TOP 5 Romantic Restaurants

By PETER M. GIANOTTI AND JOAN REMINICK
Newsday Restaurant Critics, January 26, 2007

From Peter M. Gianotti:

Candlelight, soft music, full moon, waves crashing.

But the food better be good.

There are as many ways to define a romantic restaurant as there are those looking for one. Marcello and Sophia? Cary and Grace? Or maybe Sid and Nancy? You think it's easy?

That said, here's a quintet of newer restaurants in Nassau and Suffolk bridging the traditional and the contemporary. The best advice is to reserve early, at these or any other eateries in the running. And if you can't land a table on Feb. 14, just be so excited that you're going Feb. 13 instead.

Jedediah's in Jamesport. A beautifully restored 1863 inn, Italianate in style and now new American in food, this is a winning combo. There are several dining areas, each inviting. Among the recommended dishes: butter-poached lobster, ricotta gnocchi, tuna "three ways," flourless chocolate cake, berry brioche bread pudding. Rooms, too.