Long Island Guide.

Hotels

Jedediah Hawkins Inn

Love this place, it has a picture perfect setting on a quiet country road on Long Island’s North Fork.It is a restaurant and an Inn located inside a beautiful historic house. The restaurant offers american style food and have three seating areas for the restaurant which over look greenery and a nice landscape. The view from my room was breathe taking! If you are looking for some peace and quite and time to relax, this is the place to stay.

Address: 400 S Jamesport Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901

Fox Hollow

The rooms are very spacious. We only spent one night at the hotel and payed a little over $250.00. It has a Great location and is very close to a lot of restaurants. Approximately a five minute drive to Starbuck’s coffee, Panera Bread, supermarket, and TJ Maxx/Homegoods. I received a 10% discount at Rare650, which is an awesome steakhouse about five minutes down the road.

Address: 7755 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury, NY 11797

Allegria Hotel

Depending on the season a room here can run you $250-$650 per night. In my opinion Long Beach is the best beach on Long Island since it is not too busy and is always clean & quiet. The hotel is Oceanside right on the boardwalk.

I rang before hand asking if I can come in earlier to check in. They said ” sure come on down ” I got there at 11am. Check-in is at 4pm, and don’t expect to get your room early. They let me come down there early to wait around and only be checked in at 3:59pm. It does not matter when you show up or what they tell you, they will not have a room for you. Pack a day bag and go to the beach/pool and be prepared; DO NOT hang around nearby thinking the room is ready. Also don’t expect them to call you when your room is ready, though they say they will. 

The wedding reception space is on the same floor as roof deck & pool. That means when there is a wedding, the roof deck pool is closed. 

The hotel is run so poorly but you are really paying for the hotels location. Everything is clean, they have beach passes and towels so you don’t have to plan ahead. However if you want a beach pass there is a fee. If you buy passes at the beach it is  $15 per person per day. The room was a nice size, very clean, bed was fantastic, AC worked well which was great since we stayed during a heat wave. The hotel is very  modern and you can park your car on the road and walk every where your whole stay. Management keep changing recently since they have been struggling financially. Once they get taken over it should solve all of the problems. 

Pros: 
– Beach side. 
– Walking distance to tons of restaurants and supermarket. 
– Friendly pool side bartenders
– Very clean

Cons: 
– No early check in. 
– They only offer a $25 breakfast buffet. You can’t buy single items. 
– The website says infinity pool and shows pictures that don’t look the area but there is no infinity pool. 

– Pool closes when a wedding is going on. 

Address: 80 W Broadway, Long Beach, NY 11561

Best Places to Eat & Drink

Revel Restaurant & Bar

The ambiance is a mix of sophisticated meets Manhattan. After eating at Revel, I now understand why they received a five star diamond award in hospitality. The owner Jim and his lovely wife Francine seem to be involved in the everyday operation and are passionate about their restaurant. The waitress was very knowledgeable on everything on the menu and gave excellent suggestions. In most big restaurants it feels very uninviting and the staff is usually just too busy for you. Eating at Revel felt like you were at home with how extremely sincere and friendly the staff was. For those of you who follow me on snapchat you know I am a foodie who was formally on weight watchers. I really look forward to my meals but the calories have to be worth it and this meal totally was! I took food home and a hour later I found myself in bed eating the leftovers and again in the morning for breakfast!

What I ordered
Drink: 
White Orchid Cosmo – this drink was amazing! It was so cool that they freeze an orchid into an ice cube. The ice cube took over two hours to finally melt and kept the drink chilled throughout the meal. Defiantly Instagram picture worthy!

Appetizers:
Crispy Sriracha Chicken Spring Rolls – If you love buffalo chicken this is defiantly something you should try ordering. 
Braised Short Ribs Crispy Wontons – Cooked to perfection and I loved that you could dip them into a small bowl of onion dip to make them even juicer. 

Main: 
16oz Certified Black Angus Bone-in Kansas City Strip – Hands down the freshest cut of steak I have had in ages! If you visit, I would highly recommend getting any steak if you are a meat lover. The steak was cooked to perfection! I ordered medium rare and it came out perfectly cooked which at so many restaurants they always end up over cooking. This was perfect the second it came out. The steak was topped with black truffle butter which made the steak even more juicy. It included a side of three cheese creamed spinach and 3 large onion rings. 

Address: 835 Franklin Ave. Garden City, NY 11530

Bar Frites

I love this place overall. They have a cute French bistro decor theme and excellent service. They also have outdoor seating when the weather is nice and when it gets chilly outside they put on space heaters.  Even though there’s nothing really to look at but the parking lot and the surrounding shops the food is well worth it. I tend to sit and eat at the bar a lot. 

I’ve pretty much loved everything I’ve ever ordered. My two favorite items on the menu are truffle fries and the Robiola ( truffle oil ) pizza. If you have the chance make sure to upgrade your fries to truffle fries for a small up charge. If you go at night it tends to be a little like cougar central. 

Address: 400 Wheatley Plz, Greenvale, NY 11548

Market Bistro

What I love about Market Bistro is they bring farm fresh procure that was grown on Long Island straight to the table. Even though they are located in a strip center don’t judge a book by its cover. The food was delicious! If you love sweets make sure to order a dessert. It was the best part of my meal. 

Address: 519 N Broadway, Jericho, NY 11753

Dough Hut

I’ve been going to Long Beach during the summer for years and I’m only discovering this place now! It’s a cute little doughnut shop that’s perfect for post beach snacks. You always see all these fancy donut shops all over the country but besides Dunkin Donuts, the Dough Hut is possibly the only donut shop I’ve been able to come across on Long Island. My favorite is the fruity pebbles. Make sure to get there early as a lot of donuts sell out. 

Address: 891 W Beech St, Long Beach, NY  11561

Farm Stands

Youngs Farm Stand

Most farm stands are located out east in Suffolk but this true gem is located in Nassau County.  It is a farm stand, bakery, gourmet shop, and a little bit of a gift shop too and has been around as long as I can remember. I have been coming here since I was a kid for oatmeal cookies. It definitely can be a little pricey but I find that a lot of farm stands are pricey. It’s not for your everyday vegetables but if your looking for a great dessert to bring while attending a party, well you must go here!

Fun fact: A lot of TV shows and movies are filmed here such as The Jim Gaffigan show and The Wolf of Wall Street staring Leonardo Dicaprio

Address: 91 Hegemans Ln, Glen Head, NY 11545

Briermere Farms

Everyone on Long Island says it’s worth the trip for one of there pies. They aren’t lying! Hands down the best fresh blueberry and strawberry Creme pie I’ve ever had. It’s almost like crack! This pie will set you back approximately $35 and all the pies from Briermere Farms are drool worthy! If you are passing by this area, you have to stop. This is an adorable farm stand that sells pies, baked goods, fresh plants, flowers, and local produce.

Address: 4414 Sound Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901

Long Beach Farmers Market

Make sure you stop by the pickle stall and pick up a jar of honey mustard pickles. Hands down the best pickles I have ever had in my life. The market offers a wide variety of organic vegetables, fresh fruits, juices, pasta, pickles, seafood, cakes  and cookies.

Address: Kennedy Plaza, 1 West Chester Street, Long Beach NY
Hours: May 4 through November 23, 2016
Saturday Hours: 9:00 AM – 2:00pm
Wednesdays Hours:  9:00 A.M – 2:00pm

Coffee Shop:

Southdown Coffee

Probably the only coffee shop on Long Island that you can get that typical ” blogger ” latte art. Super cute small local place with seating that reminds you of all the coffee spots in Manhattan.  Their maple latte is one of my favorites!  

Address: 210B Wall St, Huntington, NY  11743

Activities: 

Martha Clara Vineyard

For those that have young children in the family you want to spend time with and still want to be able to have a sip of wine this is the place to go! In the pens out back there are a ton of animals including sheeps, goats, and turtles. There is also an area where people can play cornhole.   All summer long they run a ton of events so make sure to check the website before heading out there. I know absolutely nothing about wine but the person pouring the wine was very knowledgeable. A tasting will cost about $15 for red

Cons: No outside food allowed.
Pros: Dog Friendly

Address: 6025 Sound Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901

LIV Vodka

Who knew they grew potatoes on Long Island? Who knew they made vodka out of them? LiV Vodka — aka Long Island Vodka is an 80 proof, all potato-based vodka. I did a tasting flight of a few different flavors and Strawberry was my favorite! Don’t forget, you can take your LIV shot glass home as a souvenir. 

Address: 2180 Sound Avenue, Calverton, NY 11933