It’s Easter weekend which means farm stands and eateries across the North Fork are reopening for the 2015 season.
First and South will reopen tonight, Friday, with a new chef at the helm, according to owner Sarah Phillips.
Scott Leventhal, who most recently served as a sous chef at a New Orleans-based catering company, has taken over the kitchen after the previous chef, Taylor Knapp, left to focus on his snail business, Peconic Escargot, and his pop-up restaurant, PawPaw. Phillips said she and Levanthal met while working together in Manhattan several years ago and she is thrilled to have him on board.
“He is one of the original people that we asked to come out here when we first opened,” Phillips said. “He’s such a talent and loves what he does.”
New additions to the menu include a rack of lamb and a brick chicken, she said.
The restaurant will be open from noon to midnight on Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays for the spring. Brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and the restaurant will be open Easter Sunday.
The menu will feature items from KK’s The Farm in Southold. The Main Road farm stand recently reopened for the season and is selling spinach, kale, spicy mixed greens, arugala and more grown inside greenhouses on site.
“I only sell what I grow here,” said Ira Haspel, who is continuing the farm after the passing of his wife, KK.
And Catapano Dairy Farm reopened for the season on Friday. The farm’s chevre, aged sheep cheese, bath products made with goat’s milk and more items are available at the farm stand. The farm stand, located on Route 48 in Peconic, will be open Fridays, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the spring.
Next week, the farm will host a “kid day” where the little ones can come and meet the baby goats, according to manager Debbie Slack.
“We have babies being born that are available for kids to see,” she said.
If you are looking for a real treat, pair some plain chevre with carrot jam from Schmitt’s Family Farm in Riverhead, which also recently reopened for the season.
And Windy Acres Farm on Route 25 in Calverton is also open, according to its Facebook page.
Other recent openings include Bay View Market and Farm in Aquebogue and Garden of Eve in Riverhead.
