Mini North Fork Round Up: Roanoke Vineyards, Paces Dockside and Magic Fountain

The Open Table $50 check was nearing it's 6 month expiration date. How it lasted so long is a mystery. Obviously it was not a case of not going to any restaurants in the past 6 months but instead a product of me moving the actual check from pile to pile and never taking it along with me.  (Note to OpenTable: Can you please allow for online redemption of these things.) Enter the plan to go the North Fork to try out Pace's Dockside. And since we were heading to vineyard territory, throw in a stop at one of those along the way.

Stop #1: Roanoke Vineyards
We picked Roanoke for two reasons - they are open until 7 and they have an award-winning Cabernet Franc (Even though it's spring and still feels like red season to me).  What we didn't account for was that Roanoke would be a popular Happy Hour, post-work kind of stop.  When we arrived just after 5, it was still quiet as we enjoyed our flight of reds for $12, but come 5:45 it was packed with the working crowd.  So we bought a delicious bottle of that Cabernet France for later and headed East.

3543 Sound Avenue
Riverhead, NY
roanokevineyards.net
631.727.4161

Stop #2: Pace's Dockside
Again, we found a happy hour crowd here at the bar.  The restaurant itself was quiet though I imagine come summer, this place will be mobbed with couples and families taking in the view while dining al fresco.  Pace's Dockside opened in the winter at Strong's Marine in Mattituck a place where you can dock your boat or just come hang waterside. We found a combination of locals and visitors making it a nice, inviting crowd.

There are two Pace's Steakhouses already on Long Island and while this place does focus on steak, they have an abundance of other options.  Keep in mind, though, that the steak is only aged, not prime-aged.  In my mind, if I'm paying $40+ for a steak, it should be prime-aged, so we didn't taste the steak.

Instead, I opted for one of the freshest pieces of fish I've had in a long time.  A huge black and blue tuna hung off my oversized dinner plate.  It wasn't a steak, but it sure looked like one.  Perfectly cooked and coated with black sesame seeds, I knew I had made a good choice.  The accompanying wasabi mashed potatoes had the requisite spice although I could have done without the limp leeks and roasted red peppers.

JB also steered away from the beef and chose the country style fried chicken.  Again, huge.  And again, tasty.  I almost enjoyed his sweet potato mash better than my wasabi mash.

As you can imagine, a steakhouse also has good burgers.  The boys each had an appetizer slider and shoestring fries with a nice touch of rosemary.  Smiles all around.

2255 Mattituck Avenue
Mattituck, NY
631.315.5252
www.strongsmarine.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=162

Stop #3: Magic Fountain Ice Cream
And then dessert.  What better way to end the day than ice cream.  It was late so we took it to go.  This old school institution hand packed us a quart of vanilla for $10 for the boys (including JB) to split when they got home.  Lucky me, they had key lime pie flavor, which I got to enjoy the whole car ride home.

9825 Main Road
Mattituck, NY
631.298.4908
magicfountainicecream-hub.com

North Fork Round Up: 
- Roanoke Vineyard: Go
- Pace's Dockside: Go
- Magic Fountain Ice Cream: Go

That's 3 Gos.  So what are you waiting for - GO!

Until our next Berger,
KLB