#2 for me is Little Vincent's, on the corner of New York Ave and Main St (rt 110 and 25a). Good quality, traditional thin crust pizza.
To round out my triumvirate of favorites - I have to mention Massa's Pizzeria, just west of rt 110 on Jericho Turnpike - coal fired oven, thin crust - amazing! Have it there on the spot right out of the oven - you won't regret it! Finally...I also know that a lot of area residents also love Rosa's Pizza, so I have to mention it, though I'm not a big fan of it personally (sauce is too sweet for my taste). If someone can tell me why its always so crowded, feel free to email me or update my guestbook with why.
Chinese : My local favorite used to be Imperial Hunan Szechuan on Main Street. Great dishes at a good price. We used to pickup our favories (Lemon Chicken, Chicken with Cashews, Orange Beef) regularly. Now - alas its gone. I have no favorite Chinese in the area. All the rest are mediocre at best. If someone finds a good place, let me know. The one in Southdown is OK - but I'd like better than that. Sigh
Two others I have to mention, East Buffet and Jani's, both next to Walt Whitman Mall on rt 110. East Buffet is not your typical buffet - it offers authentic, high quality Chinese food. As a result it is always packed full of people. Jani is sit down, more upscale in terms of price and dish complexity than a typical Chinese place on the island. I highly reccomend the 3 Flavor Chicken, House Special Beef. It also features Chinese and Japanese dishes, so offers a wide range of dishes. As a bonus, it probably is my friend Tanya's favorite restaurant period in the area also. I also understand that it has become somewhat of a chain - with many restaurants in the tri-state region. But the original restaurant is the one here in Huntington/Huntington Station.
Japanese
It seems there are a lot of Japanese places all of a sudden in the Village. I'm not a big fan of Sushi - but I am a huge fan of Hibachi - so I must mention:
Tomo Hibachi - an excellent example of Hibachi, in my humble opinion. They put on a good show - and the food is quite excellent! Its located on Main Street, in the same spot as the famed, and much mourned, Hamburger Choo Choo. Tomo all booked? No problem - they have been so popular, they opened a second location just down Wall Street called Samurai!
Steak : Their are a lot of good steaks to be found in Huntington - almost every restaurant in the area has a good one. Some of them even have very good ones. And their are a lot of steak houses (Mac's, Prime, etc). But the best? No question its Abel Conklin's on New Street. Order the "House Special Prime Aged Steak" for 1/2/3/4 people, you won't regret it!
I also have to add - though it isn't a steak house per se, just kind of meat oriented - Cafe Buenos Aires, a fantastic Argentinian restaurant on Wall Street. The "Bife de Chorizo con Chimichurri" is fantastic! Also - they have a tapas menu (though you have to ask for it) - try an empanada!
Italian : There are way too many Italian restaurants to even mention them all. Most are pretty good, and have one or two dishes that they do particularly well. My favorites though have to be:
Piccolo Restaurant, on Wall Street in Southdown is fantastic, with a large selection of daily specials. This place is a little pricier than the standard Italian restaurant (15-30$ for main courses). Definitely a must for special occasions.
Pomodoro's, has a great selection of both pasta and meat dishes, and generous portions. It also has some excellent desserts.
Tutto Pazzo's, is meat oriented - even most of the pastas.
Finally - I gotta mention Ruvo's in Greenlawn. A great Italian place with a good variety of dishes - plus an attached deli where almost all there dishes are available for a 1/4-1/2 the price for reheating at home.
Mexican: Huntington has a lot of great Mexican restaurants - My current favorite is Faz's Tex Mex Grill (on Gerard)- its pretty much counter service with a few small tables - you order by checking off boxes on a paper menu - also be warned, its cash only. But the food is very very good, comes quickly, and is pretty cheap -2 fajitas, a soda, chips, and vegetables come out to like 10$. I highly reccomend it.
I've heard raves about the upscale mexican restaurant Besito on New York ave. Supposedly the tableside prepared guacamole is amazing. Its kind of pricey - and very very crowded do to its popularity, so I've avoided it so far.
Oaxaca Mexican Food Treasure (on New York Avenue, south of 25A) - The most authentic Mexican food in Huntington, and probably the best reviewed. Good food, has a sit down section though service is pretty slow, and the ambiance is non-existant. For more upscale version, they also have another restaurant on Main Street - Quetzalcoatl.
Pancho Villa's (on New York Avenue, north of 25A) - A long time fixture in Huntington, it definitely has the best ambiance of any of the Mexican restaurants in the area. The food is pretty good, though pretty Americanized, and on the weekends they have a strolling mariachi band.
Other: These restaurants don't quite fit into the other categories, but are worth a trip.
European Republic (on New York ave, south of 25A) - The best bang for the buck in Huntington. Period. For 10 dollars you can get a large soda, a really great tasting wrap, and a cone of delicious double (or is it triple) dipped thick cut Belgian French Fries. Plus it comes with a free dipping sauce.
Ariana - Afghan/near east cuisine - Always a destination if you crave good food, but are sick of the usual American/Chinese/Italian/whatever.
Toast & Company (on Stewart Ave)- American comfort food done right. I have only tried the breakfast/lunch menu (Fantastic - loved the texas toast), but they recently expanded to a dinner menu as well.
Honu Kitchen & Cocktails - popular bar, with a great small plates menu. Definitely one of the top destinations in Huntington.
Caumsett State Park is a beautiful park in Lloyd Neck that contains beaches, high bluffs (50-100 feet high), groomed lawns, hiking trails, horse riding, and forests. The parking lot is about 2 miles from the beach, and the park is about 1-1.5 miles wide. There are some truely beautiful views looking north from the bluffs or the beach - but be warned, the beach is good for walking or skipping rocks, but is not a sandy beach like on the south shore of the island.
On the east side of Lloyd Neck, only a few minutes away is Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge. It is much smaller - with about half mile of beach, and a loop trail that goes through the forest. It is about 1/4 mile from the parking lot to the beach - a good place to go if you want to walk out to a secluded beach, but don't want to walk the 2 miles at Caumsett.
There are a lot of great beaches in Huntington. My favorite beach has to be Hobart's Beach, in Eaton's Neck. Its a long strip of beach, only a hundred or so yards across, going about a mile (possibly more) south into Northport Bay. It once was known as "Sand City", and was actually a sand mining operation! It is also a nesting ground for Plovers - so some of the southern stretch is off limits during some months of the year.
Heckscher Park is located right in the middle of Huntington - it has playgrounds, tennis courts, baseball fields, an outdoor stage (live performances most days during the summer), a large pond (with ducks and swans), and features an art museum. It also plays host to a number of events during the year - the biggest being the Long Island Fall Festival, the Long Island Art League's "Art in the Park" arts & crafts show, and the Summer Arts Festival - live performances all summer long run by the Huntington Arts Council.
The Heckscher Museum of Art - located in Heckscher Park in Huntington, has rotating special exhibits, and a great permament collection, my favorite being its large array of late 19th century and early 20th century landscapes.
The Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium is one of my favorite estates on Long Island. The main compound - The Eagles Nest - and the rest of the buildings (including the planetarium) are all designed in a Spanish Revival style. The museum and planetarium have some fascinating exhibits and shows - and offers guided tours and star gazing through the Planetarium's telescope in the evening.
The Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society The Huntington Lighthouse is a fantastic little castle sitting in Huntington Harbor - the Preservation Society has guided tours twice a month from June to October.
Oheka Castle - one of the biggest mansions ever constructed (over 120 rooms) - it is now run as a spa/restaurant/hotel/corporate retreat.
The Long Islander - The oldest (and the best) of the local weekly newspapers.