Red Bar Brasserie, Southampton, NY

My family and I had just seen the awesome new James Bond movie, Skyfall.  (Go see it, it's really entertaining!)  We wanted to have a dinner at a place nearby, so we went to Red Bar Brasserie.  It had a decent sized crowd for only 6:30 and we got seated at a table in the back.  All over the nearby walls were shelves of wine stacked to the ceiling.  The place was lit darkly and felt a bit gloomy.  For my appetizer I ordered the Charred Grilled Baby Octopus with warm chickpeas, spicy olives and frisse salad.  Even though it was charred, it still tasted extra bitter to me.  The chickpeas and frisse was coated with a citric dressing that was too sour.  My father's appetizer was the Local Yellowfin Tuna Tartare with avocado, jalepeño and red onion.  It also came with wonton chips, so you could scoop up the tartare and add your own toppings.  The tartare was delicious!  The tuna was so tender and flavorful, and the jalepeño that was mixed in contributed a nice spice.  The avocado was creamy and very tasty.  For my mother's appetizer, she ordered the Artichoke Bruschetta.  The artichokes and peppers were sweet and had a just perfect amount of acid.  The farmer's cheese was a little too runny.  My mom had also ordered the baby octopus as an entree, but she thought that the pieces were too small and overcooked.  It was rubbery and too bitter.  She substituted the dish for Steamed Mussels in a white wine with butter broth.  It came steaming hot and overall yummy.  My dad ordered the Miso Glazed Swordfish with Braised Kale as an entree.  The swordfish was perfectly cooked and had a lemony flavor.  The kale was just tender and the miso glaze made everything on the plate taste even better.  I also ordered a side of fries that I could just munch on -- crispy and hot, nothing like it.  Overall, I give Red Bar 3 pineapples.  Sorry, but the octopus sunk the boat.  Till next time- tdg