My first abbreviated summer at Shelter Island in several years has come to a close but why let the hard-wrung food findings go to waste?? Herewith some tips for worthwhile stops while driving out to the East End via the road less traveled. I still haven't sorted out the wineries but Paumanok, Lenz and Woelffer are generally safe bets. I've also had some terrible Long Island wines that made me skittish, but here's to hoping that with a little more time and more mature vines, they will only get better.
Starting from the last exit on the LIE and working my way out to Greenport, the highlights are as follows...Many of these places are found on the "North Road" aka Sound Avenue/County Road 48/the quick way out.
Athens Gyro & Grill 33 East Main St., Riverhead 631.727.1301 Really good greek diner in downtown old Riverhead.
Briermere's Pies 4414 Sound Avenue, Riverhead 631.722.3931 Solid pies and preserves from a family-run farm. Remember, pie for breakfast is never wrong.
Modern Snack Bar 628 Main Rd., Aquebogue, 631.722.3655
Home cookin', including all your favorite fried seafood platters in a retro diner setting with charmingly bored staff.
Harbes Family Farm Route 48, Mattituck 631.298.0800
Freshly picked berries (or u-pick-em) plus a great selection of cut flowers (gladioli, cosmos, sunflowers)
Village Cheese Shop, 105 Love Lane, Mattituck 631.298.8556
Friendly little cheese shop with lots of gay snacks to serve along side any kind of cheese board you might dream up.
Seafood Barge 62980 Main Road, Southold 631.765.3010
Best sushi I've had on the North Fork, but not sure there's much competition for that title. Hoping that its location in the Port of Egypt Marina means some of the fish comes out of the local waters.
Sang Lee 25180 County Rd 48 Peconic 631.734.7001
Best organic baby greens of all kinds on the planet and boxes of heirloom tomatoes in season that will make you weep at their beauty. Good selections of herbs and perennials. Downside: Six pieces of produce will set you back 20 bucks.
Rotisserie & Smokehouse of Southold 46520 County Road 48 866.253.8559 Carryout rotisserie birds, including Long Island DUCK! Order ahead for a whole duck. Decent sides include mac-n-cheese, greens and cornbread.
And one to skip:
Lobster Roll Restaurant Northside 3225 Sound Ave., Riverhead
While it's sister restaurant, the famous and much-painted LUNCH found between Montauk and Amagansett at least has the raw-bar-on-the-rolling-dunes vibe going for it, this one is only overpriced and mediocre.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Eatin' Out - Sushi Yasuda
204 E. 43rd Street
Best sushi I've had in a coon's age. My dear pal Cranky Dave Kaplan was kind enough to take me to dinner here and the freshness and variety of fish served was unparalleled. The sushi is simply prepared, thinly sliced over perfectly cooked rice and very little wasabi. No 'fancy' rolls with 18 ingredients are found on the menu here. It's all about fish quality. The chef ships in fish from around the world for a constantly changing selection that may include 4 or 5 kinds of toro (fatty tuna), several types of hamachi (yellow tail), unagi (eel) from Chile, or suprisingly tasty mackrel from Spain.
The final bite of our meal was uni (sea urchin), and is the piece de resistance to beat, with a creamy, sweet and briny taste all in one. Totally mind-blowing.
It took about a month planning to get a reservation, but well worth it. Best partaken of on someone else's dime.
Best sushi I've had in a coon's age. My dear pal Cranky Dave Kaplan was kind enough to take me to dinner here and the freshness and variety of fish served was unparalleled. The sushi is simply prepared, thinly sliced over perfectly cooked rice and very little wasabi. No 'fancy' rolls with 18 ingredients are found on the menu here. It's all about fish quality. The chef ships in fish from around the world for a constantly changing selection that may include 4 or 5 kinds of toro (fatty tuna), several types of hamachi (yellow tail), unagi (eel) from Chile, or suprisingly tasty mackrel from Spain.
The final bite of our meal was uni (sea urchin), and is the piece de resistance to beat, with a creamy, sweet and briny taste all in one. Totally mind-blowing.
It took about a month planning to get a reservation, but well worth it. Best partaken of on someone else's dime.
Friday, June 23, 2006
And God said...let there be Legos!
This site has contructed hundreds of scenes from the Bible out of Legos. It's both hiliarious and oddly fascinating. Of course, the Catholic schoolgirl buried inside of me secretly loves Bible stories, especially the ones I remember vividly from the book I was allowed to read during Sunday Mass, "Little Ones Listen to God".
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
My man Junior
My beloved Reds are in town this week playing the Mets, and here's a nice column from The Daily News that semi-sings Ken Griffey Jr's praises. (Yeah, I almost cried when the Reds traded for him and brought him home; that is, before he got hurt for his next four years in Cincinnati...so what??)
It's the only time all year I'll probably see them, so here's to hoping they keep up the pace and end up in the playoffs for the first time since 1995. One positive and interesting note: thus far this year, the division-leading Cardinals are 5-12 against the Reds and Cubs.
It's the only time all year I'll probably see them, so here's to hoping they keep up the pace and end up in the playoffs for the first time since 1995. One positive and interesting note: thus far this year, the division-leading Cardinals are 5-12 against the Reds and Cubs.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Yankee or Reb?
Here's an entertaining little quiz that will tell you just how southern you are, based on how you pronounce certain words. Me?? I'm 46% Dixie. (And, p.s., always a sucker for boys who call me "Darlin'"...)
Monday, June 19, 2006
O Dr. Ralph
I had the pleasure on my birthday last Wednesday of seeing the 79-year-old Dr. Ralph Stanley perform in downtown Manhattan. Dr. Ralph is considered to be the father of mountain-style bluegrass music. His decorated career spans over 60 years, beginning with his brother Ira in the Stanley Brothers to becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry to numerous awards to over 200 albums to his acceptance in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
Due to a threat of rain, the concert was unfortunately moved indoors to the swanky auditorium of Stuyvesant High School, where we were crammed into seats and forced to shush ourselves throughout the performance. Bluegrass seems to me to be made for outdoor venues where that "high lonesome sound" can float through the air to listeners. I had high hopes for hearing Dr. Ralph's glorious old-time voice while sitting on the Hudson riverbank on a hot summer night eating meats and cheeses, but it was not to be. The bonus of being indoors was that I was able to meet the man himself, and get a signed CD offa him for a steep $20. And if anyone deserves my $20, it's Dr. Ralph...
Tres Chicas, including Caitlan Cary formerly of Whiskeytown, opened the show and bored us to tears with their samey-sounding sounds. Pleasant enough voices sung by girls in bad dresses but a total snoozefest. Dr. Ralph took the stage around 8:15 and led his Clinch Mountain Boys through a set that was heavy on the sales pitch and light on the music. Dr. Ralph has that Grand Ole Opry/classic country persona that seamlessly melds the music with the product so that you don't realize you are in the middle of a commercial until he's almost done with the cornball patter. At least the only products heavily pushed here were CDs from all 6 Clinch Mountain Boys members.
Since I last saw Dr. Ralph 5 years ago, he's noticeably aged (and underwent triple bypass surgery last year). For most of the set, he stood back or sat down, just behind the band in his red-and-black western shirt, and let the other members take turns singing leads (including 45-year-old son and heir apparent, Ralph II, and his 13-year-old grandson, Nathan on mandolin). He said allergies had, disappointingly, made him hoarse for much of the tour. You can tell Dr. Ralph is slowing down some, and touring the 200 days a year or whatever he used to do is rougher on him than it used to be.
That said: catch the man while you can. He's a national treasure and one of the true originals.
Due to a threat of rain, the concert was unfortunately moved indoors to the swanky auditorium of Stuyvesant High School, where we were crammed into seats and forced to shush ourselves throughout the performance. Bluegrass seems to me to be made for outdoor venues where that "high lonesome sound" can float through the air to listeners. I had high hopes for hearing Dr. Ralph's glorious old-time voice while sitting on the Hudson riverbank on a hot summer night eating meats and cheeses, but it was not to be. The bonus of being indoors was that I was able to meet the man himself, and get a signed CD offa him for a steep $20. And if anyone deserves my $20, it's Dr. Ralph...
Tres Chicas, including Caitlan Cary formerly of Whiskeytown, opened the show and bored us to tears with their samey-sounding sounds. Pleasant enough voices sung by girls in bad dresses but a total snoozefest. Dr. Ralph took the stage around 8:15 and led his Clinch Mountain Boys through a set that was heavy on the sales pitch and light on the music. Dr. Ralph has that Grand Ole Opry/classic country persona that seamlessly melds the music with the product so that you don't realize you are in the middle of a commercial until he's almost done with the cornball patter. At least the only products heavily pushed here were CDs from all 6 Clinch Mountain Boys members.
Since I last saw Dr. Ralph 5 years ago, he's noticeably aged (and underwent triple bypass surgery last year). For most of the set, he stood back or sat down, just behind the band in his red-and-black western shirt, and let the other members take turns singing leads (including 45-year-old son and heir apparent, Ralph II, and his 13-year-old grandson, Nathan on mandolin). He said allergies had, disappointingly, made him hoarse for much of the tour. You can tell Dr. Ralph is slowing down some, and touring the 200 days a year or whatever he used to do is rougher on him than it used to be.
That said: catch the man while you can. He's a national treasure and one of the true originals.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The Geek Had It Coming
From today's New York Times coverage of a tourist from Texas who was stabbed randomly on the C train yesterday:
Poor guy, his mention in the paper of record also brings up his obsession with the Dork Arts. I'm sure he'll live that down with his friends and family, um..... never.
P.S. He's going to be okay and they nabbed the guy who was running amok stabbing people without provocation. At least he helped reinvigorate that early 90s vibe of "NYC is a SCARY place" by committing random crimes against tourists that are guaranteed to generate loads of media coverage.
“He’s a smart, very bright kid,” his aunt said. “He’s not violent. He’s pretty passive.”
She described her nephew as a big science fiction and fantasy fan who used to collect Star Wars paraphernalia.
Poor guy, his mention in the paper of record also brings up his obsession with the Dork Arts. I'm sure he'll live that down with his friends and family, um..... never.
P.S. He's going to be okay and they nabbed the guy who was running amok stabbing people without provocation. At least he helped reinvigorate that early 90s vibe of "NYC is a SCARY place" by committing random crimes against tourists that are guaranteed to generate loads of media coverage.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Traveling and eating are about letting things happen...
...So says Mr. Anthony Bourdain, the best-selling author of Kitchen Confidential, among other titles. As much as I want to dislike his arrogant puss, the man talks some serious sense about food. Arrogance is always more tolerable when the person is dead-on about their topic. His No Reservations show on the Travel Channel is always entertaining, high on the gross-out factor (sharing a still-warm raw baby seal in Northern Quebec with an Inuit family), and highly recommended.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Tragedy at the Track
During the 131st running of the Preakness Stakes yesterday, the unthinkable happened: Barbaro, the 2006 contender for the Triple Crown, pulled up lame in the first furlong of the race. After bursting through the starting gate prior to the bell, Barbaro calmly went back to his gate, reloading without any apparent injury. All the horses sprung out of the gate, and within 15 seconds, it was obvious that something had gone sickeningly wrong. Barbaro's right hind leg jutted out grotesquely as his jockey, Edgar Prado, struggled to pull him out of the race before any more damage occurred to the leg.
Caused simply by a taking a bad step, Barbaro broke his right hind ankle in two places, and it looks bad for racing's next great hope. It's nearly impossible to put a horse in cast so the leg can heal, and it's even harder when it involves a spirited young horse who only wants to run. Horses with the kind of break he received are normally immediately put down at the track, but because of his breeding value and stature, surgery is being performed today on his life-threatening injuries. His racing career is thuddingly over, his immortality limited to being the 2006 winner of the Kentucky Derby. I had my head in my hands and tears in my eyes, devasted and horrified, as I watched Barbaro hobble around on the track yesterday, not wanting to believe that this amazing creature in his prime was so gravely injured. A shaky, hushed phone call from a friend watching the race elsewhere left me feeling like we had witnessed a death in the family.
Watching a horse in prime condition break down in the biggest race of his career, I was reminded of Ruffian, the championship filly of 1975. Considered by many to be the top female horse of all time, she was nicknamed the "Queen of the Fillies" after being named 2 year-old Filly of the Year in 1974, and winning the Filly Triple Crown in 1975. I was horse-crazy 6 year-old girl at the time, aware enough of Ruffian to name every female toy horse I had after her. (Yeah, my Barbies rode horses, instead of going shopping).
Remaining undefeated in her first ten races, a match race was proposed between her and Foolish Pleasure, the 1975 winner of the Kentucky Derby. Ruffian was in front by a half-length when in the third furlong, the sesmoid bones in her right front ankle snapped. Twelve-hour surgery was performed, but when she woke up from the anesthsia, she wildly thrashed around, causing more damage to her ankle. She was euthanized a day after the race, and buried near the finish line in Belmont Park.
Caused simply by a taking a bad step, Barbaro broke his right hind ankle in two places, and it looks bad for racing's next great hope. It's nearly impossible to put a horse in cast so the leg can heal, and it's even harder when it involves a spirited young horse who only wants to run. Horses with the kind of break he received are normally immediately put down at the track, but because of his breeding value and stature, surgery is being performed today on his life-threatening injuries. His racing career is thuddingly over, his immortality limited to being the 2006 winner of the Kentucky Derby. I had my head in my hands and tears in my eyes, devasted and horrified, as I watched Barbaro hobble around on the track yesterday, not wanting to believe that this amazing creature in his prime was so gravely injured. A shaky, hushed phone call from a friend watching the race elsewhere left me feeling like we had witnessed a death in the family.
Watching a horse in prime condition break down in the biggest race of his career, I was reminded of Ruffian, the championship filly of 1975. Considered by many to be the top female horse of all time, she was nicknamed the "Queen of the Fillies" after being named 2 year-old Filly of the Year in 1974, and winning the Filly Triple Crown in 1975. I was horse-crazy 6 year-old girl at the time, aware enough of Ruffian to name every female toy horse I had after her. (Yeah, my Barbies rode horses, instead of going shopping).
Remaining undefeated in her first ten races, a match race was proposed between her and Foolish Pleasure, the 1975 winner of the Kentucky Derby. Ruffian was in front by a half-length when in the third furlong, the sesmoid bones in her right front ankle snapped. Twelve-hour surgery was performed, but when she woke up from the anesthsia, she wildly thrashed around, causing more damage to her ankle. She was euthanized a day after the race, and buried near the finish line in Belmont Park.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
