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Best In Sea

Visit the North Fork for some of Long Island’s most impressive seafood dishes.

Come to the North Fork for a meal and you might be expecting one thing: fresh seafood. This northern tip of Long Island is home to fishermen, oyster beds, and the rich Peconic Bay. But with all this seafood, it might be hard to narrow it down to the best in show. Still, there are dishes and there are dishes. If you’re looking for the Fork’s top seafood selections, look no further than this curated list. 

The North Fork Table & Inn’s Southold Grill

It should come as no surprise that John Fraser, chef-owner of Southold’s North Fork Table & Inn, has an impressive contribution to the seafood dishes of the area. One of the restaurant’s iconic dishes, the Southold Grill, highlights fresh-caught local seafood (the dish changes with the seasons, featuring whichever seafood happens to be best at that particular moment in time). Served simply, with an herb bouquet, this dish is a true representation of the North Fork’s aquatic bounty. 

Little Creek Oyster Farm’s Oysters on the Half Shell

Come to an oyster-dedicated restaurant and you’re practically committed to eating bivalves. In addition to a host of oyster-related dishes served at this Greenport restaurant, you’ll find good old oysters on the half shell. Little Creek offers six varieties: the Mermaid Makeout, the Oyster Pond, the Fire Island Blue, the Soundsweet, the Lucky 13, and the Violet Cove. These fresh-from-the-water treats are available with a vinegar-based mignonette, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, or horseradish. 

Little Creek Oyster Farm

The Halyard’s Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Hamachi Sashimi

Chef Stephan Bogardus borrows from his former kitchen — the North Fork Table & Inn — with this play on an iconic dish (the North Fork Table used tuna, not Hamachi, in their iteration). Rich seared foie gras is a decadent complement to lean, clean Hamachi. The dish is served with sweet and sour radish, and it’s the kind of dish that makes you wonder if you should order seconds. The only thing better than this marriage of Hamachi and foie gras? The Halyard’s show-stopping water view. 

Mattitaco’s Surf & Turf Burrito

The price of lobster may be on the rise, but this stuffed-to-the-gills burrito is still relatively affordable. Filled with grilled slices of filet mignon, a garlic butter-poached lobster claw, and a bacon guacamole, this unforgettable burrito is enough for two meals at once (or one meal for a very hungry person). Is anything better than surf and turf, you ask? Well, maybe surf, turf, and guacamole, all wrapped up in a happy tortilla together. 

Mattitaco’s Surf & Turf Burrito

1943 Pizza Bar’s Clam Casino Pizza 

Tucked out of the way in Greenport, this unassuming pizza spot serves some of eastern Long Island’s best pies. And while you can do fine ordering just about anything off of the menu, including the chewy, satisfying margarita pie and the compelling wood-fired meatballs, clams remain king at this restaurant. The white clam casino pie features fresh clams, bacon, peppers, and garlic. Order one for now and one for later (or — who are we kidding — two for now).