For those looking for a quick bite or a chunk of comfort food, a brand new eating choice has opened west of Southampton Village. Raindrop’s Café, a farm-to-desk restaurant owned and operated by the Shinnecock Indian Nation individuals, celebrated its reliable opening over Memorial Day weekend with raffles, tastings, and a craft market.
But even a month before its official opening, fanatics of Raindrop’s fusion cuisine, which merges traditional Shinnecock fare with current favorites, were already settling into the café’s secure confines within the white building placed behind Raindrop’s Quick Stop on Montauk Highway.
Bryan Polite is the owner of the café and the top roaster at Raindrop’s Coffee, which is produced on the website at the rear of the building. Deana Smith serves because of the eating place’s operational supervisor, managing all the front house operations. Samantha Sosa is the culinary professional in the kitchen. It’s there that she whips up small bites in conjunction with soups, stews, sandwiches, and salads, a lot of that are fused with the flavorings and sorts of conventional Native American fare—a menu reflective of the food that all three of them grew up with on the reservation.
“It’s fusion,” Ms. Smith explained during a recent visit to the café. “I used my grandmother’s recipes. She passed away years ago and lived on Heady Creek. She could make clam pie; we might cross and get the clams ourselves and peel potatoes. We preserve it traditional and have brought our very own recipes.”
Among the specific services on the menu is a venison Philly cheesesteak, inspired by the reality that Ms. Smith lived within the City of Brotherly Love as soon as possible.
“It’s marinated venison with onions, mushrooms, and cheese,” she said.
Other offerings at Raindrops include omelets, French toast, sandwiches, Native nachos (frybread topped with venison, turkey, red meat or vegetarian chili, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and butter cream), succotash, samp (a corn-based totally Native dish), seafood chowder, burgers (turkey or pork), and a “three Sisters Carving Board” offering grilled squash, green beans, and corn chips with corn and bean hummus. The café may also serve Shinnecock-raised oysters in season.
“This has been years in the making,” said Mr. Polite, who is involved in the café commercial enterprise after working as a police officer for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe in Connecticut and attending regulation school for a year.
“I became making plans to go back to high school, then I got into horticulture and the science behind coffee roasting,” explained Mr. Polite, who makes use of the identical roaster that has been in his circle of relatives for the reason that mid-1990s. “I fell in love with getting my hands in the earth and looking at the expression of people after they revel in the result of your hard work.”
In addition to generating the espresso that’s packaged and bought at Raindrop’s Café, Mr. Polite has also operated a natural farm at the back of the construction. While creating regionally sourced, excessively high-quality dishes is the number one attention at the brand new restaurant, he notes that Raindrop’s Café is ultimately making connections with the community.
“I desired to create an area where people could experience suitable food and terrific conversation. That’s what espresso is about, and I see it as a subculture of the region,” said Mr. Polite, who learned the espresso business from his mom, Dianne Vieira. “We want this vicinity to be an educational platform for the outdoor community.”
Raindrop’s Café has already grown to be something of a network and cultural hub to that stop. In April, the eating place became the “Game of Thrones” very last episode party. In early June, Raindrop’s hosted a meet and greet breakfast event with individuals of the Southampton Town Democratic Committee and candidates jogging for neighborhood office.
Months in advance, an outdoor craft fair and other occasions frequently take place behind the café. So prevent this by using and spoting what’s cooking!
“We’re excited and positive, and for this summer,” stated Ms. Smith.
Raindrop’s Café is located at 40 Montauk Highway in Shinnecock Hills and is housed inside the white building behind Raindrop’s Quick Stop comfort keep. Summer hours are 6 a.m. To four p.M. For more information on the upcoming occasion
