SNAIL OF
APPROVAL
GOOD, CLEAN AND FAIR FOOD
ON THE EAST END
The Snail of Approval (SoA) is awarded to businesses that incorporate Slow Food movement ideals of Good, Clean & Fair Food For All. Internationally recognized, the SOA award spotlights food businesses that excel in two or more of the following areas: Local sourcing, environmental impact, cultural connections, community involvement, staff support and retention, and slow-minded business values.
From Riverhead to Montauk and to the Orient Point Slow Food East End awards local restaurants, farms, and food producers who meet these standards.
We encourage everyone to nominate a future Snail Awardee. We have awarded chefs and growers but we like to think outside the box too.
Notably we were the first Slow Food chapter to award local hospitals for integrating food as medicine and local seasonal sourcing protocol into their nutrition services’ menus and to organizations who educate and combat food insecurity. Let us know of any food business or organization we should consider for our awards next year.
Slow Food East End
Snail of Approval Awardees
Almond | Restaurant
Relationships with growers, fishermen, artisans and winemakers is at the heart of Almonds’ hyper local artisanal and market driven menus. The wine list, handpicked by co-owner Eric Lemonides, offers an affordable selection of wines. O bsessive about the handmade Chef Jason Weiner hangs his own house made charcuterie, grinds their sausage, ferments kimchi, dry ages steaks, and smokes their fish & bacon. Almond’s tradition of acknowledging local growers by first name on their menu illustrates how keenly Almond values their work.
Amber Waves | Farm/Orchard
Established in 2008 on seven rented acres Amber Waves has grown to own 30 agricultural acres of across a patchwork of fields in Amagansett and East Hampton. Katie Baldwin and Amanda Merrow started farming as apprentices at nearby Quail Hill Farm. The team of two now includes dozens of farmers, educators, cooks, and market staff (most folks know Amber Waves for their amazing farm stand). This not-for-profit women-owned farm does more than farm it sows seeds for the future. Nationally recognized leaders in educational youth programing (which SFEE has proudly supported) they count over 100 field trips to their farm with community partners and public schools inviting more than 8,500 children to their farm, a natural outdoor classroom, by providing free and low cost field trips. The farm also runs their own apprentice program with more than 70 alumni and counting providing educational opportunities In agriculture for aspiring growers..
Art of Eating | Catering
Crafting locally sourced, personalized catered experiences, Art of Eating designs menus and events to tell their client’s personal story. Committed to sourcing bi-forkal ingredients for milestone or any celebration they always feature ingredients seasonally harvested by local farmers, fishermen, foragers and friends. Their creativity adds an inspirational message to every event. Art of Eating has long given back to the East End community supporting local fundraisers for many organizaitons, including A Moveable Feast to help support the local Edible School Garden programs .
Bedell Cellars | Winery/Vineyard
The first grapevines were planted in 1980 by the Bedells who became renown for their Merlot. In 2013, it was the first NYS wine ever served at a Presidential Inauguration. Bedell Cellars is one of the only wineries in the world fermenting with 100% naturally occurring wild yeasts. The winery is certified sustainable, winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich helped write the sustainable grape growing guidelines for Long Island, with the goal not only grow a superior crop but to protecting the surrounding eco-system. They compost all grape seeds and skins and vine cane prunings each year, spreading them back in the vineyard as natural fertilizer. Bedell ferments over 50 small batches of wine each vintage to highlight different aspects of the terroir, all wines are hand crafted on their estate Noting that winemaking begins in the vineyard, the crew individually works with each vine 8 times throughout the growing season. .
The Center for Advocacy, Support & Transformation (CAST)
Located on the North Fork, CAST is the first food relief program in the nation to earn a Snail of Approval underscoring our commitment to strengthening the local food system and ensuring everyone has access to quality, sustainable food in line with the Slow Food mission of good, clean, and fair food for all. Since 1965, CAST has been serving vulnerable and low-income individuals and families on the North Fork of Long Island. CAST provides a critical safety net helping address food, housing, employment, and healthcare insecurity with dignity and compassion. Regarding food, CAST is committed to helping people achieve economic security through education and workforce training particularly for culinary industry but more importantly CAST serves vulnerable populations on the North Fork of Long Island and Shelter Island which includes the working poor, seniors on fixed incomes, single parents, at-risk children, immigrants, people living with disabilities, and veterans. CAST currently serves over 1,500 households representing a total client base of over 3,900 unique individuals– approximately 14 percent of the total population and 31 percent of the children living in Southold Town. Flour Power, A SFEE program has supported CAST since 2021.
Channing Daughters | Winery/Vineyard
Channing Daughters grows and creates wines from over two dozen varieties, it is the only winery on the East End growing and producing wines from many of these grapes.
Careful culture of the vines includes the hand-picking of ALL grapes, gentle whole cluster-pressing of white fruit, stomping by foot with punch-down by hand of red grapes, and gravity bottling; traditional and artisanal winemaking methods. Small and unique vineyard lots of grapes are fermented and bottled separately, bearing a Vineyard Designation and Appellation of Origin. They are only winery to produce wines bearing all three Long Island AVA’s celebrating the place, vineyards and region where grown, many from mature vineyards planted between 1975 and 1983.
Cutchogue Diner | Restaurant
The Cutchogue Diner has been feeding the North Fork for many years. Originally, as Glover’s restaurant, which opened in 1941, it was made by the Kullman Dining Car Company. Since 1987, the diner has been owned by John Touhey, who saved and renovated the landmark. He was determined to maintain the 1940s charm, and he will readily admit that Fernando Rodriguez, cook and manager, is the real reason that the restaurant enjoys such an excellent reputation. Feranando started as a busboy and has now worked there for 30 years.
Disset Chocolate | Artisanal Product
Ursula embraced the farm-to-table manifesto with a commitment to source locally with the best sustainably grown ingredients, taking inspiration for her flavors by the East End. Chocolate has long been recognized for healing qualities. Ursula ups the ante for a line of her chocolates by using local herbs from local Chinese Medicinal expert, Stacy Isaacs to create a healthy and delicious chocolate. Additionally, Mattituck Mushrooms provides varieties of healing mushrooms that are also incorporated in some of her chocolate treats. Look also for hazelnuts from Peter Harmon, a local hobby farmer, local honey from apriarists Fyr and Salt, Paw Paw and Ashley Hall. Ursula will not use outside preserves. She waits for the local seasonal harvest to make her own flavors.
Deep Roots Farm | Farm/Orchard
This small family farm located on Main Road on the North Fork started with mission to focus on sustainability which guided them to create an incredibly diversified farm. Raising pasture raised pigs, chickens and eggs in unison with fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs they constantly rotate different species of animals through their fields so the animals enjoy a varied diet and help the farm with pest control, soil health, and fertility. Deep Roots works to find the proper balance of livestock and crops based on what the farmland needs and customers want. Deep Roots only sells what they raise at their Southold farm.
Ecological Culture Initiative | Farm/Orchard
Ecological Culture Initiative is a nonprofit organization inspired by Sisters of Saint Joseph’s commitment to serve the community and protect the environment. The sisters dedicated a plot of their land located on the shores of the Shinnecock Bay, known by it indigenous name the Good Ground, these waters and soils have been farmed for thousands of years by the Shinnecock Nation. The Good Ground Heritage Garden at St. Joseph Villa provides an educational and community resource for volunteers, an opportunity to learn hands-on organic gardening skills while helping others. The delicious, vitamin-rich, fresh herbs and vegetables are harvested from the garden and donated to local food pantries in Hampton Bays. Organic, heirloom variety seeds are collected from the garden, processed, and made available to the public for free through the Good Ground Seed Library at the Hampton Bays library. ECI is also renowned for their compost program. Recent two years of tracking illustrated that by collecting five tons of food scraps saving over 10,000 pounds of food waste from the landfills, generated 2500 pounds of “Black Gold” soil amendment for their garden and for community members. That is very good news!
Estia’s Little Kitchen | Restaurant
Delicious, fresh welcoming eatery serving serves Mexican/ American comfort food. Estia’s was one of the first East End restaurants to add an on-site kitchen garden and compost program to their property. All compostable kitchen scraps are part of their holistic plan to reduce waste and nurture their own soils and garden. Having a ready crop of produce growing behind the restaurant accomplishes many things: The chef can pick fresh ingredients and herbs during each growing season. The garden allows visitors to watch the crops mature, educating diners and visitors about seasonality and what the plants of a wide variety of staple produce used for their menus look like on the stem and also illustrates the rewards of a healthy food cycle that relies on good growing, ready to eat harvesting, seasonal dining and creating rich compost to benefit the next growing season.
First and South | Restaurant
At the corner of a residential neighborhood in Greenport an old Victorian house with a porches is now home to First & South, designed to appeal to locals and travelers seeking reasonably-priced comfort food year-around. Known for seasonal menus, locally sourced eclectic daily specials and special events, the restaurant is an active participant in local cultural and civic events. Truly a good neighbor, during COVID lockdown days, owner Sarah Phillips was a leader in suppling free lunches from First & South to the ELIH hospital staff.
Garden of Eve | Organic Farm
One of the first certified organic farms on the North Fork was founded in 2001 by environmental advocates Chris and Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht, growing vegetables, fruits and beautiful flowers. They value the ancient concept of Tzedakah, a belief in the obligation to create a fair and just world by helping those in need. To Garden of Eve this meant using their harvest to help others. CSA members donate approximately $500 towards low-income share grants that are made each year allowing people of all income levels to enjoy fresh organic food. The farm matches CSA donations with additional donations of free shares. They aim to help anyone receiving public assistance and needs help affording a CSA membership, The farm invests in cover crops such as rye, wheat, oats, vetch, clover, field peas, and buckwheat which play a key role in a healthier growing season on the farm.
Golden Acres Farm | Farm/Orchard
Golden Acres Is A Certified Organic Farm With 25 Years Of Serving The North Fork Area. Fresh Produce And Flowers Are Available At Their Famstand. Golden Acres Prides Itself On Friendly And Knowledgeable Service With A Strong Commitment To Community Engagement.
Green Thumb Organic | Farm/Orchard
Farmed by previous generations for over 300 years the farm is still family managed, owned and operated. Everything grown at Green Thumb is USDA Certified Organic using non-GMO seeds, untreated seeds for over 200 different varieties of vegetables. The choice of seeds is deliberate, by providing economic demand for minor variety crops, seed companies will continue to offer and increase their selection of these items, very important during these times of disappearing genetic biodiversity in our food system. They know plant-based foods enrich our bodies insuring they absorb the vitamins, minerals and micro-nutrients necessary for optimum health and disease fighting ability and grow accordingly to provide healthy alternatives for people an our planet.
Little Fish | Restaurant
A block from the Long Island Sound Little Fish enjoys salty breezes and sandy views with a menu that dishes up local fish. Arden Gardell-Gross, fisherman and restaurateur, grew up in the business in Montauk. Committed to making the most of what the local waters provide, Anker doesn’t shy away from using fish that restaurants usually overlook. His vision was to open an American seafood restaurant’s menu featuring a variety of underutilized fish, from porgy sausage to sand shark bites. The sustainable model works because these lesser-known fish are plentiful, incorporating them into restaurant menus can ease the demand placed on more widely sought-after fish in the food system. Come to Little Fish a year around escape at this festive outpost which sources and serves foods and wines as local as possible, as fresh as possible and served as soon as possible from being caught. Check out their website to enjoy a chef’s treat, links to his playlists, that is music to our ears.
Little Ram | Restaurant
At a Groupon for an oyster shucking class, Stef, an advertising exec, and Elizabeth, an interior designer, fumbled to open oysters and instead opened a new chapter in their lives. They learned that one oyster can clean 50 gallons of water a day. They were intrigued and decided to explore the possibility of becoming oyster farmers with no farming experience and never being boaters but fueled by a dream they secured an oyster farm for lease. With grit, education and determination they now harvest over two million oysters a year from Gardiner’s Bay. Not only are the women full time oyster farmers, Elizabeth has been serving as a Southold town trustee, a position that helps oversee the activity in the town’s underwater land and 100 feet of its shoreline. Both women have become success stewards of the local waters and promoting oyster farming in New York State which is only in the waters of Long Island, through lobbying they helped secure a $5 million grant to support the oyster farming industry on Long Island.
Lombardi’s Love Lane Market | Market
Lauren Lombardi, a French Culinary Institute graduate, opened on Love Lane in Mattituck in 2014, committed to showcasing the unparalleled quality and freshness of our local region’s offerings mixed with Italian specialties that the Lombardi family has long been famous for on Long Island, featuring homemade pasta, homemade pizza dough, homemade sauces, and even its own brand of wine.
Love Lane Kitchen | Restaurant
Love Lane is the heart of Mattituck village and the home to Love Lane Kitchen, a community favorite that is bustling year around. Primarily serving breakfast and lunch, the eatery prepares dressings, soups, sauces, and dishes all made from scratch, and everything's made to order with love by a team of employees that welcome guests by name and make everyone feel at home in their art-filled, sunny restaurant. One of the favorite items on their wine list is their Stare the Love rose blended exclusively for LLK by Chronicle Wines.
Macari Vineyards | Winery/Vineyard
Three generations from making grapes in a family cellar in Queens to securing farm land in Mattituck, the Macari family has invested in creating award winning wines from healthy soils. The family has an impressive compost practice at the farm that is the root of its success. Decades of nurturing their soils with rich organic compost has yielded world class wines. Consistent composting also protects their crops which become naturally resistant to seasonal drought conditions. Committed to making great wines with regenerative management and an herbicide and pesticide-free agricultural environment, Macari, along with their sister property, Meadowlark have become two of the most popular destinations along the Long Island Wine Country trail for its dining partnerships, wine cellars made for entertaining and tasting rooms designed for celebrations.
Main Biscuit Road Co. | Restaurant
The owner, Marissa Drago, has created a very popular and needed gathering spot in Jamesport. She has managed a delicate balance- near perfection in preparation while maintaining prices that her customers expect. The mission is to serve quality, homemade, comforting, delicious, reasonably priced food in a warm and welcoming setting. A professional, friendly and courteous staff adds to the enjoyment of the many fine meals.
Mattituck Mushrooms | Farm
Established in 2019, they used to produce fifty pounds of mushrooms per week, but now they produce five hundred. The mushrooms are served in many North and South Fork restaurants, such as North Fork Table and Inn and Tutto Il Giorno. Many farms on both forks are also selling the mushrooms. KK’s Farm, 8 Hands Farms, and Zilnicki Farms are a few prominent ones. The breakdown of sales is 40% restaurants, 40% farmers’ markets, and 20% individuals.
Minnow at the galley ho | restaurant
Minnow celebrates the region’s coastal heritage with menus built around sustainably caught local seafood and seasonal local ingredients. For Minnow, eating sustainable seafood is not just about the species, it is also about the fishing method. Unknown to many consumers, each year in the U.S. an estimated one to two billion pounds of fish is thrown overboard dead or dying due to mainstream commercial fishing practices using nets and dredges. This is called bycatch, or more accurately, by-kill. For every pound of seafood that makes it to a dinner place, so many pounds are wasted The only seafood served at Minnow is caught by local fishers using line, spear or hands or from the Minnow's very own pond trap in the Peconic Bay, a legacy of the bayman who have fished these waters for generations. Eating local has an international impact and at Minnow is it also a delicious, waterfront experience.
Nick & Toni’s | Restaurant
Opened in 1988, Nick & Toni’s was one of the first Hampton’s pioneer eateries to hone a farm to table menu known for its Tuscan farmhouse style. Today long-time Executive Chef Joseph Realmuto is widely regarded as one of the savviest in East Hampton expanding the restaurant group to include other local favorites known dependably delicious and seasonally inspired, locally sourced meals in a community ripe with edible bounty. Nick & Toni’s is as popular today for its delicious, local food and conviviality.
Noah’s | Restaurant
Noah’s website announces it right away: Slow food is real food. Noah is a native Long Islander and New England Culinary Institute alumnus. Noah began his culinary career in Sonoma, working in some of California wine country’s premier restaurants where he met his future wife, Sunita. A restaurateur herself, she studied under one of the best winemakers in the Sonoma region, quickly becoming a respected wine expert. In 2010, the couple opened Noah's in Greenport, a small plates focused restaurant with a commitment to sustainability, seasonality, and locally sourced ingredients. Farm to fork fare sourced from local farmers and fisherman. Noah visits local farms, docks, fish markets and specialty producers to select the freshest produce, cheeses, meats, poultry and seafood to serve. Noah has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation as one of Best Chefs in America.
Peconic Bay Medical Center
The first hospital in the nation to receive a Snail of Approval award, PBMC is a leader in the Food is Medicine movement that has become the north star of hospitals seeking to promote more nutritious menus for all patients and transform previous hospital food service practices. The results: high quality high-quality, locally sourced, healthful ingredients do play a crucial role in healing and recovery. The hospital has revolutionized its food services and a new point of view for other hospitals to follow offering more plant-based foods, with no frozen food, no fryers and as much locally sourced produce as possible.
Peconic Gold Oysters | Farm
Farming a 10-acre plot on a shallow water bank in Great Peconic Bay where an abundance of algae blooms in these shallow waters with cool currents deliver nutrients from the deep since 2013, Matt Ketcham harvests about 4 million oysters a year. When oysters have a happy habitat they are a model of sustainable, low-impact aquaculture. Each oyster naturally filters and cleans the bay’s waters, improving clarity and supporting the overall health of the local marine ecosystem. They require no added feed and have a minimal carbon footprint. By enjoying Peconic Bay oysters, you’re not only tasting the pure, briny essence of the East End, you’re also supporting clean water, healthy bays, and a thriving local shellfish economy. Cages are hauled out of the water at least twice a month. The oysters are pruned meticulously and often resulting in a high quality product.
Provisions
This natural foods market and organic cafe has been part of the Sag Harbor community for over 30 years, providing quality natural and organic food. What started out to be a health food star evolved into a full scale grocery and cafe. Provisions is committed to selling only the highest quality organic products available. We support local organic farmers and our fruits and vegetables are always organic.
Quail Hill Farm | Farm/Orchard
Since Established In 1990, Quail Hill Farm Is One Of The Original Community Supported Agriculture Farms (CSA) In The U.S. And Has Grown To Over 35 Acres Serving Over 250 Families.
Sagaponack Farm Distillery | Distillery
The farm was founded by Captain Joseph Foster in 1870 and is still owned and farmed by the Foster family. The sixth generation, siblings Mariliee and Dean Foster, now manages 150 acres of land preserved for agricultural use only with a balanced permaculture, no-till approach to farming. In 2013 they decided to start a distillery business to provide a new revenue stream for their traditional potato crop. They still farm a variety of produce served at local eateries and to nurture their hives but now includes crops they harvest in their Seed to Glass endeavor. Cover crops are grown between seasons and buckwheat is planted between rows to minimize weeds and encourage pollinators. All by-products from the distillery are returned to the soil, greatly reducing the farm’s carbon footprint. Distilled spirits use only natural ingredients, whole potatoes not processed potato flakes for example. The tasting room is a gathering space for music and community. 155 years of growing and harvesting continues with a new market for a more sustainable farming future for the Fosters.
Sang Lee Farms | Farm/Orchard
The Lee family have been Long Island growers for three generations, since the 1940s in Melville the family focused on growing Asian vegetables for wholesale markets on the East Coast. Upon moving to the East End, Fred Lee pivoted to more sustainable farming operation and stopped using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Now the farm is certified organic, In the early 2000s the farm diversified and shifted to locally supported CSA’s, farmers markets, and their farm stand which is a destination for families and foodies to relax and shop, they grown and sell 300 different heirloom and organic, non GMO varieties of vegetables.
Share The Harvest Farm | Farm/Orchard
Share the Harvest is a non-profit community supported farm that was organized to grow to share believing that everyone in our community should have access to fresh, nutritious food. Over 80% of its harvest is delivered to local pantries, senior centers, shelters and low income working families. Started In 2010, the farm has donated thousands of pounds of nutritious, organic fresh produce. We focus on nutrient-rich vegetables and cold-tolerant staple crops that provide much-needed produce in early spring and late fall, when many families in our community are struggling to make ends meet. To help raise funds to support the farm, they operate the East End Community Organic farm stand which sells local fresh produce and food products from over 60 local small vendors.
Silver Sands - Boathouse, Eddie’s, Nookies
The Silver Sands, a venerable mid century motel has been revitalized with new upgrades while retaining the charm and feel of its historic past. Three restaurants grace the area, providing a unique dining experience for both motel clients and East End residents and visitors. Nookies, Eddie’s and The Boathouse provide excellent food in a setting that is incomparable. The beautiful shores of the Peconic Bay are a scenic backdrop as you dine at Eddie’s or The Boathouse. Nookies takes you back in time as you watch your chef prepare your meal in a classic luncheonette setting.
South Fork Bakery | Bakery
The bakery’s mission extends to the training and placement of neurodivergent individuals with employer partners in businesses throughout Suffolk County. They believe that adults with disabilities need the opportunity to work — they are able, willing, and excited to do so. They are among the most capable, loyal and hardworking people one can employ.
Stony Brook Southampton Hospital | Food Service
This hospital has decided to revamp their food service program. They now employ a mission that states “food is medicine.” An excellent food experience is provided for patients and employees. Fresh vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, healthy fats and whole grains are used. Seasonal, culturally sensitive meals are now served. Outreach to a food insecure community is also practiced. Patient satisfaction is now measured in the 90’s percentile.
The Bell & Anchor | Restaurant
A must visit in Sag Harbor, Bell and Anchor provides excellent seafood dishes, great service and a lovely waterfront setting. The ambience has both a fine dining experience and a casual feel. All are welcome and a great vibe is evident. The restaurant sources locally. While famous for its fresh delicious seafood, there is also several wonderful meat and vegetarian dishes to satisfy all tastes.
The Halyard | Restaurant
The original motel had 10 rooms overlooking the Long Island Sound, Jack’s Shack was the sole concession. For over 60 years the Levin family owned and operated this vintage destination with a spectacular sunset views. New owners in 2016 refurbished the property and reimagined the menu opening the Halyard Restaurant, a culinary anchor of this scenic getaway, becoming a fresh destination for foodies with its seafood focused menu celebrating our region’s produce from foragers and farmers, growers and fishers.
Ty Llwyd Farm | Farm/Orchard
Ty Llwyd (Pronounced Tee Clewed, Welsh for Brown House) is a sixth-generation operation founded in 1870 as a potato farm. It is a small family-run farm that has been added to the National Register of Historic Places and is located on 33 acres on Sound Avenue in Riverhead. The farm is run by Chris Wines and his parents, David and Elizabeth, who will greet you as you drive up. The business specializes in raw milk and is the only North Fork source for unpasteurized milk resulting in a very loyal and regular set of customers who come for the milk’s creamier taste and added health benefits. They also come for the delicious and healthy eggs which are offered up by the chickens roaming the farm, in peak season they may collect 45 dozen eggs from their layers. They only sell what they grow.
8 Hands Farm | Farm/Orchard
Inspired by the documentary Food Inc., parents Carol Festa and Tom Geppel and their two children, gained valuable insights into the flaws of the industrialized food system and the farming methods and large-scale animal confinement operations that dominate the industry—elements they found disconcerting. Despite their lack of farming experience the movie kindled a life changing decision for the family to dig in with their 8 hands to have a farm that allowed animals to graze freely, exhibiting their natural behaviors, and enhancing the quality and humanity of their livestock. Today, the operation encompasses livestock, organic farming, as well as a farm store selling all they grow, provisions from soups to sauces, meals prepared by in-house caterers Fyr & Salt and hand crafted goods. The farm offers frequent tours to share knowledge and the story of their farm practices to underscore the benefits of holistic farming focused on the well being of all the animals they raise.