News for Foodies

By Joanne Pilgrim

Quail Hill Taste-Off

The tomatoes are ripe at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, which will hold its sixth annual Great Tomato Taste-Off in the apple orchard off Deep Lane on Saturday.

From 9 a.m. to noon, tasters can sample the farm's more than 30 varieties of organically grown tomatoes, cleansing their palates between tomatoes with breads from Kara's Organic Bakery and designer water. The tomatoes, which are mostly heirloom varieties, range from small-but-full-of-flavor types like Matt's Wild Cherry and Sun Gold, to exotic-sounding varieties like Green Zebra, Black Plum, and Rose de Berne. The event is free.

Loaves and Fishes

The Loaves and Fishes Cookshop will help cooks turn their minds, and menus, toward fall with a class on Saturday on making "hearty fall soups," such as roasted butternut squash, potato-leek, and watercress.

Today, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a session on sweet and savory mousses, and tomorrow night there will be a class on creating a dinner centered on roasted striped bass. Also on Saturday, teens can attend a class on putting together an end-of-summer lobster fest. Next Thursday, the shop, which is on Main Street in Bridgehampton, will offer a workshop on making scones, shortcakes, and quickbreads. The cost of each session is $75, except for the dinner class, which is $150. Registration is with the shop.

Cafe Max, Publick House

It may be a little easier to venture out to eat, now that summer visitors have gone. Some places to consider, which continue to offer specials several nights a week, include Cafe Max in East Hampton, which bills itself as "the UnHampton," and the Southampton Publick House, which offers not only its fresh-brewed beer but two-for-one specials each Tuesday.

At Cafe Max, three courses cost $22.50 all night on Monday and Wednesday, two courses cost $20 all night on Thursday, and early-bird specials are offered between 5:30 and 5:55 p.m. on Friday and at 5:30 on the nose on Saturday and Sunday.