Terry Harwood and Lisa Murphy Harwood dreamt up the natural, serene interior of Vine Street as both a homage to the local landscape and, at the time, a way to conserve on resources. (Photo credit: Doug Young)
First, let me just say, that no one writes about restaurants like my awesome staffer, Emily Toy. Sister knows the business: She worked in it a long time and has the kind of eagle eye and Spidey Sense that tunes her into a different frequency inside the climes of any given restaurant or bar that most mortals just can’t hear, see or sense.
So when I needed a story on restaurant ground-up design, her suggestion of Vine Street on Shelter Island was intriguing. I knew the building they’re in had been there since I was a kid (it was a German bakery my Mom would take me too after mass at Our Lady of the Isle), but since then it had cycled through multiple incarnations that didn’t stick — until owners chef Terry Harwood and Lisa Murphy moved in.
I was completely unaware of the bootstrapping they did to get that place up and ship-shape (which, in the best of restaurants, of course is how it should be), but Emily peeled back the onion and got their origin (and construction) story, lending a whole new layer to this outstanding eatery that’s been a local and off-island fave for 22 years. Read her excellent story here.
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She's a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She's the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.
