Beitlers in NYC

Girts and I were so excited to go to the village of Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island. It was a chance to get out the sweltering city, kind of like all the rich people who go to the Hamptons (which is spitting distance from Greenport). Our plan was to take the train, arrive by noon, hang around Greenport, then check into a bed and breakfast. That night we would eat dinner somewhere nice. The next day we would rent bikes and ride to Bedell Cellars where John, the winemaker, would give us a tour and tasting. That night after dinner we would take the train back to the city.

Most of Greenport is supported by the tourists who visit every summer, so you would think it would be welcoming to tourists. Welcomed is not how we felt. No one in the stores acknowledged us. Our server at lunch was the necessary polite, but beyond that, I got the feeling she found us annoying. We went to check on bike rental. The guy at The Bike Stop was a total ass. Monday, the day we needed to rent, the store closes at 3:00. We didn’t think we would be able to make it to the winery between 9 and 3, so we asked about having it picked up at our B&B, something that is advertised on the website. Apparently the website hasn’t been updated in a couple of years and the owner was completely unaccommodating. He just kept apathetically repeating, “I’m sorry.” I asked about leaving the bike locked up outside the store, “no ma’am. I’m sorry. You would be liable if something happened to the bike. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

I finally said, “yeah. I can tell,” and left. It took all of my self-control to not completely lose it on the guy. At that point I thought we might still have to rent bikes from him.

There were two saving graces on the trip. First was the fabulous dinner we had at The Frisky Oyster. If I’m going to spend a lot of money on dinner, I want to go somewhere where I try new, innovative dishes that inspire me or dishes that I can’t cook myself. The Frisky Oyster met my first demand. We decided to have two appetizers: crab cakes with tatziki and a fig arugula salad in a balsamic reduction, and one entree: lobster linguini with lemon, olive oil, and garlic. The linguini was amazing. It was simple, but all of the flavors complemented each other perfectly.  Girts and I were definitely inspired to try something new in our own little kitchen.

Our second saving grace was John from Bedell Cellars, the cousin of one of Girts’s co-workers. She recommended we visit John since Girts is working in the wine store at TJ’s. First of all, John loaned us his tandem bike so we were saved from having to rent from The Bike Stop. I could have lost it on the guy after all! John also told us where to stop to get food for a picnic and gave us directions to everywhere we needed to go.  But the real excitement happened when we arrived to Bedell. I’m not sure one can fully understand the complexity of wine making without first talking to a professional wine maker. The tour he gave us was truly enlightening and showed how wine making is a detailed process that involves a combination of science, art, and even a little gambling. And I’m sure we just uncovered the tip of the iceberg. Before getting on the train back to NYC that night, we had a picnic dinner with John and his wife, Leah, who made tasty zucchini-potato latkes that we all ate while listening to live Cuban music by the water in Greenport.

Girts and I are undecided about returning to Greenport. We suggested possibly doing an apartment swap with Leah and John since they would like to come to the city more, but if they are the only ones who are friendly to strangers in Greenport, I’m not sure we want to go back when they aren’t there.