Franco Russo, who was executive chef at Saracen for seven years, will preside over the kitchen at Matto, a new casual Italian trattoria to open in the North Main Street, East Hampton, space that once held the Taste of Italy pizzeria.

Mr. Russo and Lidia Buonanno, who is new to the business, will be partners in the restaurant, which will serve thin-crust pizzas as well as a variety of pasta dishes and other Italian specialties.

Ms. Buonanno said she sought to create the kind of unpretentious, reasonably priced, “very European” style eatery that she has looked for out here, for a laid-back night out with groups of friends.

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner year round, and will have an area for placing and picking up take-out orders.

Extensive renovations and redecorating are taking place. Matto, which means “crazy” in Italian, is expected to be ready for an opening day in late May or early June.

Muse in Water Mill

Matthew Guiffrida is the chef-owner of Muse, a restaurant opening in the space once occupied by Paloma’s in the Water Mill shopping center. Mr. Guiffrida was most recently the chef at the Patio in Westhampton Beach, and worked previously at Collage in Huntington and the Inn at Quogue.

The renovated space includes a 250-gallon saltwater fish tank that is the bar top, a water wall, and a candlelit chandelier in the bar area, with seating for 48 in the dining room. The menu will include “small bites” ranging from $10 to $18 such as “Tuna Palooza,” tuna cooked four different ways, and curried honey and soy-seared scallop lollipops.

Entrees will range from $20 to $34 and include wasabi pea-crusted Long Island duck au poivre, and a horseradish and Gorgonzola-crusted New York strip steak. A bar menu will be available as well.

JL Turns to Prime 103

Ed (Jean-Luc) Kleefield says Prime 103, which will take the place of his JL East restaurant in East Hampton, will be the “penultimate fun and modern steakhouse,” with “casual but snappy, four-star service.”

The chef will be Bryan Cheewing, who trained with Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Vong in New York City, was executive chef at George Martin, another steakhouse, and then launched James on Main, both in Southampton. The menu will include a wide variety of prime steaks and an “unending assortment of side dishes,” among other choices.

The Prime 103 lounge will have its own menu and a sushi bar, with service until 2 a.m., and music during early dinner hours. The Annie Morgan Band has been booked for every Friday throughout the summer. Prime 103, which has already hosted a private party for Christian Wolffer, will open to the public on Mother’s Day weekend.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo celebrations will take place at La Fondita in Amagansett, which will offer traditional Mexican holiday dishes on Saturday, such as chicken in red molé sauce, pork tamales, and a mixed seafood cocktail, and at Almondito restaurant in Wainscott.

To celebrate both the holiday and its second anniversary, Almondito will offer $5 margaritas and $5 bocaditos, or “little bites” at the bar from 6 p.m. tomorrow through Sunday, and add some Cinco de Mayo dishes to its specials menu.

Kentucky Derby Party

Saturday is Kentucky Derby day and, to celebrate, Cittanuova in East Hampton will serve mint juleps along with complimentary Southern sliders at the bar, offer a prize for the best ladies’ hat, and have a raffle for a Woodford Reserve golf bag.

The derby races, which start at noon, with the main race getting under way at 6 p.m., will be shown on three flat-screen TVs.

Loire Valley Wines

The pair behind Almond and Almondito will pair food and wine for a Loire Valley wine dinner at Almond in Bridgehampton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Jason Weiner, the executive chef, will provide a five-course tasting menu, with items such as terrine of rabbit and sweetbreads, striped bass, scallops, leg of lamb, and a banana dessert, while his partner, Eric Lemonides, has chosen wines to complement the food. Reservations are required for the dinner, which will cost $70 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Harbor Bistro

The Harbor Bistro on Three Mile Harbor in Springs opens for the season tomorrow. Dinner will be served Thursday through Sunday until the end of May, when the restaurant will be open all week long.

Aqua East in Montauk reopens tomorrow as well. Between 5 and 6 nightly, the restaurant will have half-price drink specials and will offer a three-course prix fixe for $29.

Also in Montauk, Fishbar, which overlooks Lake Montauk on East Lake Drive, opens tonight for its second season. Dennis MacNeil, the new chef, is an East End veteran of places including the Laundry and Peconic Coast, and has added some new dishes to the restaurant’s Mediterranean meat and fish choices, and homemade pastas, such as Tuscan onion soup, slow-cooked spicy calamari Portuguese, mixed mushroom ravioli, and a “Roman Fava bean fest.”

Fishbar, which has a Web site at fishbarmontauk.net, will serve dinner on Thursday through Sunday, and Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Beer With Dinner

The Southampton Publick House will pour its own brews at its annual beer dinner next Thursday night. Hors d’oeuvres and cheeses will be served during a beer sampling hour from 7 to 8 p.m., and then four courses will be paired with different beers.

Items on the menu include oysters, brie wrapped in phyllo dough, New York sirloin steak, and chocolate-covered cheesecake-stuffed strawberries. The cost is $60, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required.

Gourmet Delivered

Exquisite Food, a new catering service in East Hampton founded by Simon Sheridan, a chef, will deliver gourmet comfort food, made to order, to South Fork customers. Sample items that can be ordered include paella, barbecued chicken, grilled salmon Nicoise, Asian mushroom noodles, seared local striped bass with lemon coriander sauce, roasted local vegetables, Vietnamese hot and sour soup with shrimp, and lobster salad sandwiches on brioche with fresh summer slaw.

Other dishes may be requested, and custom menus can be created. More information can be found on the company’s Web site at www.hamptonsexquisitefood.com. A surcharge applies for delivery to Southampton or Montauk.

Cork and Spoon

Wei Fun in East Hampton will have another of its “Cork and Spoon” wine and dinner specials on Monday beginning at 5:30 p.m. For $39 plus tax and gratuity, diners will get a three-course meal, with two courses paired with a quartino (glass and a half) of sparkling wine.

Cook for Mom

At the Williams-Sonoma store in Bridgehampton, a class on Tuesday will teach participants how to make a Mother’s Day lunch of blue cheese fondue, asparagus with orange hollandaise sauce, roast chicken with green peppercorns and lemon, and a raspberry rhubarb fool for dessert. The noon to 2 p.m. session will cost $55.

Another Michael’s

Michael’s at the Boardwalk, a sister restaurant to the Michael’s at Maidstone beach in Springs, will open this month on East Main Street in Riverhead. Michael Meehan is the executive chef at both restaurants. In Riverhead, the “American bistro” fare will include Polish dishes such as grilled kielbasa, reflecting the heritage of the town’s Polish community.

Donate and Honor Mom

On Mother’s Day, donations to the Retreat, an East Hampton center and shelter for victims of domestic violence, can be made at a number of East End restaurants in honor of a mother, sister, friend, or another special woman. A thank-you card will be sent to the designee. A minimum donation of $20, to mark the Retreat’s 20th anniversary this year, has been requested.

Among the participating restaurants, a full list of which can be found at www.theretreatinc.org, are Bamboo, Nick and Toni’s, the Lodge, and Rowdy Hall in East Hampton, Alison and Almond in Bridgehampton, Almondito in Wainscott, the New Paradise in Sag Harbor, and both Michael’s restaurants, in Springs and Riverhead. Several Shelter Island restaurants are participating as well.

Let Mom Go Out

Wildthyme restaurant and bar in Southampton has designated the second Wednesday of each month “Mommy’s night out.” To lure moms away from husbands, homework, and kids, a three-course prix fixe will be offered for $30 on Wednesday, including soft drinks, tax, and tip. Entrees included in the special will be crispy Atlantic salmon, grilled filet mignon, or soba noodles and coconut curry broth.

On Sundays at Wildthyme there are two-for-one entrees. Dishes include sake-marinated Alaskan halibut, braised lamb shank, pork loin chops, soba noodles and coconut curry broth, and wild mushroom ravioli.

May 3, 2007