Agriculture plays a huge role not just in our health, but in our local economy. Farm-fresh goods feed the masses, populate restaurant menus, provide jobs, and add to the overall appeal of the North Fork. It is part of the reason so many have looked to the North Fork real estate market when looking for first and second homes. As summer dwindles down and the seasons shift into autumn, local farms, vineyards, and restaurants make for a foodie’s playground. Here’s what is new and happening on the North Fork this week…
Oyster Roast Evening
This Thursday, August 22 at 5:30 p.m., Garden of Eve in Riverhead is hosting “Oyster Roast Evening at the Farm.” The fun yet casual evening will offer delicious food catered by the organic farm’s café along with craft brews. Roasted oysters will star on the menu, along with appetizers and a light buffet. Guests may expect barbecued meats, quesadillas, farm-fresh salads, corn on the cob, brownie bites and cookies, and iced tea and lemonade at this family-friendly event. A portion of all proceeds benefit The North Fork Animal Welfare League, Inc, a 501(c)3 charitable organization that shelters, rescues, saves and helps animals on the North Fork of Long Island. Tickets are $45 for adults and $20 for kids. Tickets can be purchased here.
Taste + Tour: Southold Marine Center
If you want to learn more about where your food comes from while simultaneously enjoying the bounty, Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program’s Taste + Tour is for you. This Thursday, August 22 at 6 p.m., the Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center in Southold with open its doors to offer a tour of the flagship location while enjoying tastes of local wine and beer paired with locally grown oysters and sustainable small bites by noah’s. Guests can walk around the property and grounds to meet experts and educators, check out the new shellfish hatchery, water quality lab, greenhouse, and education spaces. Tickets begin at $50 will support the program’s various projects and initiatives to preserve and protect the local marine environment.
Croteaux Vineyards Reopens
Rosé lovers rejoice! Croteaux Vineyards in Southold has recently reopened its tasting room after being closed for more than a year. Under new ownership and with the guidance of its founder, the tasting room has received approval from the Town of Southold to open its doors to the public. New owner Randy Frankel, who also purchased Shinn Estate Vineyards in 2017, has teamed up with the owners of the new Menhaden hotel in Greenport, Kristen and Daniel Pennessi to run the rosé-only winery. Michael Croteau, who opened the winery in 2003, will stay on as a consultant. The tasting room is open daily from noon to 6:30 p.m.
The Juice Box Cruises Around Shelter Island
The juice craze isn’t new to Shelter Island, but a business centered around it – and on four wheels – certainly is. The Juice Box is a mobile enterprise that offers fresh, made-to-order juices, smoothies, açaí bowls, yogurt bowls and more from a food truck parked at The Islander. Ashley Knight and Chris Chobor are owners of both businesses, which are both open seven days per week. Customers can mix and match their favorite fruits and veggies or try one of the suggested concoctions like The Beet Blaster with beet, carrot, orange, celery, parsley, lemon, and apple; The Green Machine with kale, spinach, cucumber, pineapple, and ginger, or Peanut Butter and Jelly with strawberry, peanut butter, cauliflower, and almond milk. Yummy, refreshing, and healthy, these juices and smoothies are certainly worth a try.
Michelangelo’s Opens in Riverhead
The long-awaited opening of Michelangelo in Riverhead has arrived. Adding onto their current enterprise with another location in Mattituck, the Italian restaurant and pizzeria has opened on East Main Street offering their traditional menu, which will be limited as the restaurant eases into its opening. The space was once home to the RiverheadProject and then the Sonoma Grill. The building underwent an extensive renovation inside and out. The covered outdoor dining area is an ideal spot to enjoy warm weather now through the fall. In addition to the full-service restaurant and bar, there is a pizza takeout counter. The restaurant is now open daily.
