Food

   The trip had been planned for almost a year. My friend Tommy organized the entire shebang; I was just a grateful-to-be-invited tagalong. The countries on our itinerary are places I have longed to see for much of my life: Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and Cambodia. When you are already enamored of a people and their cuisine, it is inevitable that you will fall more deeply in love when you are immersed in their culture.

    The Montauk Brewing Company, begun by three young local men, is gaining recognition as more and more people sample its signature Driftwood Ale. The beer is now available at the Corner Bar in Sag Harbor, which can fill a pint or a growler to take home. The brewers’ tap room, out in Montauk across from Lions Field, is open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

Reopening

   Since 2005, men and women from the local community ranging in age from 18 to 91 have been learning how to integrate plant-based nutrition, fitness, and stress management into their lifestyle through educational programs from the Wellness Foundation of East Hampton. For many who follow the program, daily life involves eating on the go or dining out, recently made more doable with a partnership between restaurants and markets that offer meals that follow a strict criteria.

   Those who know, return repeatedly. Those who don’t are missing out on a flavorful experience offered even in the sleepy wintertime in Greenport. Aldo’s Cafe is awake seven days a week, year round, with the aroma of fresh coffee, hospitality, rich tastes, and a picturesque view of the Mitchell Park waterfront.

   The 1770 House in East Hampton has a new chef. Michael Rozzi, an East End native who was a chef for 13 years at the former Della Femina restaurant in East Hampton, took his new post on Monday. He has also cooked at Le Chef and the Inn at Quogue. At Della Femina, Mr. Rozzi was sous chef to Kevin Penner, now the executive chef at 1770 House. He replaces Matt Birnstill, who left to pursue other cooking endeavors. Mr. Rozzi’s culinary focus is the use of local ingredients.

Cafe Max on Break

A brewmaster with long experience and a track record of success

   The next Artists and Writers Night at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton will be on Wednesday. Kathryn Levy, a poet who lives in Sag Harbor and New York City, will host the evening and lead a discussion, the theme of which will be Frank O’Hara’s “Lunch Poems” and Larre’s, a French bistro where O’Hara and other writers and poets gathered.

   The New Year’s Eve options include, of course, a festive dinner out at any number of local restaurants. Here is the lowdown on what is being offered at some of them.

   Are you going to make a New Year’s resolution this year? If so, you are among the 50 percent of Americans who will do so. Of that 50 percent, I’m sorry to tell you, another 50 percent will fail within six months. However, those who make explicit resolutions are the most likely to succeed.

    At the Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone in East Hampton, the menu was changed at the beginning of the month to reflect a Scandinavian or Nordic influence, with a selection of dishes featuring seasonal items. Another section of the menu is devoted to items that are “always at the Living Room,” such as the Lojrom caviar served with a crispy potato cake and herring three ways. The seasonal portion of the menu will change approximately four times throughout the year.

For Hanukkah

    Stuart’s Seafood Market has homemade latkes available for Hanukkah, along with house-made apple sauce. Advance orders are appreciated, though latkes are on hand in the shop. They also make a great accompaniment for holiday caviar, according to Charlotte Sasso of the market. The shop is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Holiday Plans

    The annual list of restaurants that will welcome guests for Christmas Eve and Christmas meals begins here.

    It’s party season! Chances are, you are going to a bunch and may be having one or two or your own. But this is the time of year when we are already spending a good bit of money on gifts and travel so throwing a holiday party could put some additional strain on your wallet. This is also the time when we are faced with rich eggnog, frosted holiday cookies, massive cheese platters, and adult beverages at all times of the day, putting a strain on your waistline, too.

Holiday Food

    Tanya Tracy, who was born in India, will draw on her culinary heritage, blend it with Mediterranean cuisine, and demonstrate the preparation of a holiday spread at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Wednesday at noon. The program is free, but reservations must be made by Monday by calling the library or registering online at myrml.org.

Dinner Under the Tree

Old Stove Pub

3516 Montauk Highway

Sagaponack

537-3300

Seven days, from 5 p.m.

   There are some very appealing aspects to the latest reincarnation of the Old Stove Pub in Sagaponack. The ramshackle, long-in-the-tooth building has been cleaned up, but not to the point of newness. The charm of the old farmhouse with wraparound indoor porches remains. The atmosphere is cozy. There are also some delicious, classic Greek dishes being served here.

    Sustainable winemaking paired with seasonal food is a way of life for David Page and Barbara Shinn, one that “keeps the community of food and wine intact,” said Mr. Page on Sunday afternoon. Whether it’s breakfast at their Farmhouse Inn, or an organic wine dinner offered about 10 times a year at their Shinn Estate Vineyards, the couple is committed to offering the best of the best when it comes to wine and foodstuffs, grown in their garden or greenhouse or procured from someone they know.

   The Montauk Brewing Company is open every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Those who stop in can pick up growlers of the company’s Driftwood Ale, an American-style extra-special bitter beer.

Breakfast at the Diner

    The Highway Diner and Bar, which opened recently and has been drawing a crowd for lunch and dinner, has added breakfast hours. The doors open daily at 8 a.m., and breakfast is served all day. The new eatery is in the building on Montauk Highway in East Hampton most recently occupied by Rugosa.

Fudge Company Contends

New at Rowdy

    At Rowdy Hall in East Hampton, new on the menu at lunchtime is a “roast turkey gobbler,” which is a sandwich of fresh turkey breast on toasted eight-grain bread with stuffing, gravy, and onion-cranberry marmalade. It is served with baby field greens. Also new on the lunch menu is a chicken salad sandwich and a pastrami sandwich. At dinnertime, the Rowdy menu now offers a baked brie appetizer, and, as entrees, local swordfish, salmon, an all-natural pork chop, beef short ribs, coq au vin, and butternut squash lasagna.

Zokkon Opens

   The tiny Sag Harbor Baking Company on Division Street is about to celebrate its one-year anniversary, and Mimi Yardley and Margaret Wagner, who have known each other since kindergarten in Sag Harbor, couldn’t be happier with their first year. With hands full of orders for their first Thanksgiving, Ms. Yardley said last Thursday that there has been a “great response.”

    Royal iced turkeys and leaf-shaped cookies, which Ms. Yardley described as a “simple, rich and delicious butter cookie,” topped with vanilla or chocolate icing, were popular items for Thanksgiving.

Highway Diner and Bar

    The Highway Diner and Bar is now open on Montauk Highway in Wainscott. Created by David Kuperschmid and Gunnar Myers — the restaurateur behind the former Napeague Stretch restaurant on Napeague and New York City’s Tenth Street Lounge — the family-friendly eatery is in the space that formerly housed Rugosa. The building has undergone extensive renovations, and now offers a relaxed setting for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or just drinks. The new restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with earlier breakfast hours to be added soon.

    I have great memories of family Thanksgivings. Of course, in the good old days, the women did all the cooking while the menfolk watched football. Afterward, as we all digested and got a bit slowed down by the big meal, the gents would return to the den to watch yet more football and the women would gingerly wash all the silver and special plates and glasses that only came out for this one day a year.

Boa Thai

129 Noyac Road

North Sea

488-4422

Dinner nightly, closed Tuesdays

   The charming Boa Thai restaurant is a bit of a hidden gem.

    Even in the aftermath of Sandy, still very much on the minds of those dealing with its effects or trying to help those severely affected, people still have to eat, and so Long Island Restaurant Week is on. Through Sunday night, participating restaurants will offer a three-course prix fixe for $24.95. On Saturday, availability is limited to before 7 p.m.

   Thousands of potatoes still sit beneath the soil, awaiting harvest and root cellar storage at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, which, according to Scott Chaskey, produces 20,000 pounds of the vegetable each year. To be dug and stored over the next few weeks, the crop will go primarily to winter-share members of the farm’s community-supported agriculture program, although a few local restaurants will get some as well. Varieties still to be harvested include Kennebec, Bintze, and Keuka Gold.

   An interesting offshoot of the well-established craft-beer movement is growing at Rowdy Hall.

   Theo Foscolo, a manager of the East Hampton restaurant, made a batch of root beer for Rowdy Hall’s annual beer dinner in March. The reaction was positive, and Miss Lady Small Batch Root Beer was born.

    The Hampton Seafood Company, which has a lineup of daily soups and lunch specials, is offering free delivery to businesses in East Hampton Village between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. from Mondays through Fridays. The shop also has two discount programs. A “loyalty card” allows customers who have their cards punched each time they buy something to claim a 15 percent discount after the 10th purchase.

    Teachers, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and police are being offered another card that entitles them to a 10 percent discount on every purchase.

    I have always loved Halloween. I love candy, I love being scared, and I love to wear costumes. Growing up in a small community in California, when our family went trick or treating, my brothers and I, all hopped up on sugar, would walk or run door to door and our parents would trail behind in the family station wagon. We knew all of our neighbors, and would end up at the Kuntsles’ house, our Swiss friends who would have an awesome Halloween party with popcorn balls and plenty of games like bobbing for apples.

    The Plaza Cafe in Southampton will participate in Cancer Awareness Month by donating $5 from every prix fixe dinner served on Wednesdays throughout  October to two local organizations, Lucia’s Angels and the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center.

    It’s that time of year . . . kind of. One day it’s 70 degrees, next day it’s 42. This puts me in the mood for casseroles. Hearty or light, rich or delicate, it’s a good time to utilize the end-of-season corn and tomatoes and incorporate them into whatever kind of casserole, stew, or chili you like.

    It could be a rich, cheesy penne dish like one from the famous Al Forno restaurant in Providence, R.I., or the light and spicy chicken chili recipe that I wrestled from my good friend Beverly Kazickas.

    A bite of a Tate’s Bake Shop gluten-free chocolate chip cookie brought a woman to tears at the International Fancy Food Show in July, said Kathleen King of Water Mill, the company’s founder and owner. “Oh my God, I never thought I would be able to eat a good cookie again,” the woman told her.