Reviews
 
 

 
        The New York Times, Sunday June 6, 2004  By Joanne Starkey
       
  “Yes, There Is Extraordinary Dining on L.I.” That was the headline five years ago on a review of Panama Hatties in Huntington Station. It could be used today. In my 18 years of reviewing, this is the only restaurant to receive so high a rating. Before my tenure, one extraordinary rating was achieved: by A Moveable Feast, a Westhampton establishment that was given the accolade in 1976 and closed in 1978.
     Panama Hatties is very much alive and continues to wow Long Island diners. But all has not been static these last five years. A year and a half ago, Stacey and Richard Gertz, who had owned the place since 1987 and transformed it from a casual pub-style spot to a dining destination, decided to sell and move to Florida. Fortunately, Matthew Hisiger their executive chef, bought it. He has since elevated his sous chef, Kent Monkan, to the position of chef de cuisine.
    A few months before the sale, I had a meal at Panama Hatties that was rather flat. That must have been a transitional time for the restaurant. Today, it is once more on target and blowing diners away with its creative dishes and sure service
    This spring, Mr. Hisiger initiated two diner-friendly policies. One is an a la carte menu that is offered Sunday through Thursday evenings.
(On Fridays and Saturdays, the $65 three-course prix fixe menu is still in place.) Penny-wise diners now have more options for enjoying a meal. When on my own dime, I often choose two appetizers, a move that is not only economical but more interesting because openers are often the most creative picks on the menu.
    Another tactic now open to patrons is to order only a main course and make due with the restaurant’s free nibbles. In Panama Hatties’ case that includes marvelous homemade rolls, hot and steaming from the oven. The restaurant also offers a free mouthful at the beginning of the meal
(a recent one was thin slivers of salmon atop a Parmesan crisp over sea beans in a gingered, sweet red pepper emulsion) and a free plate of homemade cookies and candies at the end.
    An even better bargain is the new $21 three-course lunch served weekdays from noon to 2 p.m. The choices on the menu are not the often-seen second-stringers like omelets, burgers and wraps but regular dishes that appear in the evening. (Sea scallops, filet mignon and profiteroles were among them)
    Patrons of Panama Hatties first see a lovely foyer with green marble, bouquets of flowering branches and an inviting fireplace. Dining rooms are as elegant as those initial impressions. The décor is classic and understated, with small, black-shaded flickering lanterns on the tables and architectural drawing and Roman paintings on the walls.
    The service staff is efficient, warm, concerned and never condescending. There are no haughty waiters here, just well trained professionals who not only get everything right but also take time to be friendly.
    It is the food, though, that continues to dazzle. The menu changes frequently, and many of the dishes we enjoyed may not be offered again. We encountered no duds. The “bests listed here are a matter of personal preference. Check out the soups. The two I sampled were show-stoppers. Imagine a creamy, smooth clam bisque with an island of kimchee-marinated cabbage supporting a sugar-cane skewer holding two grilled shrimp. The other magnificent soup was a sherried lobster bisque with a mound of braised celery, leeks and lobster meat topped with a large white-bean tortelloni.
    Also keep your eyes open for a special starter of pepper-seared ostrich surrounded by airy goat cheese gnocchi, wild ramps and Portobello mushrooms in a brandy cream sauce. Appetizers from the menu that were particularly fetching were the diver sea scallops; the butter-poached lobster atop a ragout of baby artichokes, fiddlehead ferns and crimini mushrooms; and a light, tasty lump crab meat and avocado salad. And where else does a chef’s salad translate to a roasted beef-goat cheese napoleon, a deviled egg topped with caviar and reed-thin green beans entwined and piled into a stack with strips of prosciutto?
     Favorite entrees were the roasted Colorado lamb (both succulent slices and chops) matted with a crisply fried black olive polenta patty; buttery filet mignon crowned with a foie gras ravioli and encircled by a mélange of red pearl onions, salsify and wilted spinach; and a delicious porcini-stuffed guinea hen that was running with juices. It also had great underpinnings: a fingerling potato salad with bacon and napa cabbage.
     Diana Segretto, the pastry chef, was working at Panama Hatties when it was last reviewed, but her creations today are different from those ordered then. I remember a dessert called “Te Starry Night,” which was a triangle of rich chocolate cake serving as the perch for a square of white chocolate painted withtinted chocolate. Desserts on the present menu are not extravaganzas, but they still ring all the right bells. I was especially taken with the satiny crèmes brulees, a tasting of three flavors in mini-ramekins; the honeyed fresh raspberries piled in a hazelnut crust-orange ice cream tart; and the homemade caramelized banana ice cream. And don’t forget the free plate of chocolate-covered strawberries, green apple jellies, chocolate-covered sour cherries, apricot bars and pistachio cookies.
They all did their part in providing a sweet adieu after a nite at this superb restaurant.

Panama Hatties
872 East Jericho Turnpike,
Huntington Station, 351-1727

Extraordinary

Atmosphere
Serene & Sophisticated

Service Friendly Professionals

Sound level  Subdued

Recommended dishes  Clam bisque, lobster bisque, ostrich, crab-avocado salad, sea scallops, butter poached lobster, filet mignon, guinea hen, roast lamb, caramelized banana ice cream, raspberry tart, sampling of crèmes brulees.

Wine List  An impressive, expensive list of 111 still wines ($30-$235) with more bottles over $100 than under $40.

Price range  $65 prix fixe meal offered Friday & Saturday nights. Other nights, appetizers $12 to $22: entrees $27 to $37; desserts $10 to $12. Three course lunch, $21.

Credit Cards All major cards.

Hours Lunch, noon to 2pm. Monday through Friday.  Dinner, 5:30 to 9pm Monday through Thursday, till 10pm. Friday and Saturday 4:30 to 7:30 pm Sunday.

Reservations Necessary

Wheelchair accessibility  Fully accessible

Reviewed by the Times June 6, 2004

The Ratings  Extraordinary, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Satisfactory, Poor.
Ratings reflect the reviewer's reaction to food, ambiance and service, with price taken into consideration.  Menu listings and prices are subject to change.
 
 
 
     Zagat, 2004
     
  Chef (and now owner) Matthew Hisiger is a true culinary artist, combining flavors as a painter would on canvas" say gushing groupies of the "architectural presentations" of "world-class" cuisine served at this New American in Huntington Station; "you'll forget you are in a strip mall" thanks to the "gorgeous" interior, and though the service can be "pretentious", it's "impeccable"; admittedly the set-price dinner is "high", but most "don't mind mortgaging the house for such a "stupendous experience"; NB the above scores don't reflect the recent change of proprietors.  
 
    Zagat, 2003
     
  Chef Matthew Hisiger clearly proves that he is at the top of his game at this "exquisite" Huntington Station gem where he masterminds  "stupendous" New American dishes that are "out of this world", "magnificently" presented in "picture-perfect" arrangements by a "knowledgeable" (if "snooty") staff; it's strip-mall location belies the "suave" ambiance of its "elegant" room, though gourmands feel that dinner would be "worth it even if you sat in the parking lot"; yes, its very "high-priced" but it is "also very high-class."  
 
   The New York Times, Sunday February 14, 1999    By Joanne Starkey
       
  Panama Hatties is a luscious valentine for Long Island, an extraordinary restaurant that continues to improve and reinvent itself.  It has become the Island's No. 1 dining destination.
     In the early 1990's, when foodies discovered this Huntington Station spot, it was an ordinary-looking place with sit-up-and-take-notice food.  At that time, diners first saw a large bar, brass railings and booths.
     But that was then. Stacy and Richard Gertz, who have owned the place since 1997, have executed several renovations and make-overs, the most recent completed just last month. 
The center stage bar, a throwback to the restaurant's pubby past dating to 1984, has been reduced to a slim service facility set against one wall.  The front dining room is now
completely enclosed and separated from the entrance hall.  That foyer with its green marble,
a bouquet of exotic flowers and inviting fireplace provides a sumptuous welcome.
     New too, is a small lounge, separated from the front dining room by velvet drapery, which provides a cozy have where patrons can have a cocktail.  On a busy Saturday, we spent
about five minutes there while our table was readied, long enough for us to enjoy complimentary deviled quail eggs and smoked salmon roulades filled with lobster.
     The rest of the restaurant is as elegant as those first impressions.  The decor is classic
and understated with small, black-shaded, flickering lanterns on the tables; bouquets of fresh flowers peeking form the corners of the rooms, and architectural drawings and Roman paintings on the walls.
     Panama Hatties is a warmer than it once was, and not because of the new fireplace.  The service staff is just as efficient as ever.  It performs a ballet of whisking away used plates, sweeping the table of crumbs after every course, replacing silver and always delivering the correct dishes to the diners who ordered them.  But what's missing is the below-the-surface attitude of "we know best" that was sometimes evident in the past.  These young people are sweet and extremely knowledgeable with no whiff of haughtiness.
     Panama Hatties had never been content to rest on its laurels.  Even after receiving rave reviews in 1992, it did not become complacent.  In one year, from 1994 to 1995, it increased its kitchen staff from 4 chefs to 8.  Now there are 11.  This culinary fire power results in exciting,
picture-perfect plates from the kitchen.
     Blake Verity, the chef who garnered praise in my reviews in 1992 and 1995, left the restaurant in October 1997.  His sous-chef, Matthew Hisiger, was then elevated to top toque.
     Is the food as good? Is it different?
     The answer to the first question is yes. Panama Hatties is still turning out creative fare using first-rate ingredients and precise cooking.
    The answer to the second is harder.  Most diners will see little difference.  Panama Hatties has always served an eclectic cuisine with dishes easily crossing national boundaries.  There may be a few more Asian-inspired appetizers now, like poached lobster atop Asian stir fry
with tiny dice of tofu in a sesame-saffron broth, or rounds of rare tuna escorted by Thai cucumber rolls.
     While diners devour wonderful rolls hot from the oven servers explain the menu.  The
set-price meal is $55 and includes a choice of appetizer, entree, dessert and coffee or tea.  (There are very few supplements.)  Add wine, tax and tip, and a meal here will cost close to $100 a person.
     There is also an offering of pre-appetizers--a plate of oysters, twin giant prawn with a trio
of sauces, a cheese assortment or caviar with the usual accompaniments -- but these extravagances are not needed, for there is plenty of top-notch, satisfying food in the regular meal. (A member of our party with a tiny appetite found that the restaurant will also serve
any appetizer for $14 or entree for $28, a la carte.)
      The meal begins with a complimentary mouthful that might be sturgeon mousse atop puff pastry with dabs of green olive tapenade and a topper of caviar, or crabmeat enfolded in an endive leaf, or a miniature blue-corn tortilla holding bay scallop ceviche atop a nest of baby cilantro.
     The menu changes with the seasons and at the whim of the chef.  Many of the dishes we enjoyed may not be offered again.  We found none wanting and "bests"  listed here are a matter of personal preferences.  On a return visit, I would check out the soups.  I sampled
three and they were all soul-warming, imaginative brews.  A lush potato-kohlrabi potage crowned with sautéed skate wings was wonderful; so, too, was a peeky-toe crab bisque

Panama Hatties
872 East Jericho Turnpike,
Huntington Station,
351-1727

Extraordinary

Atmosphere Sophisticated,      Manhattan-style spot.

Service Super, absent any
hint of haughtiness

Sound level  Subdued

Recommended dishes  All soups, baby greens, lamb shank ravioli, all fish, rack of lamb, duck breast, all desserts.

Wine List  Imaginatively chosen and impressive but lacking moderately priced selections.  There are no whites below $30 a bottle and, aside from the cruvinet's
wines by the glass, only three reds below $40 a bottle.

Price range  $55 prix fixe meal. (a la carte available: appetizers $14, entrees $28.)

Credit Cards All the majors

Hours  5:30 to 10 P.M. Monday thru Saturday, 4:30
to 8 P.M. Sunday.

The Ratings  Extraordinary, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Satisfactory, Poor.

Ratings reflect the reviewer's reaction to food, ambiance
and service, with price taken into consideration.  Menu listings and prices are subject to change.

Reservations Necessary

Wheelchair accessibility 
No steps.
 
 
  with a dill-potato-crab brandade (think of a delicious potato pancake surrounded by a tasty, creamy soup).
     Other highlights among the openers were the fully organic greens above a napoleon of tomatoes and blue cheese with a crisp fried-parsnip basket holding more greens, and a duo of  braised lamb shank ravioli set over a saute of potato, spinach and pumpkin seeds.  Paper-thin circles of fried acorn squash crowned the dish.		  
 
    Newsday, LI Life, Dining Out, Sunday, March 22, 1998      By Peter M. Gianotti
 
  New Chef.  New dishes.  New dining room.  Panama Hatties has changed
and stayed the same too.
     The department if Blake Verity to Louis XVI in Patchogue has led to
the rise of Matthew Hisiger, the restaurant's sous-chef for six years.  And Hisiger has added his elegance signature to the menu.  The food is terrific.
     Panama Hatties itself has expanded, with more space for the weekend spillover and for larger groups.  The answering machine now welcomes you to "Pananma Hatties and Banquet," and "Banquets by" shares the marquee.  "Bridging the gap between fine dining
and catering" advertises the business card.
     The nouvelle, L-shaped dinging area is warmed by a fireplace.  Marble abounds.  And you do have a little more privacy there, though sometimes it can be hard to hear anyone at your table.  The front room is tight and noisy and the lighting bright.  The most desirable spot is still on the back of the original restaurant, near the kitchen.
     Designer neoclassic remains the theme in appointments, from the scones to the illustrations.  The shades are soothing.
     But the mood of the establishment frequently isn't.  Service can be intrusive.  Some waitresses do appear and depart at perfect intervals, but others can interrupt and irritate, sounding as if auditioning haughtily for the culinary lecture circuit.
     You, however, will have plenty to talk about.  The food at Panama Hattie's continues to be an adventure in eating.
     Hisiger's slices of grilled ostrich, lean and lush, cap a turret of warm spinach salad dressed with a bacon-sherry vinaigrette.  Pan-roasted squab tops a delectable white truffle risotto finished with black trumpet mushrooms.
     Peppery, rare tuna rests on frisee, ready for its spirited sidekick of wasabi aioli, a remarkably subtle accent of the Japanese horseradish. 
Seared sea scallops are enriched by a basil cream broth.  Sesame-glazed shrimp, though a bit chewy, get a boost from the soy-orange dressing.
     A warm-weather pleasure is the chilled lobster and asparagus salad, resting on a hillock of tabbouleh, completed with a raspberry vinaigrette.  The wild mushroom ravioli is a mellow choice, in a brandy cream sauce.  

* * * *

Assessment: The Big Show.

Open: Dinner every day. Lunch, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reservations recommended weekdays, necessary weekends.

Price Range: Fixed-Price dinner, $48.00; tasting menus, $55 and $75. Fixed-price lunch, $25. Major credit cards accepted.

Directions: South side, less than two miles east of Route 110.

Wheelchair Access: One level.

Four stars mean outstanding; three, excellent; two, very good; one, good; none, fair or poor.

 
 
  Towers of rosy, grilled venison, at attention like twin Citicorps, are accompanied by a savory puree of root vegetables, pumpkin spaetzle, and glossed with ta Port wine sauce.  The tender, pan-roasted buffalo strip is a juicy alternative to beef, complemented by a sweet potato-pecan combo and caramelized onion jus.
     Hisiger's grilled beef tenderloin, with a Vidalia onion tartlet and vinous jus, however, provides a royal ample competition.  The roasted rack of Australian lamb, with a ragout of napa cabbage, white beans and black olives, is excellent.  Likewise the double-cut pork chop with cipollini and a hint of green apple.
     A green peppercorn sauce spurs the deftly grilled, meaty duck breast.  Chicken breast, moist and flavorful, leaves the realm of the ordinary with a wild mushroom-and -spinach stuffing and a truffled potato charlotte.
     Grilled Pacific swordfish, which you'll be advised isn't endangered, arrives thick, moist and expertly prepared.  Outstanding sautéed Chilean sea bass swims in a saffron-coconut broth.
     Panama Hatties offers a cheese plate, with up to six tastes, including good Edel de Cleron, similar to a raw-milk French; ripe Yolo from the Pyrenees; and Saint-Maure, a satisfying goat cheese from the Touraine.
     All the fare at Panama Hatties is artful and presented with flair.  But the desserts are showtime.  And, if each one isn't always perfection, they look sensational.
     The exhibition begins with "The Scream," which is truly something to Munch on; a lemon meringue tart flowing from a cookie palette, and a dark chocolate easel holding a witty, and edible, reproduction of the painting.  It's Long Islands first expressionist sweet.
     "The City View" is a chocolate-pecan tart with bourbon ice cream, crowned with a tribute-in-cookie to the Manhattan skyline.  And the fruit soup sorbet, which tasted only satisfactory one time, is  superb another, with scoops of mango, kiwi and raspberry afloat, and curls of toasted coconut.
     The banana "kroquant" is cut on a deep bias to expose nutty, fruity ice cream.  Apple crumb cake is a seductive essay in geometry, from the dried apple chips to the A-frame cookies.  White Chocolate caramel cheesecake is richness defined.