EAST END BUZZExperience The North Fork of Long Island, NY

5/30/2009 7:30 PM at Relay For Life – American Cancer Society Benefit
Peconic – Jean Cochran Park, Peconic, 11958
Cost: FREE
Josh Horton’s band BIG SUGA will perform as part of the opening events for the 2009 “Relay For Life”. Proceeds support the American Cancer Society’s efforts to find a cure for cancer and provide support to cancer victims and their families. This is an outdoor event that is open to the community. Come out and support this important effort. BIG SUGA delivers a driving, high octane performance, grounded in a straight up Rock ‘N Roll sound. They are also playing locally at Bay and Main, HIgh Street, Greenport on July 25th at 10pm

Want to hear some of the music from the street? We’re featuring some of the local indie music scene, starting with Blake Morgan’s Engine Company from NYC. The New York Times said,

In recent years Engine Company Records, an independent label in New York, founded by Blake Morgan, has had success with contemporary artists…(this) might seem a risky venture. But the music is terrific, and the performances compelling.

This weekend saw the last of the Long Island Winterfest and Jazz on the Vine. The weather was beautiful, the wine and oysters flowed. Here’s a taste of Jamesport Vineyards and Jazz on the Half Shell. Enjoy!

For more about Jazz on the Half Shell, read the post here.

There’s a petition gaining traction on the east end to bring Trader Joe’s to Riverhead (no, that apostrophe is not a typo, it’s their name). If you’re not familiar with this brand of neighborhood groceries, you missed something special. They taste every product before they decide to sell it, and guarantee you’ll like it. (Trader Joe’s Product Guarantee: We tried it! We liked it! If you don’t, bring it back for a full refund, no questions asked.)

You might expect indulgences like these to come with unbecoming prices. But at Trader Joe’s, they’re as much about value as they are about great food. In other words, they keep costs low, cut out the middleman whenever possible and pass savings on to you in the form of terrific everyday prices. So you can afford to be adventurous without breaking the bank. Whatever the advertising, they certainly have a cult following.

Of the six Long Island stores currently available for the weekly food shop, the nearest location to the North Fork and the Hamptons is in Lake Grove, over 30 miles and at least a 40 minute drive in each direction.

Now there’s a new Facebook Group of more than 250 members petitioning to bring the store closer, set up by Claire Kennedy. Jean Bloomingdale Linder said, “There is certainly enough of a year round population to keep this place going. People will come as far as 25+ miles to shop here regularly. They are used to doing that! And during the summer, it will undoubtedly be a zoo.” To join the Facebook group, go to FB and join the group, “Trader Joe’s RIVERHEAD NY Location Request Group”.

For a taste of Trader Joe’s, here’s their most recent newsletter, the Fearless Flyer , and the in-house-by-the-staff, no frills attached, refreshingly different radio ads here.

The Jazz Festival continues on the North Fork this coming weekend with Vineyard 48 presenting “Jazz on the Half Shell” on Saturday March 7th 2-5pm. All Jazz events are free. Vineyard 48 has a pretty center courtyard with teak wood tables, chairs, umbrellas and fountain to add to the beautiful setting, but events at this time of year take place in the warm interior tasting room. Our visit to their last Jazz event with the accomplished Denise Richards Trio was also enhanced by Sommelier Kenny Vaglio’s knowledge of the wines, as well as the Chess Art Gallery, which includes displays of antique chess sets. Tables are set up all year and the sets are also for sale. Their new release Cabernet Franc was a lovely surprise and proved a well balanced accompaniment to the smooth tones of Denise Richards vocals. At $9 a glass, it represents good value to this untrained palette for a wine that sells at $45 a bottle.

Jazz on the Half Shell is an ensemble that performs all music forms from Bebop to Motown and includes vocalist and Long Islander Ahmad Ali, who has been working with various local groups, as well as co-hosting the show “In The Moment” at WBAI 99.5 FM in NY. Bob Hovey on trombone has appeared locally as well with The Sunnyland Jazz Band, The Isotope Stompers, King Scallop, Park Ave Blues Band, Gordon Hurley Big Band, The Golden Fists of Fury as well as The Temptations, Rich Little, and The Great American Circus Band among many others in the USA and Europe.

James Benard, percussionist, studied with Jack DeJohnette and Tony Williams and Neil Ralph has been seen in many local bands throughout New York, playing keyboards, guitar and bass with equal proficiency and has been referred to by Roland Parker as “NYC’s best kept secret”.

And last but not least, Kim Tetrault, who plays electric and acoustic bass, has a background with various local groups including the Nuclear Hillbillies, Half Life, King Scallop and the Oysterettes, and the original Golden Fists. Kim is perhaps best known locally by his day job at the Southold Project in Aquaculture Training (SPAT)— which is doing what it can to restock our waters with oysters, clams, and scallops. A Cornell Cooperative Extension program, S.P.A.T. teaches volunteers how to grow shellfish in containers, away from predators, until they reach adult size, when they are released into local creeks and bays.

S.P.A.T. has partnered with Jamesport Vineyards, which donates 10% of the proceeds from all of their East End Series wines  to S.P.A.T. It was there that Jazz on the Half Shell played during the 2008 Festival. You can see the half shell motif on their East End Series wine labels. Are you getting the flavor of the local culture yet?

This year,  Jamesport Vineyards host performances by other musicians on March 8th and 14th as part of the Jazz on the Vine series, then Jazz on the Half Shell will be playing there on March 21st at 1pm. For the full list of Jazz Venues, check the Long Island Winterfest website.

American Yogini, was founded by Mary McGuire (seen above), and carries yoga practice off your mat and into every part of your life, offering a luxurious yet modern eco-concious and sustainable North Fork retreat near New York City. As well as an online video library of “How To” and “Tips” for living a cleansing, holistic and conscious life, American Yogini offers online and at home support, including Private Raw Food Coaching and Raw Juice fasting for groups or individuals.

The retreat, which uses green principles throughout the home, is only a short stroll to sandy beaches on the North Fork’s Peconic Bay in Jamesport, and is surrounded by organic gardens in the agricultural heart of Long Island. Activities include swimming in a spectacular, detoxifying salt-water pool, as well as pampering yourself with a healing massage. Bliss!

JAZZ on the Vine is once again the theme for the 2009 Long Island Winterfest, which will run from February 14 to March 22 across the East End of Long Island. This year the program features an extended series of over 60 FREE jazz concerts* at wineries and other venues on weekends over six weeks. Make plans to go to the East End of Long Island this winter, where outstanding jazz musicians join with local vineyards, hotels, restaurants, cultural venues and attractions to create an array of special events and offers designed to lift the mid-winter doldrums.

Good food, fine wine, great company! 5 STARS to Jenifer Lew and Emily Aldrich Clark, the amazing women who organized tonight’s event at the beautiful Cutchogue Blue Iris B&B, lavishly decorated for the Holiday Season with the owner performing on the piano. The array of food and wine was impressive, including the prettiest hand make cake by a custom cake designer whom I wish I had met last week when I was hunting for a 21st birthday. Reasonably priced, hand made items by quality vendors made decisions about Holiday gifts very easy. I came away with six, including handcrafted fine silver jewelry by Karen Stampfli of Riverhead. It was the prefect event, not least for me because I won not only the first raffle prize, a lovely spa body gift set from Blue Sage Day Spa in Southold, but also….gasp… a $300 voucher for exquisite hand made boots by Christine De La Garza of Mattituck and NYC. Wow! If you weren’t there, you missed something special.

As we all know, behind every successful woman there is….another woman, and in the current economic climate, as people everywhere are forced to step outside their comfort zone to boost their business, North Fork Women’s Network is set to rock. Can’t wait for the next event! For more information, read Jen’s Blog and join the Facebook Group .

Locals are familiar with Hamptons Restaurant week, which is held in March every year, now we have the Long Island Restaurant Week^SM launching Sunday, November 2nd to 9th, based on the same model. Participating restaurants offer a three-course prix fixe for $24.95 per person all night, except Saturday, when it will only be available until 7 p.m. Each restaurant offers its own unique menu. Experience new cuisine, décor and service at bargain prices once a year with a view to inspiring return dining year-round. All the more reason to visit the North Fork in the off-season!

So far, participating restaurants who have signed up for this year’s Long Island Restaurant Week^SM are below. Please click on each restaurant for additional information.

Aquebogue

Meeting House Creek Inn (631) 722-4220

Greenport

Scrimshaw Restaurant (631) 477-8882

New Suffolk

Legends Restaurant (631) 734-5123

Bright silky smooth texture with hints of banana, citrus, strawberries, vanilla and anise, with an elegant and clean finish

are some of the words being used to describe the North Fork’s latest tasting delight, but they are not remotely related to grapes. This is 100% about potatoes, and vodka, and not just any vodka, this is Long Island vodka. The island’s first new distillery since the 1800s has just opened its doors in Baiting Hollow, and offers a tasting barn with deck overlooking the potato fields, in the same style as the vineyards and wineries now well established throughout the North Fork of Long Island, New York. The distinctive “terroir” of Long Island that is much talked about in terms of the wine palette, now offers vodka afficionados a distinctive, clean, crisp, hand-made vodka, that is deliciously creamy with a smooth finish.

The North Fork was first one of the world’s best growing potato regions long before it was one the world’s best grape growing regions, so this is a welcome and elegant addition. Expect only 5,000 cases to be produced in the first year.

LiV (rhymes with 5) can be found at 2182 Sound Avenue, Baiting Hollow, NY 11933.

Looking for the real recipe for Long Island Iced Tea? Click the ultra cool site at www.lispirits.com for more information, directions and cocktail recipes.