New York restaurants making deliveries to the Hamptons amid a coronavirus pandemic

New York City restaurants are doing their best to survive the pandemic, including launching deliveries 90 miles away from the Hamptons.

Restaurants, from the American bistro The Smith to Michelin-starred Carbone, have been making the trip to the East End of Long Island in an effort to serve customers who fled the city during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Smith launched its Hampton delivery service just Friday two weeks ago, with $ 9 fresh fries to start. The trick is to cook them halfway and provide the customer with detailed instructions, as well as a frying thermometer and oil, to finish them.

“Who wants to eat soaked potatoes?” jokes Jeff Lefcourt, founder and CEO of Corner Table Restaurants “The Smith”.

Other takeaway items, transported in a refrigerated truck, include $ 12 roasted Brussels sprouts and $ 19 macaroni and cheese, which must be heated before eating. The restaurant also offers raw foods, such as fish and meat, that can be cooked at home with in-house seasonings like pepper fillet sauce, chimichuri, and lemon aioli.

His $ 38 burger kit, for example, features four short rib-grill-ready rib empanadas, along with a variety of accessories like bacon shallot jam, crispy onions, American cheese, Smith burger sauce, pickles habanero, small lettuce and potato buns.

Smith’s specialty cocktails, such as cucumber margaritas, are also on the menu.

Delivery is free for all orders over $ 250. Otherwise, it costs $ 19.99. Service could continue after the pandemic ends if demand is strong enough, Lefcourt said.

Last month, the famous Greenwich Village Carbone magnet, known for its old-school classics like spicy rigatoni and parmigiana beef, launched a delivery service to the Hamptons in the form of a box that cost $ 500, which served three meals for a family of four, depending on “how much you eat,” the source said.

The boxes were different every week, with a combination of homemade pasta. exclusive sauces and dressings. Dishes to reheat included porcini, beef lasagna, and chicken scarpariello.

They were prepared at the Italian restaurant and driven to a central and “convenient” location in the Hamptons where customers came to pick them up without contact. The restaurant offered just 100 boxes, and buyers had to commit to four weeks.

However, the popular service ended last week to make room for Carbone’s next experiment in Hampton: a new pop-up window opening this Wednesday (see box).

“Four-week home delivery was a fun way to engage our customers in the East until we opened the pop-up window, which we are opening because many of our customers currently live in the East, and we want to be there to serve them. “A source from Carbone said.

Of course, seasoned New Yorkers like Carlos Carvajal know that you can ship anything to the Hamptons, including take-out food at the restaurant, if you receive your order at the Jitney instead of an apartment.

The Jitney, which still offers bus service to the Hamptons, offers packages for between $ 35 and $ 55, depending on size.

Carvajal, a lawyer in the city’s fashion and nightlife space, recently used the Jitney for a large order from Sarge’s Delicatessen & Diner on Third Avenue from Manhattan to Southampton, where he has been quarantined with his wife and in-laws. .

“Surprisingly, there are no Jewish delicatessen in the Hamptons,” said Carvajal.

They asked for $ 250 from “the usual suspects” – pastrami, corned beef, matzo soup, and knives – and he picked it up three hours later. “It wasn’t very hot, but it was really good and a great change of pace.”