Savoring a sweet show about Baldwin eateries

For a generally lively coffee shop, things got pretty quiet at Sweet & Savory one night last week.

That was the night that owner Antoinette Burrows-Porter hosted a viewing party of the show “Restaurant Hunter,” that was to feature stories about her establishment and two others in Baldwin.

Besides Sweet & Savory, the Indian restaurant Raagini, and Benny B’s, which features southern cooking, were featured on the show as the hosts gave the rest of Long Island a taste of Baldwin.

But the crowd of 20 to 25 people at Sweet & Savory was clearly there to see their favorite coffeehouse get its moment in the sun.

Burrows-Porter went all-out for the viewing party, bringing in a projector and a large screen for the viewing part of the evening. For the eating portion, Sweet & Savory’s menu was available. And each table sported were miniature plastic popcorn bins filled with bags of popcorn, labeled — you guessed it — sweet and savory.

The first restaurant featured on the show was Benny B’s, where host Rob Petrone had a wing-off between owner Benny Bodley and his wife Renee. The winner, Petrone declared, was Renee, whose Memphis style Nae Nae wings took top honors over Benny’s Jack Daniels sauce.

The features on Sweet & Savory and Raagini followed. “I think coffee is an anchor,” Burrows-Porter told host Amanda Prince, who gave high marks to S&S’s signature Marley mac. Petrone also lauded the sea bass at Raagini’s.

The crowd at S&S was generally pleased with the outcome of the show, although Kimberly Baxter of Hempstead said she was disappointed that no mention was made of the famed Sunday brunch at S&S.

And Kryste Scala of Patchogue noted that the monthly taps at S&S was one of her favorite things about the restaurant.

Still, said Chatelain Fleming of Baldwin, “I’m very proud of her [Burrow-Porter]. The food is amazing. My daughter is an addict.”

For her part, Burrows-Porter was pleased with the show. “They did pretty good,” she said. “I thought they captured the essence of the food.”