Just around the corner from First and South in Greenport is an adult summer camp. Or rather a food truck with a camp-inspired seating area. North Fork Cooks is a semi-permanent food truck with a cozy, yet somehow socially distant, campfire feel. I went over there this past week to check it out.
If you aren’t paying attention, you just might miss it. Walking north on First Street, the path that leads back to the ‘camp’ sits in between First and South’s building and the residential home directly to the right of it. Walking back there, a table set up in front of the truck with paper menus, straws, small bags of chips and a red lantern keeps customers socially distant from staff preparing food. On that menu are grab and go drinks available from First and South and the food options, about nine total. Filled with summer classics like yellow tomato gazpacho, hot or cold lobster roll and tomato mozzarella salad, I opt for the NFC burger, ordered pink, with sauteed onions and cheddar cheese. Because if a place is bold enough to name a menu item after itself, it has to be good.
I turn around to take my seat and wait for my food to be cooked. A converted backyard with picnic style tables, string lights and lanterns give the warm feeling of a cozy campground without having to rough it. Each table, plenty more than six feet apart, has an identical lantern to the one on the table, a vase full of delicate flowers, hand sanitizer and a sign with a QR code to get the menu from either the food truck or First and South. In the corner of the yard are two reindeer made of twinkling lights, decor you typically see in front lawns during Christmas time. Nearby are signs that say “don’t feed the deer.”
No more than five minutes after I ordered, my burger arrives, along with a choice of potato chips, a packet of mayo and ketchup, napkins, a plate and a cup of ice water. I cut my burger in half — perfectly pink. I take the obligatory picture for later, struggling to hold both halves of the burger and my phone without sacrificing my lunch for Instagram. I give up and munch down. The patty is flavorful, the cheese is sharp and tangy, the onions add smokiness and the pickle relish, which comes with every burger, is fresh and light. An incredibly respectable burger, one I finish in less than three minutes before even realizing I’m taking the last bite.
North Fork Cooks is located just around the corner from First and South at 100 South Street, Greenport and is open everyday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting.
