Beer Here! Brooklyn Brewery:
Off-the-beaten-path locals and in-the-know visitors venture into Brooklyn to partake of a rich tradition in an unexpected place — The Brooklyn Brewery in historic Williamsburg. A staple for New York City’s bars and restaurants, the brewery offers tours and tastings on Saturday nights, plus free music and $4 drafts for happy hour on Fridays. Seasonal brews like the crisp and sunny Summer Ale stand up to classics like Brooklyn Lager, Pennant Ale ’55 and the Brooklyner Weisse Beer. (718) 486-7422
Say Cheese:
They are in high demand in boutique food stores and coveted in five-star restaurants coast to coast—sheep’s milk cheeses and yogurts from New York’s Old Chatham Sheepherding Company will change your whole perspective on dairy. Rustic red Shaker barns house a state-of-the-art creamery on 600 acres of organically balanced farmland. While it is a treat to watch Reggie, the farm’s border collie, herd the more than 1,200 purebred East Friesian sheep, the best part of a visit will always be the award-winning cheese, including decadent squares of Camembert and sinfully smooth maple yogurt. (888) SHEEP-60
Wine All You Want:
Long Island’s beaches are incredible, but they tend to overshadow a lesser-known destination—3,000 acres of sprawling vineyards. There are tour companies affiliated with the Long Island Wine Council that will take you through the winemaking process and tastings at several vineyards, as well as shopping at the quaint shops and artisan restaurants of historic Greenport. Salut! Long Island Wine Tours (631) 775-8686, Long Island Vineyard Tours (718) 946-3868, Vintage Tours (631) 765-4689
American as Apple Pie:
Good old-fashioned family fun and farm-fresh foods are a rare part of our youngest generation’s lives, so take the kids on a trip they’ll remember to the Eagle Mills Cider Co. and Adirondack Family Fun Center. A working water wheel powers the cider mill, which makes fresh cider in the fall and homemade ice cream in the spring and early summer—the perfect addition to the pies and cider donuts made from scratch at the nearby Country Bakery. Talk about finding a gem; there’s even panning for rubies and amethysts! (518) 883-8700