With Thanksgiving less than a week away, crunch time is now upon us as the procrastinators (such as myself) scramble to make this prep-heavy holiday a reality. Thankfully, the North Fork has an abundance of locally grown or sourced produce, meats, and desserts to tie it all together for you. Here are three places to visit as you gear up for November 24^th:

Miloski’s Poultry Farm (4418 Middle Country Rd, Calverton)

Vegans and vegetarians…cover your ears for this recommendation. For those of you interested in free-range turkey, listen up! Turkey. It is the focal point of every Thanksgiving gathering, and it should not be purchased in haste. It’s easy to hit the grocery store for a frozen Butterball. But with the farm-to-table movement garnering both attention and followers, why not consider visiting a local poultry farm for a fresh turkey this year? Now, I understand that it’s a bit of an awkward moment when you stand before a sea of turkeys knowing that each one will end up on someone’s dinner table. To this I say, alas, the circle of life. Seek comfort in knowing exactly where your turkey is coming from, while supporting a local farmer. With over 3,000 turkeys on the farm, it should be easy to acquire one for your Thanksgiving dinner.

North Fork Roasting Company (55795 Main Rd, Southold)

Now that you have your turkey, the logical next step is …  pie. I know I said turkey was everything, but in actuality pie is everything. There’s no Thanksgiving without pie. Locals will put in their two cents when it comes to the best place to go and the best flavor to get, but they’re wrong. This year, the only place one should go is North Fork Roasting Company. Co-owners Jennilee and Jess have cornered the North Fork market and garnered a lot of attention for their small batch, artisanal coffee.  But this Nofo insider is here to tell you that their fresh, from-scratch baked goods are also THE BOMB.  There’s no doubt in my mind that their Thanksgiving pies will deliver bite upon bite of sweet, glorious, indulgent heaven. Their selection is as follows: salt & honey, cranberry custard, brown butter pumpkin, strawberry rhubarb, lemon blackberry cream, and bourbon pecan with ganache. Each pie is $25 and can be picked up Wednesday (November 23^rd) or on Thanksgiving Day.

Lieb Cellars (13050 Oregon Rd., Cutchogue)

So we have turkey and pie checked off the list. We’re getting there. The last of the three main items is hard cider. Wait what? Hard cider? Well, you’re sitting in a room with family for hours on end so alcohol is certainly needed, and in keeping with the fall theme, cider is warranted. At Lieb, we offer Rumor Mill Hard Cider. Our cider is gently sparkling, seven percent alcohol, contains all local apples and is gluten free!  It’s light, dry, and tart (unlike other hard ciders that are usually on the sweeter side) and makes for a PERFECT beverage to pair with all of your hearty Thanksgiving dishes.  Plus, with Rumor Mill being just $9 for a 750ml bottle, it’d be a travesty to have Thanksgiving without it.

We did it! We’ve successfully navigated our three-pronged checklist of Thanksgiving necessities. All of us here at Lieb hope you enjoy it with good company and good wine (or cider!), and as always, we are especially thankful for all of our customers. We’ll see you Black Friday as Points East joins us for post-Thanksgiving music from 6-9pm.

Jul Fedele

Tasting Room Captain