Alec Baldwin Chows Down With the Neighbors at Hamptons Event

Alec Baldwin, looking a bit ruddier and beefier than the suave Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock, sat amidst friends and neighbors at an event Saturday night to support Quail Hill Farm, the Peconic Land Trust's 30-acre tract in Amagansett. Baldwin is a major supporter of the event.

East End dining hot spots like Nick and Toni's got to strut their stuff at the annual fundraiser August 23. The Grill and Foody's were among five Hamptons eateries showing off locavore dishes like Pork Loins with Open Minded Organic's Mushrooms and Quail Hill Potato Gratin. All together, 180 people gathered at 22 tables, stacked end to end to create a 176 foot long "Common" table that snaked for about eight feet through an Amagansett farm field lit by lanterns on a glorious summer night.

"It was tough to get the tables set up in a straight line," said Peter Cobb, one of the volunteers who helped stage the event.

Quail Hill, in addition to being one of the nation's oldest CSAs, gives Hamptonites a chance to dabble at farming. You can harvest tomatoes or arugula a couple of times a week and take your pickings home with you.

When I mentioned to a couple of folks that I hailed from the North Fork, I got a bunch of quizzical looks, as if to say, "Why would you choose to live there?" Clearly, that quieter agricultural area just on the other side of Peconic Bay is off the radar screen for the group of Hamptonites who showed up for the event.

Next week, the Peconic Land Trust is hosting a tomato taste-off. Given how fabulous this year's tomatoes have been, it sounds like it's worth the trip---unless of course you live on the North Fork. In that case, you can stop by the dozens of farm stands peddling tomatoes. Sang Lee's? or KK's? Or the ladies who put a few tomatoes out on card tables in the hopes that passersby will purchase some?