Dan's Papers - August 24, 2007 - Getting Your Dinner Chicken at Iacono Farms on Long Lane

I was waiting on line at the snack bar at Main Beach in East Hampton and happened to eavesdrop on a talk between two women about the Iacono Chicken dinner they were going to have that evening.

For those who don't know about the legendary chicken farm the Iacono family has maintained on Long Lane in East Hampton since 1948, here are some basic facts. At the poultry farm, there are about 1,000-1,100 laying hens. There are Rhode Island Red hens for great brown eggs and White Leghorns for white eggs. The color of the hens' feathers determine the eggs' color. However, there is no nutritional difference between the brown and white egg. The eggs come in different sizes. These sizes include pullet, small, medium and large. Although the Iacono poultry products are not certified organic (one woman said that's because they preceded all that by forty years), the family says that they do not use any chemicals, hormones or antibiotics.

Diane Shippman, who was manager at what once was the Farmhouse Restaurant in Pantigo, explains that, "Iacono chickens are really delicious. It is so much fresher than the ones at Waldbaums and the IGA. You really can taste the difference. And the eggs are so fresh, when you buy them they were laid that morning. It's just so amazing that you have the option to go right to the farm stand right on Long Lane and buy them." In fact, local restaurants in the area such as The Laundry, mention in the menu that they serve an authentic East Hampton Iacono chicken. The Cornish Hens are also special and around Thanksgiving and other holidays, the Iaconos carry geese and turkeys.

Another East Hampton mother said that paying a little more for an Iacono chicken is always justified by the reaction it gets once it is on the dinner table. It is not the fact that it is so local or novel, but that it taste so good, so different. "It just puts the entire meal over the top," is how she explained it. Lynn Ronchetto of Manhattan and East Hampton believes in paying more for the Iacono chicken. As she explained, "When you start with a higher quality chicken, it's more fun to add herbs and spices to bring out the great taste of the chicken."

Ms. Shiffman is all smiles when talking about going to the farm stand and buying the poultry products, calling this one of the bonuses of living in East Hampton. She enjoyed going there with her mom when she was younger and now goes on her own. She believes it's like getting strawberries from the strawberry patch, or fresh vegetables from the many local farm stands. Another woman said it is the essence of small town America to utilize the fresh, local farm products to enhance the rural experience that you just can't get shopping Up Island or in The City.

There are some who make the analogy that Iacono chicken is to East Hampton what Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies are to Southampton. Kathleen King, the originator of Tate's Cookies, was the eleven-year-old daughter of a Southampton farmer when she started selling her cookies at her family's farm stand to make some extra spending money. In the case of the Iacono family, it is Anthony Iacono who now carries on his parents' tradition with pride and steadfastness.

If you have not yet visited the oldest poultry farm on the East End, there is still time to sample their chicken before the summer ends. The Iacono farm stand is located on Long Lane just past the East Hampton High School and is opened Mon.-Sat. from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon. The farm stand is closed on Tuesdays. Just look for the hanging wooden chicken.