From September 26th to October 6th Edible Manhattan, Edible East End and Edible Brooklyn — in conjunction with Edibles statewide and GrowNYC — present Eat Drink Local week, our celebration of the local food chain through heirloom vegetable auctions, wine tastings, DIY challenges, lectures, garden tours, farm to table dinners and countless other events. Over the next few weeks we’re highlighting a few of the restaurants, wine shops and wineries, breweries and beer bars, farms and food artisans and cultural institutions that the week is meant to celebrate.

The Restaurant:

The North Fork Table & Inn

What They Do:

The menu at The North Fork Table & Inn, found near the tip of the still semi-rural North Fork,  showcases the best of what Long Island has to offer–fresh produce, seafood from Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound, and local, award winning cheeses in a refined modern dining meets lovely ye olde inn setting. (Think wood floors, beadboard and crown molding.) The goal of the chefs (Manhattan expats Gerry Hayden, from Aureole and Claudia Fleming, the former pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern) is to support local farms and fisheries–like Satur Farms and Catapano Dairy Farm–as well as to create seasonally-inspired dishes utilizing local and organic produce whenever possible.

Why We Love Them:

Sure, local food makes our little locavore hearts go all pitter patter, but our tastebuds thank us too when we take them to dine at North Fork.  The menu at this locally-focused restaurant features such inventive creations as raw Block Island fluke (from just off the tip of Long Island) with ginger, lime, canteloupe, sunflower seeds, cilantro shoots and olive oil.  And, no matter how full we get, there’s always room for desserts made by former Gramercy Tavern chef Claudia Fleming, like upside-down caramelized peach cobbler with blackberries and vanilla crème fraiche! It’s worth not just a detour, but a round-trip.

Where to Find Them:

The North Fork Table & Inn is located at 57225 Main Road in Southold, on the north fork of Long Island.  And no worries if you don’t have a car: The area is easily accessible by the LIRR or the Hampton Jitney.  Take a day trip or make it a long weekend and check out one of the nearby wineries or beaches while you’re out there.  And in late September, catch Gerry and Claudia in action at the Harvest Wine Auction and Celebration of Long Island’s East End.  They’ll be making the gala dinner!