Scrumptious guide to good eats from Long Island and New York State

What a terrific book, arriving just in time for spring and summer daytrippers who want to check out local food.

"Fresh from the Farm: Great Local Foods from New York State" is a guide to shops and farms from the Hudson Valley out to Long Island's East End.  It's gorgeous and it's packed with information about farmers, cheese shops, winemakers and fishermen and their goods.  Subtitled "A guide to the best shops and farms, with recipes," the book covers the 100-mile radius from New York City, uncovering the great diversity in food products to be found by those interested in moving out of the grocery store aisles.

The two Long Island forks each get their own chapter, as do the wineries. Here we learn about the Hampton Coffee Company, the Hayground Market, Pike Farm, Cromer's Market,  Braun Seafood in Cutchogue, North Quarter Farm with its American bison herd, Widow's Hole Oyster Company, the yaks, crocodile, kangaroo and other exotic meats available at Miloski's Poultry Farm, and dozens more places. Best of all, the short introductions of each place, with the sites'  history and comments from owners, are accompanied by recipes, so you can learn to make, say, lavender Panna Cotta at Lavender by the Bay, or stir-fried bok choy from Sang Lee Farms, crispy roast Long Island Duck from the Crescent Duck Farm and white garlic soup from the Quail Hill Farm.  

The wineries get their chance too, though shorter. We get a tour along the Long Island Wine Trail along Route 25 on the North Fork over to a couple of stops on the South Fork. Paumanok Vineyards,  Comtesse Therese,Macari Vineyards and Lenz Winery are among the highlights, along with an explanation of why Long Island vineyard soil, so different from its European counterparts, works to produce good grapes (it's all about drainage.)

Each site includes phone, address and website information and are illustrated by lovely photos that will make you want to jump in your car and head out East.

Don't overlook the Hudson Valley sites, though.  These places,  set in  rolling farmland, have their own stories to tell. Stone Barnds Center for Food and Agriculture, in Pocantico Hills, is part of the former Rockefeller estate, and focuses on teaching about agriculture issues, from, as its mission statement says, to "celebrate, teach and adance community-based production and enjoyment, from farm to classroom to plate."

At Heinchon's Dairy, you can sample fresh ice cream,  and at Uncle Neilie's Maple Syrup, try the wares, or, at the Currant Company, taste black or red currants, including a sorbet made from black currant juice.  In the Catskills, the Beaverkill Trout Hatchery, visitors can catch trout on the weekends.

You cannot go wrong, whatever your food interests are, when you choose this book. Whether you're interested in how well community-supported-agricultural operations work, are interested in new recipes, or wonder where the food comes from in those New York City farmers' markets, this book will guide you to the right information.

"Fresh from the Farm" will be published April 27, by Rizzoli USA.

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