For the past few decades, Oyster Bay, on Long Island’s North Shore, has been a drowsy little hamlet. In Colonial times, it was an oystering capital, then occupied by the British during the American Revolution. But after the early 20th century, when President Theodore Roosevelt and his large brood sojourned nearby, its vitality mostly ebbed. That is, until the restaurant 2 Spring gave it a wake-up poke in January.

The chef is Jesse Schenker, an “Iron Chef America” winner and former big fish in a big pond at Manhattan’s Recette and the Gander, both now closed. Given that dinner reservations at his new American brasserie are already booked 30 days in advance, it’s never too early to plan a visit. Oyster Bay is worth the 80-minute train ride from Midtown, provided you have a nice day to stroll around its Victorian streets and tour Raynham Hall, a Colonial-era museum at 20 West Main Street, which once harbored Robert Townsend, George Washington’s esteemed spy who wrote messages in invisible ink.

Brunch at 2 Spring, however, does not require as much advance planning. The duplex space at 2 Spring Street is light-filled during the day. Bloody Marys are dark and tangy with Worcestershire sauce. Burnished French toast is crunchy and sweetly irresistible. Cacio e pepe, a nest of linguine dense with black pepper and Parmesan, is topped with a quivering egg cooked sous vide to be broken up and swirled around for a golden, richer note. Eggs Benedict with lemony hollandaise and arugula get a coastal flourish with knobs of Maine lobster poached in butter.