I usually don’t travel through Long Island unless I am making my way out to the Hamptons or Fire Island.

However when I do, I try to find some decent restaurants to eat at so that I don’t succumb to one of the many chain restaurants.

I came across Jewel in Melville and was pretty impressed by the appearance and thus decided to check it out for lunch

For an appetizer, my friend got the crab cakes:

Crab Cake w/ corn relish & popcorn cream: Not your traditional crab cake. It was not gluten-free so I did not try it.

I did get the crab appetizer special (glutenfree) which was crab & avocado drizzled with mango sauce (not pictured). I was not a fan of it at all. The crab was more like a crab salad, loaded with mayo. I actually felt sick eating it.

For our entrees, my friend ordered the Octopus with olives, capers, red onion,  red grapes, potato & merlot vinaigrette (glutenfree) [not pictured]. I tried a bite, which turned into several bites. The flavor was unique and tasty – not like anything I have had before.

I’m pretty sure I ate all of his meal versus my own, which was:

Scallop special w/ summer vegetables and balsamic drizzle (glutenfree): The presentation was beautiful, but it didn’t match up with the taste. The scallops were way under cooked (again – prompting an ill feeling after eating it). I ate one before I finished off the salad and sent the dish away, scallops uneaten.

When we wrapped up our lunch, I was feeling rather unsatisfied. But by the time we got on the LIE and were in bumper to bumper traffic I remembered – there are worse things about being in Long Island than the food.

[disclaimer: Don't take all my words literally. There are many good places to eat in Long Island, including this one.]

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