Nick and Tonis Restaurant, Hamptons, NY
In an area of sought-after real estate, Nick & Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton is widely recognized as the most sought-after restaurant on Long Island. Executive chef Joe Realmuto came to Nick and Toni’s as a line cook right out of culinary school 14 years ago, went back to Manhattan where he worked at a number of restaurants including several of BR Guests establishments, then returned to Long Island and Nick and Toni’s in 1996.
“I came here for the summer and fell in love with the fact that you had local guys coming in the back door with local fish, there was a big garden out back, and you get to deal with the local farmers, there was a real farm to table connection, which really fascinated me because people don’t normally think about where the food is coming from, and there’s this whole movement on paying attention to quality bringing restaurants up to the next level.”
Realmuto is currently the executive chef for all of the Honest Management Company establishments, including Nick & Toni’s, which received a three star review from The New York Times in 2001. The company’s other restaurants include Nick & Toni’s Café, Rowdy Hall, Villa Italian Specialties and La Fondita, a Mexican restaurant. Nick and Toni’s menu changes seasonally, often using produce grown in Nick & Toni’s own one-acre organic garden.
“There are ups and downs to being at a seasonal restaurant. Ups are, you have a lot of time to be creative in the winter, and do what you want to do. You have time for yourself, you’re not in that constant grind. But the downfall is you have to hire an entire staff, train them, then 8 weeks later let them go. From July 4th to Labor Day, every day is a Saturday. You go from doing 30 covers on a Thursday, to this time a year we’re doing 360 covers.”
Jeff Salaway (Nick was his nickname in college) and Toni Ross, a husband and wife team, met in Italy and started the restaurant 18 years ago. Toni’s father was Steven Ross, founder of Time Warner, so he had the connections with the movie industry and the stars that were coming here. It didn’t take long before the restaurant became known for its celebrity clientele. “When people came in they felt welcome,” says Realmuto. “For us it’s about family, and that whole side of the celebrity thing has always been that way - we always try to give them as much privacy as we can. “
When Salaway passed away in 2001 in a tragic, accidental car accident, the future of the restaurant group was never in question. People like Joe and Toni, and many others who had been working there for years, stayed together and kept the restaurant running.
Chef de Cuisine Patrick Fromm grew up in nearby Amagansett on the East End of Long Island, and worked for several Manhattan restaurants before returning to Long Island where he worked at restaurants such as the Lure at the Independent,and The Laundry with Executive Chef Andrew Engle. In 2002 Fromm was offered the executive chef position at Bamboo Restaurant and Sushi Lounge in East Hampton, where he worked for three years before coming to Nick and Toni’s in 2005.
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