Although there’s no chill in the air just yet, the telltale signs of fall—stronger evening winds and shorter days—are beginning to show. While there’s still time, we’re doing our best to soak up the summer bounty, integrating seasonal produce into our lunch and dinner menus.

Among the offerings is a Marinated Summer Vegetable and Beef Kabob, which we pair with a Nitro Cream Ale from Lefthand-Sawtooth, a Longmont, CO-based brewery that we spotlighted recently on our Tumblr. As for the Kabobs, they feature all natural grass fed beef, heirloom tomato, onion and summer squash, and are served with a roasted red pepper coulis.

The term “all natural” is thrown around quite a bit, but grass fed is a certifiable concept. Civil Eats writer Kathryn Quanbeck went into detail about the advantages of grass fed beef, specifically its “superior quality and flavor.” But why, exactly, does it taste so much better than conventional beef? According to Quanbeck, a grass fed diet and accompanying “rotational grazing patterns contribute to low caloric intake and high activity, which means that grassfed cattle take a longer time to reach their slaughter weight,” and age is crucial to taste. Quanbeck explains, “If the cow is too young, its meat will lack flavor. If the cow is too old, its meat can be tough.”

Furthermore, grass fed beef has health benefits for consumers, according to Dr. Steve Atchley, who gave his two cents in a Time article on the explosion of grass fed farming in the U.S.  Atchley, a cardiologist who launched his own organic food company, says, “Any feedlot-fattened animal has a much higher level of saturated fat than a forage-fed steer,”

And those heirloom tomatoes? They’re tasty enough to eat on their own, as the Amateur Gourmet discussed in a recent post featuring an easy recipes for an heirloom tomato salad with chunks of homemade croutons and ricotta salata. But when grilled and added to kebabs, their flavor is just as hard to resist.

There’s nothing quite like a good steak. Around this time of year, it’s impossible not to catch a whiff of one and be reminded of beachside and backyard barbecues. Our dinner menu features a Glazed Flank Steak, a flavorful cut from the area between the hips and ribs, which tends to be long and narrow.

Flank steak should be sliced on the diagonal, going against the grain to achieve a tender finished product. Watch this Epicurious video demonstrating how to properly cut a flank steak.

We serve our flank steak with glazed and grilled tomatillos, the “sassy” counterpart to other tomato varieties like beefsteak and Roma, according to the Chicago Tribune. Tomatillos are a little bit tart, imbuing dishes with “a refreshing lemony tang” that’s often associated with Mexican food and salsas. But the green fruits, which should be used before turning yellow, are actually incorporated into a variety of dishes by chefs and home cooks.

Food and Wine suggests a recipe for “spicy Mexican-style” Pork and Tomatillo Stew, while The New York Times published a recipe for Melted Cheese Sliders topped with sliced tomatillos. Of course, you can always keep it simple and start with a basic tomatillo salsa; the recipe from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn has plenty of serrano chiles and cilantro, along with roasted tomatillos for a smoky flavor.

We haven’t forgotten beer, either. We’ve paired our Flank Steak and Grilled Tomatillos with the sublime Ommegang Abbey, a dark, spicy brew with warm underlying flavors of honey, toffee and chocolate. Abbey was Cooperstown-based Ommegang’s very first craft beer, inspired by the brewing techniques of Belgian Trappist monks. At 8.5 percent alcohol, it’s a strong brew with enough body to stand up to big flavors like steak and tomatillos.

We hope you’ll stop by for dinner and try it.

One of the most popular beers on our menu is the Blue Point Toasted Lager. It’s an easy-drinking yet flavorful brew that’s crisp and refreshing. This great summer beer even won the World Beer Cup Awards 2006 Gold Award. In fact, we were so taken with Blue Point that we added their tasty Blueberry Ale to our menu, as well.

Founded in 1998, Blue Point is the only microbrewery on Long Island. The brewery was “a life-long dream” of friends Mark Burford and Peter Cotter, who collected equipment from other breweries before starting their own.  Most notable is Blue Point’s direct-fire, brick brew kettle, which was “dismantled brick by brick from a brewery in Maryland and rebuilt in Patchogue.”  Blue Point beers are brewed in unpasteurized kegs, delivered at cold temperatures to maintain freshness. Superb hops from the Pacific Northwest, and barley from Germany, the UK and Belgium, impart complexity of flavor.

Take a look at Blue Point’s website, which goes into great detail about their brewing process, and the unique toasted flavor of their craft beers. You’ll also find them on Twitter @BluePointBrewer.

And if you’re interested in touring Blue Point’s brewing facilities in Patchogue, check out the excellent post on the Loving Long Island blog.  William J. Drago describes a Saturday tour and provides several photos of the brewery’s interior and exterior.  According to Drago, “once you discover your favorite brew you can order a pint or take home a half-gallon jug.”  He also notes that Blue Point Brewery has a dog-friendly outdoor seating area, providing a pleasant way to sip through an afternoon.