Alexander the Great was a big fan, as were George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Charles I of England was so entranced with its flavors that he tried to keep the recipe secret as a royal prerogative.

    The cause of this historical brouhaha? Ice cream.

    History tells us that ice cream — or some form of shaved ice and flavored syrups — first made an appearance in the second century B.C. as a treat for royals. But it took almost another two millenniums for it to reach the masses, and when it did, it took off like an ice cream avalanche.

    Liza Tremblay, co-owner with her husband of the local company Joe and Liza’s Ice Cream, doles out cups and cones at the East Hampton farmers market on North Main Street Friday mornings from an old-fashioned ice cream cart. She can also be found Friday afternoons at the Hayground farmers market in Bridgehampton and the Sag Harbor market on Saturday mornings.

    But the ice cream — which is all natural, made in Sag Harbor with as many local ingredients as possible, and free of stabilizers like guar or xanthan gum — is also being served at some of the most popular restaurants and shops in the area now.

    Ms. Tremblay and her husband, Joe, opened Bay Burger in Sag Harbor in 2007. “When we decided to start Bay Burger, we wanted to do as much fresh and on site as possible, The meat is ground fresh each morning, the buns are made in the store daily.” It was a natural jump for the couple to offer fresh ice cream. Ms. Tremblay, who is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, decided to take a course in ice cream making with Malcolm Stogo, “the ice cream guru,” who runs the prestigious Ice Cream University in West Orange, N.J.

    All of the ice cream produced by Joe and Liza begins with a private-label base from Hudson Valley Fresh, which contains no hormones or antibiotics in the cream and milk. Then, when making strawberry ice cream, for example, all-natural sugar and 10 pounds of frozen strawberries are added to the two-and-a-half-gallon base, along with natural vanilla extract. “And that’s it,” Ms. Tremblay said.

    Along with the six regularly produced flavors — vanilla, chocolate, coffee, straw­berry, cookie jar, and pistachio — Joe and Liza’s creates specialized flavors, either for their restaurant clients or according to the season. A recent creation, served up at the farmers markets, was a fresh mint with chunks of Fat Ass Fudge, locally produced by Donna McCue. A Tate’s cookie-crumb ice cream is sold at Tate’s bake shop. Joe and Liza’s has also served up a basil ice cream for Sang Lee Farms and are working on a lavender flavor for them, along with a lemon-balm sorbet.

    Even more locally, Sylvester and Company carries a private-label flavor in their shops: “Dreamy” coffee with chocolate-covered almonds. And the new Mary’s Marvelous store opening in East Hampton in a few weeks will carry a Joe and Liza’s ice cream made with Mary Os, the store’s signature cookie.

    Ms. Tremblay now works full time with the ice cream part of the Bay Burger business. Mr. Tremblay, a grill man at some of Manhattan’s poshest eateries, concentrates on the restaurant part.

    It may have been the birth of the couple’s 18-month-old son, Leo, that helped Ms. Tremblay decide over the winter to stop adding stabilizers and emulsifiers to the frozen treat. “It was because of customer demand,” she said. “People just don’t want to feed their kids words that they can’t pronounce.”

    Although she called the new formula “a little less forgiving” — the shelf life is a little shorter — she doesn’t see that as a negative. “Customers are so pleased that we cut out the stuff that wasn’t natural,” she said. “And that’s really what it’s all about — happy customers.”

    Have you ever read a cookbook cover to cover? Me, neither. But one of the great joys of writing cookbook reviews is to read every single word, from introduction to chapter headings to analyzing each recipe and photograph. This immersion into a book can transport you to wonderful places: to Cyprus for a light lunch in the shade, to a North Fork farm stand for the ripest peaches, or to a Hamptons’ idyll so brightly colorized you’ll need to wear shades.

    There are two new books out right now, “Love, Laughter, and Lunch” by Helen Tsanos Sheinman, published by Pointed Leaf Press ($50), and “The Hamptons: Food, Family, and History” by Ricky Lauren, published by Wiley ($39.95). I’ve included a third book, “Fresh From the Farm: Great Local Foods from New York State” by Susan Meisel and Natalie Sann, published by Rizzoli ($40), because somehow this fine baby slipped by me when it was published two years ago.

    Ms. Tsanos Sheinman, a summer resident of Shelter Island, has written such a lovely, warm, colorful book that by page 33 I was craving Greek coffee and wishing for an invitation to one of her dinner parties. She explores her roots in Cyprus and covers a life lived in London and New York, always with an appreciation for her cultural heritage. Besides the food and family stories, the book is filled with the history of Greek textiles, embroidered linens, and pottery.

    Her parents began extolling the virtues of food presentation to her at a young age. “It has to be pleasing to the eye so that the appetite grows bigger!” Indeed, by page 19, I was seeking out a source for halloumi cheese, to be prepared with fennel, cilantro, mint, olive oil, and plenty of lemon juice.

    The recipe pages are handwritten, with the opposite page showing the completed dish or a nice array of the ingredients. Every picture includes the beautiful, bright woven fabrics, delicate lace linens, and rustic pottery of Cyprus. There is so much to learn from the book: Who knew you could make olive bread with orange soda? There are delicate Greek pastries such as kourabiethes, shortbread cookies, and melomakarona, honey cookies with walnuts.

    Ms. Tsanos Sheinman’s family is large and loving, and every page is an homage to the past with an eye toward keeping the Greek Cypriot traditions alive for the future. There is a page dedicated to the culinary and medicinal uses of herbs, along with an explanation of how to make coffee in a briki: Plain is called “sketo,” sweetened is “metrio,” and super sweet is called “glyko.”

    While “Love, Laughter, and Lunch” is a lusty, sensual adventure of a book, Ricky Lauren’s “The Hamptons” is a stylized peek into a picture-perfect life in . . . you guessed it . . . the Hamptons. The chapters are divided into the areas that the Lauren family has lived — first Southampton, then Amagansett, East Hampton, and Montauk.

    Every single picture is themed in red, white, and blue, mostly blue. Blue, which was my favorite color until I reached the end of the book. There are charming little watercolors throughout, penned, I believe, by Ms. Lauren. There are also very good snippets on local history, architecture, artists, and writers. Ms. Lauren describes the recipes as “tried and true that we have enjoyed as a family.” Some she learned as a young wife and “many have come from the wonderful and talented chefs who we have been proud to claim as part of our family over the years,” she wrote.

    Therein lies the rub for me. The recipes are no more original than those you would find in “Joy of Cooking.” The food styling is reminiscent of issues of Sunset magazine circa 1978. The color has been brightened and enhanced to the point that one chef friend asked if he was looking at Play-Doh when he saw a picture of scrambled eggs. If you need some simple recipes for omelettes, French toast, quiche, steamers, or sautéed breast of chicken, then by all means, this lifestyle cookbook may be for you. There are many beautiful family photos, along with pictures of polo, sailing, and some of Ralph’s vintage cars.

    “Fresh From the Farm” is another book that really takes you places. You can almost smell the lavender growing in East Marion and taste the raspberry strudel of Junda’s Pastry Shop in James­port. It’s such a great book that I wish they would print an addendum every year, adding new gourmet shops and wineries and bakeries, kind of like a locavore’s Zagat guide. The pictures, stories, and recipes are thorough and engaging, and it offers charming vignettes and beautiful photography.

    Without a doubt, the North and South Fork chapters are the lengthiest and most satisfying, perhaps because they are most familiar to me. And any book that has a picture of the Flanders Big Duck in its first few pages but refrains from referencing “the Hamptons” every other chapter is okay with me.

    This book includes everything from the Catapano Dairy Farm in Peconic to East Hampton’s Dreesen’s doughnuts to Cavaniola’s Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor to the awesome sausage from Villa Italian Specialties, also in East Hampton, from the bigger, well-established farms and purveyors (Briermere, Braun, Mecox Bay Dairy) to the small and artisanal (the Tomato Lady, Widow’s Hole Oysters). “Fresh From the Farm” makes me feel proud and privileged to live here and be able to taste many of the delicious foods throughout the book. It reminds me that it’s time for a trip to Lavender by the Bay for honey, Iacono Farm for fine chicken, and Loaves and Fishes, if for no more than an inspiring chat with the tirelessly creative Anna Pump.

    All three cookbooks would make wonderful coffee table gifts, one sunny and laughing, one filled with rich history, and one a useful guide to our many resources for local foods.

Click for recipes

    The Hampton Market Place in East Hampton, closed last fall after a fire on Nov. 15, reopened on June 13 after an extensive reconstruction. The market continues to offer a salad bar, fresh produce — now including organic choices — and a deli featuring hot and cold foods. A bakery, with gluten-free selections, has been added, as has a section featuring organic groceries and “green” items such as personal-care products and compostable disposable plates. The market now runs its own fresh meat department and continues to sell sushi. The Star is also now being sold there, after a hiatus.

The New Sunday

    Navy Beach restaurant on Fort Pond Bay in Montauk is stretching the weekend, beginning Monday, and offering discounted bottles of rosé wine from noon to 5 p.m. each Monday in July and August. Diners can choose a Lieb Cellars 2011 Bridge Lane rosé at 25 percent off, or a magnum of St. Tropez’s Cep d’Or from Cotes de Provence at half off. The restaurant will serve diners at tables on the beach or in its “sun lounge,” and takes reservations for its sun beds for noon to 4 p.m. or 4 to 8 p.m. sessions.

Montauk’s Hideaway

    The Hideaway restaurant, a casual Mexican eatery at the Diamond Cove Marina on West Lake Drive, is now serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.

“Yes, Chef” Guest Chef

    Marcus Samuelsson, a chef and cookbook author, will prepare a meal to be served at two seatings on Saturday at Solé East in Montauk. The $125-per-person cost will include four courses paired with Bedell Cellars, Channing Daughters, and Clovis Point wines, as well as a signed copy of Mr. Samuelsson’s forthcoming memoir, “Yes, Chef.” Reservations can be made by calling Solé East or sending an e-mail to marcusdinner@soleeast.com.

Free Wine Tasting

    Apres Soirée wine on tap will offer tastes of its products at a party on Saturday at Banzai Burger on Napeague. Complimentary wine and light appetizers will be served from 4 to 7 p.m. Those who wish to attend have been asked to RSVP to info@banzaiburger.com.

Farmers Market Sweets

    Dolce Nirvana, a new East Hampton dessert company run by two sisters, is not only selling its pies and other products — fruit pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, and signature Key lime pies — at the farmers markets at the Hayground School (Bridgehampton) and East Hampton on Fridays, but is now providing its traditional and mango Key lime pies to the Whole Foods pop-up store in Wainscott. The company’s products were recently featured at the Williams-Sonoma store in Bridgehampton as well.

    Also available at local farmers markets are goodies made by Hamptons Cupcake Lounge. The company bakes with whole grains, fruit purées and unsweetened applesauce, sugar substitutes, and egg whites to create cupcakes that are lower in fat, sugar, carbohydrates, and calories than their traditional counterparts. Varieties, which include a selection of booze-infused “cuptails,” are available singly, by the dozen, or in miniature versions. They are being sold at the Hayground market on Friday afternoons as well as at the Southampton farmers market on Sundays.

BBQ Beach Delivery

    It’s summer, so Townline BBQ has reinstated its daily noon and 2 p.m. deliveries to Main Beach in East Hampton. Orders must total at least $20, excluding a $5 delivery charge, and be placed by 11 a.m. for the noon delivery and by 1 p.m. for the later delivery. Payment for phone orders must be by MasterCard or Visa. The eatery’s menu includes pork ribs, organic smoked chicken, pulled pork and chicken, burgers, and more.

Free Demo

    At the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton on Saturday, a noon to 2 p.m. demonstration will feature how to make an “instant” wine refresher, using Channing Daughters wines.

Thursdays

Montauk

On the green, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Fridays

East Hampton

Nick and Toni’s parking lot, 136 North Main Street, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Bridgehampton

Hayground School, 151 Mitchell Lane, 3-6:30 p.m.

Saturdays

Shelter Island

Shelter Island Historical Society

16 South Ferry Road (Route 114),

9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Sag Harbor

Bay and Burke Streets, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Springs

Ashawagh Hall, Old Stone Highway and Springs-Fireplace Road, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sundays

Southampton

West side grounds of Parrish Art Museum, 25 Job’s Lane, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Wednesdays

Amagansett

Route 27 Farmers Market

American Legion Hall, Corner of Abraham’s Path and Montauk Highway, 2-6 p.m.

   Former East Hampton Town Councilwoman Julia Prince is now in the restaurant business, and running a restaurant is a breeze compared to helping run East Hampton Town, she said.

    “In comparison to the workload on the town board, this is nothing. That job prepared me for anything. You still have problems but they’re manageable,” she said on Monday, sitting in a booth at La Bodega in Montauk while eating a plate of scrambled eggs and toast.

    With her business partner, Paulette Davis, who was busy behind the counter, Ms. Prince opened the restaurant that was the Plaza on Memorial Day weekend and the patrons have been streaming in ever since. The two women stripped the tint from the windows of the curved-front building on Montauk Highway and brightened up the dated wood-paneled interior with shiny corrugated tin on the walls, globe lights, a new bar countertop, reupholstered booths, and bright white tables and chairs.

    Ms. Prince wanted to open her own version of a bodega ever since she spent time some years ago in Uruguay. She was eyeing a location on the Napeague stretch, thinking it would be cool to serve people on their way to East Hampton.  “They could stop and get coffee in the morning and chips and beer on their way home,” she said.

    La Bodega serves breakfast and lunch, and since it got its liquor license, now dinner. On weekends the restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 5 a.m., with a security guard standing by. “We want to feed people. We don’t want to get them drunk. If you’ve been over-served you’re not welcome,” she said.

    The two women hardly knew each other when they went into business. They had been talking one day and realized they both had the same dream. “We didn’t know each other that well. We sat and talked one day and it all just fell into place,” said Ms. Prince.

    Ms. Davis owns a bakery with her boyfriend, Jose Rodriquez, in Rincon, Puerto Rico; he is La Bodega’s chef. Many of the bakery staff came to Montauk to help run the new joint. “They were coming here anyway,” said Ms. Prince.

    Ms. Davis, who was too busy behind the counter to talk, said she worked at the Plaza in college. “They remembered me,” she said of the former owners. She, too, said that the beauty of the business is that small problems quickly become fixed problems.

    Were they expecting to become so busy so fast? “Yeah, a little bit because of the location and the quality of the food,” Ms. Prince said.

    In addition to the usual breakfast food, the menu includes such items as empanadas, fish bites with chipotle sauce, rice and beans, spicy chicken quesadillas, Cuban spring rolls, and other healthy items named after popular surf spots in Rincon such as Dogman’s bowl and Tres Palmas.

    The drink menu has a tropical feel too, with such drinks as mojitos, a dark and stormy, and one called a pain killer, made of black rum, Coco Lopez, pine­apple, and orange juice. The Lost Gringo is mix of Jameson Irish Whiskey, raspberry ice tea, and lemonade.

    Ms. Prince and Ms. Davis have not yet decided whether the restaurant will be open year round. A lot will depend on what it costs to heat the place, Ms. Prince said. “With the glass windows, we’re not sure yet.” said Ms. Prince. As of right now, they open at 8 a.m. and keep running until the people stop walking in the door.

    A “conscious cuisine” dinner at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton will feature a round-table discussion led by Stefanie Sacks, a culinary nutritionist with a show, “Chew on This,” on local cable TV. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, to be followed by a healthy three-course dinner prepared by the restaurant’s chef, Joe Realmuto, and chef de cuisine, Ed Lightcap.

    On the menu will be a chopped vegetable salad, grilled asparagus, and a choice of local sea scallops or chicken as an entree. Each course will be paired with South Fork wines from Wolffer Estate and Channing Daughters. The cost is $65 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations have been recommended.

Andrra Summer

    Andrra, the new restaurant overlooking Three Mile Harbor at Harbor Marina on Gann Road in East Hampton, is now open daily for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Between 3 and 5 p.m., a bar menu will be offered. Dinner is served until 10 Sundays through Thursdays, and until 11 Fridays and Saturdays. Andrra’s lounge stays open till 2 a.m.

    A two-course pre-sunset special is offered Wednesdays through Mondays between 5 and 6:30 for $29. It includes any starter and any entree from the regular menu.

Harbor Summer

    Muse in the Harbor, the Sag Harbor incarnation of Muse, which used to be in Water Mill, has also announced extended hours. It is now serving dinner nightly till 10, or till 11 Fridays through Sundays, as well as brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The bar remains open till 2 a.m. on weekends.

Cromer’s East

    An item here last week about Ray Samot, a well-known butcher, did not note that the meat counter he is now manning, at the new Hampton Seafood Market on Race Lane in East Hampton, is affiliated with Cromer’s Market in Noyac, where Mr. Samot had been stationed. In an e-mail to The Star, Mr. Samot expressed his enthusiasm for bringing the “hometown touch” and expertise offered at Cromer’s to the East Hampton location.

   Those who have been in East Hampton for a long time will surely remember the rearing red horse that stood in front of the old Levi’s store at Cove Hollow Road and Route 27, the namesake for the shopping plaza there and now the new Red Horse Market.

    The gourmet market opened its doors two weeks ago, and a tradition is taking hold among the mouth-watering displays of meats, pizzas, pastries, produce, and prepared foods — family.

    The store in its latest incarnation is owned by Tim McClung of Tim’s Meats in Sag Harbor, Pasquale Langella, known for cheese-making skills, especially his mozzarella, and Bill Bertha, a well-known baker extraordinaire, formerly of the Beach Bakery at Gurney’s Inn, famed for his classic scratch mixes. “The butcher, the baker, and the mozzarella maker,” as they refer to themselves, together form a superhero trio of fine foods. And, they have not come to the project alone. Mr. Bertha is accompanied by his wife of 30 years, Teri, whose official title is “key holder” but who acknowledges that she does “a bit of everything.”

    The Berthas’ daughter, Sara Bertha, is also on the floor. In fact, “I’m Sara’s employee. . . . She’s a driving force,” her mother said, and Mr. Bertha nodded in agreement.

    When Mr. Bertha worked for the Beach Bakery, he would bring young Sara with him early in the morning when the baking started. “She would fall asleep down on the floor,” he said with a smile. “We always have spent time together as a family, but we’ve never worked together like this.”

    “I spent 30 years baking at the beach and never saw the ocean,” he said. He acknowledged his joy at now working for himself. “And we couldn’t have done it separately,” he said, speaking of his partners. “It’s just a great match all around.”

    The family connection doesn’t stop with the Berthas. Mr. Langella’s wife, Anna, helps out at the market; his son, Michael, is the store’s general manager. Mr. McClung’s two daughters manage his other store but, according to the Berthas, come to Red Horse too. Mr. Langella’s brother-in-law, Gennaro Giugliano, assists Mr. Langella with the pizzas, cheeses, and sauces.

    “There’s always an owner on the floor,” Mr. Bertha said.

    The store offers a wide range of ready-made products, including a full salad bar, delicatessen, and a hot breakfast and lunch to-go counter. There are also the meats, including an antique drying box filled with beautiful cuts. And there are cheeses, pizzas, and the bakery, which takes special orders for wedding cakes and the like.

    The day before the holiday weekend, the place was teeming with customers, many of whom have enjoyed past incarnations of the market over the last 20 years — Jerry and David’s Red Horse Market, owned by Jerry Della Femina and David Silver along with Ben Krupinski, and most recently Tutto Italiano, an offshoot of Citarella, where Mr. Langella and his brother-in-law became known to many local foodies before the shop closed and they briefly opened Pasquale’s Homemade on Pantigo Road.

    “We’ve been waiting for this to open up,” said Susan Reiland, who was at the Red Horse Market on the opening day. “They’ve done an amazing job.”

   According to Mr. Langella, he sold over 1,000 pounds of his store-made fresh mozzarella over Memorial Day Weekend, breaking any previous record from his other shops. “We’re here to stay,” he said ebulliently. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

    The Red Horse Market will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., keeping the long hours to attract the early breakfast crowd and those who can’t get their goods until after work.

    “We’re so excited,” Teri Bertha said. “We’re going to be doing this for the rest of our lives, and we’ll be working for ourselves.”

   This is the season of new Montauk restaurants, with more of them to choose from in the eastern hamlet than ever before. Several had soft openings last week and have been pretty busy ever since.

    The Coast on South Euclid Avenue, where Luigi’s used to be, had a crowd last Thursday, its first day. The bar, which in keeping with the coastal theme is called the Sandbar, was filled, the tables there and in the dining room were also filled, and a crowd of locals milled outside near the dock pilings, at slatted wood tables and chairs.

    Inside, the sushi bar was jumping. Trays of seafood samples were passed around — ceviche on serving spoons, panko-crusted scallops, mussels, and more, followed by foods for all tastes: pasta dishes, steaks, burgers, and a variety of fresh seafood.

    The owners are Sue and Tony Berkhofer and Serena and Dustin Schick, all of whom have worked in other Montauk restaurants. Mr. Berkhofer, the executive chef, has worked at West Lake Clam and Chowder House and Sloppy Tuna. Mr. Schick, the sous-chef, was also at the Clam and Chowder House, and has cooked on fishing boats as well. Ms. Schick, the bar manager, is a licensed boat captain and has worked on her parents’ boat, the Lazybones, for many years. Ms. Berkhofer, the general manager, has worked at Solé East and other establishments hereabouts.

    The Coast will feature innovative cuisine using the freshest seafood available. As the transition continues, what doesn’t work will be removed and replaced with something different, said Ms. Berkhofer.

    Capt. Michael Vegessi, Ms. Schick’s father-in-law, who was dining there on Sunday, said that “Chef Tony is so creative that he can pull a whole new menu out in one day.” He added that Mr. Berkhofer is “experimenting with flavors and marinating, and receptive to feedback.”

    The Coast will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until it empties out, said Ms. Berkhofer, with brunch on Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting on Mother’s Day. The menu is online at thecoastmontauk.com.

    Diners will find new faces and familiar places at Sammy’s, on West Lake Drive in the harbor area. Samuel Joyce, a Montauk native who was the head chef at Gosman’s restaurant for 34 years, has just opened his own place, something he has always dreamed of. “I live in Montauk, I always wanted to have a restaurant in Montauk,” he said on Monday while relaxing over a cup of coffee with his night bartender, Lenny DeFina, who recently sold Lenny’s on the Dock and was planning to move to Florida. “But Sammy called and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he said, gold bracelets jangling.

    The restaurant is decorated with sepia-tone and black-and-white photographs from the collection of Mr. Joyce’s mother, Peggy Joyce, who was a longtime kindergarten teacher at the Montauk School.

    Since Sammy’s is so close to the docks, a pleasant briny scent lingers as you enter. Potted flowers are abundant, and outdoor wicker seating invites conversation, maybe while visitors are waiting for a table. Mr. DeFina made it a point to mention that Mr. Joyce does not let a plate be served until he has put the final touches on it, with added seasonings and garnish. The menu is informal and includes nachos, oysters, baked clams casino, mussels, soups, salads, sandwiches, and entrees, which can be ordered tapas style or “grazing‚” as Mr. Joyce called it. So far, said Mr. DeFina, scallops, shrimp, mushroom caps, and lobster tacos have been big sellers, with repeat diners.

    Patrons can eat at the bar, or outside when weather permits. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; to midnight in summer. Children are welcomed with a kid-style menu and coloring games. There will be a special menu for Mother’s Day.

    Speaking of Gosman’s, it too has undergone a revamp, with a new chef, David Piacente, new menu items, new glassware and plates, and a whole new style of food, although it wouldn’t be Gosman’s without its traditional seafood meals and lobster, which remain. The seaside restaurant at the mouth of the harbor is open every day for lunch and dinner except Tuesdays.

    ZumSchneider MTK, Bavarian Bierhaus, had its soft opening on Saturday and drew a sizable crowd. Located on South Emery Street in the downtown area where Oyster Pond used to be, it boasts over 25 beers on tap along with bottled beer, and a slew of German dishes that include fish, meat loaf, grilled trout, soups, and pork. Owned by Sylvester Schneider and family, the restaurant will continue its soft openings for the next few weekends until May 21, when it will be open full time. More information is available at zumschneider.com.

    And coming soon: Sloppy Tuna, on the oceanfront South Emerson Street location  where Nick’s used to be, underwent a winter renovation and will open by Memorial Day. The owners have hired a local chef, Reed Lucas, and have wisely improved upon their great view with an upstairs bar overlooking the sea. There are also new restrooms and a new menu.

    Jennifer Meadows, who is the chef at Fishbar, will soon open Bliss Kitchen in downtown Montauk. It will serve fish tacos, burritos, specialty sandwiches and pannini, ceviche, and other specials

    The renovation continues at Swallow East on West Lake Drive, a branch of Swallow in Huntington. The former home of Lenny’s on the Dock, it too is expected to open by Memorial Day.

    It doesn’t look good for Salivar’s this year. The restaurant has just started a major cesspool project and remains boarded up.

    On Montauk’s Main Street, 668 the Gig Shack is serving lunch, with a menu including house-smoked pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, seared sea scallop sandwiches, and fish tacos. This year, the dinner menu includes a house-smoked rack of ribs served with cornbread and slaw, a char-grilled Angus rib-eye steak with fresh chimichurri, yellowfin tuna steaks, and tuna tartare taquitos.

“American Meat”

    Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton will host a reception after a screening of the documentary “American Meat” at Guild Hall on Saturday.

    The reception, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., will include hors d’oeuvres made with locally sourced and naturally raised meat, prepared by Nick and Toni’s executive chef, Joseph Realmuto, and served with local wines from Bedell Cellars and the Wolffer Estate Vineyard and craft beers from Greenport Harbor Brewing Company.

    In addition to the movie ticket cost, the reception will be $25 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at nickandtonisamericanmeatscreening.eventbrite.com.

More New Zealand Wine

    At a wine dinner at Fresno restaurant in East Hampton last week, Gretchen Menser, the chef, paired wines from several New Zealand wineries with fluke crudo, as a starter, grilled prawns, short ribs, and flourless chocolate cake.

    South Pacific Wines hosted the dinner, which began with a tasting of seven wines from the Crossroads winery, two from Curious Cove, both of which are in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, and one selection each from Mana NZ, a Martinborough winery, and Crown Range of Central Otago, New Zealand.

Happy at Andrra

    Andrra, new this season in the space at Harbor Marina in Springs where the Boathouse was for the last couple of years, is welcoming neighbors with a locals’ happy hour on Mondays from 3 to 8 p.m. Those who buy an appetizer will receive a free drink. Joe Kastrati will be the guest bartender. Also at Andrra, during a Sunset Sunday happy hour beginning at 4:30 each weekend, there will be music by Telly Karoussos, a singer and songwriter.

New Eateries

    Nammos Estiatorio will open this summer at 136 Main Street in South­ampton, which most recently housed Nello Summertime, and, back in the day, the Post House. Emmanouil Aslanoglou, the chef, will prepare the restaurant’s Greek and Mediterranean specialties and offer charcoal-grilled whole fish entrees. The restaurant will become a lounge on the weekends.

    Beaumarchais opens tomorrow night at 44 Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. An eastern branch of the restaurant of the same name in Manhattan’s meatpacking district, it will serve dinner for now, and then brunch as well beginning Memorial Day weekend. On Saturdays and Sundays, the restaurant will have a “Beau brunch” with international D.J.s from 2 to 6 p.m.

    The Hamptons Players Club, a restaurant and lounge with a polo and equestrian theme, will open next weekend in the Montauk Highway, East Hampton, spot where the Beachhouse has been. Hector Diaz, the chef, who has cooked at the Forge in Miami and at Tsunami in Palm Beach, will prepare modern American cuisine, including specialties from a wood-burning oven. An outdoor beer garden will have its own menu. At night, a V.I.P. lounge will be open for cocktails as well as private dining and events.

Farmers Markets Open

    In Sag Harbor, the weekly farmers market on Bay Street, in front of the Breakwater Yacht Club, opened on Saturday with a vine-cutting ceremony in appreciation for the support of Sag Harbor Village and the hamlet’s chamber of commerce.  The market will continue each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October. A complete list of vendors is online at sagharborfarmersmarket.org. Shoppers will find seasonal produce as well as other locally produced foods such as raw honey, grass-fed beef, cheese and other dairy products, fish, ice cream, empanadas, preserves, and baked goods. Among the new purveyors joining the market this year is the Blue Duck Bakery of Southampton.

    The weekly East Hampton Farmers Market gets under way for the season tomorrow, in the parking lot of Nick & Toni’s on North Main Street. Also from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, the market features 22 vendors selling everything from produce to pastries, pickles, condiments, and more. Seven newcomers this year include Dolce Nirvana, serving up desserts; Goodale Farms, with fresh goat and cow’s milk products; Life Is Grruff, which sells natural pet treats; Joe & Liza’s Ice Cream, from Sag Harbor; Pierpont’s Blossom Farm, which grows herbs and flowers; Raw Oasis Foods, offering raw dairy and gluten-free foods including cheeses and sweets, and True Blue Estate coffee.

    The market participates in the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrition and Food Service Program, allowing those with food stamp benefits to purchase items there, and accepts credit and debit card payments for all transactions.

At Andrra

    A daily happy hour at Andrra restaurant on Gann Road in East Hampton from 4 to 6 p.m. will feature drink specials and orders of a dozen Little Neck clams or half a dozen oysters on the half shell for $6 each, along with the view of the sun sinking low in the sky over Three Mile Harbor.

    On Sundays, Andrra is serving brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for $30. The menu, to start, includes salads, Mediterranean seafood chowder, fried calamari, mussels, baked clams, and oysters and clams on the half shell. Entrée choices include spinach and feta omelette, barbecued shrimp, eggs Benedict, soft-shell crabs, grilled salmon, herb-crusted roasted flounder, burgers, and lobster rolls. For dessert, there will be house-made baklava, berries with Chambord and prosecco served with vanilla-bean gelato, and flourless chocolate cake, as well as cookies, biscotti, sorbet, and gelato. From 4:30 to 6:30 on Sunday afternoons, Telly Karoussos will play acoustic Mediterranean tunes.

Beer in Montauk

    Zum Schneider Montauk, the eastern branch of a New York City restaurant and beer garden, is open and serving seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

    Sandwiches on the menu include one made with a traditional Bavarian cheese spread of Brie, blue cheese, and beer, topped with onions, and another with thinly sliced white radish, Swiss cheese, and pickles. For starters, there’s a mixed plate of cold cuts, cheeses, radish, and pickles; potato pancakes, and several varieties of sausage. Entrees include Montauk bass marinated in smoked beer, with horseradish cream, Wiener schnit­zel, roasted pork shoulder, and a variety of sausage platters.

Hometown Butcher

    Ray Samot, a local butcher, has joined the staff at Hampton Seafood in East Hampton. Mr. Samot began working at Dreesen’s in East Hampton in the late ’70s, after that iconic store closed he worked at Citarella, and most recently at Cromer’s Country Market in Noyac.

Gosman’s Nightly Specials

    At Gosman’s Dock in Montauk, a lineup of nightly prix fixes begins with Sunday lobster night, with a 11/4-pound lobster and fixings for $24, burger and brew night on Monday for $15, local catch night on Tuesday,  with a fish dinner and a glass of house wine for $24, fried shrimp night on Wednesday, for $15, and steak night on Thursday for $24. Service begins nightly at 5 p.m.

More in Montauk

    South Edison restaurant will feature $1 Blue Point oysters from its raw bar during a 2 to 5 p.m. happy hour on Saturday and Sunday, along with $2 Blue Point beer drafts. A happy hour menu will also be available, with other kinds of oysters and seafood, fresh veggie chips, homemade pickles, and more, along with signature cocktails. The happy hours will continue on weekends through June. South Edison is open for dinner from Wednesday through Sunday.

    Navy Beach restaurant, a popular sunset spot on Fort Pond Bay, is launching a sunset-photo contest, with entries accepted from tomorrow through July 4. Prizes will be awarded for the three best sunset photos taken from Navy Beach. The first-place winner will receive a $125 Navy Beach gift certificate and a hooded sweatshirt, and the winning photo will be used on a Navy Beach postcard.

    Contestants can find more details at the Navy Beach Web site, navybeach.com, and can submit entries through the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Milk Bar

    Another city business heading soon to Montauk for the summer is Momofuku Milk Bar, which has five spots in New York City. They will be serving iced coffee, slushies, cookies, cake truffles, and pies, next to the Cynthia Rowley shop on Main Street.

In Amagansett

    After a long winter’s absence, Eli Zabar’s Amagansett Farmers Market will be up and running as of today, with meats, produce, bread, cheeses, sandwiches, and more, much of it local.