Foodstuffs: A Market In Riverhead, Bagels On The Rock, Spring Awakenings And Outstanding In The Field

New Market Days In Riverhead

After seeing tremendous success during the winter months, East End Food Market, a project of East End Food Institute, will open the doors of its Riverhead store year-round to provide the public with expanded access to local food. Starting in May, the market will be open Wednesday and Friday evenings from 3 to 7 p.m. throughout the spring and summer season.

East End Food Market, located at 139 Main Road, Riverhead, provides an important retail outlet for local farm, food and craft businesses, where vendors can connect with customers and foster relationships. With a huge variety of products ranging from fresh produce and seafood to art and personal care items, the market is a complement to the farm stands that pop up during the growing season, allowing residents and visitors greater opportunities to shop local and support small businesses.

Rachel Stephens, owner of the North Fork’s Sweet Woodland Farm and former manager of the Riverhead Farmers Market, appreciates the convenience and visibility of the new market location and believes the new market days will continue to allow her business to grow.

“East End Food Market has given me the opportunity to offer my farm-grown herbs and handcrafted herbal products year-round,” said Stephens. “The location is central, connecting both forks and is a short drive from my farm which allows me to easily get my medicinal herbs and herbal remedies to the market.”

Each week, the market will host a variety of offerings and entertainment including over 40 local farms and food businesses, wine tastings from a rotating list of wineries sponsored by Long Island Wine Country, educational opportunities from area nonprofits, craft vendors, local art, and live music. Customers can preorder local goods at eastendfood.org and pick up at the market every weekend, or shop in-person. Additionally, the market will continue to offer Double Up Food Bucks, a program designed to help SNAP-enrolled customers stretch their dollars to purchase fresh, locally grown food.

“We’re so thrilled to see the public’s support for East End Food Market,” says Kate Fullam, Executive Director of the nonprofit East End Food Institute, which is based at the Stony Brook University Southampton campus. “Each week, hundreds of people from across the East End and farther west visit the market to stock up on local goods. It’s an economic boost for small business owners, and customers enjoy weekly access to their favorite foods and products. We see the year-round market as win-win for everyone.”

East End Food Market is accepting rolling vendor applications for the spring and summer season. Interested applicants should apply online at riverheadmarket.org.

Shelter Island Just Got A “Hole” Lot Yummier

It’s official! You can now get bagels on Shelter Island!

The Eccentric Bagel is the island’s first-ever bagel store and the business’s soft opening in early April was met with great enthusiasm with lines out the door as customers waited to try Darryn Weinstein’s unique bagel recipe.

Over 4,000 bagels were made for the opening, and all were sold out. Favorites of the day were classic everything, unique za’atar and jalapeno cheddar bagels. Weinstein created on-the-spot bagel dogs that sold out within five minutes of putting them out. Also on the menu were a number of house-made cream cheeses, like artichoke cheddar, and bacon scallion being some of the newest creations.

Customers seated outside offered reviews. “This is the best bagel I ever had, and I live in New York City,” one said.

Darryn Weinstein and wife Amy have owned a home on Shelter Island for almost seven years. A Manhattan native, he has always felt the island needed a bagel store. He decided to pair his 30 years of hospitality knowledge with his wife’s design experience and bring to the island not just a bagel store, but a gastronomic experience.

Amy Weinstein is the founder and CEO of Smash Entertainment, a firm that has provided entertainment services for everyone from Beyoncé to Barack Obama. Her specialty is cultivating an experience and with The Eccentric Bagel she has set out to do just that. The store’s handmade visual experience was created with the help of local artist Ricky Teevee.

“We are blown away by the response we are getting,” wrote Amy Weinstein in an email. “We are in a whirlwind right now.”

The Eccentric Bagel is located at 25 West Neck Road on Shelter Island and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit eccentricbagel.com or call 631-749-5363.

Spring Awakenings

The high season is on the horizon, and local restaurants are gearing up for summer. Here are a few:

Bostwick’s Chowder House has new items on the menu for the 2022 season , including local fluke Milanese ($29.95), tuna poke bowl ($23.95), teriyaki salmon ($24.95), BBQ chicken ($19.95) and portobello mushroom served with rice and quinoa blend ($19.95). The restaurant is currently open Thursday through Sunday beginning at 11:30 a.m. Bostwick’s Chowder House is at 277 Pantigo Road, East Hampton. For more information, call 631-324-1111 or visit bostwickschowderhouse.com.

The Restaurant at Baron’s Cove has launched its new spring menu. Under direction of executive chef Nicholas Vogel, the new offerings feature locally sourced ingredients from the East End and beyond. Highlights from the new menu include local broiled oysters with chili butter and fennel breadcrumbs; local seared scallops with charred radicchio, citrus segments, cauliflower puree, pistachio crumble and chive oil; a pan seared duck breast with sautéed cabbage with whole grain mustard, carrot puree and Treiber Farms blackberry sauce; roasted chicken breast with sautéed spinach, buttered radish, pickled mushrooms, and a spring onion and bucatini pasta with sugar snap and shelled peas, basil and farm pesto. The Restaurant at Barons Cove is located at 31 Water Street, Sag Harbor. For more information, visit baronscove.com or call 631-725-2100.

The Lobster Roll on the Napeague stretch of Amagansett is a legendary roadside eatery that is a perennial must-visit for seafood lovers near and far. The restaurant will officially reopen for its 56th season on Friday, May 6. So get ready, summer is on its way! The Lobster Roll is at 1980 Montauk Highway in Amagansett. Visit lobsterroll.com or call 631-267-3740 for more information.

Astro’s Pizza in Amagansett has announced that New York City chef and owner PJ Calapa is taking over the space and plans to open for the 2022 season on Memorial Day Weekend. Calapa, who also owns Scampi and The Spaniard, both located in New York City, is reopening the space alongside investor Ben Leventhal, who is also one of the founders of Resy. Guests can expect to see his take on traditional Italian dishes and pizza classics, complete with a full bar and family style meals to go. Appetizers will range from $17 to $25, entrées will cost $17 to $31 and desserts will be $6 to $11. The restaurant will be open year-round. A selection of menu items includes Sicilian “sashimi,” eggplant parmigiana, mezzaluna amatriciana, chicken parmigiana, chicken piccata and Caesar salad. Astro’s Pizza is at 237 Main Street in Amagansett. For more information, visit astrospizza.com or call 631-267-8300.

EHP Resort & Marina’s Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Sí Sí, is officially open for the summer season and on April 21, the restaurant launched a brand-new happy hour offering: the Local Sunset Time Specialty Menu, which includes 50-percent off shareable plates and specialty cocktails, and 20-percent off wine bottles over $200. Available at the Sí Sí Bar every Thursday to Sunday from 6 to 7 p.m., the menu will feature a selection of guest favorites — from crispy olives and mezze, charred octopus and seafood fritto misto, za’atar roasted cauliflower, and black garlic smoked lamb ribs and crispy duck and melon. With views of Three Mile Harbor and inspired by coastal Mediterranean dining experiences, Sí Sí, or “yes yes,” in both Italian and Spanish, creates food that celebrates vibrant, seasonal and local ingredients that elevate traditional dishes like paella, roasted striped bass or bucatini verde with lobster. Sí Sí is located at 295 Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. Check out the menu at ehpresort.com/sisimenus2022.

Navy Beach, which is positioned on 200 feet of private beach overlooking Fort Pond Bay in Montauk, will reopen for its 13th season on Friday, April 29, at 5:30 p.m. The restaurant will serve dinner Friday through Sunday and lunch on weekends until May 19, when Thursday dinner will be added. Lunch and dinner will be served seven days a week starting June 16.

Navy Beach offers beachfront outdoor dining as well as indoor dining. For the 2022 season reservations for dining will be available via Resy or by calling the restaurant directly up to two weeks in advance. Yachting clientele will be happy to hear that the beachfront restaurant’s popular “Torpedo” service will be back this season offering a launch running weekends from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.

This season, Navy Beach will continue to support the Navy SEAL Foundation with its 10th annual dine + donate program from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with $1 added to each dining check. Guests will also be able to donate additional funds to the organization. Since beginning the fundraising effort in 2013, the restaurant has raised over $175,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation. In addition, the restaurant’s local East Hampton High School scholarship program continues for a third year which will award four $500 scholarships to 2022 graduates who reside in Montauk. Navy Beach is at 16 Navy Road in Montauk. For more information, visit navybeach.com or call 631-668-6868.