Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer.
And for northforker.com it marks the end of our second summer season covering food, wine, real estate and lifestyle on the North Fork of Long Island.
While we can’t wait for all the fall season has to offer — that’s our staff’s favorite time of year here — we felt today was a good time to look back on the most popular content we provided this summer.
Below are the 10 most read posts on northforker.com between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2014, a summer season of significant growth for our blog, with more than a half-million page views. Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you in the harvest.
1. Kim Kardashian spotted at Mattituck Cinemas
Nothing infuriates a North Fork local more than a Kardashian sighting. In 2014, the family you love to hate was everywhere here and everyone clicked on whatever we wrote about them.
First we posted about Kim attending a private screening of “The Fault in Our Stars” at Mattituck Cinemas and learned many readers find plenty of fault with this particular family of stars. We later learned that the Kardashians were denied access to film on Plum Island and that became our 12th most read story of the summer.
We were also received a bunch of tips about Chloe eating lunch at Hellenic Snack Bar, but opted not to publish anything for fear of you all overdosing on Kardashian.
2. Beloved Borgheses remembered
We always knew that Ann Marie and Marco Borghese were loved by their friends and neighbors on the North Fork. But we couldn’t fully appreciate the extent of how much the owners of Castello di Borghese were admired until after their passing this summer.
Many of the posts we did about the couple were well read but it was actually the statement issued by the Long Island Wine Council following their deaths that received the most attention from our readers.
“The Long Island Wine Council and its members will greatly miss our good friends Ann Marie and Marco,” they wrote. So, too, will everyone else.
3. Lombardi’s to take over former Love Lane Market
Paper currently lines the windows at the future Lombardi’s Market on Love Lane in Mattituck, blocking passersby from getting a peek at the renovations. But the moment that paper comes down and the doors to the store open, it is sure to be flooded with customers.
The mere mention that the market is coming, news first reported by northforker.com, drew plenty of eyeballs to our website.
Now wait until those same eyeballs get a glimpse of the delicious pizzas, pasta and paninis the market will be cooking up this fall.
4. Supermodel Heidi Klum pays a visit to Splish Splash
When we first linked to a Hamptons Magazine article about Heidi Klum’s love of Splish Splash we didn’t think a celebrity post could possibly get any more juice on our website. Then we popped a picture of her most recent visit to the water park in Riverhead and the World Wide Web nearly crashed.
You folks sure do love your beautiful celebrities!
5. Louis C.K. buys a house on Shelter Island
Speaking of beautiful celebrities, Louis C.K. bought a house on Shelter Island this summer.
When we first received a tip about Lucky Louie hanging with his kids in Greenport this May we dismissed it as a sighting of some other middle-aged redhead with kids and a beer belly walking down Front Street.
Then about a week later, the New York City tabloids began to publish stories about a cool old house everyone’s favorite funny man had purchased.
Turns out it really was Mr. C.K.
6. Martha Clara, Entenmann’s estate on the market
If you’re trying to figure out what to do with the $25 million that’s burning a hole in your pocket, we have the perfect real estate listing for you.
Built and made famous by Robert Entenmann of the popular baked goods company, the 200-acre “Big E Farm” in Riverhead is on the market along with the adjacent Martha Clara winery.
The property was also recently featured on the popular CBS News segment “Living Large.” Have a look at your next home.
7. Second map proves even judgmental people love the North Fork
The folks behind the maps that have stereotyped cities such as New York, Las Vegas and Seattle, unveiled a judgmental view of Long Island this summer and the North Fork was reduced to wine, a carousel and a lighthouse. Not bad considering other spots on the Judgmental Map of Long Island were noted for their rich people and beaches and their heroin.
Bottom line: even judgmental people lighten up when it comes to sunshine and vino.
8. Petulant Wino opens in Aquebogue
When noted local chef Tom Schaudel opens a new restaurant it’s sure to get a lot of attention.
That was certainly the case when he opened The Petulant Wino, which is managed by his daughter Courtney, in June.
The 28-seat restaurant, which features the older Schaudel’s artworks and a wine rack handcrafted by Courtney Schaudel’s boyfriend Kyle Cannon, serves all Long Island beers and a wine list that is 50 percent local vintages.
Chef Lenny Campanelli, formerly of Coolfish in Syosset and Tom Schaudel’s Jewel in Melville, helms the kitchen.
it’s definitely worth checking out.
9. Shelter Island is not the Hamptons
When you run a tourism blog on the North Fork there’s a challenge to serve as both a guide to the folks visiting the area and a portal for news and information that excites and entertains the locals. Joanne Sherman’s June column on why Shelter Island is “not the Hamptons” definitely fit the latter bill.
“Certainly the number of big-ticket, twinkly-lighted, white-tented, champagne cocktail catered events has increased in recent years, but there are still enough pig roasts, venison feeds and barbecue and beer bashes to maintain the Island’s solid ‘between the forks’ balance,” she wrote.
If you didn’t read it then, you’ll have to check it out now.
10. New café opens on Love Lane in Mattituck
The Lombardi family isn’t the only Italian clan setting up shop on Love Lane this year. In fact, the Ammirati brothers beat them to the punch.
The location is somewhat of a homecoming for the brothers whose parents used to own Ammirati’s Cupboard — now the Iron Skillet — just down the street. Growing up, the Mattituck natives worked in their family’s restaurant as well as the former Love Lane Market. The two have worked together in the food service business ever since. The proof is in how good the food tastes.
Ammirati’s on Love Lane is just another reason why you have to visit this iconic Mattituck street.
