Food

A couple of years ago I was overcome by a major craving for dumplings, like, serious, spicy Szechuan dumplings. The craving would not abate so I started researching where the nearest good Chinese restaurant was. I convinced myself that a three-hour round-trip drive UpIsland was not an unreasonable mission, and then realized that’s nuts!

Love Bites; "Delicious Destinations" stops off in East Hampton; Jackson Pollock's 106th celebrated at Springs Tavern, one of his former haunts when it was Jungle Pete's; art night continues

When your hunter friends stop by and drop off their bounty, do you know what to do with it? Deer? Goose? Wild duck?

Bridgehampton's Tex-Mex and Mexican choice deserves to be a lot more popular, The Star's reviewer said.

It’s always happy hour at Townline BBQ in Sagaponack for police officers and first responders who present their current badges or other identification to the bartender on duty. Perks include $5 shots, $6.25 garbage fries, $5.50 nachos, $6 wings, and beer and wine specials. The 1770 House in East Hampton is offering several dining deals through April 19. From Sundays through Thursdays, except holidays, a $35 three-course prix fixe menu will be available, as will $9 wine and $5 beer selections.

Over near Three Mile Harbor, the Blend, the new restaurant opened by the chef and owner of Michael’s, is serving dinner from 5 to 9 nightly. Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton has teamed up with the Golden Eagle Studio, a nearby neighbor on North Main Street, to initiate a series of dinners with featured artists who will discuss an art-related topic, give a demonstration, or teach an art class at the studio before joining the group for dinner at the restaurant.

Losing weight is one of the top New Year's resolutions and one of the least successful. Cooking for yourself is an enormously helpful step toward losing weight because you have complete control over your meal.

Holiday dining at the 1770 House in East Hampton this weekend will include a four-course prix fixe tasting menu at $110 per person, plus tax and gratuity. In Sag Harbor, Lulu Kitchen and Bar will host a New Year’s Eve celebration that includes an early, 5:30 p.m., seating and a later second seating at 8 that comes with a glass of champagne, party favors, and a four-course prix fixe.

I like to celebrate and plan to have a grand meal . . . at home, with friends who can walk home afterward. Driving around East Hampton drunk in the wee hours is just another way of saying, “I can’t wait to see my name in the police blotter of The East Hampton Star next Thursday!”

Homemade holiday gifts are often the best and most economical. They show that you made some effort, and it’s something your children can join in on. I mean, who doesn’t have fun melting chocolate, crushing candy canes, and licking the spatula and bowl?

For those who would rather dine out on Christmas Day, Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor will offer a traditional three-course dinner. The Highway Restaurant and Bar in East Hampton will serve an a la carte menu with holiday specials on Christmas Eve.

When I found out that my friend Justin Spring, author of “The Gourmands’ Way,” was going on a book-signing tour through San Francisco, then to Carmel to his sister and brother-in-law’s winery and tasting room in Carmel Valley, I asked if I could tag along.

The restaurant at the 1770 House named one of “100 Best" by Open Table; Art of Eating's holiday menus; new specials and discounts

The "REAL Rowdy burger" goes up against a new plant-based version that promises the full beef experience, including juices, and tastes "damn good," according to our reviewer.

Local Food News

Cocktails at Baker House; impossible burgers at Rowdy Hall, Greek prix fixe at Elaia; and more this week

Although lamb chops and ribs are great in spring, winter weather calls for slow cooking and stews.

What is now the Springs Tavern has operated as a watering hole both famous and infamous since 1934. It was the Jungle Inn, Jungle Pete’s, Jungle Johnnie’s, Vinnie’s Place, the Boatswain, the Frigate, Harry’s Hideaway, and Wolfie’s Tavern.

Some last-minute ideas for Thanksgiving dinner include the Maidstone Hotel in East Hampton, where a four-course prix fixe meal is being served up for $85, $40 for children under 12, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. In Southampton, Tutto Il Giorno will also be open on Thanksgiving with a prix fixe menu for $65 that includes a choice of baby kale Caesar salad or a baby artichoke appetizer, wild mushroom tortelli or roasted turkey pastilla as an entree, and carmelized pear crostata or pumpkin semifreddo for dessert.

In addition to food, the Springs Tavern also serves up music. Tomorrow, a special tribute to the Allman Brothers will feature Andy Aledort, Bosco Michne, Rich Rosch, and Roy DeJesus at 9 p.m. There will be no cover charge.

Townline BBQ in Sagaponack is offering happy hour specials with its live music on Friday nights this season. Inlet Seafood in Montauk will close for the season after its lunch service on Nov. 26. It will continue to operate until then Friday through Sunday, opening at noon.

In the late 1970s and early ’80s I worked for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. Every year around this time, our beloved “All Things Considered” host Susan Stamberg would share her mother’s recipe, Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish, with her listeners. “Mama” Stamberg got credit for this wildly popular concoction until the true inventor, Craig Claiborne, gently reminded Susan that it was his recipe from a 1959 New York Times column. In 1993, Mr. Claiborne told Mrs. Stamberg: “I am simply delighted. We have gotten more mileage, you and I, out of that recipe than almost anything I’ve printed.”

Bridgehampton Inn has a constantly evolving menu, with new selections offered every two weeks based on local market ingredients. Brian Szostak, the chef, would be happy to hear from farmers and boutique growers about fresh, available items. O’Murphy’s restaurant and pub at the Tipperary Inn in Montauk has a $24.95 dinner special Sundays through Thursdays starting at 5 p.m. It includes soup or salad of the day, a selected entree, coffee, and dessert.

I love Bloody Marys but seldom drink them. They seem to be kind of a meal in a glass, thick and spicy with bits and bobs of horseradish, a celery stick, perhaps an olive on a toothpick, like watered down cocktail sauce with booze in it.

The Springs Tavern will offer half-priced bottles of wine with the purchase of a dinner entree on Wednesdays from 4 to 9:30 p.m. Babette’s in East Hampton is open daily except for Wednesdays, serving breakfast and lunch until 4 p.m., as well as dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a celebration that originated with the Aztecs of central Mexico thousands of years ago. These are not days of mourning the passing of friends and family, they are celebrations of their lives, and the rituals that accompany these holidays are to welcome them back for a day.

La Fondita in Amagansett will celebrate Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead, with traditional food specials Wednesday through Friday, Nov. 3. Reasons to visit Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton this fall: three prix fixe specials to choose from, wood-oven pizzas, and “social hour” at the bar.

Tonight’s the night for a dinner at Almond in Bridgehampton featuring spirits from Widow Jane, a Brooklyn distillery, and pork from a pig raised at Root ’n’ Roost Farm in Livingston Manor, N.Y. Stefanie Sacks, a “culinary nutritionist,” will present a series of workshops with instructions for “meatless Mondays” beginning next week at a private residence in Bridgehampton. The 5:30 to 8 p.m. sessions, suitable for adults as well as children ages 10 and up, will begin with a brief discussion followed by hands-on cooking instruction.

In summertime you can get away with slicing up a watermelon, dropping some berries in a bowl, or stopping at a farm stand for a fruit pie, and voila, dessert is done. But this time of year don’t you want to make a little more effort with a homemade dessert?

Coast Kitchen restaurant at the Montauk Yacht Club has a $29.95 (plus tax and tip) three-course prix fixe special for fall, served daily from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Getting through the first workdays of the week might become easier with a Tuesday night visit to Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett, which is hosting Taco Tuesdays. Diners can choose among three different tacos, served with chips and salsa to start, topped with radish, cilantro, and queso fresco, and accompanied by rice and beans.