Food

There are two beautiful cookbooks out right now, one brand new, one several years old, that caught my eye recently. They are both Long Island farm cookbooks.

This is a story that could be sad, but it is not. It is more of a silver-lining story that brings us to family, food, and the holidays.

A large and welcoming sports bar serving hearty portions of chow

New specials at Rowdy for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and Jeremy Blutstein to cook at Beard House

Holiday catering menus and Christmas Eve and Hanukkah specials, Christmas dinner at Baron's Cove and The Maidstone, and more

Whether you prefer to celebrate New Year’s Eve by dancing or indulging in a gourmet meal, local venues are offering plenty of festive ways to ring in 2020. Reservations are recommended in all cases.

The holidays are coming up — Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s. This means shopping, parties galore, and possibly travel. Don’t go broke; make some original and creative food gifts or go out and buy some local ones.

Specials for the holidays, a new tasting room for Sagaponacka vodka, a family style Asian dinner at Bridgehampton Inn, and more

Whether an "accidental caterer” or neophyte dinner party host, preparing bistro food like a cassoulet is both a life saver and a crowd pleaser in its cozy simplicity.

A holiday party, a dinner benefit to keep Sag Harbor warm, taco and pizza specials, and more.

Some of the essentials of Brunswick stew, it can safely be said, are chicken, tomatoes, lima beans, and corn. From there it can include any number of pork products, kielbasa sausage, bacon, and more.

Every little hamlet should have an eatery like Bel Mare Ristorante. It is clean and casual, welcoming and very reasonably priced.

Winter community farm shares at Quail Hill and restaurant specials on the East End.

Best Pizza & Dive Bar

2095 Montauk Highway

Amagansett

631-668-8378

Thursday and Friday, 3-10 p.m.,

Saturday and Sunday, noon-10 p.m.

Thanksgiving options for dining in or taking home from several venues and some Greek specialties for the holiday season

Thanksgiving at home courtesy of Carissa, drawing and drink at Townline, a wine class, and new specials.

There are two books about cooking that have been published recently, one with deep, deep roots in the community and one more along the lines of celebrity chef autobiography with recipes.

Among the many other reasons a wine dinner at the Halyard piqued my interest was the fact that it began at 4:30. The restaurant is located at the groovily refurbished Sound View in Greenport, a motel so close to the Long Island Sound that you feel like you are on a boat, not on Route 48.

LI Restaurant Week continues, a four-course vegan dinner at Almond, a Beaujolais wine dinner at Fresno, and more

Seasonal specials, Long Island Restaurant Week, a new Artists and Writers Dinner at Almond, a Night Out With Beth O'Donnell at Golden Eagle and Nick & Toni's, and more

I read an article the other day that claimed that if everyone gave up meat and dairy (animal products) at breakfast time, the environment could be improved by 20 percent. I barely eat breakfast, but this suggestion seems daunting nonetheless.

A branch of Provisions Natural Foods Market and Organic Cafe has opened at the Mill shopping center in Water Mill.

Chowder mavens had their fill over the past two weekends in East Hampton. On Oct. 12, the Montauk Chamber of Commerce held its 38th annual Fall Festival, which included a clam chowder contest. Then, on Saturday, the East Hampton Historical Farm Museum held its second annual chowder contest. On both occasions, Laura Donnelly was a judge.

Wine is the focus with a dinner at Lulu's Kitchen and class at Park Place Wines and Liquors coming up this week, Coche Comidor is serving brunch, a new after-school special premieres this week at Rowdy Hall, and more.

Charlie Whitmore has been a vegan for 30 years. After a surfing trip to Mexico about eight years ago, he returned with a desire to learn how to make his own tortillas for his family's Taco Tuesday nights. Laura Donnelly was invited to one of these Taco Tuesdays a few months ago.

Is it Carissa’s the Bakery or Carissa’s the restaurant or just Carissa’s? I am talking about the newish establishment on Pantigo Road in East Hampton. No matter the name, it is an exquisite place, serving delicious food.

Oyster Fest at Gurney's Star Island, new dinner and happy hour specials, and more

Firemen may have a reputation for being excellent cooks, but members of the East Hampton Volunteer Ambulance Association think their culinary skills are unrivaled.

New specials all around, a wine dinner, and Scott Bluedorn will hold forth at next Artists and Writers night

The rapid sellout of pumpkin spice Spam leads to a rumination on how many pumpkin spice items are available to us to live a pumpkin spice life.