The North Fork is not only obsessed with organic veggies and homegrown wine. It’s also a dairy hot spot. Head toward the town of Peconic on Route 48 and look for signs for Catapano Dairy Farm, where you can taste some award-winning chèvre and a chocolaty goat-cheese fudge, and then visit with the farm’s 90 hard-working goats. Next, hang a left onto Love Lane for lunch at one of the tile-topped tables at the Village Cheese Shop (105 Love Ln.; 631-298-8556), where you can feast on regionally based cheese plates.
Strict permit-only parking rules on the East End make it tough to get to the beach. Get around it by stopping into Cliff’s Elbow East (50 North Sea Dr.; 631-765-1203) off Route 48 in Southold, where local oysters and clams on the half-shell are accompanied by a great list of Long Island wines. Park in the restaurant’s lot, and then stroll over to long, quiet Kenney’s Beach, one block north. Compared to South Fork beaches, it’s never overcrowded and often dotted with families camped out for a low-key day of sand and sun.