East End Food Seen: Fall Eats, Oktoberfest und Mehr

“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first of September was crisp as an apple,” J.K. Rowling wrote in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Fall officially began this Thursday, which means apple season is officially underway! See what Hamptons and North Fork restaurants and their wizardly chefs are serving the muggles this autumn, enjoy Oktoberfest and more beissens und schlucks from the East End “Food Seen.”

Fall Foods & Fun

Loaves & Fishes Food Store in Bridgehampton, which provides fresh gourmet takeout to the Hamptons, is offering a pure, homemade applesauce in their shop. The restaurant changes their creatively playful menu on a daily basis and is open Wednesday through Sunday year-round.

Foodies rejoice! This year, Fall Long Island Restaurant Week will be taking place November 6–13. From Sunday to Sunday, each participating restaurant has the option to offer its own unique two-course lunch menu for $22, and/or three-course dinner menu for $27, $37 or $44 every day it’s open, except Saturday when the deal is only offered until 7 p.m. The promotion, which spans across the region’s 118 miles from Garden City to Montauk, boasts over 120 participants each fall. View all participating restaurants by visiting longislandrestaruantweek.com.

Manna at Lobster Inn will be hosting their popular aquaculture series “Manna Mondays” again starting in October. The monthly educational aquaculture program will feature guest speakers, presentations, curated dinners and Manna’s delicious locally sourced seafood. Each week features a guest speaker discussing topics related to aquaculture and seafood, such as farming, wild capture fisheries, IUU fishing, food traceability, habitat restoration, working waterfront revitalization, workforce training and sustainable seafood production and sourcing.

The first guest this fall will be John “Barley” Dunne of the East Hampton Shellfish Hatchery on October 3 followed by Dr. Chris Gobler and Christine Santora of Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program on December 12.

L&W Market in Bridgehampton has announced they are offering to-go meals for Rosh Hashanah. Orders for Rosh Hashanah must be placed by noon on September 23 and may be done online or by calling 631-537-1123. Menu offerings include smoked bluefish paté, chopped liver, red wine braised brisket, whole roasted chicken and Sephardic-style braised duck.

Rowdy Hall’s Oktoberfest celebrations are going strong, and more German food specials are in store. From September 22–24, kassler rippchen served with a potato pancake and warm Halsey Farm applesauce will be offered, as well as the molten chocolate black forest cake for dessert. On September 29 and 30, enjoy wiener schnitzel served with herbed spaetzle and golden beets as well as apple pecan strudel, and from October 1–3, have your lederhosen ready for sauerbraten with braised red cabbage and root vegetable puree.

The New York Times food critic and writer Florence Fabricant will serve as a judge of a clam chowder contest at the East Hampton Town Trustees’ Largest Clam Contest, which takes place on Sunday, October 9 at noon on the grounds of the Lamb Building on Bluff Road in Amagansett. Residents entering clams or chowders have been asked to arrive a little before noon. Clammers dig along the entire stretch of Three Mile, Accabonac and Napeague Harbor, while previous contests included clams harvested from Lake Montauk. There will also be a clam chowder contest, free raw bar and live music. Last year’s contest introduced free samples of clam pies and the town’s shellfish hatchery offered an aquaculture display.

Several restaurants on the East End were included on Newsday’s prestigious Top 100 Restaurants on Long Island list. Almond, Coche Comedor, Inlet Seafood, Kissaki, Nick & Toni’s, Anchor, North Fork Table & Inn, Scarpetta Beach, Smokin’ Wolf BBQ, The 1770 House The Frisky Oyster and Townline BBQ all got the nod. Congratulations!

Did You Know?

Mushrooms were one of the trendiest food crazes in 2022. They are also considered superfoods for containing many essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and also aid in digestion, reduce inflammation and support the immune system. Chicken of the Woods mushrooms from the Southampton Market are only in-season at the end of the summer and early fall. The breaded and fried mushroom tastes like fried chicken!

Southampton Market also serves an international delight: Wild Arbor Pu’erh Tea. The tea is cultivated in the mountains of Yunnan, China and after the leaves are sufficiently dried and rolled, they undergo fermentation. The medicinal benefits of pu’erh tea include strengthening heart health, cleansing the body of toxins, preventing cancer and reducing stress.

The Bell & Anchor in Noyac is offering new specials. Tuesdays are “Pork Milanese Night,” Wednesdays are “Lobster Night,” Thursdays are “Bouillabaisse Night,” and there are moules frites every Sunday. Nightly specials will include a choice of appetizer, the featured entree, and dessert.

Summer hotspots like The Beacon and Navy Beach are open into October. It might be a tad easier getting a table now!

Bits & Bites

Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor serves breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. We’re partial to the “Nacho Mama’s” omelet featuring tomato, Jack cheese, jalapeño and onion. The breakfast burritos are also superb.

Sag Harbor Farmers Market is entering its final month before hibernating through the winter. Stop by from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. every Saturday on the corner of Bay and Burke streets Sag Harbor Honey is always an essential pickup. The pumpkin spice variety pairs beautifully with your morning coffee or tea, over pancakes, breakfast pastries, and your morning oats.

Old Stove Pub serves brunch every Sunday from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Menu highlights include onion soup, saganaki, stuffed eggplant and fresh branzino.

Food Quote

“Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea.” -Pythagoras