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This Week at the Farmers Market: The Flavors of Montauk

Since its inception in 2009, the Montauk Farmers Market has grown to an impressive size with more than 30 purveyors, who offer a vast variety of locally-sourced foods and beverages every Thursday morning in the grassy circle at the center of this romantic little fishing town.

The Montauk Farmers Market takes place Thursdays from 9am to 2pm from June 11 to October 3, and between Montauk’s lush environment and its open reputation for luxury, the market affords ample opportunity to purchase bespoke products and engage in some impressive people watching– including bread made from locally-grown flour, sustainably-sourced wine, and visits from Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Strolling over the market, one truly can source their menu from an array of farm fresh organic vegetables and herbs, local and exotic mushrooms, last night’s fresh catch, artisanal breads, pastas, and cheeses, plus pastries, world class local wines, and much, much more.

Coming back to the East End for the first time in many years, I am truly impressed by the variety this market has to offer: Carissa’s Breads is just one of the vendors whose products are all locally-grown, milled and baked locally, incorporating a natural rising agent, which was first cultured in Amagansett in 1968. Her salty pickled Soured Rye and her Honey Oat Loaf are truly divine.

My 3-year-old daughter is pulling me to the next Farmstand. The Mecox Bay Dairy is offering a variety of artisanal raw cows milk cheeses from their happy, grassfed herd of Jersey cows in Bridgehampton. Art and Stacy Ludlow are passionate about their cheesemaking and you can taste the wares of this passion in the cheeses they create: The Sigit, a gruyere-like hard cheese that ages for at least 8 month; the Shawondasee– a mild, semi-hard cheese; and the Mecox Sunrise, a washed-rind, semi-hard cheese with a distinctive flavor are just a few of their creations.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio, who was amused watching my daughter munching away on all the samples, loved the cheeses just as much and left the stand with a good variety.

The Sagaponack-based wineries farmstand Wölffer Estate is also not to be missed. They use sustainable farming practices and their winemaker and partner Roman Roth is using traditional techniques, always with an eye towards innovation. His award-winning wines are food-friendly, elegant, and built for longevity. The White 2014– summer in a bottle– is one of my favorites and the bottle features a tasteful visual portrait of Hampton’s high summer. The ambiance and the variety at the Montauk Farmers Market makes it well-worth a visit for everyone who is truly interested in quality, sustainable, and locally-grown foods and extraordinary delicacies.

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