Barrington's Tavern and Social Club

Barrington's Tavern and Social Club

160 Adams Ave.

Hauppauge, NY 11788

(631) 951-0026

www.barringtonstavern.com/

Here We Go:  Why, Barrington's, why?  I really wanted to like this place, and the friendly waitress was so spread thin that I couldn't help but not blame her for the mess that was this early dinner.  Why would you have one waitress running an entire floor by herself during dinnertime on a Friday?  Taking orders, running drinks, bringing out apps and entrees, busing tables and checking in on the kitchen all by herself.  Madness!  As a result, the service was painfully slow, the live "band" caused us to scream at one another to be heard (social club??), and our entrees came 40 minutes after ordering, followed several minutes later by our appetizer!  And when the appetizer did come out, it was a blackened burn victim that we boomeranged back to the kitchen.  The manager took care of things, which was nice, but that didn't make up for all of that time.  Not to mention that the food was just ok.  Who just toasts Texas Toast without putting butter on it?

Feast Your Eyes:

Sloppy Texan (eh....)

Tavern Chicken Tenders (no seasoning...blah..)

Taco Bowls (they managed to completely burn one and the top of the other...but still brought them to the table!)

Bottom Line: Skip it like a flat stone on across a pond.

Lo Piccolo

Lo Piccolo

581 Nesconset Hwy.
Hauppauge, NY 11787

http://www.lopiccolos.com/

Here We Go:   Setup in the corner of a shopping center, Lo Piccolo's could easily be overlooked, but the shopping center means that there's plenty of parking.  One side is a pizzeria and the other side is a sit-down restaurant.  Let's be honest, there are those Italian restaurants that blow you away, and then there are places like Lo Piccolo.  It was ok, and the mozzarella sticks were ok, and the salad was a standard ok salad.  The marinara is that bright red color that just let's you know that all you're going to really taste is tomato, which was...ok.  If you're close by and you need a quick meal or a take-out pizza, I guess I could see why you'd stop here, but you sure won't see us there.

Feast Your Eyes:

Mozzarella Sticks

Small Salad

Rice Ball

Penne with Grilled Chicken and Vodka Sauce

 Rigatoni with Marinara and Italian Sausage

Spaghetti with Marinara and Meatballs

Bottom Line:  Skip it and look for a different place that can do better than just ok. 

Tellers

Tellers

605 Main St.
Islip, NY 11751

www.tellerschophouse.com/index.htm

Here We Go:  After passing by Tellers many times but not actually going in I finally decided to give it a try.  The restaurant itself, a bank building, is beautiful and the old vault makes for an interesting atmosphere.  But the food, while good, was not great.  The duck fat fries might as well have been cooked in vegetable oil because you couldn't taste any additional flavor.  The steak was not bad but it failed in comparison to other high end steakhouses on Long Island and the prices were enough for the steak to have been high end.  The sides were actually above average but the service was slow and inconsistent.  After dinner, we stood at the bar waiting for the bartender to appear and eventually we gave up.  The coat room had closed when we left, so we had to find a hostess to open it and get our jackets.  The best thing about Tellers may have been the drinks, which is not saying much for a supposedly high end steakhouse.  

Feast Your Eyes:

Tellers has a great cocktail and wine selection.

Bottom Line:  Not worth it.  Take your money to Blackstone.