105 Harbor   

In the 17th century, Long Island's whalers knew Van Ausdall's hotel for its good food, strong drink and perhaps as a kindly place to stow one's harpoon over the long, cold winter. Flash forward a few hundred years and you'll find 105 Harbor occupying the same two-story colonial. Renovations have taken their toll on the original structure. The wood floors no longer sound with the clop of peg-legs, but it's still a culinary port of call of the first order. The dining room upstairs is all about the sea, and affords breathtaking views across the bay, while diners tuck into the watermelon seafood ceviche with citrus marinated lobster, shrimp and scallops, organic tomatoes, baby fried green in a grapefruit oil drizzle. The dining room downstairs is best enjoyed in the evening, as the fireplace roars and patrons tuck into macadamia hoisen rack of lamb with roasted shallot-whipped potatoes, wood-roasted asparagus, tropical fruit salsa, passion fruit demi-glace in a curry oil drizzle. Both dining rooms are elegant, with their brass sconces and flawless wainscoting. The weekend brunch is spectacular; the separate bar, which also has a fireplace, is big enough to accommodate a shipload of whalers, should they e'er return.