The Hamptons in the summer is like Midtown Manhattan on New Year’s Eve: a good idea if you like giant clusters of bodies and getting ripped off. A “local” Hamptons lobster roll will set you back $45, and the August beach crowds recall the coziness of Times Square.
But there’s another kind of summer weekend out there, and it’s not that far off. Actually, exactly as far as the Hamptons: just two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Manhattan, Long Island’s less-travelled North Fork (the Hamptons makes up the South Fork) has become the cooler peninsula. At various times dubbed the Hamptons’ “country cousin” and the “Brooklyn of Long Island,” it’s known by the easy-going locals as NoFo. Chill holidaymakers are drawn to the former farmland’s waterfront wineries, tucked-away beaches, boutiquey design stores and roadside farm stands. Even with a slew of upscale new openings, the North Fork has managed to maintain a vibe that’s unapologetically relaxed.
In June, François Payard, a leading light in New York’s French food scene, opened the Southold Social, an intimate shingled house that serves the most killer steak frites on the peninsula. Payard also oversees Southold General down the road, a Manhattanite-friendly café serving flaky almond croissants, farm-fresh salads and cold brew on tap. North Fork Table & Inn, from Michelin-starred John Fraser, is the other big hitter in town. It underwent a total renovation in 2021 and now offers a tantalising menu of oysters, caviar, and catches of the day – and bookable personal bonfires for making s’mores.
But food is not the point of the North Fork: alcohol is. While the South Fork has a mere three wineries, the North Fork has close to 50, and about a dozen breweries. The cheaper real estate made it the better peninsula for planting fields of grapes – almost all French – back in the day. North Fork wineries like to boast that they’re on the same latitude as Bordeaux, producing reds that give their French counterparts a run for their money.
In June, journalist Dan Abrams opened Ev&Em Vineyards, a swish Napa-esque spot with sun-drenched decks where guests can taste its flagship wines while drinking in the sprawling views. Another standout is Sparkling Pointe, New York’s only dedicated sparkling vineyard, specialising in Méthode Champenoise. You can sip brut dating back to 2013 – medieval times by Long Island wine standards.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
This article brings to mind the two things those of us who live in tourist areas worry about:
1. No one will show up.
2. Everyone will show up.
"Hey! We left this England place because it was bogus, and if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too!" -- Thomas Jefferson
I'd dig visiting the country cousin, and I've been to Luray briefly for the cavern (and thought it funny and sad simultaneously that you got to it through the gift shop). I'm having a vague recollection there may have been an auto museum there.
pipistrelle wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 12:44 pm
I'd dig visiting the country cousin, and I've been to Luray briefly for the cavern (and thought it funny and sad simultaneously that you got to it through the gift shop). I'm having a vague recollection there may have been an auto museum there.
And a garden maze. My granddaughter loved it.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
northland10 wrote: ↑Sat May 11, 2024 6:29 pm
I miss living up north. We had three seasons, winter, tourist, and deer. The deer were generally smarter than the tourists.
Yes but it's somewhat more complicated in the aftermath if you bag a couple of tourists. I have touristed the UP and bought pasties for me and my children, and it should have been prime tourist hunting season (early June). But ... I just kept going and spent the night at a super crowded state park, right on the big lake. No beach, of course, the shoreline was boulders and prickly bushes, we camped by a monstrous body of water, but we couldn't get near the actual water. The next morning, we had to drive with the windows open until all the black flies vacated the premises. Great fun.
Local Oldies station is playing many summer-themed songs. Trying to jumpstart the season.
Mrs.V already has 2 concerts scheduled.
She was gone most of yesterday at a rehearsal. Today she has 2 rehearsals one this afternoon and another this evening. The North Fork music folk know that Mrs.V's back.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
I was listening to your station just now. They were doing a call-in “Swap and Shop.” Quaint in the age of the internet. Felt like the 1970s. Mostly older-sounding people. One guy looking for Lionel trains in good condition.
Yes, Swap and Shop has been a daily program for decades. It used to be a full hour from 10 to 11 am but now starts at 10:15 and runs to about 10:50. The younger generations tend to buy and sell on the Internet.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Earlier this year, Fred Ruvolo said he didn’t want too many people to know that he would be closing the Village Cobbler Shoppe on Griffing Avenue on June 29. He feared there would be a last minute deluge of customers.
But that plan didn’t pan out.
“It’s out,” Mr. Ruvolo said Saturday, as he held a cardboard box packed with nine pairs of shoes that a customer dropped off earlier in the day.
“The word has been getting out and a lot of people are upset,” Mr. Ruvolo said, adding that he preferred to deliver the news to customers in person rather than hanging up a sign.
“It’s not an easy thing for me to retire,” he said. “I’ve spent my entire adult life here. This has been my community, and the place where all my friends are. I have a lot of good memories.”
Mr. Ruvolo is 73 years old and his business has been in Riverhead for 53 years. He said his fingers are starting to hurt from working so much.
Mr. Ruvolo has drawn customers from all over Long Island. He gets good reviews online, too.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Covid has struck the early music community on the North Fork!
Mrs. V's recorder rehearsal was canceled yesterday because one of the players tested positive. Now another rehearsal has been canceled due to another player testing positive.
Local early music folk tend to be elderly. That may have something to do with it. But Covid wasn't a problem here last year.
Waiting for the next shoe to drop.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Anyone over 65, and others, can get another Covid vaccine now. I got mine last week. I think I read only 3 percent of those eligible have received the most recent one.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
AndyinPA wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2024 11:47 am
Anyone over 65, and others, can get another Covid vaccine now. I got mine last week. I think I read only 3 percent of those eligible have received the most recent one.
I got mine last March. I have a Medicare Advantage card. It cost me nothing. For the uninsured, that poke will cost you $188. Now tell me that charge is for research the government already paid them for. The VA is hit and miss on Covid vaccines. Sometimes they have it. Sometimes they don't. The VA does not provide the RSV vaccine, despite it being a Part D requirement. Go figure.
A bit to the west a large commercial size mower is making a huge noise first thing in the morning.
I have practiced against a backdrop of many noises, including vacuums, crying babies, loud rain on a skylight, really loud birds, and even bagpipes (in the next room). Commercial mowers across the street are, however, the worst. It may be they need a tune-up because they seem to be painfully out of tune with whatever note/chord I am playing. Even if I am loud enough to cover up the noise, I end up wondering what the hell is wrong with the instrument until I realize it is a clash of the mower with the organ.
We have been expecting Mrs.V's cousin (who lives in the DC area and has a cottage on the Circle) and her husband to arrive this coming Monday to start their North Fork season.
Cousin just called. She is in the hospital. Heart problems. Not coming Monday.
Looks like the doctors suspect cardiomyopathy. Should know more next week.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Send some Our way. It's so unbelievably dry down here in southwest Florida, residents' wells are running dry. Many people have joined gyms so they can shower.
Your cats are smarter than mine. It doesn't matter what the weather is. HE WANTS OUT! Ok. Door open. He dashes out onto the back porch like the house is on fire, gets four feet away, stops, throws a look over his shoulder at me, and then proceeds to preen. I close the door and walk away. If it's nice out, I don't bother to check for at least an hour. If it's nasty, I give him five minutes, and he's usually grateful (happy meows abounding) when I let him back in.
Mrs. V's cousins who own the cottage to our left have arrived to open up for the season. They are the brothers of Mrs. V's cousin who lives down by the bay.
Meanwhile in the DC area, that cousin's doctors are finding more medical issues.
That is so often the case once you enter a hospital in my experience.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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