Time to get your Green on

The Best Veggie Dishes on the North Fork

Craving a little more green on your plate? As spring rolls around, the North Fork is the place to go when it comes to delicious, nutritious, and elegantly composed vegetable dishes. From appetizers to entrées, the chefs of the North Fork know how to work local vegetables into a dining menu. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite veg-forward dishes for your dining consideration. (Please note: menus are often subject to change, and some of these dishes may not be available all year round, so make sure to check current menus for what’s available and most up to date.) Read on for the best, brightest, and most delicious takes on vegetables on the North Fork right now. 

At the North Fork Table & Inn, chef John Fraser offers up a sublime take on vegetables with every course. The cauliflower tatin is just one incredible iteration, a gorgeous layering of cauliflower, vermouth-poached golden raisins, and Marcona almonds, all bathed in a vadouvan crème fraiche. A small plate of mushroom tempura features local Mattituck mushrooms, dusted in a wakame seasoning and nori, fried, and served with a benne seed aioli. The two-mile salad, named for the distance from which it is procured, highlights North Fork roasted beets, chicories, goat cheese from Catapano Dairy Farm, and toasted hazelnuts. And an entrée of ricotta cavatelli is amplified by earthy winter truffles, chanterelle mushrooms, and roasted celery root. 

Southold’s Little Fish, set to open again soon for the season, features plenty of veggie-forward dishes for the vegetable-inclined. An appetizer of grilled olives, served with marinated sheep’s milk feta, arrives with warm pita bread and is the ideal beginning to any meal. The restaurant also serves a compelling charred lemon Caesar salad, with Prima Donna cheese, fresh dill, and crispy croissant croutons. For an entrée, try the Forbidden Voodoo rice. The vegetable-heavy dish is made with charred pineapple, roasted peppers, beets, watermelon radish, and local greens. 

Also back this summer: the century-old Claudio’s Tavern, where Greenport visitors can get their veggie fix with a baby kale salad with roasted squash, tomato, currants, and pine nuts in a white balsamic dressing. The especially hearty squash curry is one of the most satisfying vegetable dishes on the North Fork. It’s served over coconut steamed rice. Around the corner, at Noah’s, dig into charred roasted broccoli with mint, red fresno chilis, and crushed walnuts; a dish of roasted beets with avocado, oranges, spiced peanuts, and a citrus vinaigrette; or a butternut squash falafel, with roasted squash hummus, a fresh herb salad, and a date vinaigrette. 

Chef-owner Robby Beaver’s Frisky Oyster, just across the street, offers veggie-seekers a delightful roasted beet salad, with Humboldt Fog cheese, baby arugula, and pistachios, which comes together with a Sherry vinaigrette. The restaurant’s vegetable ramen is fortified with bok choy, bell pepper, and edamame (it’s made with a coconut miso broth). Diners can also opt for the cauliflower quinoa cakes. They’re served with crispy Brussels sprouts and a fingerling potato salad, along with a black truffle aioli, for dipping.