Elaine Micali compared the sensation of stepping into her new East Setauket restaurant for its soft opening on Monday night to “an out-of-body experience.” “What I said to my friends was that it was like having a wedding, a baby and moving into a new home all on the same day,” she said. “Those emotions were so overwhelming.”

The April 4 opening of Elaine’s Restaurant and Bar will mark the realization of a lifelong dream for the 62-year-old schoolteacher-turned-tutor who says her passion for food and cooking “is in my blood.” It’s one that she says grew out of her family’s Sunday feasts in Brooklyn, as well as childhood trips to Europe.