The Corner Eatery is a cafe on the corner of West Main Street and Maple Avenue in Bay Shore. It has been open for about a month and was formerly a sushi restaurant. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch only.
“I live four blocks from here; I’ve lived in Bayshore for 40 years,” said Steven Bankin, a now first-time restaurant owner.
I had the pleasure of dining there recently, and it was very welcoming as soon as you stepped through the door. You are greeted with enthusiasm and excellent service, which remains the entirety of your time there. The scenery is just what you want in a café, and my favorite part was the picture on the wall next to the bar. Bankin had an artist hand-draw the scenery from the Maple Avenue dock down the road. It was based on an actual picture that Bankin had been in possession of for a long time. It is a vintage South Shore Long Island photo that puts a nice touch on the long-time Bay Shore native’s restaurant.
The menu is simple, but it covers what you would ask for in a nice cafe. I decided to go the breakfast route and ordered the Hungry Man plate. It included all the breakfast staples: French toast, pancakes, eggs however you like, home fries, and your choice of bacon, turkey bacon, ham, or country sausage. I chose scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and country sausage.
It was a great breakfast platter, and they don’t skimp on plate serving sizes. I was stuffed at the end, but I wanted to keep eating because I enjoyed it. The French Toast was done correctly—not soggy at all, with the right amount of cinnamon and thickness. The same could be said for the pancakes, as they were light and fluffy, cooked just the right amount of time on each side to get that nice brown color. Sometimes, at breakfast joints, you might get greasy French toast or pancakes that are too heavy and can even hurt your stomach afterward, but that was nowhere near the case here.
The scrambled eggs were excellent, cooked just right and topped with fresh cheese. The country sausage was phenomenal, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It had an authentic breakfast sausage taste to it. It was also very peaceful inside the cafe; I could hear the skillet going as soon as I placed my order. My favorite part was the home fries; they were delicious. It consisted of small crispy potatoes sliced in half and seasoned, and the best part was the red peppers and onions tossed in with them.
A good drink can make or break a meal, and while they offer tons of different coffees, teas, and freshly squeezed juices, I went with a regular hot coffee. The coffee was a good medium roast that paired well with my meal. It was also a healthy-sized mug, another testament to their serving sizes. I also loved how they brought you a full-pouring cup of half-and-half or milk, not like most places where you have to open up four to five tiny plastic containers to put in your coffee. As mentioned earlier, the service was great; they didn’t overbear you but didn’t leave you wondering where your server is; it was a happy median.
I also had a prime seat in the cafe, right in front of the huge window that stretches from the front of the building all the way around to the side. It allows tons of natural light while providing a lovely Downtown Bay Shore scenery. It’s one of the priding factors for Bankin of his new restaurant, and he believes it separates his place from others. It’s hard to argue that. From this vantage point, you can watch the world go by.
“The quality of the food, the view, and being in the downtown area” are what Bankin said he believes make The Corner Eatery different from the rest of the pack. They offer tons of variety in food, even having a Central American platter on the breakfast menu that includes eggs, mashed beans, plantains, and queso blanco. I can’t wait to stop in for lunch as I noticed multiple offerings I would enjoy, like the Reuben sandwich, Cuban sandwich, or the Corner Tower: grilled portobello mushrooms, sliced tomato, roasted peppers, and burrata cheese with a balsamic glaze.
“I think it’s going to become the local breakfast-lunch restaurant in the downtown area, a community staple,” stated Bankin when asked where he sees the restaurant in a few years from now. Between the great food, scenery both inside and out, service, and view, it has all the makings for that to become possible.
