Secrets Of Flight In Port Washington: Reimagined And Reopening

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — After a three-month hiatus, the glamorous Secrets of Flight restaurant on Main Street is back in business, and chef-owner Aleksander Betko is whipping up some tasty new offerings.

Nestled between Monroe and Madison streets, the trendy restaurant will have a grand re-opening Wednesday morning, offering breakfast for the first time, including steel-cut oats, fresh berries, bananas, nuts, lemon ricotta pancakes, breakfast bowls, eggs, shakshouka, and vegan, gluten-free breakfast bread.

"It tastes like the most decadent muffin you've ever tasted," Betko told Patch. "It's delicious and it's completely 1000 percent healthy."

Secrets of Flight first opened in late November at the site of the former Main Street Bakery, which closed five years earlier. Things started out promising. With 20 years of restaurant experience at popular Manhattan joints like Boqueria and Balthazar, Betko's eatery opened to rave reviews, earning 3 out of 4 stars from Newsday food critic Peter M. Gianotti, 4.5 out of 5 stars on Yelp and 4.2 out of 5 stars on OpenTable.

But behind the scenes, things were far less rosy.

Staff worked at a breakneck pace. And residents in the tight-knit bedroom community seemed to crave a more suburban experience rather than a New York City-style meal. They wanted French fries. And a kids menu.

So Betko shuttered the business in early May and tried to sell off the place. When that didn't work either, he and his wife, Caitlin Hidasi, were forced to have a tough conversation.

"We did a lot of serious soul-searching," he said. "She loved this, I loved this. I've been doing this well over 20 years. And we decided to give it another go."

This time, they would tailor more to the suburban experience while staying true to his city expertise. This means retaining high-quality, unique menu offerings and streamlined processes, while recognizing that diners are often commuters with kids.

The same quality cocktails and wine will stay on the menu, as will staples like the Moroccan vegetable stew, roast chicken, spicy sausage rigatoni and pan-seared North Atlantic salmon served with roasted potatoes. Betko's signature pulpo a la plancha, an octopus dish, will also remain near the top of the menu.

"There's definitely going to be my octopus," he said. "It's a gigantic sea monster."

The charred tentacle, marinated in white wine, rests atop a Sicilian salad of shaved fennel, Moroccan olives, and orange supreme.

"Just that combination is super-duper classic," he said.

Betko is also a big believer in setting the mood with fresh-baked bread, which pairs nicely with his escalivada, a classic Spanish tapa made of fire-roasted vegetables atop a bed of yogurt, with a hint of mint.

This go-around though, Betko plans to cast a wider net at the Art Deco-inspired bistro.

For starters, prices will likely drop a bit and grass-fed beef burgers will appear on the menu as well as pulled-pork sliders. He's also working on a kids menu to make the restaurant a little more palatable for families. Moreover, Secrets of Flight will serve up one of the richest Americanos on Long Island using Hampton Coffee Company beans.

"You're not going to beat my coffee," he said. "Not around here. I'm a coffee-drinker and I need my coffee stiff and rich and I need a lot of it."

It also means offering charging outlets and high-speed Wi-Fi to attract the work-from-home crowd, as well as expanding takeout options and offering hearty vegan and vegetarian meals.

"It's going to be a broad offering, but it's going to be curated," he said.

One of the first things that jumps out to first-time patrons is the decor. On one side of the restaurant, fabulous paintings — Betko's own works — cover a solid teal wall stretching from floor to ceiling. Black velvet-backed benches provide enough privacy for free conversation, but not so much as to yield feelings of claustrophobia.

On the other side of the eatery, ornate floral wallpaper bookends a spacious 10-seat bar. Natural light flows through an opaque skylight, illuminating brilliant gold-painted panels made of original pressed tin, a small piece of history dating back a century.

Betko sweats the details — everything from the design of Secrets of Flight to knowing exactly where his ingredients originate. The chicken comes from the rolling hills of Pennsylvania Dutch country. The shrimp in his savory shrimp bouillabaisse dish comes from a BPA-free farm in southeast Asia. BPA, or bisphenol A, is an industrial chemical used to make certain plastics and resins. There's some evidence that it can seep into food or drinks, affecting the brain and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. It may also be linked to high blood pressure.

Part of the reason Betko launched the restaurant is he sees food as a "window into so many different cultures." Himself an immigrant who has labored with other immigrants, Betko learned much of his craft working with people from the Middle East and Mediterranean. He believes great cuisine can be a unifying force in the world, and it's essential for restaurants to excel from the moment they walk through the door. Someone has to greet you with a smile. They pour water into a clean, polished glass. The cocktails have to come stitched-up and impress.

"The food that comes out, from the first bite, you gotta nail it," he said. "You gotta be good. Especially if you're a neighborhood haunt, a neighborhood restaurant."

Kitchen hours

Monday: Closed

Tuesday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Wednesday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Thursday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Sunday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A previous version of this article said the restaurant would have its grand reopening Tuesday. Betko has changed the official reopening to Wednesday.