We asked two very different chefs to create a three-course meal for two using the same $20 budget. Then our chief restaurant critic, Adam Platt, judged their creations.

Harry Hawk of Harry’s at Water Taxi Beach
O this sun-blasted summer afternoon, the deserted Long Island City beach complex that’s home to Harry’s feels like the backyard of a fraternity house after a weekend-long binge. Flies buzz under the flapping orange dining tent; the bar smells of old beer. Harry is dressed in suspenders and chef’s clogs, and he presents the components of his seven-course bonanza all at once. The first thing we sample is a pile of grilled asparagus, which aren’t high-quality (the Greenmarket’s too expensive) and seem to have gone limp in the 100-degree heat. Ditto the grilled corn, which is flavored with enough cayenne to choke a horse. Harry’s buttermilk onion rings are excellent (they’re sweet, generously cut, and not too greasy), and I spend most of my time eating them, instead of the dry, fishy salmon burger, served on a piece of desiccated toast. Read the rest of this entry »

Three rugged, uncrowded, easy-to-get-to beaches where the only scene is the surf.

Shinnecock East County Park, Southampton, New York
TRAVEL TIME: Two hours via the Long Island Expressway
Drive out to the tip of the barrier island below Southampton, where an outer-beach permit ($40 if you’re not a Suffolk County resident) lets you pull a four-wheel-drive vehicle right onto the sand. Sleep under the stars ($30; no tents), wade in the ocean or the bay, and wake up early to cast a line in the surf for striped bass.

Little Captain Island, Greenwich, Connecticut
TRAVEL TIME: Forty-five minutes via I-95, or 50 minutes on Metro-North, then a twenty-minute ferry ride
Last year, the prohibition on non–Greenwich residents riding the ferries to Little Captain Island ended, opening the tree-shaded trails and sandy beaches to everyone. Stop by one of two Greenwich civic centers to buy $5-per-person beach passes (203-622-7817), then splash away in the gentle Long Island Sound or squish through the mudflats at low tide. There’s an abundance of picnicking grounds in the interior. Weekend ferries leave from town every hour from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, New Jersey
TRAVEL TIME: One hour, 50 minutes via the Garden State Parkway
Load up a car with Frisbees, firewood, and stuff for s’mores, and barrel down the Jersey shore to the undeveloped barrier island just south of Seaside Heights ($10 per vehicle on weekends). Stretch out wherever: There are more than ten miles of beach. Stroll across the island to the bird blinds on Barnegat Bay to see ospreys and herons, or take a hike on one of the eight nature trails. Build a bonfire before dusk (when the park closes) and roast those marshmallows.

Source

WASHINGTON – Slow down, Senate Democrats told President Barack Obama on Thursday, dashing hopes of rushing his sweeping health care overhaul to a summertime vote and adding to the troubles the plan could face as the year wears on. “That’s OK,” the president replied gamely. “Just keep working.”

No one is suggesting that delay equals defeat. In fact, the Senate’s top Democrat promised a bipartisan bill in the next two weeks. But Obama has been pushing hard for quick passage of legislation he can sign to expand coverage to all Americans and control ruinous medical costs. And he’s counting on fast action while his first-year popularity holds.

Republican foes have stepped up their attacks in hopes of weakening if not killing the historic changes in the way America provides and pays for health care. But they’re not the source of the immediate problem. Divisions within the ranks of Obama’s fellow Democrats have stalled the legislation.

While confirming there will be no Senate vote before Congress goes home in early August, the chamber’s Democratic leaders spoke optimistically of wrapping up a bipartisan bill in the next two weeks.

That offered no reassurance to Democrats in the House, many of whom are reluctant to vote on a $540-billion tax increase to help pay for the overhaul unless senators also stick their necks out before an election year. Exiting a contentious leadership meeting, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking House Democrat, called for canceling the August recess if a bill isn’t passed.

WASHINGTON – Slow down, Senate Democrats told President Barack Obama on Thursday, dashing hopes of rushing his sweeping health care overhaul to a summertime vote and adding to the troubles the plan could face as the year wears on. “That’s OK,” the president replied gamely. “Just keep working.”

No one is suggesting that delay equals defeat. In fact, the Senate’s top Democrat promised a bipartisan bill in the next two weeks. But Obama has been pushing hard for quick passage of legislation he can sign to expand coverage to all Americans and control ruinous medical costs. And he’s counting on fast action while his first-year popularity holds.

Republican foes have stepped up their attacks in hopes of weakening if not killing the historic changes in the way America provides and pays for health care. But they’re not the source of the immediate problem. Divisions within the ranks of Obama’s fellow Democrats have stalled the legislation.

While confirming there will be no Senate vote before Congress goes home in early August, the chamber’s Democratic leaders spoke optimistically of wrapping up a bipartisan bill in the next two weeks.

That offered no reassurance to Democrats in the House, many of whom are reluctant to vote on a $540-billion tax increase to help pay for the overhaul unless senators also stick their necks out before an election year. Exiting a contentious leadership meeting, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking House Democrat, called for canceling the August recess if a bill isn’t passed.

WASHINGTON – Slow down, Senate Democrats told President Barack Obama on Thursday, dashing hopes of rushing his sweeping health care overhaul to a summertime vote and adding to the troubles the plan could face as the year wears on. “That’s OK,” the president replied gamely. “Just keep working.”

No one is suggesting that delay equals defeat. In fact, the Senate’s top Democrat promised a bipartisan bill in the next two weeks. But Obama has been pushing hard for quick passage of legislation he can sign to expand coverage to all Americans and control ruinous medical costs. And he’s counting on fast action while his first-year popularity holds.

Republican foes have stepped up their attacks in hopes of weakening if not killing the historic changes in the way America provides and pays for health care. But they’re not the source of the immediate problem. Divisions within the ranks of Obama’s fellow Democrats have stalled the legislation.

While confirming there will be no Senate vote before Congress goes home in early August, the chamber’s Democratic leaders spoke optimistically of wrapping up a bipartisan bill in the next two weeks.

That offered no reassurance to Democrats in the House, many of whom are reluctant to vote on a $540-billion tax increase to help pay for the overhaul unless senators also stick their necks out before an election year. Exiting a contentious leadership meeting, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking House Democrat, called for canceling the August recess if a bill isn’t passed.

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