North Fork Table & Inn

Judging by the packed dining room at the North Fork Table & Inn, whose Gerry Hayden has been a James Beard nominee for the past three consecutive years, you’d think you were in downtown East Hampton on Labor Day Weekend. But what may be the best restaurant on the East End is actually not in the Hamptons at all; it’s across Shelter Island Sound in the unassuming hamlet of Southold. So compelling is Hayden’s “progressive American” fare, in fact, that off-duty servers are often to be found back at the restaurant, whiling away their free time over multi-course dinners. After my first sip of sparkling wine with rosé-poached rhubarb syrup, I could hardly blame them. By the time a perfect English pea and morel risotto was cleared from the table, I had fallen completely under Hayden’s spring-inspired spell.

Though the restaurant’s seasonal menu changes frequently, its accessibility is a perennial virtue. The standout dessert offerings, overseen by Hayden’s wife, pastry extraordinaire Claudia Fleming (formerly of Gramercy Tavern), include a “To Bring Home” section, from which diners can order just-baked chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies by the half-dozen (as if it weren’t hard enough to choose between honey-ricotta cheesecake and warm sugar-and-spice doughnuts).

Dinner here is always special, but never fussy – or even fancy. Wood-beamed ceilings warm the otherwise simple white interiors, and tables are topped with aromatic herbs in terracotta pots. The entire space is pervaded by a wonderful sense of community. If you aren’t able to get a reservation for dinner – or even if you are – stop by the inn’s beloved Lunch Truck between 11:30 and 3:30 pm for a legendary lobster roll or an artisan hotdog with apple cider vinegar-glazed onions.