Raoul Kamath

Review of 75 Main Group

Another victim of the overblown tourism cannibaliz...

Another victim of the overblown tourism cannibalizing the Hamptons. They do not have gluten-free options readily available - so call before making the trip over to confirm.

We happened to be in the area, confirmed that they had gluten-free options, let them know that one member of our group suffers from Celiac (i.e. don't mess with it!), and specifically ordered everything to be gluten-free, including the salads.

They took approx 30-35 minutes to prepare our order, which was fine for the size of our group (3 adults, 4 kids), and after paying the overpriced bill, we headed home, approx. 15-20 minutes away, in heavy traffic due to Labor Day weekend.

When we got home, we found one item that was not gluten-free. We called and spoke to someone who said it would be fine to come back and that they would prepare the gluten-free option and have it ready for us (it was 7:45pm by now).

This is where it gets interesting...

I reach the restaurant at 8pm, and hand the incorrect item back to the girl who took our order. She becomes defensive and even goes as far as to say that she was specifically told that we wanted 2 gluten-free pastas, and one NON-gluten-free spaghetti. Thankfully for her, the manager took over, apologized and said they would fix it. It is 8:15pm now.

Time keeps ticking and they ask me to wait outside (for my convenience of course). It's 8:30pm, and no-one has given me any update, so I go in and ask. The smiley hostess says (without even checking with the kitchen) that it will be ready in a couple of minutes :-))))

At 8:45pm I'm starting to really lose it - I go back in and offer to cook the pasta myself - we're talking about plain pasta with red sauce - 5-10 minutes tops when I do it at home. Now I'm told that they had to go out to buy GF pasta, and that the chef wants it to be perfect. It's been too long now so I figure I might as well wait.

5 minutes, later still nothing. I ask one of the servers who the manager is. He tells me it's the same person I've been speaking with, so that's no help. He offers to check directly with the kitchen - this is the first time I get any sense that the restaurant gives a hoot about what I'm dealing with. The server continues to follow-up with me, lets me know it's almost done, and that he is going into the kitchen to wait until it's ready.

8:55pm or 9pm - I really didn't care anymore - he runs out of the kitchen with the bag in his hand, apologizes profusely, tells me that the manager will probably take it off the bill (they didn't).

I thank him, start walking out to my car, when something doesn't seem right. I check the brown paper bag, the container was not sealed, and all the pasta and sauce is in the bag.

I take it back to him (since I know the manager and hostess are of no use at this point), and he fixes it, double checks that it is secure and I leave.

I get back home by 9:30pm - everyone has finished eating of course except me at this point - and I missed spending the evening with them.

I start to eat "the most complicated gluten free pasta" imagined - and it is cold, undercooked, and tasteless.

I will NEVER expose anyone to this sham ever again...

Recommendation to 75 Main: Read The New Gold Standard - Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company