Tip# 3: Find balance

Tola is sanskrit for ‘balance’ and Tola Body is a new group & personal training space on Love Lane that just opened and the place rocks.  And you do have to find it.  And you have to register online before attending a class.  It’s located above the Orlowski Hardware Store on the corner of Love Lane.  I bet you passed by a hundred times and never looked up!!  

Co-owner Keri Butler takes a ‘no holds barred’ approach to group training and will push every individual to reach their peak exertion.  This is not a gym to just show up and hang out.  You need to bring it – physically and mentally.  Keri pushes you to challenge yourself with every visit.  Or else she'll do it for you.  (KB - Let me turn up that resistance on the spin bike to a real ‘8’.) I even heard her say to a class “If you feel faint, stop and drink some water.  If you feel like you might throw up, stop and don’t drink water.”  Not your typical North Fork gym experience!

If you are stuck in a fitness rut, Tola Body is your cure. Trust me, you will not know what hit you after your first class but you will definitely want more.  Even the space, still under renovation, resonates with strength and endurance thanks to original details like exposed brick walls, and antique steel beams in the loft ceiling.  Lots of natural light and even reclaimed barn doors bring a sense of the outdoors in.  A feeling of community and eco-friendly policies - like a ban on plastic water bottles - completes the experience.  You will want to spend time here even if your body screams ‘enough’.  And after training at Tola Body, you are guaranteed to leave with more focus and purpose, sore muscles and, yes, balance.

Tola Body
320 B Love Lane, Mattituck
(631) 315-5071

For group training schedule:  www.facebook.com/Tolabody

Tall ships are coming… tall ships are coming…

They are here!!  Arriving in the fog the tall ships are coming into Greenport harbor for the weekend.  While many people may avoid Greenport like the plague, if you are coming to visit for the holiday weekend – or happen to live within walking distance of the village – there is so much happening for the Tall Ships Challenge 2012.  The Challenge started in Savannah, and from Greenport will stop in Newport and Nova Scotia.  

The full event schedule and a map here: http://www.greenportvillage.com/

Of note, you can purchase tickets online or at the docks to board the ships from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets costs $15 and allow you to tour all seven of the ships.   My recommendations:  The Picton Castle , at 180 feet it’s the biggest of all the ships,  will be docked on the longest pier closest to the marina office, along with Unicorn and Bounty.  I also recommend seeing the Pride of Baltimore (being from Maryland and all) which is docked near the North Ferry.  The Roseway is offering sail excursions at 9:00, 12:00 and 2:30 both days.

Starting tomorrow there will be live music all day on the main stage in front of Prestons Wharf.  Local favorite, Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks will be playing at 7pm on Saturday and we are planning to be there.  Claudio’s live music starts at 10pm, if you really want to make a night out of it – it’s not like it happens every year!  

Other weekend tips: 

The Greenport Farmers' Market will stay open until 3:00 pm on Saturday.  And there will be fresh strawberries for sale from newcomer Hodun Farms in Calverton. 

Also on Saturday is the first ever Art Show and Reception at Stirling Yoga from 4:00 pm -7:00 pm.

An Art Auction and Wine Tasting will take place on Sunday from 11:30 - 2:30 at Terrance Joyce Art Gallery. 

And one of my favorite spots, Bruce's Cheese Emporium will offer Beer and Bivalves on Saturday and Sunday.  

Come and enjoy the ships, the crowds, and the start of summer!

Tip# 6: Have a Rosé Day

If your summer plans do not include a trip to the South of France with ‘la belle élite’ than make a trip to South Harbor Road and go to Croteaux Vineyards.   They specialize in Rosé (on purpose) in the style of the South of France.  And a visit to their tasting barn and garden will make you feel like you’ve escaped to Provence or even Côte d’Azur for the afternoon.  Vintage, wrought-iron tables and chairs scattered through-out the garden overlook the vineyard and encourage small, intimate gatherings.  Along with wine, there are cheese plates available.  Friends and couples alike linger over their tastings and feel no pressure to move along and more importantly, encounter no jostling for space. Croteaux doesn’t even allow groups larger than 8.

While such a setting emanates a “laissez-faire” charm it should be noted that every detail is so carefully handpicked and obviously well-thought.  You may be served wine from bottles carried in a vintage milk bottle carrier on one occasion or your tasting is delivered in glasses set in a terra cotta saucer on another. The cool tasting room staff is knowledgeable, with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ about them. (I just couldn’t resist – and it is true!)  And the rosé is always fantastic.   You will want to stock up for the summer. Now would be a good time, too. 

Tomorrow night, Croteaux Vineyards is hosting a Garden Party for their case club members complete with hors d’oeuvres, new releases and sunset over the vines.  And there are more parties to come this season so take my advice & don’t miss out!

Croteaux Vineyards

1450 South Harbor Road
Open Thursday – Monday in May from noon – 5pm
and every day after Memorial Day until Labor Day
www.croteaux.com

Tip# 62: Don't Miss Opening Day!

The season has begun and it is time to start sharing what is new or just improved out east…

I am getting so excited about opening day at the Greenport Farmers’ Market on Saturday.  We have a new location at 624 Main Street, home the United Methodist Church, and I can’t wait to see my fellow farmer friends from last year: Stephanie of Invincible Summer Farm, Walter of Garden Fusion and Karen, the talented cheese-maker at Goodale Farm.   The market is going to be even better – and even more artisanal - with the addition of several new farms and vendors:

For opening day, The Old Field Vineyard will be a participating winery for the first time.  Make sure you take home a bottle of Cacklin Rose (sporting a silhouette of their Leghorn chicken) which is a perfect wine to sip after coming in from the beach. Or bring the Rooster Tail Red to your Saturday barbeque.  I am partial to all things chickens!  Both of these wines are light and uncomplicated – a perfect match for North Fork weekends.

Greg of Long Island Coffee Roasters will be selling his small-batch coffee – both beans and beverages – all freshly roasted in Southold.   After all, what is a Saturday morning without great coffee?    www.licoffeeroasters.com

Be sure to look for Paulo, of Metro Macs, and his brightly-colored, incredibly decadent french macarons (yes, that is the proper french spelling, too).   My favorite flavor is the salted caramel.  Yum. Take some home for your weekend guests.  Or better yet, get your guests to bring some home to you.  (Hint, hint houseguests)  www.metromacsny.com

Most of our Browder’s Birds customers already know Tom Hart, who helped me every Saturday at the market last season.  He has started his own farm this year called Deep Roots and will be selling vegetables, eggs and chickens.  This year you will even meet his wife – Brie!  Some of you are surprised it wasn’t me, I know.

Gula Gula Empanadas will be a new vendor this year.  And while I have not had the pleasure to try one yet, I will definitely be eating one…  or two… or three.  

And one of the coolest editions to the market is the Edible Schoolyards program.  Many of our East End schools now have school gardens with help from Slow Food East End.  The kids from these schools will sell their produce on a rotating basis each week.  Talk about educating the future generation!  Buy local and make a difference by encouraging our kids to grow healthy food for our community.

More market updates to come this season...

Greenport Farmers Market

At the Greenport United Methodist Church
624 Main Street - Market Lot on 1st Street

9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Opening Day this Saturday, May 19th

www.greenportfarmersmarket.com

Tip# 19: Be a NoFo Foodie

Today from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm the North Fork Foodie Tour takes place from Jamesport to Orient.  Want to see the best of the local, artisinal producers and growers?  Spend this beautiful Sunday on a self-guided tour and visit organic farms, boutique wineries, even a dairy and lavender farm.   All are opening their doors and many are providing special, insider visits to those on the tour not offered to the public.   

Not to miss  are two cooking demonstrations by local, 'celebrity' chefs Tom Schaudel (A Lure and A Mano) and veteran John Ross (now a Suffolk Times food columnist) this afternoon.  If you have read Tom Schaudel's book, Playing With Fire, than you know to expect a laugh or two along with some innovative recipes featuring local ingredients and exotic flavors.  And John Ross is considered the historian of Long Island regional cuisine.  Both talks take place at Charnews Farms in Southold, with Tom at 1pm and John at 3pm.  At 2pm, Chris will be speaking about Browder's Birds, and raising our pastured chickens along with the benefits of such. 

Other highlights on the tour:  

 
Tomato tasting at 11am with Stephanie of Invincible Summer Farms and her incredible array of heirloom tomatoes (at Charnews Farms)
Special Vineyard walk at Shinn Estate Vineyards at noon with Barbara Shinn
Catapano Dairy offers guided tours of their goats, dairy and cheesemaking facility at 11:00a, 1:00p and 3:00 pm
Take an old-fashioned hayride at the Harbes Farms and learn about the farm and family history
At McCall Wines, Russ McCall is giving a tour of his 100 acre-farmstead that includes vineyards and grass-fed Charolias cattle at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30
Guided Tour and talk with Karen Lee at Sang Lee Farms at 2:00pm and tastings all day
KK's The Farm will have tours on the half hour focusing on biodynamic growing from 10:30 - 2:30

Find the full line-up here: http://www.northforkreformsynagogue.org/calendar/events/
 

Don't miss this rare opportunity to get to know the extraordinary people producing local foods that make the North Fork such a unique and special place!

Tickets may be purchased on the day of the tour, after 9 a.m. at The Peconic Land Trust Ag Center at Charnews Farm or after 10 a.m. at any place participating in the tour. Children under 12 are free. 

Purchase price benefits the North Fork Synagogue Reform. For more information: Call 631.722.5712

Tip#82: Go Beyond Organic

When Chris first started working as an apprentice on an organic farm over 3 years ago neither of us were familiar with the term biodynamics.  Even after I started working at Shinn Estate Vineyards, it took me almost a year to understand the concept. And then another year to begin to learn the principles and techniques of biodynamics. Why did I have to stir that compost tea in one direction and then another for 20 minutes in the tasting room that one time - what was the point?

A very simple description of biodynamics is a type of organic farming that incorporates an understanding of “dynamic” forces in nature not yet fully understood by science. The origins date back to the 1920s when Rudolf Steiner, a scientist, developed the fundamental principles of biodynamic farming and gardening during a series of lectures given in Poland.  Like organic approaches, manures and compost are good while chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides are bad. In addition, preparations made from minerals and herbs are added to compost, soil and plants.

2011 marks the 150th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner's birth, so what better time than now to learn about biodynamic growing?  An good introductory book that I'd recommend is Gardening For Life - The Biodynamic Way by Maria Thun.  If your interest lies in wine -  either as a wine grower or wine lover - then definitely read Wine from Sky to Earth by Nicolas Joly.

The North Fork is home to many biodynamic and organic growers and this Saturday, Shinn Estate Vineyards is hosting a panel discussion on "Biodynamics, Organic Practices and Sustainability" that includes a vineyard walk and wine tasting.  The panel speakers will be Barbara Shinn, K.K. Haspel of The Farm in Southold, Steven Storch of Natural Science Organics  and Mary Woltz of Bees' Needs. Scott Chaskey of Quail Hill Farm will be the moderator.  With so much experience and knowledge in one group you can expect an enlightening discussion.

"Biodynamics, Organic Practices and Sustainability" is part of the Wine Salon series for Harvest East End. For more information and to reserve online: www.harvesteastend.com

For more information on biodynamics, or to purchase books and preparations, check out the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-dynamics at:  http://www.jpibiodynamics.org/

Tip# 24: A Fork in the Road

Every Saturday at the Farmers' Market in Greenport, I routinely spot these two chic girls - often outfitted in St. James striped shirts, many times carrying yoga mats, and one always with the cutest Provence-style market basket in tow - shopping for local produce.  Well Saturday they finally approached my stand bought a chicken!

As it turns out, they come by way of Brooklyn to open Fork and Anchor, the newest culinary addition to the NoFo dining scene.  Formerly the Angel Country Store, in East Marion, the girls are planning to turn a general store that dates back to 1860 into a foodie destination offering basic provisions, exotic appetizers and prepared foods featuring all local produce. There will also be picnics to go and CSA (communtiy-supported agriculture) boxes for sale for weekenders. Erin Fitzpatrick and Lucy Muellner,  a sommelier/events planner and a fashion stylist turned chef, plan to open for business this month.  They also got their  liquor license approved so expect to see Greenport Harbor Brewing Company on tap.

Oh, and they were just featured in Vogue.com last week.  Check out the article here: http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/an-eating-guide-to-long-islands-north-fork/

Already they're bringing an element of style to the North Fork; I can't wait for their premiere.

Fork & Anchor
8955 Main Road, East Marion, NY

forkandanchor.com

631.477.3277

Monday–Sunday: 6:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.