Food

Fancy picnic baskets, Southampton's Cheese Shoppe gets a rebrand, a Hamptons chef dinner benefit, and dinner at Wolffer

Strawberry season this year has been wonderful despite the rain. So far I have sampled berries from Open Minded Organics in Bridgehampton (no spray!), Pike’s in Sagaponack, and from the Mattituck Strawberry Festival.

Father's Day specials, a new butcher in East Hampton, and a new restaurant in Water Mill.

The season for asparagus won’t last much longer out here, so consider some of these cooking methods that you haven’t tried before. Or do as the northern Europeans do to celebrate the first harbingers of spring, build a whole meal around asparagus.

Have you ever tasted freshly picked asparagus? I mean, picked within hours of being hand harvested? It is remarkably sweet. Asparagus is similar to corn in that, once picked, it will use its sugars to survive.

Some of you may believe that French cuisine is the most complex. Many think the multi-layered pastries of Vienna are the height of refined cookery. But until you have tasted the mysterious and complicated mole sauces of Mexico, you have no idea how complex and refined a dish can be.

Levain Bakery’s chocolate chip walnut cookies should probably come with a warning label: These cookies are known by the State of New York to be highly addictive. Huge and gooey and packed with chocolate chips just this side of melting, they have been named to just about every best cookie list in New York, which helps to explain the famously long lines outside of Levain’s 74th Street and Amsterdam Avenue locations.

New in Montauk

The owners of Pulcinella, a pizzeria and restaurant in Massapequa, have opened Pulcinella East on Edgemere Street in Montauk. The menu features pasta dishes such as pappardelle Bolognese for $29, and spaghetti with clams for $38, as well as chicken, veal, and seafood entrees.

There seem to be new cafes and restaurants popping up everywhere you turn, and they are often intermeshed with the movement in local, sustainable farming that has grown up here.

Rosé has become the quintessential wine of summer, but there was a time when no self-respecting oenophile would have sullied a spit bucket with the stuff.

Summer means pop-up and seasonal restaurants and chefs from New York City on the South Fork.

Paola’s, the Italian restaurant taking over the space formerly occupied by EMP Summer House on Pantigo Road in East Hampton, will open by Memorial Day weekend, Stefano Marracino, the owner, said on Friday.

Mother's Day Specials from all over, the East Hampton Farmers Market returns, Duryea's is back, and more

New restaurants, season openings, Candace Hill Montgomery at Almond, Cinco de Mayo, and more

For those looking forward to a summer filled with fresh produce from an East End farm, now is the time to sign up for a community-supported agriculture program, or C.S.A.

“Cook Like a Pro” is the 11th cookbook by Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). “The Loaves and Fishes Cookbook” by Anna Pump with Gen LeRoy was Anna’s first cookbook of four, published in 1985 and recently reissued. The third book here is Gwyneth Paltrow’s fourth book, “The Clean Plate.”

Need some cooking shortcuts on those stay in and watch Netflix evenings? Here are some easy recipes and half-hacks to help.

Dockside is back; Perry Burns workshop/dinner; a wine and books pairing, and more

When is the last time you had a vegetable puree? I’m not talking about mashed potatoes; I’m talking about carrots, celery root, beets, and cauliflower.

A Hawaiian pop-up restaurant; Oscar party at Rowdy; Snout to Tail dinner at Almond, and more

I’m not so much interested in politics as I am in what the candidates’ (and our potential next president) like to eat. Because, after all, you are what you eat.

Jeremy Blutstein, the chef de cuisine at Almond in Bridgehampton and a fixture of the South Fork culinary world since he was a teenager, has been named the executive chef of Gurney’s Star Island Resort and Marina. The resort, which was formerly the Montauk Yacht Club, was purchased by Gurney’s in May. It is undergoing renovations and is scheduled to open in the spring.

If the phrases “prix fixe” and “free Prosecco” make your significant other swoon, this Valentine’s Day ought to be filled with romance. Here on the South Fork, plenty of restaurants are offering dinner and drink specials next Thursday. For those looking to kick the celebration up a notch, the Baker House 1650 also has a deal on hotel rooms.

Restaurant week prix fixes, Super Bowl offerings, Artists and Writers dinner, and more

Good bread, with good butter, is truly one of life’s most basic, fundamental, and simplest of pleasures.

New Year's Eve at Almond and party platters at Stuart’s Seafood Market for your celebration of the arrival of 2019.

Whether you prefer to celebrate by dancing or indulging in a gourmet meal, there are plenty of local options to ring in 2019.

This is a roundup of just about every Chinese restaurant/takeout establishment in our area. None of the places were particularly good, but I found something to like or appreciate at each and every one.

Christmas deals and Christmas meals for both Eve and Day as well as New Year's Day options on the South Fork

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dining options and the deadline looms for Christmas treats from Carissa's Bakery