La Motta’s: La Mottas offers Oriental favorites with U.S. twist

By Carol Brock

Grandpa La Motta, in the Fulton Fish Market for 40 years, had the canopy towed to the head of Manhasset Bay to shade a fuel dock. Later he used it to block his hot dog/hamburger snack bar and patio from the sun. In 1993, it was lifted off and La Motta’s was built around it. The effect? Stunning.

We were seated on the shaded terrace, the fresh air room, sipping iced tea, taking in the marina scene and deciding on our order. The menu is modern American with global leanings. Five years back, when the Japanese craze hit, Asian dishes were added. Everybody loved them, and they’re still there. (Interestingly, La Motta’s has three chefs and not one is Asian.)

I, too, fell under La Motta’s Oriental spell and not by design. It just evolved: Tokyo tuna tartar with diced tuna in ginger soy dressing just had to be my appetizer. A small rectangular dish held a precisely made patty of bits of raw tuna and diced cucumber. Creamy and pale green, with Topeka wasabi dressing in a corner compartment, it was chopstick-licking good.

For an entree, under the listing Pasta Bowls, linguini in white clam sauce with sautéed baby clams and garlic wine sauce sounded tempting. With experience-driven executive chef Ron Labu, it’s double clam — chopped clam sauce and tiny clams in shell. Whole garlic cloves, plump and buttery, are plentiful and there’s chopped garlic, too, in the white wine sauce. The linguini, a 1/4-inch wide, tasted more Oriental than occidental beneath the dusting of fresh, powder-sized, parsley.

An arugula salad was a taste/texture discovery, Here, the arugula was the tiniest and so delicate with roasted red peppers, gorgonzola cheese, black olives and a plum tomato vinaigrette. Banana spring roll, a terrific version with an ultra-crisp wrapper and a cinnamon drenched filling, was a clincher. To be perfectly honest, we ordered a third dessert, vanilla gelato. Luscious, but not too different from La Motta’s vanilla ice cream. The demitasse added a sip of Italy.

Other items with a Far East twist are: Crackling calamari with hoisin marinade and a coconut aioli dipping sauce, Chicken Sante Fe spring rolls with diced chicken and andouille sausage with beans, corn and pepper jack cheese with chipolte avocado dressing. As for entrees, there’s drunken fire pot shrimp — fiery shrimp served with Polynesian simmered soba noodles, and tuna aji maki — pan-seared yellow-fin tuna, sweet Japanese mirin and wasabi cream over soba noodles.

As Oriental as my dinner evolved, my companion’s came off very American, seaside restaurant. Clam chowder bread bowl was the starter with New England clam chowder served in a round, hollowed out loaf under the toasted lid. The chowder? Uniquely tan with red and green peppers, onions and celery. His entree was a special of filet of sole, cleverly presented with three rolls radiating from a rice hub with corn on the cob, his requested side. As for dessert, a cut of pecan pie, à la mode of course, two scoops. Lights popped on across the bay. Time for an American coffee, regular.

La Motta’s very American “Dockside Offerings” are: New York Sirloin, mashed potatoes and tumbled onions; marinated spa chicken, jasmine rice and mescaline greens, black diamond pork chops, French cut with red onion marmalade; half crispy duck with Vermont maple chili glaze, jasmine rice and vegetable slaw; chicken Parmigiana with fresh mozzarella and linguini marinara; and mesquite baby back ribs with rice and slaw. It’s a unique, avant garde, East/West seaside menu for diners and those docked at La Motta’s marina.

The Bottom Line

Fresh air room with awning. Views of Manhasset Bay marina. Inside room under historic umbrella with vintage boat collection. Unique American menu with global influences. Wait staff with charm.

La Motta’s

Manhasset Bay Marina

10 Matinecock Ave.

Port Washington

516 944-7900

Chef’s Choices

Port Salad (California greens, gorgonzola cheese, roasted pecans, dried cherries, honey mustard dressing)…$6.50

Crackling Calamari (hoisin marinated with coconut aioli dipping sauce)…$9.50

Tuna Tartar (Diced tuna in ginger soy dressing with Topeka wasabi)…$10.50

Lobster and Shrimp Pasta Bowl (gemelli pasta, lobster, shrimp, broccoli with pink zinfandel sauce)…$19.50

Chilean Seabass (miso marinated, served with leek spatzel)…$22

Black Diamond Pork Chops (French cut chops, red onion marmalade, sweet Yukon mashed potatoes, tumbleweed onions)…$19.50