Food

If you have ever been to Il Monastero (R.I.P.) in East Hampton, or Il Capuccino in Sag Harbor, or had a sandwich from Espresso or pasta from Cappelletti on Noyac Road, you have had food made by the Tagliasacchi family. If you haven’t, then you live under a rock and you are missing the best garlic knots, focaccia sandwiches, and their delicious, mysterious dressing “like Caesar without the anchovies,” which could keep a swarm of vampires at bay for centuries. If I were to try to explain the restaurant/Italian deli empire and experience and background of this family, it would take up this entire review. In a nutshell, Luigi Tagliasacchi and his wife, Robin, now own and operate Cappelletti, serving all these iconic gems and more.

the Great Bonac Chili Cook-Off will be held at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett from 1 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 31. The Espresso Italian Market reopened last week in the space formerly occupied by the Cigar Bar. Its popular sandwiches on homemade focaccia bread with signature house dressing have returned!

Take part in the new Montauk Fishburger Project! Local chefs and supporters of the local, sustainable, and healthy food movement have initiated a new effort to restore and support the area’s farming and fishing culture. The new fishburgers will become a part of the menu at many East End restaurants including Rowdy Hall and Nick and Toni's.

Sen in Sag Harbor will be restarting its Sake Social Sundays on Jan. 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jesse Matsuoka of the restaurant will discuss “Sake 101.” The Highway Restaurant and Bar in East Hampton offers a $35 prix fixe on Thursday nights featuring Thai food.

Beauty is life’s E-ZPass. Wish I could take credit for that witty bon mot, but I believe it was a New Yorker cartoon. I think we would all agree that if you are an exceptionally attractive young girl and you hang out in the right places, like fancy hotels and bars, chances are an older, wealthy gent will whisk you off your feet and possibly marry you. Such was the case with sweet, young Katie Lee from West Virginia when she met Billy Joel, 33 years her senior, at the Peninsula Hotel. At the age of 21 she moved in with him, and they were married for five years.

If you do fail momentarily at your diet, don’t be discouraged and give up; forgive yourself and just start over the next day. This really works.

Last minute ideas for New Year's Eve and news about the Long Island Wine Council.

Zachary Lazar will be the guest speaker at the Artists and Writers Night at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton on Jan. 5. In Sag Harbor, the Wolffer Kitchen will host a New Year’s Eve dinner with seatings to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Once upon a time in medieval England, a Christmas dinner “pie” was created consisting of two bushels of flour, 20 pounds of butter, four geese, two rabbits, four wild ducks, two woodcocks, six snipes, four partridges, two neats’ tongues, two curlews, six pigeons, and seven blackbirds. Now I’m sure you’re wondering, first of all, what is a snipe, a neat’s tongue, and a curlew? They are shorebird, beef tongue, and shorebird again. I imagine that those two breeds of shorebird, existing on a diet of fish, added a dash of mystery and umami to that monstrous pie. And what the heck did they do with the leftovers?!

Michaels’ at Maidstone bar and restaurant has holiday plans for a Christmas Eve a la carte menu as well as a special Feast of the Seven Fishes traditional dinner that night. The Amagansett Food Institute’s holiday market at the Amagansett Farmers Market on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. will provide an opportunity to buy local food and other holiday gifts.

Now comes the decision of what to drink with your holiday dinner. Have you decided what you are serving? Roast goose? Prime rib? Another turkey, or heaven forbid . . . tofurkey? How many guests will you have? Do you want to splurge on champagne and wines or have you already blown your budget on Christmas shopping? So many decisions, and then New Year’s Eve is upon us, with more debate over what to serve.

Santa will be sitting by the fire at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton on Saturday morning from 10 to noon, posing for pictures with children of all ages and adding their gift requests to his list. The Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone is celebrating the holiday season with special offers for two-legged and four-legged patrons. Throughout December, pooches accompanied by hotel guests or diners are entitled to a free meal from the dog-friendly inn’s Woof Menu.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Enough about Christmas and the music and the decorating and how many more shopping days we have until the big day. To my mind, some of the more interesting aspects of this massive holiday are the Christmas Eve food traditions celebrated by different cultures.

Roman Roth’s Grapes of Roth merlot has been placed on the Wine Spectator list of the top wines of 2015, ranked 64 out of 100 wines that made the list. This wine is from his personal label, using grapes sourced from the North Fork.

Ryunosuke Jesse Matsuoka is the general manager and a partner at the Sag Harbor restaurant. He is also one of the very few kikizakeshi, or sake sommeliers, in New York, quite possibly the only one on Long Island. Who knew sake was so varied, so complicated, so complex?

Today’s a big day for foodies, and here’s hoping that everyone can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends.

Today is your lucky day! Today I am going to share with you my absolute favorite recipes of all time. The tried and true, the foolproof, the crowd pleasers, the best of the best.

Orders for pies and cheese platters by Lucy’s Whey can be placed through Monday, for pickup by Wednesday, at the Amagansett Farmers Market. Have Thanksgiving dinner out at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor. Service will begin at 1 p.m. next Thursday, with the last seating at 8:30 p.m.

Clams have already been covered in this column, but there’s always more to learn and more recipes to be shared. What better way than to spend the day immersed in clammy activities?

The Amagansett Food Institute, which operates the Amagansett Farmers Market, is taking orders for Thanksgiving foods. The Gulf Coast Kitchen restaurant, in Montauk at the Montauk Yacht Club, will have a Thanksgiving buffet from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the holiday. Thanksgiving at the 1770 House in East Hampton will offer a holiday meal featuring main dishes such as traditional turkey and fixings, roasted Icelandic cod, or a roasted Berkshire pork chop.

Here’s the best advice you’re going to get while preparing for your Thanksgiving dinner. Make room now in your freezer and refrigerator. Be brutal.

Amy Goldman will present and sign copies of her “Heirloom Harvest” book of daguerrotypes at Marders in Bridgehampton on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. Artisanal pizza made with organic vegetables and ingredients will be served.

Cittanuova in East Hampton is now offering a lineup of nightly specials on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The well-known painter and sculptor Eric Fischl will host the next artists and writers night at Almond in Bridgehampton. The event will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Here it is, early November, and the farmer’s market in Sag Harbor this past weekend still had peppers, corn, lettuce, and other greens, along with the usual suspects of winter squash, potatoes, apples, onions, garlic, and more.

The first time I reviewed the Topping Rose House I recall coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t so much a place you pop into for a good meal but rather a place for a dining experience, a special occasion. I returned two years ago and it was empty.

Get your Met's regalia on and steal on down to Stuart’s Seafood shop in Amagansett. Customers who say “Let’s Go Mets” with their Mets gear on will receive a 10-percent discount on their purchase.

The chef, Anand Sastry of the Highway Restaurant presents Thai night on Thursdays starting next week. A Sicilian “carnival” Halloween celebration will be held at Osteria Salina in Wainscott on Oct. 31.

“Why Seattle?” asked so many people when I told them I was whisking my son away for a long weekend recently. “Well,” I’d explain, “I was born in Northern California but have never been to the Pacific Northwest.” But the real answer is that it’s one of the few places my offspring was willing to explore with his old, old, uncool mom.

There is a theater and dining deal at the 1770 House in East Hampton. Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater lab has resumed a free series of staged readings and the 1770 House will offer a pre-theater twocourse prix fixe for $27 on reading nights.

At a time when many of us are wannabe chefs, when the TV is as apt to be turned to the Food Network as to ESPN, one woman in Springs has revived a veritable tradition: She has gathered recipes from family and friends and created a modest community cookbook.