July 13th, 2009

USA 2009

Long Island in the State of New York has long held a fascination for me but without a car it seemed too difficult to get to.However this time I managed to get there thanks to my US resident Kiwi-born friend who offered to drive down from Boston to help me achieve this.We drove through from La Guardia airport and within a short time we were at Pinder Winery which has been operating for 30 years! I bet most people didn’t even know they grew vines up here.We tasted an interesting selection, from a “quincey-flavoured” Viognier to a very nice Mythology 2008 which was a Bordeaux blend  but they had something for everyone there and Terri was a knowlegable host.She even guided us to a  great inn with a restaurant which had an interesting name, the Jedediah Hawkins Inn.

Recently restored from a near-ruin this was a beautiful spot (see photo) for dinner of the more formal kind.  www.jedediahhawkinsinn.com We were treated to a look at the accommodation including the Belvedere Suite but every room was individually decorated and rather gorgeous.At dinner I particularly enjoyed the fresh foie-gras from Upstate New York served with a tiny blue cheese souffle , seared artichoke hearts and a drizzle of a sweet-tart glaze.The following day we explored the Hamptons, very smart towns indeed especially Southampton and Bridgehampton. I later found  out where the Barefoot Contessa, cook, Ina Garten lived but  the huge mansions all around the area were certainly impressive. They must need a team of  gardeners working fulltime to maintain the enormous hedges and immaculate lawns. Some places only had that much visible to protect their privacy!This area has a feel of Cape Cod about it and makes a nice escape from the city of New York for those lucky enough to own a property there.

Posted by Sue Story  //  Filed in Gourmet travel