Eating Our Way Through The North Fork - Kontokosta Winery

No trip to the North Fork would be complete without a stop at a winery. The North Fork of Long Island is home to 38 wineries and 3,000 acres of planted vineyards. I'm not entirely sure people outside of the NYC area would recognize any of these labels, but we're not big label-whores anyway.

Actually, my family members aren't really wine drinkers at all, so we didn't feel compelled to pick the "top wineries" in the East End. Instead, we opted for the vineyards with a beautiful setting and a pleasant visitor experience. Kontokosta was a great choice.

The Greenport winery is just off Main Road along the northern side. It's the easternmost winery on the fork and has a massive open backyard that overlooks the Long Island Sound waterfront. We arrived shortly after 2PM and entered the main house through the western side.

As soon as you walk in, you are welcomed into a massive open space. The far end of the room is the tasting area bar with a long table in the center of the room to gather with friends.

The long sides of the room are floor to ceiling windows that overlook the vineyards on the southern side and the patio/great lawn on the northern side.

While the indoor bar was crowded, my family opted to head outside to the outdoor bar (a makeshift tent with coolers) down towards the cliffs overlooking the Long Island Sound. As you can see from the photo below, the grounds were massive and open. Perfect for a little 4 year old girl who wanted to burn off some toddler energy.

Towards the far end, we were able to find a shaded picnic table and purchase a chilled bottle of rosé ($20) to enjoy in the warm August afternoon. My father dozed off for a quick mid-afternoon nap while I did everything I could to prevent him from doing so.

 

I also had a chance to show off my toddler photography skills. See some shows below.

What else can I say? It was just a perfect summer day with my family.

Eating Our Way Through The North Fork - North Fork Food Truck

It was getting towards lunchtime. While we had a few morning snacks to tide us over at Briermere and Harbes Farms, we were looking for something more substantial for lunch.

My aunt had found a food truck online that was located up the road. So after dismissing a few alternative options on Yelp!, we went to the parking lot of the North Fork Table & Inn where the North Fork Food Truck was stationed.
As you can see, there was already a small line by the time we arrived shortly before 1PM. But surprisingly, the line moved as quickly as if we were at a midtown Manhattan Chipotle!

The menu was pretty diverse, including fresh Lobster Rolls, savory Grilled Cheese, crisp Bahn Mi and hearty Sirloin Steak sandwiches. They also had some less adventurous options, such as a hot dog, pulled pork and chicken sandwiches. Important to note: Cash Only.

My father and mother split a Lobster Roll and an Grown Up Grilled Cheese. They often like to go halfsies on sandwiches so they can both try two different ones.

I ordered an Artisan Hot Dog and my aunt had a Bahn Mi while my grandmother had some of the Clam Chowder.

Behind the truck, there was a shaded, grassy area with a few picnic tables for people to eat. Smart move of the day - my grandmother and mother grabbed a table while my father and aunt waited in line. It got more crowded by the time we left and there were some people just sitting/eating on the grass.

I can't say this was the best hot dog I've ever had in my short 4 year life, but it was pretty tasty. I could have done without the big roll though. A girl's gotta watch her carbs.

SPG Amex - New Benefits Are Active

Our beloved Starwood SPG American Express card is getting an overhaul today. In addition to the new look of the card itself, there are new benefits that are now active (plus an increase in the annual fee from $65 to $95/year).

For my family, having the Starwood SPG Amex is a must for my father's yearly pursuit of SPG Platinum status. Just for having the Personal Card and the Business Card versions, he gets 4 stay credits and 5 night credits per year, reducing the requirement from 25 stays to 21 stays and from 50 nights to 40 nights.

New Benefits
But as of August 11, 2015, there are 3 new benefits being added to the Personal version:

1. No Foreign Transaction Fees — You can now enjoy international travel without foreign transaction fees from American Express when using the card for purchases abroad. 
2. Complimentary, Unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi — Receive Wi-Fi access on up to four devices to more than a million hotspots worldwide, and pay no Wi-Fi roaming fees. 
3. Complimentary Premium In-Room Internet Access — Complimentary premium in-room internet access at participating Starwood hotels. 

Plus, if you have the Business Version of the SPG Amex, you also get another new benefit:

1. Sheraton Club Access — If you have the Starwood Preferred Guest Business card, you’ll get free access to Sheraton Clubs when you book rates that are eligible to earn Starpoints. 

Are They Worth The Additional Fee?
Being a SPG Platinum elite member, however, my father already gets the Premium In-Room Internet and Club Lounge Access, but the first two benefits are marginally valuable.

We will of course use these SPG Amex benefits, but we don't value them that much, especially since:

• We have multiple SPG Amex cards between my two parents, so duplicate benefits aren't worth anything. 
• We have other credit cards that already waive Foreign Transaction Fees, such as the Citi Thank You Premier, Citi Hilton Reserve, US Bank FlexPerks, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase IHG just to name a few.

But the Boingo Wi-Fi could be handy, especially when we're at an airport where we don't have free lounge access. But to access the promotion, you need to sign up here.

Conclusion
In and of itself, the new benefits aren't worth another $30 per year per card. Remember, we have multiple cards, so $95 fees on each adds up quickly.

However, having American Express cards allows us to access the Amex Offers, including Small Business Saturdays. And because each individual card (including free Authorized User cards) are eligible, we can get multiple bonuses and promotional offers for each card account we have. So while the free increase isn't ideal, it's a net positive to our young family.

Eating Our Way Through The North Fork - Harbes Family Farm

After our first stop at Briermere to pick up a blueberry creme pie, we continued down the road until we arrived at Harbes Family Farm.

According to the website, "Harbes Farm is a 13th generation farm that has transitioned from traditional agricultural to a model that is inclusive of the public, inviting them to enjoy the fruits of their labor at 3 farms. At Harbes, we strive to provide families with meaningful and wholesome experiences that the whole family can enjoy together."

What does that actually mean? Well, they have the standard farm stand (where you can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables) as well as get some made-to-order food including sandwiches and salads.

But if you do visit, you MUST get the most delicious sweet corn ($3.25) you've ever had in your life. HIGHLY recommended. It was so sweet, my father said it was like candy and that he could only eat half!

Then behind the main building, there's a massive open field where you can run and play, including some country-styled activities and structures to check out.

But the best part was the Harbes Barnyard Adventure area where you can spend all day with the farm animals, bouncy houses, a maze, pony rides, hayrides, and other playsets. It costs $7.95/person, but kids under 2 are free. Pony rides are an additional $5.

 

I had a great time for the few hours we were there. When we arrived around 10:30AM, we were one of a handful of families, but by the time we left around 12:30PM, it was getting very crowded with families coming one after another. Thankfully, there was tons of space on the 7 acre family farm.

Eating Our Way Through The North Fork - Briermere Farm

This past week, my aunt asked us if we wanted to come with her and my grandmother on a Sunday daytrip to the North Fork (a section of Long Island known by New Yorkers to have great local farms and wineries). Before my parents could think about it, I had my go-bag packed and ready!

Most people have heard of the Hamptons (which we visited in 2013) on the southern fork, but we prefer visiting the North Fork, because it's a lot more laid back.

We left Manhattan around 8:30AM in the morning and as you could imagine, the city was pretty empty on a Sunday morning and there was no traffic on I-495 East.

We made it to our first stop Briermere Farm in Riverhead around 10AM. Briermere is an old school farm with a retail storefront. If you want to know how old school, check out their AOL-ish website here. Not exactly mobile-friendly.

My parents and I had actually been to Briermere before - almost 3 years ago with family friends who frequented the area. So when we pulled up, it brought back some nice memories of the last time we were in the North Fork.

The front porch was full of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. The door led you into a small store inside (with less than 50 square feet of space for customers) that showcased their fruit preserves and baked goods. Briermere is famous for their delicious pies, so definitely make sure to get one of those should you visit.

We went for the Blueberry Cream pie, which was so delicious that we decided to sneak a few bites before lunch on the picnic table outside!

Hong Kong Hotels for Grandma

Now that my grandmother's flights were booked for her 65th Birthday trip to Korea and Hong Kong, it was time to get her hotels booked.

Fortunately, we had spent 5 days in Hong Kong ourselves in 2014 so we could offer some recommendations.

Since Hong Kong (like NYC) is quite expensive for hotels, we didn't want to use cash when we had so many hotel points and awards at our disposal where we could get out-sized redemption value.

InterContinental
For the first night, we used 50,000 IHG points to book her in the InterContinental Hong Kong on the Kowloon side where she would be right on the Avenue of the Stars to enjoy the nightly laser light show.

Retail cash prices were $351 USD, so we were getting 0.7 cents/IHG point. Not a great redemption, but it's actually just a placeholder booking until September when we'll rebook it. Recall, just for having the Chase IHG Visa credit card ($49 annual fee), we get a Free Night Award certificate at every anniversary - which is September for us. So even after paying the annual fee, we'll save $302 cash for a night at one of the best hotel properties in Hong Kong.

Conrad
Then for the last two nights, we booked my grandmother at the Conrad Hong Kong which was back on the mainland side.

Just like with IHG, we had a Free Night Award with Hilton. Unlike IHG, however, this award is only good for a weekend night (Fri, Sat or Sun). So we used it for the last night of my grandmother's Hong Kong trip which was a Friday night.

However, we wanted her to enjoy another night at the Conrad since they offered an amazing (complimentary) buffet breakfast for Hilton Gold members each morning at their Garden Cafe (if you ask nicely). So we used 80,000 Hilton HHonors points to book another award night on Thursday.

The cash retail prices for the Conrad Hong Kong were $404/night after taxes, so we were saving $808 at least by using the weekend award certificate and points. While not the best redemption (approximately 0.5 cents/HH point), it was a very compelling use of Hilton HHonors points given the quality of the hotel.

Plus, they should get a late checkout so that they'll have a relaxing final day before heading to Hong Kong Airport to enjoy the Cathay Pacific business class lounge.

I hope you have a great birthday trip, Grandma!