to Sagaponak, a new-ish restaurant that’s flown under the radar and free of much online buzz or chatter. With an empty stomach and open mind, we went in hoping to find a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, Sagaponak turned out to be less upscale Hamptons and more dirty summer share house. It takes more than a few shells on the wall to transform an otherwise non-descript space into a “beach” restaurant. Courtesy Flush, you definitely want to check out and review the ladies room here, the females at our table couldn’t stop talking about it. Sopranos gone fishing. The service was pleasant, but MIA most of the time. Water glasses remained empty for the majority of the meal and never once were we made to feel like they gave a crap that we existed. We were one of three occupied tables in the restaurant, so where the help was and what they were doing is a mystery to me. Maybe they were playing Pro Kadima in the kitchen.
With the exception of the oysters, which were surprisingly affordable and quite good, the appetizers were a huge disappointment. After those were cleared away the service went dark. Like, we didn’t even see a Sagaponack employee for a solid half hour to forty-five minutes. We hoped that the wait meant that they were putting some extra love into our entrees, but sadly that wasn’t the case. You can read all about the underwhelming Applebee’s fare in the food rundown. Bottom line, there are too many good seafood restaurants in this city to waste your time with Sagaponack. In the same way that families out East will be packing up their homes and closing up shop at the end of the summer, we wouldn’t be surprised to be waving goodbye to Sagaponak for good come September.
Food Rundown:
Mussels
Nine bucks isn’t a bad deal for an appetizer-sized portion of mussels, but don’t let the price fool you. There’s a reason why these are cheap. ‘Cause they suck. The white wine, shallots and garlic sauce was thin and watery and the mussels themselves stank like seawater. Definitely skip.
Crispy Calamari
Oof, another tough hit right here. It sounded great on paper; a crispy calamari with roasted red pepper horseradish and jalapeno tartar. Sadly, the calamari was soft, not crispy and after one piece each, our table had tasted enough.
Cracked Conch
In no way am I an expert in conch, but I’ve gotta imagine it’s not supposed to taste like car tire. These chicken finger looking strips of rubber were pretty disgusting. I guess I ordered the wrong thing from the conch bar.
Oysters
Best thing on the menu. A half dozen Blue Point’s for ten dollars is actually a pretty good deal. Although I’ve spent the better portion of this review telling you to avoid Sagaponack like the plague, if oysters are on your mind, sitting at the bar for a beer and oysters here isn’t a bad option.
Seared Turbot Wrapped In Potato Crust
When done right, this classic dish can be fantastic. It was not. There was no flavor, the potato on the outside was overcooked and the fish on the inside was a bit dry and tasted like nothing.
Lobster Roll
When someone tells me to go to a restaurant to try the lobster roll I listen. I love lobster rolls of all different shapes, sizes and colors. This one was a disaster. Too much bun, not enough lobster, and an unnecessary layer of greens on the bottom. It actually looks pretty good in the twitpic, but looks can be deceiving. Check the soggy salad that came with it too.
Pan Roasted Crispy Skate
The best entree we tasted on the menu. The skate was really well cooked and the corn and tomato succotash and Israeli cous cous that came with it was on point. Too bad we didn’t all order it.
Lensi Organic Pasta With Apple Chicken Sausage
Overcooked pasta, greasy sauce and an overall quality of a dish that would come out of an Applebee’s kitchen.
Pan Roasted Chicken
I had roasted chicken on United Airlines a couple weeks ago that was better than this. Even the tasty Israeli cous cous couldn’t save it.
