Travel Tuesday: Greenport, NY

If you love small seaside towns that are filled with good food and wine, beautiful scenery, and nice people, Greenport, New York, is for you. On our journey with Cross Sound Ferry, Greenport was our overnight destination. This was not our first trip to Greenport, and we were absolutely ecstatic to return to spend the night.

After wine tasting at Kontokosta, Castello di Borghese, and Croteaux, we made our way to our hotel for the evening, the beautiful Harborfront Inn. The name says it all; the inn is right on the water, and we were delighted that we had a water view. I really can not get enough of the sea.

Our room was comfy and luxurious, and featured the most amazing shower with jets coming from all over. The Harborfront Inn’s location is perfect for your Greenport stay; it is steps from restaurants and shops and allowed us to spend the night exploring. A yummy Continental breakfast including fruit, cereal, fresh baked goods, bagels, and hard boiled eggs was included with our stay, and the sunlit breakfast room was a lovely place to start the day.

Greenport’s maritime feel is one of the many reasons I love it there. All sorts of boats, including ferries and gorgeous yachts dot the waterfront, and there are a number of bars that stretch out into the water, allowing for al fresco eating and drinking and soaking up good weather.

Stores range from marine supply shops to the clothing store Calypso, to antique shops and art galleries, Greenport is really a great place to shop.

As I mentioned above, Greenport is a great place to eat. I was excited to find that our itinerary included Noah’s. We were even more excited for dinner after some strangers tasting wine with us told us that their dinner at Noah’s the night before had been amazing.

We arrived a little early for our reservation, so we had cocktails at the bar. I went for a classic Darn n Stormy, feeling summery and beachy. It was the perfect blend of spicy ginger and rum. Once we were seated for our reservation, we went to town on the menu, ordering a bunch of small plates to share as we often do.

We started the night with local Southold oysters and from there had the Crescent Farm Duck BBQ (Pulled Duck, Smoked Cheddar Polenta), Crispy Tasmanian Red Crab Tacos, the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake. and the Filet Mignon Sliders (Toasted Brioche, Creamed Spinach,Truffle Hollandaise).

Our choices from the sea were succulent, fresh, and flavorful, but it turned out to be the dishes sourced from the land that bowled us over. The BBQ duck was tender and tangy and meaty, in a pillow of soft and creamy polenta. The sliders. . . I don’t even know if I can do them justice in words. They were the last item we ordered, and I was already almost uncomfortably full by the time they arrived. Even smelling the earthy truffle made it imperative that I at least try the sliders. After one bite, I devoured the entire thing.

The service at Noah’s was really wonderful. Our server, also a teacher, was incredibly sweet and knowledgeable about the restaurant and the area. North Fork people are true ambassadors of where they are from; the love of place is really evident, and I certainly can see why. Before we left, Chef Noah Schwartz came out to say hello; I am always surprised when excellent chef/owners are so young! Chef Noah was very welcoming, and I look forward to seeing what the future brings for him.

After dinner we wandered around Greenport for a while, wanting to walk off some of our full-ness and not wanting the night to end. The smell of the sea and the lapping water were perfection, and they made us crave more oysters. Oysters are my favorite dessert. Luckily, we stumbled upon Blue Canoe Oyster Bar & Grill

Here, a dozen small oysters from Orient and Greenport, washed down by bubbly from Sparkling Pointe, and some conversation with the local staff  made for a delicious and fun end to our night in Greenport.

I could easily spend a long weekend in Greenport, especially when the weather is nice. It is surrounded by beaches; boating and beaching in the morning, followed by wine tasting sounds pretty perfect to me.

For more on the North Fork in the Summer, check out our visit to Harbes Farm.

Our dinner at Noah’s and our accommodations at Harborfront Inn were generously provided by Cross Sound Ferry. All opinions are my own.