NORTH FORK GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS

This year, the picturesque North Fork may be stealing the spotlight from the glitzier Hamptons. Here, it's not only the vineyards and farms that are flourishing. A once-sleepy dining scene, which has been picking up steam over the past few years, is in the throes of a major energy surge, thanks to some formidable new players.

The Manhattan super couple of Gerard Hayden (formerly of Aureole and Amuse) and Claudia Fleming (celebrated past pastry chef of Gramercy Tavern) has moved out here, teaming up with partners Mary and Mike Mraz (she was service manager at Gramercy Tavern, he, at Hearth) to open North Fork Table & Inn, 57225 Main Road, Southold, 631-765-0177, a restaurant and boutique hostelry where Coeur des Vignes used to be.

"I equate the North Fork to Sonoma," said Hayden, who, with Fleming, has left the Big Apple for this "agriculturally rich community. " The restaurant, done in soft shades of gray, draws on the bounty of local farms and waters. If a recent dinner is any indicator, it should prove one of the top tables in the Northeast. An appetizer of spring asparagus risotto with lemon essence was bright, buttery, bursting with flavor. Savory tender Berkshire pork tenderloin came on a bed of white corn polenta strewn with grilled wild leeks, drizzled with a subtly smoky chipotle glaze. Fleming's desserts alone merited the trip - a strawberry rhubarb shortcake of tiny biscuits filled with ice cream set atop a tumble of summer fruit - as well as a deleriously rich chocolate caramel tart with caramel ice cream.

Another high-power restaurateur-chef, Long Island's Tom Schaudel (of Coolfish in Syosset, Passionfish in Westhampton Beach, to name just two of his locales), is poised to open the painstakingly restored Jedediah Hawkins Inn, 400 S. Jamesport Ave., Jamesport, 631-722-2900. "I think the North Fork is the next Napa Valley, and I want to be part of that in some small way," said Schaudel, whose New American restaurant and boutique-style inn is slated to open June 14.

Another inn and restaurant combination, which quietly came in this past December, is Cafe @ EON (or Elements of Nature), 56125 Main Rd., Southold, 631-765-7070. The historic building, caringly restored by owner Michael Miller, houses a New American restauran where chef Jonathan Studley serves such dishes as duck spring rolls and flounder rollatini.

Open as of Memorial Day weekend, Big Mama's Creole Kitchen, 623275 Main Rd., Southold, 631-765-1200, is the second enterprise of Dan Reyburn and Ron Philipp, who, last year, opened Farmer Bar-Cutchogue Barbecue Co. in Cutchogue. Philipp does the cooking at the New Orleans-style restaurant, designed to evoke landmark dining spots like Arnaud's and Antoine's. The menu is rife with classics like crawfish and shrimp etouffe and fried oyster po' boys.

Another newcomer to Southold will be Founders Tavern, to open in mid-June at 55500 Main Rd., 631-765-3100, where Joanthony's was. Chef Rob Grogan will offer an American menu focusing on what owner Eric Russell termed "higher-end bar food," as well as a roster of good beers and local wines.

In Greenport, the Shady Lady Inn Steak House, which closed last year, has reopened under new management and with an emphasis on red meat at 305 North Rd., 631-477-4500. The Victorian-style dining spot and inn also houses a retail cigar club, where cigar smoking is permitted.

Barbecue Bill's should be firing up the hardwood smokers in late June or early July at 37 Front St., Greenport, 631-477-2300. According to co-owners Bill Winkle and Doug Cress, the bi-level restaurant and bar will serve authentic Texas 'cue. The new place will offer outdoor seating on a harborside deck and slips for up to 100 boats.

On scenic Shelter Island, Onshore, 13 Winthrop Rd., 631-749-2300, recently debuted in the Dering Harbor Inn. In a comfortable dining room, graced with both a fireplace and water view, I enjoyed the French-influenced New American cooking of chef Marcel Iatoni. I was as impressed with the texture-flavor combination presented by his escargots in puff pastry as I was with his supernally tender crumb-coated roasted Cajun calamari.

PERENNIAL FAVORITES / THE NORTH FORK

While some of the restaurants on this list have been around longer than others, all have proven that they have what it takes to hold their own on the North Fork, in what's becoming a highly competitive scene.

Antares Cafe - Manhansset Avenue, Greenport, 631-477-8839. Situated in a boatyard, this Greenport hideaway compensates for an unspectacular view with a particularly buoyant New American repertoire.

Fifth Season - 45 Front St., Greenport, 631-477-8500. Chef-owner Erik Orlowski's New American menu manages to be perpetually in season by changing on a weekly basis.

Frisky Oyster - 27 Front St., Greenport, 631-477-4265. The ambience is both festive and tasteful at this year-old Greenport fish house, where the new American seafood-focused menu is seasonal and well-executed.

Hellenic Snack Bar & Restaurant - 5145 Main Rd., East Marion, 631-477-0138. For years, the satisfying Greek food and house-made lemonade at this indoor-outdoor standby have kept crowds coming back for more.

Jamesport Country Kitchen - 1601 Main Rd., Jamesport, 631-722-3537. Whether for lunch or dinner, this longtime favorite can be counted on for fare that's fresh and local. Chef-owner Matthew Kar's dill-spiked salmon cakes are especially sprightly. Lobster Roll Restaurant Northside. 3225 Sound Ave., Riverhead, 631-369-3039. Unlike its younger sibling in Amagansett, this classic, informal seafood house is open year-round (but closed Tuesdays), specializing in its namesake offering and more.

Modern Snack Bar - 628 Main Rd., Aquebogue, 631-722-3655. Locals as well as visitors to the area know they can rely on such homey staples as roast turkey, roast duck or bay scallops at this informal eatery that's practically a landmark.

Seafood Barge - 62980 Main Rd., Southold, 631-765-3010. Chef Americo Mintegui offers a combination of the classic (steamed lobster) and the contemporary (sashimi of striped bass) at this landmark waterside spot in Southold.

Scrimshaw - 102 Main St., Greenport, 631-477-8882. Cookbook author and restaurateur Rosa Ross brings together Asian and European influences at her attractive Greenport restaurant, decorated with ships' figureheads and overlooking the sea.

Tweeds Restaurant & Buffalo Bar - 17 Main St., Riverhead, 631-208-3151. Under the ownership of Ed Tuccio, who also owns a local bison farm, this popular Riverhead bar-restaurant serves up buffalo in all manner of presentations, be it burger, brochettes or steak.