Flour + Grain pasta pop-up takes over Brownstones in Sayville
Ricotta-and-pork-filled agnolotti with corn, fava beans and crisp guanciale was among the pastas served at Eric LeVine's September pop-up, Flour + Grain, in Sayville. Credit: Eric LeVine
Eric LeVine has a jones for pasta that he cannot fully satisfy in Farmingdale. The chef-partner of 317 Main always has a few pasta dishes on his menu, but any more, he said, risks competing with the group’s other Farmingdale venue, Vico, an Italian restaurant that specializes in pizza and pasta.
"We try to keep the lines from crossing," he said.
And so he began to look for a way to dip his toe into the pasta water at a safe distance from Farmingdale. His search ended when he hooked up with the owners of Brownstones Coffee in Sayville, which serves breakfast and lunch every day but is empty at dinnertime.
LeVine’s first "Flour + Grain" popped up at Brownstones for three nights in September — and sold out within three days. He's back with Flour + Grain 2.0, scheduled for Dec. 4 to 6.
Pastas, all made from scratch, will include agnolotti with spinach, guanciale and herb-ricotta sauce; porcini ravioli with roasted garlic and arugula; and sweet-potato gnocchi with pulled pork, roasted apples, chestnuts and sage-butter.
So much for "flour." LeVine will also prepare three grain-forward dishes: lemon-tomato risotto with basil shrimp and spinach, ginger tuna with "forbidden" black rice and baby bok choy and Parmesan polenta with roasted chicken and charred broccolini. Mains range from $24 to $28. There are also starters and flatbreads.
In between the first pop-up and this one, the chef traveled to Italy for the first time and developed an even greater passion for pasta. He also picked up some new techniques, such as toasting the pepper for his cacio e pepe.
This fall, LeVine's focus is entirely back on Long Island. In April he opened two restaurants, Evolution and Blackbird, at the new 42 Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In August, he said, the collaboration had ended.
Flour + Grain pops up Dec. 4 to 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Brownstones Coffee, 229 W. Main St., Sayville. Reservations are required. For more information or to book a table, go to Instagram: @flour.grain.
