Chef Matt Murphy has hopped aboard at The Shipyard (102 Main St., Greenport, 631-477-6323) and his extensive culinary background is showing on the plate.
“I’m liking the challenge of seeing what we can do,” says Murphy. “Luigi [Militello] and Elyse [Myller], who own the place, put a lot of time and effort into making the place what it is right now.”
His focus is keeping things fresh at the waterfront property.
“We’ve changed a lot of the menu since last year,” says Murphy. “We’re running a lot of local specials, like whatever’s around at the moment — black sea bass is around right now so we’re doing that; tuna is starting to come in off Montauk so we’re going to start doing that.”
Murphy moved to the North Fork in 1999 and opened Antares Café in 2000 and ran it for about a decade where Billy’s by the Bay now stands. He later opened another restaurant called The Kitchen at Greenport and followed that endeavor with stints in the kitchen at Rams Head Inn and Porto Bello. Before living on the North Fork, he had cooked all around New York City at The Rainbow Room, The Ritz-Carlton and in other acclaimed kitchens.
It was always going to be a culinary career for him as he entered a catering hall kitchen at 14 in his hometown, Syosset, and never looked back.
From New York City, Murphy brought a Mediterranean, Provençal cooking style.
Since living on the North Fork — besides a brief stint traveling around the Costa Blanca region of Spain and then Portugal — Murphy’s time is spent connecting with local purveyors.
“You get to know the people out here, the purveyors and what works, what doesn’t work,” says Murphy. “I’ve known a lot of the people selling fish and produce on the farms for 25 years now.”
He works with Southold Fish Market and Latham Farm products and, for a while, Murphy was known for his duck confit (that was put on pause when Crescent Duck Farm experienced a devastating loss due to a bird flu outbreak).
Another fresh menu item he’s continuing at The Shipyard is the house-made pasta, which has always been a big hit.
Swing by to try Murphy’s cooking at the restaurant, which is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
