Stirling Sake, new Japanese eatery, opens in Greenport

Summer is over, but Greenport will be rocking well into the fall. The North Fork's most vibrant downtown is the perfect dining destination after a day of picking apples or pumpkins.
The village's newest eatery is Stirling Sake, a Japanese restaurant that puts the emphasis on drinks, not eats. Owned by Yuki Mori, formerly the general manager of Sake Bar Decibel in Manhattan's East Village, the menu features 18 sakes, most of which are available by the glass or by the bottle. (Glasses start at $8; 24-ounce bottles range from $25 to $135.)

Mori is not one to let customers founder in a sea of rice wine. His sake list features tasting notes, alcohol levels and "rice polishing rates." (The more the rice is polished before fermentation, the higher the grade of sake.) And he is always on hand to act as sake sommelier. For those seeking harder stuff, Stirling Sake also offers shochu, Japanese whisky distilled from, among other plants, rice, sweet potatoes, barley and sugar cane.

Of course there is also a sushi bar. Japan-born sushi chef Akio Kon worked in his native country as both a fisherman and chef before traveling to Peru to work alongside celeb chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Along with a la carte selections, his omakase, "Chef Aki's Special," $65, starts with edamame, seared local bigeye tuna with yuzu miso and a seven-fish ceviche, then progresses to a platter of sushi and finishes with green-tea ice cream.

Cooked selections include beef udon ($15) and tonkatsu (pork cutlet) ramen ($17).

Stirling Sake takes over the spacious digs that used to house the olive-oil-balsamic-vinegar emporium Vines & Branches (now located on Front Street). Stirling Sake is at 477 Main St., Greenport, 631-477-6782, stirlingsake.com.