"Imagine yourself in your grandfather's kitchen, the one where a pump and a bucket brought water to the table, the one where several people around a big table were all busy with dinner preparations. In this home, they had the fowl or the pork raised in the barnyard, the fruits and vegetables came also from the  garden.  Everything about food production was self-sustained, and wholesome.  And of course, the food was awesome.

"They spent their time in preparation for meals, and usually in the bigger homes, there were several people always employed in the kitchen.

"We don't have anything like that now," recounts Michael Miller, newly installed proprietor at Manhasset's La Coquille. "Everything is cellophane wrapped or frozen. Needs for convenience put the originating garden at hundreds or even thousands of miles away.   I don't need to contrast the difference too much, we are all aware of where chickens come from before they arrive at our grocer's.

"This is what I am interested in, the pleasure of foods grown locally and prepared with exacting care. Nothing frozen. No cellophane, no mass-market products." Today, the only place I can think of that even remotely works like my grandfather's kitchen, is my kitchen at La Coquille.  We are working with locally-grown produce and meats, and using recipes that are classics, but with a twist, or a new interpretation to keep things interesting.

"For example, escargots have been served in a similar fashion since the GI's discovered French Cuisine after the second world war.  But now we add new dimensions, stuffing them into mushrooms and adding a caraway cheese for a sensuous new interpretation.

It's like having your auntie bringing over her favorite dish, and presenting a little one-upmanship to your mom: her way was simply a little different.

"At La Coquille that's what I want to present on the dining table, a hearkening back to the cuisine styles of a century ago, where freshness was taken for granted, and style was a matter of pride."

La Coquille Restaurant is open seven days, from five in the afternoon, except for early  Sunday Supper, when La Coquille is open at four p.m.