Chef, Farmer, Winemaker

A dinner with a theme of “chef, farmer, and winemaker” will be served later this month at the James Beard House by Michael Rozzi, the chef at 1770 House in East Hampton, along with Michael Cohen, the restaurant’s wine director. The theme pays homage to the teamwork behind the success of the restaurant, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary. 

The anniversary celebration dinner will take place on Oct. 26 at the James Beard House at 167 West 12th Street in Manhattan. Tickets are $175, or $135 for James Beard Foundation members, and reservations can be made through the foundation.

The menu will feature five courses that showcase local bounty, including Montauk fluke and Bonac clams, and items from Mecox Bay Dairy, the Milk Pail, and Amber Waves and Balsam Farms. Four courses will be paired with wines from the Kontokosta Winery in Greenport. Following hors d’oeuvres, dinner will include hand-cut spicy Montauk fluke, roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts salad, organic North Fork quail, pasture-raised Bridgehampton beef, and apple en croute with preserved summer cherries.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs from next Thursday through Oct. 9. Congratulations, HIFF!

This got me thinking about food in films and films about food. There are so, so many, I thought it prudent to divide them into categories: the films that are specifically about food — “Babette’s Feast,” “Mostly Martha,” “Chef,” “Burnt,” “Chocolat,” “Waitress,” “Ratatouille,” “Tampopo,” “Big Night,” and the marvelous “The Hundred Foot Journey” — and the movies that are not about food whatsoever, but in which a scene with or about food becomes one of the most memorable in the entire movie — “Goodfellas,” “The Godfather,” “It’s Complicated,” “Tom Jones,” “Mystic Pizza,” and “Amelie.”

Sometimes food is just a prop in a movie; sometimes it becomes the star. We are all drawn to food scenes because they are familiar to us, as family dinners, as foreplay, as fights.

Food can be a useful tool for actors. In the movie “Big,” Tom Hanks is magically transformed back into a young boy. When he finds himself at a grand party, he picks up an ear of baby corn and consumes it as if it is a full-sized ear, nibbling the kernels daintily from one end to the other. In “What About Bob?” Bill Murray’s character follows his therapist (Richard Dreyfuss) to his vacation home and plops himself down to enjoy their porch supper. His enthusiastic moaning and compliments to the therapist’s wife makes Dreyfuss’s blood boil. 

“Mmmmmm, Faye, this is scrumptious! Is it hand-shucked?”

In “Goodfellas,” the character Henry Hill narrates Paulie’s way of slicing garlic with a razor blade. The scene demonstrates that even though the mobsters are in prison, they are not doing without; they can still prepare a fine Italian feast behind bars.

Everyone remembers the iconic scene in “Annie Hall” when Woody Allen and Diane Keaton attempt to cook lobsters. (That scene, by the way, was filmed at the Amagansett house of The Star’s editor, David E. Rattray!) In “It’s Complicated,” the scene where Meryl Streep makes chocolate croissants for Steve Martin’s character makes you want to run out and buy 20 fresh croissants. The food for “It’s Complicated,” “Julie and Julia,” and “Eat Pray Love” was all made by the talented Susan Spungen, an occasional East End resident. “Julie and Julia” is a fine example of a movie that’s better than the book, in my opinion. That buttery hollandaise with artichokes!

Food in movies is often intertwined with sex. For instance, that dumb scene in “9 1/2 Weeks” where Mickey Rourke feeds a variety of refrigerator items to a blindfolded Kim Basinger — ice cubes, maraschino cherries, a jalapeño. What a sadistic dude. In “Tom Jones,” one of the most famous scenes is Albert Finney sharing a gargantuan feast with a lady friend. They consume the food lustily and messily, beginning with soup, then lobster, chicken, and oysters, followed by ripe pears. “Tampopo” is a film all about noodles (ramen) but the more memorable food/sex scene involves a raw egg yolk being passed back and forth orally between lovers until . . . well, check it out for yourself if you like.

In movies that are specifically about food, there is usually a climactic food scene. Remy the rodent in “Ratatouille” cooks for Anton Ego “the poison penned restaurant critic.” Why are we restaurant critics always portrayed as monsters? Same portrayal in “Mystic Pizza.” 

In “Big Night,” the preparation of timpano is epic. Timpano is a complicated concoction of homemade pasta, layered with more pasta, meatballs, sauce, hard-boiled eggs, mozzarella, and salami. Oof!

In 2005 I had the unique experience of making all the pies for the movie “Waitress,” now a Broadway musical. I was flown back and forth to Los Angeles to make the pies four or five times. The movie was shot at a diner an hour outside of L.A., which meant 30 to 40 pies had to be transported each time. I was confident in my pie making skills but not in my ability to navigate the L.A. freeways, so I’d make someone else in the crew drive them out to the set. It was fun to teach Keri Russell how to roll dough and hang around craft services with the other actors and crew.

When it comes to authenticity in the movies, one of my pet peeves (in “Burnt” and a few others) is the immaculate restaurant kitchen, chefs with spotless coats, and chopping scenes with the fingertips exposed. No restaurant kitchen is clean during the rush, chefs’ coats get spattered with all manner of food and grease, and every good cook knows to curl his or her fingertips under while chopping to prevent the loss of digits. The movie “Chef” is one of the few that got all of it right.

Mike Nichols once said that all movies, plays, and life in general, are about three things: fights, seductions, and negotiation. The same could be said about food in movies. Fights: “Animal House.” Seduction: “It’s Complicated” and many more. Negotiation: “Five Easy Pieces” and “Goodfellas.” Those gangsters had to do something to get all that fresh parsley, tomatoes, and garlic past the guards. 

The wonderful writer and director Nora Ephron often put recipes in her books (“Heartburn”), and food played an important role in many of her movies. She once said, “I have made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them.”

To paraphrase the director Federico Fellini: “Life (and film) is a combination of magic and pasta.” ­

For Football Season

Yes, it’s that time again, and Townline BBQ in Sagaponack will mark the season with specials at the bar during football games and at happy hour. Offered on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays will be cocktail deals, bargain beer and wine, and edibles such as “garbage fries” (French fries with cheese sauce, chili, sour cream, and jalapenos), nachos, wings, and a “Happier Meal,” featuring a cheeseburger or hot dog, fries, and a beer for $9. Free popcorn and peanuts, too.

New Restaurant

Luis D’Loera, the owner and chef at Michael’s restaurant in Springs, is set to open a new restaurant next month, The Blend at Three Mile Harbor, in the space on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton formerly occupied by the Harbor Grill. The restaurant will feature local ingredients, made in-house and influenced by the dishes of northern Italy, southern France, and the Mediterranean. The menu, which will change seasonally, will include entrees ranging $15 to $38: burgers, steak, osso bucco, veal chops, veal liver, rabbit,  duck, roast chicken, rigatoni Bolognese, and more.

Among the seafood choices are crispy-skin salmon and bass, grilled tuna, and seafood risotto. An extensive list of appetizers includes baked clams or oysters, steamed mussels, fried calamari, soups, salads, and homemade focaccia with olives and cheese. 

Oktoberfest Fare

This week’s Oktoberfest offering at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton, available today through Sunday, is sauerbraten with braised red cabbage and turnip-potato puree, along with Black Forest ice cream bombe for dessert. Rowdy also has a selection of Oktoberfest beers on tap, as well as a tasting flight of beers to sample.

Sen Closed Till Spring

Sen has closed for the season for renovations. The Sag Harbor restaurant will reopen in April. 

When it comes to our attention that a food establishment has not only survived, but thrived, for more than 20 years on the East End, that is worth noting and celebrating. Such is the case with the Hampton Chutney Company, based in Amagansett Square, with two more locations in New York City and one soon to open in Los Angeles.

The founders, Isabel and Gary MacGurn, met in 1987 in Ganeshpuri, India, when both were cooking at an ashram. They were unloading coconuts when a bag of them fell on Isabel’s head. Gary came to the rescue, and they became good friends and nothing more for the next seven years. They traveled in different directions of the world and finally began dating in 1992.

Gary had grown up in San Diego, a surfer dude who attended community college “for five minutes.” Isabel was raised on the Upper West Side, attended private schools and the Wharton School of Business. 

He was raised Presbyterian and had always been fascinated by saints. “Twelve saints got to hang with Jesus. Why only 12? I wanted to hang with a saint!” At the age of 20 he was living on an uncle’s farm in a six-by-eight cabin with no electricity, tending a garden, milking cows, and making cheese and butter. His brother sent him a tape of mantras, which inspired him, and his uncle encouraged him to visit India, “which was like going to Mars,” he recalled. “I’d never been out of California.” He began following Swami Muktananda, affectionately referred to as “Baba,” and then moved into an ashram and washed dishes for thousands of people a day. After years of travel, he became a cook and was particularly drawn to dosas, a thin, sourdough crepe made with rice and lentils, filled with all manner of vegetables or meat, and served with chutneys.

“I was in love with them. They appeal to all ages. You can add cheese, avocado, and whatever is seasonal.”

The couple moved to Amagansett and worked on a business plan. They began by making chutneys at home and selling them at farmers markets, then gourmet shops in the city. When the much-feared health inspector showed up on their doorstep and shut them down, they worked out a deal with the late Jeff Salaway to open a chutney business in what was previously the Honest Bakery, now La Fondita, in 1997. From the get-go, business took off. They started making dosas that patrons could take outside to eat at picnic tables as they gazed upon the beautiful landscape oasis that is the Bayberry Nursery.

After three years they moved to their current location in Amagansett Square. Business initially dropped off by 30 percent. “Everyone thought we’d shut down, they didn’t realize we’d just moved down the road.”

When you walk into Hampton Chutney Company you will always hear the chants playing in the background. The atmosphere is calm, the staff friendly, and the food outstanding. “The chants are important, the sound infuses the food and the atmosphere, they enter you and are super powerful. You can have a five-star restaurant, but if there is anger and cursing in the kitchen, it will be in the food. For the staff, our mission statement is: ‘Welcome everyone with love and respect.’ This goes for everyone, our vendors, our customers, and ourselves. Not everybody can work here, we set a high bar, and we have very little turnover.”

Their sons Julian, 18, and Ravi, 16, have both worked at their parent’s establishment. Julian is in his second year at Georgetown University and is working for Senator Charles Schumer. Ravi is a junior at East Hampton High School and loves tennis. 

“It’s a great experience for our boys to work here. They see how hard everyone works and we bond over it when we get home,” Gary said.

There are lots of school field trips to Hampton Chutney, and it deliver dosas to the Amagansett School every Tuesday.

What has always impressed me the most (besides Gary’s contagious enthusiasm, happy demeanor, and his wife’s calm kindness) is how perfectly consistent the quality is. Every dosa is brand-spanking fresh, every chutney zesty and imaginative. They are healthy and affordable. There are plenty of other offerings there: delicious soups, uttapams (a thicker, open-faced crepe made with the same batter), sandwiches, cardamom coffee, lassis, a children’s menu, ice cream, cookies, and a few shelves of well-curated gourmet items.

The MacGurns follow the three Ayurvedic tenets of eating. “Too many people eat unconsciously. You should eat foods you can digest easily and get more energy from. Eat the right amount of food. Eat according to season.” In spring you will find dosas with asparagus, in fall and winter, there will be butternut squash and beets.

When they’re not working their tails off (Isabel working the cash register and managing the business end, Gary cooking and greeting guests), they like to cook Italian food at home. When the season calms down, they take biking trips to Block Island, visit Julian in D.C., and Gary’s parents in San Diego. Hampton Chutney is closed only three days of the year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Every year they take the entire staff to Harvest on Fort Pond, and for date nights the couple treat themselves to dinner in the tavern at 1770 House.

Everyone who knows Hampton Chutney Company has his or her favorite dosa and chutney. I’m a Number Six Masala Deluxe gal myself. It’s filled with spiced potatoes, spinach, roasted tomatoes, and jack cheese. They toss in a few chopped jalapeños (Gary’s recommendation) and I top it with the tomato and cilantro chutneys. My son grew up on Number Eleven, filled with smoked turkey, roasted onions, spinach, and jack cheese.

The MacGurns found their passion and live completely by their beliefs. The rest of us in our community get to be fed well by these beliefs. Here’s to at least 20 more years of happy, healthy dosas, orange blossom perfumed lemonades, and the best chutneys outside of India.

Art of Eating Catering, now based in Bridgehampton, is offering a special catering to-go menu in recognition of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The menu, which is subject to change, includes smoked fish, tuna, egg, and whitefish salads with bagels and cream cheese, dips, potato pancakes, chopped liver, gefilte fish, vegetable kugel, and main courses such as roasted local organic chicken, herb-crusted fish, filet mignon, and whole roasted salmon along with a selection of sides. 

Springs Tavern Fall Specials

Fall specials at the Springs Tavern include a Tuesday-night two-for-one taco deal from 6 to 9 p.m. for $22.95. Choices include chicken, pork, or vegetable tacos. Beginning on Tuesday, the Salty Canvas will hold a weekly Paint and Sip party at the tavern. For $45, participants will receive a cocktail or glass of wine or beer, and an appetizer, along with their painting materials and instruction. The event is child-friendly.

Pre-Theater Dinner

The 1770 House in East Hampton will cater to theatergoers attending the JDT Lab performances at Guild Hall on the next two Tuesdays. Those who make a reservation with the code #JDTLab may sit down beginning at 5:30 p.m. Orders will be taken by 6:30 p.m., in order to insure a timely arrival for the 7:30 p.m. curtain time.

New Fall Hours

The Bell and Anchor in Sag Harbor has new fall hours. It is serving dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays. Reservations have been recommended. 

Fall Prix Fixe

At Redbar Brasserie in Southampton, a prix fixe menu is offered on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. A two-course option includes an appetizer and an entree for $30; diners may choose to include a dessert with a $35, three-course prix fixe. 

Barbecue Day

Baron’s Cove restaurant in Sag Harbor will be the hot spot on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. when Rob Shawger, the leader of the Salty Rinse BBQ team, and Matty Boudreau prepare a feast that includes smoked and glazed baby back ribs, and Montauk Brewery beer can chicken, with all the fixings. There will be live music by the Tom and Lisa Trio starting at 2 p.m. 

Artists and Writers Night

Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton will restart its Artists and Writers Night series on Tuesday at 7 p.m. with Allie Wist as the presenting artist. Ms. Wist, the associate art director at Saveur magazine and a recent graduate of New York University’s food studies master’s program, is an artist, art director, and photographer whose work is anchored in food culture and food systems. Dinner will be a three-course prix fixe for $45, served family style and including a glass of local wine or craft beer. The price includes a gratuity but not tax. Reservations are required. 

Nick and Toni’s Brunch

Sunday brunch is back at Nick and Toni’s. The weekly menu, served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will be a la carte, and will include specialty brunch cocktails.

James Lubetkin, an amateur baker who lives in Amagansett, brought home four blue ribbons and a second-place prize for baking from the New York State Fair in Syracuse, and was among seven people chosen to compete for the fair’s culinary grand prize.

Mr. Lubetkin, who entered 10 of the baking competitions, won top honors in the creative apple pie, vintage cake, quick bread, and pastry categories and second in the heritage cookie category. The pie, a French apple Breton, was also the top-rated apple pie in the state by judges at the fair, which ran from Aug. 23 through Sept. 4. 

His vintage cake was a seven-layer dobos cake, his winning quick bread was a pumpkin bread, and his apple strudel was tops among pastries, while his Austrian hazelnut linzer cookie took a not-too-shabby second place among heritage cookies. His chocolate raspberry valentine cake, frosted orange pound cake, and carrot cake received honorable mentions. 

Entries were graded on taste, appearance, and texture, he explained last week, but with everything generally delicious the competitions tend to be won or lost “based on appearance.” The tricky thing with a baking competition, he said, is that you can’t be sure the entry has turned out well because you can’t sample it in advance. “You can’t enter three-quarters of a cake having had a taste of it yourself.” 

“All the baking I did for the fair I actually did here in Amagansett,” Mr. Lubetkin said. He then froze the cakes and cookies, but “the cakes that had icing, or the cookies that had stuff in between them I took up there and finished in the Syracuse area,” where he rented a house with a kitchen for the duration of the fair. 

“The apple Breton is a fairly easy thing to make and it freezes pretty well,” he said, but “the one I liked most is a seven-layer cake.” 

Mr. Lubetkin, who is retired from a career in public relations and public affairs, entered his first county fair baking competition about two dozen years ago in Ohio and has been competing ever since. In the Cleveland area, he would often enter as many as 12 or 13 competitions, many of them happening simultaneously. The New York State Fair spreads the baking competitions out over more days, making it easier for bakers. 

“I grew up in New York City and my mom was one of those people who was always in the kitchen. Being the youngest of three kids, I always had time to spend with her.” He started off with Betty Crocker mixes and soon advanced to baking his own cakes from scratch. “When I had kids and they were really young, I’d ask them what type of cake they wanted for their birthdays, and it just grew into other things.” 

Closer to home, Mr. Lubetkin has been a contestant at the Long Island Fair in Old Bethpage, the Springs Agricultural Fair, and the chowder contest at the East Hampton Town Trustee’s Largest Clam Contest, where his Bonac chowder won the top prize in 2016.

Despite his culinary success, he says his wife, Marika O’Doherty, is the better cook in the family. “I do the stuff that people go wow over and she does the stuff that’s really good.” However, in addition to baking and making a mean clam chowder, Mr. Lubetkin also smokes meats, with brisket a particular specialty. 

And all this out of surprisingly modest kitchen. His oven, he said, “is the least sexy oven you can have.” Outside, “I have a small Weber grill and my smoker is about two feet by two feet square and about four feet high. It’s amazing how in those two little things you can get an awful lot done.” 

While he has won many awards for his baking, he is quick to admit his shortcomings. “The hardest thing for me are the real pies with the true crusts,” he said. As for his winning apple Breton, “This particular dough is almost like what you call a cookie crust. Anyone can really do this.”

One of the tricks to the recipe, which can be found online, is to cook the apples first. “It does two things: It keeps the pie from getting soggy and it creates a much more concentrated apple flavor.” 

His most important takeaway from his years of experience: Bake in advance and freeze. “For cakes and filled/frosted cookies that require many steps, the time-consuming part is the measuring, mixing, and then the actual time in the oven.”

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Mexican Specials

La Fondita, the Mexican takeout shop in Amagansett, will celebrate Mexican Independence Day by offering some specials tomorrow and Saturday. They include chiles en nogada, a poblano pepper filled with cheese, walnut cream sauce, pomegranate seeds, rice, and refried beans; and tamales with pork, chicken, or cheese, served with rice and refried beans. La Fondita opens at 11:30 a.m., on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule. 

Oktoberfest Begins

Rowdy Hall in East Hampton will kick off its Oktoberfest celebration with a traditional festival from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The restaurant and its courtyard will be transformed into a traditional German beer garden, with picnic tables outside and communal dining tables indoors. German bar snacks will be served, such as fresh-baked pretzels with mustard and knockwurst, bratwurst, and bockwurst platters, and beer specials, including an Oktoberfest tasting flight, will be available. There will be Bavarian music from 4 to 6 p.m. in the courtyard, weather permitting. 

Weekly Oktoberfest specials will be on the menu through Oct 1, starting nightly at 5. The first, available from Saturday through Wednesday, features knockwurst, bratwurst, and bockwurst with German potato salad, sauerkraut, and mustard as an entree, and “Black Forest ice cream bombe” for dessert. The prix fixe price is $27.  Beginning next Thursday, and running through Sept. 24, the special will be kassler rippchen with braised red cabbage and grilled apples, with apple streusel cake for dessert. 

What happens when 13 chefs from 13 restaurants around the country come to Montauk to fish for striped bass, fluke, and bluefish, and then form three teams, prepare their catch-paired side dishes, and compete to win in their category? Crazy good food, that’s what happens!

On Sept. 6, Navy Beach in Montauk sponsored a chefs’ team-building event for the Barcelona Wine Bar and Restaurant group, with profits going to benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation. Additional food and drinks were donated by Amber Waves Farm, the Montauk Brewing Company, and Paumanok Winery. Rudi Bonicelli, a co-founder (with Sean Barrett) of Dock to Dish Montauk, made sure these landlubbers caught enough fish for the event. 

The striped bass were plentiful, as were the bluefish, but alas, there were no fluke that day, which meant one of the teams had to switch gears and form a second striped bass team. It is worth noting that some of these chefs had never fished before, nor had they ever dealt with that Rodney Dangerfield of the sea, bluefish. Christopher Lee, culinary director of the Barcelona Wine Bar group, also pointed out that none of them had ever cooked with fish so fresh that it was still firm from rigor mortis, making the raw and ceviche-style items more challenging.

I arrived early enough to catch the mayhem in the kitchen. Leyla Marchetto, co-owner of Navy Beach, was cool as a cucumber while leading me around and introducing me to everyone. Navy Beach, located on Fort Pond Bay, has around 80 to 90 seats and the kitchen is tight. Even after a long day on the water (with some chefs feeling a little “green around the gills”), they were jolly and peppy as they prepped enormous salt crusts to encase striped bass, pickled bluefish, and finished ethereal corn puddings.

After a little happy hour spent sipping rosé and nibbling on ceviche, crab cakes, and Yunnan ribs provided by Navy Beach (all very delicious), it was time to eat and judge and judge and eat again.

Three tables were set up around the dining room. Team Fluke, now Team Striped Bass Number One, served striped bass crudo with sour orange, escabeche, salt-crusted with agrodolce, whole roasted with green grapes, and pan-seared with pimenton oil. The paired side dishes were charred jalapeño slaw, buckwheat salad with peaches and macadamia nuts, faro with summer vegetables and feta, corn pudding, and kale salad. 

All of the dishes were outstanding, but in particular the salt-crusted striped bass with agrodolce. The salt crust makes a dramatic presentation when cracked open, and it keeps the fish remarkably moist. Agrodolce is an Italian sweet-sour sauce with onions or shallots, and this one complimented the mild fish perfectly. This was prepared by John Iatrellis of New Haven, Conn. The corn pudding, prepared by Christopher Lee, also brought people back for seconds.

The second striped bass team made bass wrapped in parchment (en papillote), stew, esqueixada, and pan-roasted. The sides were tomato salad, morcilla fritters, creamed corn with pimenton popcorn(!), and grilled asparagus. The striped bass in parchment was a standout, as were the morcilla fritters, made with blood sausage. The creamed corn had a hint of tarragon, and this dish also brought the guests back for more.

Last, but certainly not least, was Team Bluefish, with the fish pickled, smoked, whole roasted, grilled, and in a paté. The sides were summer vegetable caponata, succotash, cucumber panzanella, roasted tomatoes, and roasted fennel with jalapeño. Every single bluefish dish was excellent, in particular the smoked, the pickled, the grilled, and the paté. Being strong and oily, this fish seemed to be particularly well suited to the zesty seasonings often used by the Barcelona Wine Bar chefs, which are Spanish tapas bars with a bit of South American flare. The roasted fennel with jalapeño (prepared by the lone female chef, Farah Masani) was especially good, as was the succotash.

The voting method was no more than grabbing some sand dollars out of a jar and putting them in the three jars at each chef’s station. I confess I put two sand dollars in the Bluefish Team’s jar because I like an underdog, I like bluefish, and most of the team was from the D.C. area. Apparently, I was not alone in my fondness for blues and what can be done with them, because Team Bluefish won the competition.

This was the Barcelona Wine Bar group’s second team building outing. Last year its chefs traveled to a farm in Ohio and created a vegetable-centric menu. Christopher Lee pointed out that this year’s outing was a real education for the chefs, who learned how Dock to Dish is literally transforming how we can get freshly caught fish directly to the consumer. From far, far away, Sean Barrett wrote about the evening: “This specific event was very meaningful for us, because it put the Dock to Dish mission of reconnecting our community to the local fishery on display in a very delicious way. Navy Beach is an original founding member of our restaurant program, and Rudi Bonicelli is not only a co-founder of Dock to Dish — but also one of the most talented, knowledgeable, and reliable rod and reel fishermen around. Our team has been on the road a lot over the past few years, establishing new Dock to Dish programs in California, Canada, Costa Rica, and beyond — but for this event we imported chefs from across the country back to the place where it all began. Having Leyla and Rudi pull off such a wildly successful reception was very cool in a homecoming kind of way, and it was all done to support a great cause. There have been such rave reviews from everyone that participated that we are determined to make this an annual event. I already have chefs looking to participate next year, and people asking about tickets.”

Mr. Bonicelli, a bit more spare with words, wrote: “Glad everyone had fun. The chefs did great, they got to see how fish end up on the plate Dock to Dish style.”So the 13 chefs got to experience fishing and Montauk hospitality, Navy Beach raised money for the Navy SEAL Foundation, and the kind sponsors provided the additional food and drink. 

Thank you all, you are angels.

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Corn and tomatoes will be plentiful into October, but the locally famous treasures you should be enjoying right now are melons. The East End has long been famous for outstanding cantaloupes. Growing up, I remember hearing that Carl Yastrzemski’s family in Bridgehampton grew the best around. Why is our area so favorable for growing melons? They thrive in sandy soil and appreciate long, warm, sunny days.

There are a number of varieties that grow particularly well here — musk, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Some specific varieties are Early Canada, a small oval-shape type with stripes and few seeds, or Yugoslavian Hello, a cannonball-shape yellow watermelon that’s sweet and seedy. The Early Crimson Sweet X Charleston is large and round with sugary flesh and is a consistent and reliable variety to grow. Golden Jubilee, a hybrid from Asia, has a yellow rind with bright red flesh inside. Cream of Saskatchewan has pale stripes and pale flesh and is delicious served ice-cold or turned into a sorbet.

When choosing cantaloupes or musk melons, look for deep ribs and good solid “netting,” that rough tan pattern all over the melon. The stem will break away from the vine when completely ripe, and the aroma should be rich and perfumey. Color is not that important, but you don’t want to see a lot of green and/or soft spots.

Melons can sit out at room temperature for about a week but should be refrigerated once ripe . . . but not for too long. You should try to find the ripest available, chill it, and eat it A.S.A.P.

Another piece of advice that is critical but seldom included in recipes or stories about melons: You must give them a really good scrub with a brush before slicing into them. Any fruit or vegetable that is growing on the ground is going to get deer, rodent, bird, raccoon, etc., scat all over it. Once your knife slices into the fruit, those bacteria are introduced into the edible flesh. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, just remember to do this!

Melons are great for so many reasons: They are cheap and plentiful in season, everybody likes them, kids have fun spitting out the seeds, they’re easy to grow, and they’re healthful. Members of the musk melon family are rich in potassium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. Watermelons have vitamin C and lycopene, the phytonutrient believed to aid in heart health.

Vine-ripening is important for all melons because they don’t store starch or get any sweeter after harvest. Except for watermelon, melons are fruits of Cucumis melo, a close relative of the cucumber, and are natives of the subtropics of Asia. The plant was domesticated in Central Asia or India, according to Harold McGee’s “On Food and Cooking,” and arrived in the Mediterranean at the beginning of the first century. Their large size and ability to grow fast made them a popular symbol for fertility, abundance, and luxury.

Watermelons are a distant relative of other melons, originally from Africa, and they have more antioxidants than tomatoes. A good watermelon should seem heavy for its size, with a bit of yellowing under the skin indicating chlorophyll loss, therefore ripening. Some believe a solid sound should come from thumping the melon but they all sound alike to me.

Regarding recipes, some people like the now-ubiquitous watermelon and feta salad. You can combine a similar variety of flavors with the melon (jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, lime juice) to make a fluke or flounder ceviche. Melon soups are as easy as slice, puree, add a dash of lemon or lime juice. Use two different kinds of melon to make a swirly, colorful, light, and healthy cold soup. One of my favorite drinks is just watermelon and pineapple with a few tablespoons of grated ginger pureed into a smoothie. If you feel inclined to add vodka, tequila, or rum to it, well, that’s a fine cocktail, too.

Summer’s almost over but our farms are still cranking out lots of delicious fruits and vegetables. Don’t start shopping for apples and pumpkins just yet! Explore the stands and markets for our justifiably famous East End cantaloupes and watermelons.

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As this issue of The Star comes out, no doubt restaurateurs all over the East End are taking a deep breath, having navigated another summer season. But don’t forget, some of the favorite seasonal places will remain open through September, or even beyond, providing those who eschew the heavy crowds a chance to partake.

The seafood specialties offered by Gosman’s Dock, at the end of West Lake Drive in Montauk, include grilled Block Island swordfish served with orzo salad, almond pesto, and lemon-mint vinaigrette; Gosman’s surf and turf, with a steak filet and lobster tail served with potato and vegetable; blackened yellowfin tuna steak, and, of course, lobsters served a variety of ways. 

Across the channel from Gosman’s, Inlet Seafood restaurant and sushi bar offers a great view on even a chilly day, when one can gaze out through expansive windows. 

Other waterfront sites that might be more tranquil spots to dine and sip now that we’ve passed Labor Day include two on Three Mile Harbor in Springs — the Harbor Bistro and Bay Kitchen Bar. 

Vegetable Gleaning

Another end-of-season focus for some foodies is the gleaning program organized by the Amagansett Food Institute, which mobilizes volunteers to collect excess produce from farm fields that would otherwise go to waste. The yield is donated to food pantries here.

Volunteers are needed and can get in touch with the organizers by sending an email to [email protected]. Farmers interested in offering the leftovers in their fields have been asked to get in touch as well.