Year in Review: Top 10 Northforker stories of 2025
Our lifestyle editors and writers recount their favorite stories from 2025 below. For more Northforker content, visit northforker.com.
10. Pedal to the Meadow: Three local bike routes to try out this fall
By Stephanie Villani, Northforker senior editor
Reading Charity Robey’s “Pedal to the Meadow,” a story on cycling routes in Southold, Orient and on Shelter Island, is almost like taking a short vacation. Robey outlines three routes recommended by bike tour operators, complete with suggestions of where to rent a bike.
Read more here.
9. Coffee Corners: Where to sip outside of the North Fork’s regular bean scene
By Amy Zavatto, lifestyle editor-in-chief
The North Fork has no shortage of well-loved, wonderful cafes, each offering its own unique, percolating vibe. But for this story, “Coffee Corners: Where to Sip Outside of the North Fork’s Regular Bean Scene,” staff reporter Parker Schug used her investigative skills (and love for caffeine) to hunt down great coffee where you might expect to find it. Read more here.
8. Central Comfort: Feeding an Island at Maria’s Kitchen
By Amy Zavatto, lifestyle editor-in-chief
It always amazes me how everything you do in life affects someone else. Everything you do matters, even when you believe an act or decision affects your life only. That’s simply never true.
When he was ready to retire his shop on Shelter Island, my dad, Mike Zavatto, sold his business to a woman named Gail Heinze, who hired Maria Serano to work there. If Charity Robey hadn’t written this story on Maria’s, I would never have read the following words:
“[Serano’s] time working for Gail gave her something even more fundamental than kitchen knowledge, though. ‘She said ‘You have to have a dream,’ Serano recalls. “‘You have to think, what do you want? You can have your own business one day. And I’m going to teach you how to do it.’ And she really did teach me.”
Read more here.
7. In a year of delicious local recipes, this beer-battered cod stands out
By Doug Young, photographer
If I had to crown one recipe from the past year as my undisputed “Best Of” selection, it would be Stephanie Villani’s classic fish and chips. While it ran earlier in the year, this is fundamentally a cozy winter dish—it hits that perfect “pub season” sweet spot when there’s a real chill in the air, and you crave something hot, crispy, and deeply satisfying.
Read more here.
6. All Revved Up: At Riverhead Raceway, ’tis the season to start your engines
By Stephanie Villani, Northforker senior editor
After reading All Revved Up: At Riverhead Raceway ‘Tis the Season to Start Your Engines, Nicole Wagner’s informative feature on the background of Riverhead Raceway (and enjoying Jeremy Garretson’s fab photos), I realized that it’s been a long time since we’ve been to the races. So, we went with some friends on a perfect, starry September night. We found enthusiastic crowds, drivers signing autographs, funny cars and figure eights.
Read more here.
5. Sustainable Beauty: North Fork Flower Farm’s dried florals keep blossoms at hand all year long
By Amy Zavatto, lifestyle editor-in-chief
Who knew so much went into drying flowers? I sure didn’t until I read Stephanie VIllani’s thoroughly fun and informative piece on the North Fork Flower Farm in Southold, from the origin story all the way to the building of their new barn. How cool is it that three couples found common ground, both literally and figuratively, in their love of the East End and in the notion of growing flowers en masse? Drianne Benner, Kevin Perry, Karen Brazier, Charles Sherman and Al and Raquel Martinez-Fonts found each other like you do out here — as neighbors or compatriots at a community meeting.
Read more here.
4. Whey Station: The Village Cheese Shop is the North Fork’s church of cheese
By Parker Schug, staff lifestyle reporter
My conversations with Michael Affatato and Leah Tillman were extra special as their story wound up being my first full feature for Northforker. They set the bar quite high between their incredible background of how they discovered their love for cheese and how the decadent dairy they sell finds its way into their daily lives.
Read more here.
3. PawPaw Turns 10: After a decade of satiating surprises, chef Taylor Knapp remains inspired
By Parker Schug, staff lifestyle reporter
Being a foodie through and through, one of the most exciting things in my opinion is finding new things to try. Amy’s story on PawPaw and the incredible Taylor Knapp engulfed me to say the least. First off, a menu full of fresh, fascinating, seasonal items sounded like my dream; but to hear about the inspiration behind the longstanding pop-up’s name was my favorite part.
Read more here.
2. Flipping the Script: Innovations keep Peeko Oysters going strong
By Amy Zavatto, lifestyle editor-in-chief
When it comes to our waters and what lives in them, I sometimes feel like I’m ever-bracing for bad news (man, do I miss those childhood days of complaining about having too many bay scallop dinners — the folly of the ignorant!). Stephanie Villani’s story — “Flipping the Script: Innovations Keep Peeko Oysters Going Strong” — about Peter Stein’s investment of time and effort into an innovative new method of oyster farming had me riveted in the best way.
Read more here.
1. The Young Man and the Old Mill
By Stephanie Villani, Northforker senior editor
The reopening of the Old Mill Inn was the subject of much intrigue in Mattituck this spring, with lots of people who grew up going there wondering just what the revamped space would be like. Amy Zavatto’s excellent article articulates just what went on behind the scenes of the project, which included placing 67 new pilings into the inlet bottom, installing a new bulkhead and moving the actual building onto West Mill Road until it could be raised five feet higher as FEMA required.
Read more here.
