Thursday-Sunday, April 26-29, 2007 Special “Winemakers Edition” of Wine Camp.
From the Vine to the Wine in the Bottle. Seasonal activities at vineyards, blending
wine with the winemaker, pairing food and wine…and more! Fee: $749. Reservations:
631-495-9744
www.winecamp.org
The latest issue of Edible East End hit the streets last week and there's another drop of magazines on the way. We'll be uploading it to the website in the next couple days so check back.
In the meantime, check out this short Endangered Bonackers video from Gabe Johnson and Corey Kilgannon at the New York Times, who followed bayman Brad Loewen through a day of work.
The last vestige of a farm stand in the heart of East Hampton Village officially closed this past fall when Bogo's Food Spa on Race Lane sealed its drafty barn doors. This eclectic shop filled with local produce, gourmet cheeses and meats, dried goods, smoothies and juices, and other provisions was popular among customers who knew that the proprietor, John Bogosian, knew quality food and could tell you the story of a particularly strange looking tomato or particularly expensive type of wild rice.
Fortunately, Bogosian isn't hanging up his purveyor's cap just yet. He has launched BOGOFOOD, a sort of collective bargaining effort to get wholesale-type prices on everything from local produce to natural meats, from hard-to-find ethnic foods to earth-friendly cleaning products. BOGOFOOD offers home delivery from Southampton to Amagansett and free pickups in Bridgehampton, East Hampton and Montauk. More at bogofood.com.
On a recent anniversary trip to Italy, James Monaco, a publisher based in Sag Harbor, was startled by what he saw in a Rome book store. "There were three full shelves, floor to ceiling, of agritourism books," he said, referring to the notion of touring a region's food and wine producers as part of a vacation. Monaco's publishing company focuses on local issues, including hiking and kayaking guides, as well as books of poetry by local authors.
And now the company has published a guide to Long Island farm stands, farmers markets, CSAs (community supported agriculture or food subscription schemes) and local food purveyors. With a detailed list of farm stands and gourmet food shops-big and small, renowned and undiscovered-the book would make a perfect gift for any foodie that is new to the area or the locals who are curious to see if they have found all the good food in their own backyard. (Who knew that Nassau County had so many farm stands or that the farm stand around the corner from me was named after the farmer's twin girls?) "What we discovered in doing the research is that there are many more farmers markets and CSAs on the Island than you would imagine," said Monaco, who plans to make the book an annual series and is working on a guide to Long Island's wineries. (Find the book at local bookstores, farmers markets, and hepdigital.com.)
Just as the interest in eating local has multiplied so have the guides to make it easier to find that nearby harvest. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County has just released its 2007 Pick-Your-Own List, identifying fruit and vegetable farms complete with locations, telephone numbers, and picking hours. (For those who like to plan ahead, there’s even a list of pick-your-own Christmas tree farms.) For a free copy, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: U-Pick, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, 423 Griffing Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901 or download the list at: www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk.
Long Island Farm Bureau offers a free, colorful Farmstand Guide (call 727-3777), with information on more than 50 farmstands and pick-your-own farms, as well as an all new interactive farmstand map at www.LongIslandFarmstands.com.
