There may be songs about Paris in the spring, but nothing beats an East End summer. The weather is here and the beaches are beautiful — but please, can we talk about the food? With fresh produce grown locally and fish sourced from our very own waters, I think you’ll agree that 1) there’s a lot here for our tastebuds to celebrate, and 2) there’s no event better suited for the celebration than Dan’s Taste of Summer.
The annual Dan’s Taste of Summer will kick off on Friday, July 17, with GrillHampton. Co-hosted by celebrity chefs Marc Murphy and Robert Irvine — whom you might know from his work on Restaurant Impossible — GrillHampton will pit eight New York City grill-masters against eight of the East End’s own for a Battle of the Barbecue. Attendees will be spectators to that battle — but not, perhaps, to the Battle of the Bulge — as they will able to watch (and eat) all the action while enjoying live music by the band New Life Crisis. East End chefs from Old Stove Pub, Smokin’ Wolf BBQ, and The Deli Counter have already been confirmed.
And that’s only the beginning, the first taste, if you will. The festivities will continue the next day, Saturday, July 18, with the fifth anniversary of Taste of Two Forks, an institution that will cast a spotlight on all the best in food and wine on both the North and South forks. Featuring bites from celebrated restaurants such as 75 Main, Harlow, Navy Beach, and Topping Rose House, as well as sips from our region’s best wineries and breweries, Taste of Two Forks is an event you really won’t want to miss. You also won’t want to miss its confirmed co-hosts: Food Network star and author of the new cookbook Endless Summer, Katie Lee, and Iron Chef and host of The Chew, Michael Symon.
And last but not least, on Saturday, August 22, Harvest East End will bring Dan’s Taste of Summer to a close. It is an event born to make Bacchus proud, with the Long Island Wine Council gathering the best and brightest winemakers of the East End for this annual celebration of wine and food. More than 40 wineries and 30 restaurants and purveyors are set to convene under the tent at the beautiful McCall Vineyards and Ranch, where Geoffrey Zakarian — Iron Chef & star of The Kitchen and Chopped — will carry on his duties as the event’s first ever host!
Finally, summer is so close we can practically taste it, and soon we actually will at Dan’s Taste of Summer.
Dan’s Taste of Summer sets off with GrillHampton on Friday, July 17, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Sayre Park, 156 Snakehollow Road, Bridgehampon. General admission tickets are $125 (inclusive of all food & beverages).
Dan’s Taste of Two Forks is Saturday, July 18, at Sayre Park, 156 Snakehollow Road, Bridgehampon. Taste of Two Forks VIP tickets are available for $250, including early admission from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; General Admission (GA) tickets from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. are available for $170 (inclusive of all food & beverages). Weekend Packages are available as well: 1 ticket for GrillHampton and 1 GA ticket for Taste of Two Forks is $275, and 1 ticket for GrillHampton and 1 VIP ticket for Taste of Two Forks is $355.
Harvest East End is Saturday, August 22, from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at McCall Vineyard and Ranch, 22600 Main Road, Cutchogue. General admission tickets are $125. VIP tickets are available for $275.
To purchase tickets to any—or all—of the Dan’s Taste of Summer events, you can visit their website here.
