Eats

Graffiti artists now at work in Hewlett

BY JOAN REMINICK
STAFF WRITER

June 3, 2005

GRAFFITI
1326 Peninsula Blvd.,
Hewlett
516-791-2959
(Also at 8285 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury, 516-367-1340)

WHY: The writing is on the plate.

WHEN: Lunch, Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; dinner, Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m., Sunday brunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; closed Mondays for the time being.

HOW MUCH: Appetizers and salads, $7.95 to $11.50; burgers and sandwiches, $8.95 to $12.95; entrees, $15.50 to $20.95; desserts, $6.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Fully accessible

Graffiti, the offshoot of a longstanding Woodbury bistro, fits comfortably into its new digs in a Hewlett strip mall. Smart wood furnishings and an attractive bar make for a setting a bit quieter than the high-ceilinged Woodbury spot. But the restaurant's real draw - at both locations - is a something-for-everyone menu that actually works.

Case in point: I ordered a pita enfolding a tuna salad sparked with chopped green apple, an option unique to the Hewlett location. It turned out to be one sensational sandwich. The same kitchen also sent out sesame-crusted sushi-grade yellowfin tuna that was perfectly seared on the outside, rosy-red within, full of flavor. A few days later, the same dish, sampled in Woodbury, turned out to be no less appealing.

I found plenty of flavor - and crabmeat - in the crab cakes "a la Nicholas," executive chef-owner Nicholas Hannides' appetizer specialty served with greens, julienne carrots and beets and a perky Asian remoulade. A "mu shu chicken hand roll," daubed with hoisin sauce and sliced on the bias, was of credible Chinese restaurant quality.

Salads are enormous, colorful, and the mainstay of the lunch set. My mother-in-law not only adored her exemplary Cobb salad (greens, tomatoes, avocado, hard-cooked egg, chicken, blue cheese, Cheddar, olives and bacon); she ended up making several subsequent meals out of the prodigious leftovers. A goat cheese salad - field greens topped with tomato, spiced walnuts, dried cherries and goat cheese crostini - was as vibrant as it was gratifying. So, too, the "mista" salad of roasted peppers, grilled eggplant, fresh mozzarella balls and sun-dried tomatoes over greens.

Of course, every new restaurant has its shortfalls and inconsistencies. A house-made turkey burger was dry and uninteresting, redeemed by the irresistible slender hand-cut fries served alongside. A teriyaki-glazed slab of Atlantic salmon ordered medium rare arrived woefully overcooked (in Woodbury, a wild salmon fillet was done to specifications). Pan- seared Chilean sea bass with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon and wine was moist and delicate. So was a similarly prepared special of St. Peters fish. A real surprise was the chicken meat loaf with wild mushroom demi-glaze, a hearty, homey preparation.

Although I had a fine house-made banana crisp in Woodbury, the space limitations in Hewlett translated into finales from outside bakers, served with fresh whipped cream. Best was the tart Key lime pie and the creation inexplicably called Vesuvius - cheesecake topped with dark and light chocolate mousse. Hannides said he hopes to expand kitchen facilities, allowing him more dessert creativity - icing on the cake.