DAN'S PAPERS, October 12, 2007 Page 47 www.danshamptons.com
Dan’s North Fork
Before The 1970s The North Fork Prior To The 1970s Was Not Just Empty Space By Phyllis Lombardi Did you see it? Dan’s Papers new 2007 “Best of the Best” list. Several North Fork restaurants are right up there. Good. Because a few months ago some silly writer claimed that prior to the 1970s, the North Fork, especially Greenport, was a culinary wasteland. That “expert” said if you wanted fine food you had to leave town. What nerve! Now Mr. Culinary Wasteland may be a very nice guy and maybe he means there weren’t any fancyschmancy restaurants in Greenport back then. But let me tell you what was cooking in Greenport before the current cuisine scene. To do so I had to talk with some well-seasoned folks who remember what was stewin’ and brewin’ in Greenport kitchens years ago. I challenge any restaurant anywhere to come up with tastier vittles. Pull up a chair in Toni Berkoski’s kitchen. Toni has a dining room but food seems to serve up better in her kitchen. Toni will tell you she grew up in Greenport and graduated from Greenport High School. Moving so far away (to Peconic!) was a bit of a wrench, but it didn’t interfere with Toni’s appetite for good cooking and good eating. Toni cherishes her Greenport food memories. Her grandma, on Sixth Street, had chickens and pigs. That meant chicken fricassee and dumplings. Or sausage. Toni’s uncle made the sausage. There were vegetables from the summer garden and a root cellar for mid-winter. On special days there was grandma’s coconut cake or chocolate pudding. Toni recalls carrying a pail “up to the North Road” where Mrs. Speeches kept a couple of cows. A pail full of rich
milk later, Toni walked home and grandma made pudding. And there was always soup. Lentil, chicken, vegetable and pea. Even chowder when Toni and her friends had a good bay-clamming day. Oh, occasionally the family bought something at a store. Like Keese and Richter’s butcher shop on Front Street. But most often Toni and the family ate what earth provided. Grandma’s Greenport grape arbor brought forth jellies and jams – and wine for happy aunts and uncles. Happy too, is Greenport’s Jo Watkins-Johnson when she thinks about her mama’s cooking. Born in Virginia, Jo came to Greenport as a toddler back in the 1920s. She graduated from Greenport High School and lives in Greenport’s Peconic Landing. Mama’s name was Helen. And Helen’s specialty was duck – from the “duck ranches” in Riverhead and Aquebogue. Jo remembers it all. The duck, the yams,
Motorcoach Service between
The North Fork & New York City FALL 2007 Effective Thurs., September. 20 through Wed., January 2, 2008 Westbound*
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ARRIV.
D E PA R T I N G
Mon AM LIGHT PM BOLD Only Orient Point — Orient Village — East Marion — Peconic Landing — Greenport 4:45 Southold 4:50 Peconic 4:55 Cutchogue 5:00 Mattituck 5:10 Laurel 5:15 Jamesport 5:20 Aquebogue 5:25 Riverhead 5:30 Tanger Outlet 5:35 Airport Connection Manhattan
7:15 7:25
Eastbound*
¬ D E PA R T I N G ARRIVING
PM BOLD
Manhattan/86th Manhattan/69th Manhattan/59th Manhattan/44th Airport Connection Tanger Outlet Riverhead Aquebogue Jamesport Laurel Mattituck Cutchogue Peconic Southold Greenport East Marion Orient Village Orient Point
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8:50 9:00
7 Days 7 Days 9:30 11:30 9:35 11:35 9:40 11:40 9:42 11:42 9:50 11:50 10:00 12:00 10:05 12:05 10:10 12:10 10:20 12:20 10:25 12:25 10:30 12:30 10:35 12:35 10:40 12:40 10:45 12:45
9:50 12:20 2:20 10:00 12:30 2:30
Fri thru 7 Days 7 Days Mon 2:30 4:00 5:30 2:35 4:05 5:35 2:40 4:10 5:40 2:42 4:12 5:42 2:50 4:20 5:50 3:00 4:30 6:00 3:05 4:35 6:05 3:10 4:40 6:10 3:20 4:50 6:20 3:25 4:55 6:25 3:30 5:00 6:30 3:35 5:05 6:35 3:40 5:10 6:40 3:45 5:15 6:45 5:20 5:30
6:50 7:00
8:20 8:30
Fri
7:20 7:25 7:30 8:00 8:20
7 Days 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:20
9:40 9:45 9:50 9:55 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:25 10:35 10:45 10:50 10:55
11:40 11:45 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:05 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:35 12:45 12:50 12:55
7 Days 7 Days 11:20 1:20 11:25 1:25 11:30 1:30 12:00 2:00 12:20 2:25 1:40 1:45 1:50 1:55 2:00 2:05 2:15 2:20 2:25 2:35 2:45 2:50 2:55
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W W Sun Sat & Sun — 7:45 — 7:50 — 7:55 — 7:57 6:50 8:05 — 8:15 — 8:20 — 8:25 — 8:35 — 8:40 — 8:45 — 8:50 — 8:55 — 9:00
Sept./Oct. Only
W Sun Only — — — — 9:50 10:00 10:05 10:10 10:20 10:25 10:30 10:35 10:40 10:45
(look for the giant pumpkin)
d e t H n a u y a H
9:20 10:35 12:20 9:30 10:45 12:30
3:40 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:00 4:05 4:15 4:20 4:25 4:35 4:45 4:50 4:55
7 Days 3:20 3:25 3:30 4:00 4:25 6:15 6:20 6:25 6:30 6:35 6:40 6:50 6:55 7:00 7:10 7:20 7:25 7:30
Sept./Oct. Only
Thurs
4:20 4:25 4:30 5:00 5:25
& Fri 5:20 5:25 5:30 6:00 6:25
7 Days 6:20 6:25 6:30 7:00 7:25
7 Days 7:50 7:55 8:00 8:30 8:50
— — — — — — — — — 8:10 — — —
7:45 7:50 7:55 8:00 8:05 8:10 8:20 8:25 8:30 8:40 — — —
8:40 8:45 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:05 9:15 9:20 9:25 9:35 9:45 9:50 9:55
10:10 10:15 10:20 10:25 10:30 10:35 10:45 10:50 10:55 11:05 — — —
On select trips, North Fork passengers may be required to transfer in Manorville. The “Greenporter” Non-stop service to and from Greenport, available Eastbound on Friday and Westbound on Sunday through October.
Visit our website www.hamptonjitney.com for Online Reservations, Information and Value Pack orders
n’s Country F e s l e arm ri 631-722-3259 b Ga Main Rd., Jamesport, NY
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To North Fork Fri & Sat Sept./Oct. Sat Only Nov./Dec.
READ DOWN
AM LIGHT
To Manhattan
Mon thru Fri 7 Days — — — 7:00 — 7:05 — 7:07 6:00 7:15 6:10 7:25 6:15 7:30 6:20 7:35 6:30 7:45 6:35 7:50 6:40 7:55 6:45 8:00 6:50 8:05 6:55 8:10
the homemade rolls. Helen didn’t do all her good cooking at home. She worked at Gingham Dog and Calico Cat, a tea room/restaurant (back in the 1930s) where Southold’s Mullen Motors now stands. Saturday night supper there was “down home,” with ham, beans, brown bread, potato salad, cole slaw. Delicious. Jo remembers Keese and Richter’s butcher shop, too. For $1 at closing time on Saturday night you could get a whole bag of scraps. Lamb chops, a hunk of bologna, a ham slice or whatever. Good deal. Now meet Vanessa Mims. She’s been a cook at Greenport’s Eastern Long Island Hospital for more than 25 years – from 5:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. But that’s just the start of her cooking day. For the past 15 years Vanessa had had her own catering business. It’s “I Cater to You” and indeed it does. Vanessa totes food to weddings (250 guests in Wading River, for example), retirement parties, graduations. On and on. And by word of delicious mouthful. How did all this start? Well, little Vanessa was given an Easy Bake oven and cooked good stuff for her six brothers and sisters and the neighborhood kids. Vanessa’s Greenport grandma, Mary Smith, made fried chicken and mashed potatoes that Vanessa says she’ll “never forget.” And Vanessa’s mom, Frances, had a vegetable garden and made the pasta dishes that are Vanessa’s favorites. Vanessa is working on a cookbook with ELIH Auxiliary members. A fundraiser for the hospital, it should be available in late autumn. What a Christmas gift!
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