Rest assured you can still get Chef Scott Kampf’s popular burgers at Union Burger Bar in Southampton, indoors or out. But a sizeable portion of the building is now devoted to more refined dining in the well-appointed Union Sushi & Steak.
Here Jon Bon Jovi’s Hampton Water rosé flows and every element of the white-tablecloth experience is in place: live music from a baby grand played by a young woman in an evening gown; black and white details throughout a room with walls of calm blue; private table areas defined by wispy white curtaining; luxurious, individual lavatories upstairs.
Ian Duke and David Hilty—restaurateurs who are also behind Southampton Social Club and Lucky’s Famous Burgers in New York—have really set the scene. One might now dream of high-class assignations in this former speakeasy.
Such thoughts might be pleasantly interrupted by the arrival of hot buns and European-style butter.
How to make the most of this setting for tasteful excess?
My husband and I were of course tempted by the local offerings on the menu, including Peconic Gold and Blue Point oysters, as well as the signature sushi rolls named for local places, like the Little Plains Roll and the Halsey Neck Roll. To find out what fills these treats you’ll have to stop in (or, okay, visit the website dineatunion.com to see the menu and to order delivery). Montauk Brewing Company Wave Chaser IPA and their Summer Ale, as well as Blue Point Brewing Company Toasted Lager, have all been known to hit the spot in any setting.
But let’s say for funsies that you’re in a mixed marriage between a carnivore and a vegan. Can you enjoy a meal together at this seafood tower of a steakhouse? This is the question my husband Dr. Daniel W. Koontz and I attempted to answer—he went for the meat and I kept my side of the table vegetable-forward. The results are in, we’re still married, and here’s how our public role-playing panned out:
Husband took a decidedly relaxed approach to our exercise by starting with a signature cocktail. The Nadameru Martini features Aviation Gin and earthy Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo Sake from Joto Sake muddled with cucumber and adorned with a serpentine length of dark green cucumber peel. This martini enthusiast pronounced it “very nice.” Nadameru means soothing, after all.
Then he ordered the most traditional of American steakhouse meals possible, starting with a Classic Wedge salad of Iceberg lettuce dappled with bacon chunks and cherry tomatoes and drizzled with Danish bleu cheese dressing. A Certified Angus Beef New York Strip Steak and the house steak sauce came next, with sides of Creamed Spinach and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes that were just right—crisp on the outside, tender within.
Our able server Gerardo wisely recommended a glass of 2018 M. Chapoutier Cotes Du Rhone to accompany the steak. We both found it an apt pairing, though I didn’t indulge in the salty red meat myself (the steak, that is).
I directed my attention to the menu options marked “V” for vegan and went with the Mixed Baby Greens salad to start and the Cast Iron Ratatouille of quinoa, zucchini, summer squash, cremini mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus and tomato in tomato-basil broth. Both dishes were also marked “GF” for gluten-free. The asparagus was my favorite tidbit—three spears planted upright in the center of the main dish raw and then cooked from below and above to roasted perfection.
Though Gerardo described the Chocolate Lava Cake and Apple Tart dessert options as intentionally “petite,” we didn’t have the room to explore another course.
But pear is one of my favorite autumnal flavors. And Poire Williams brandy is always clean and crisp, bracing. We both indulged in a glass. I added a little water to mine to open it up—very refreshing.
Cheers to our Union!
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Stacy Dermont is co-author, with Hillary Davis, of the top-selling regional cookbook and guide to the East End, The Hamptons Kitchen (Norton, 2020). A recognized food and wine authority, Stacy is also super-fun.
Meet Stacy and Hillary at Marilee Foster’s Sagaponack farmstand (730 Sagg Road) on Saturday, October 10, for a socially distanced signing of The Hamptons Kitchen.