Purdy's Farmer & the Fish, North Salem

Service here is friendly and brisk, and though the tables are small, it's not as if you're balancing the bread basket on your lap. Somehow, the tight space fosters a sense of intimacy - and yes, you're able to have a conversation, though your discussion will likely be overheard by your neighbors.

Amid the bustle, time seems to fly. As we ordered dessert, we were surprised to realize we'd already been settled in for close to two hours. Though the choices don't appear on the menu, those desserts include a chocolate panna cotta, apple crumble, white chocolate bread pudding and a ricotta cheese cake.

We chose the delightfully light cheese cake, then headed back into the night feeling as cheery as the crowd inside Purdy's Farmer & The Fish. The air felt warmer. Summer didn't seem so far away. The clam shack in the farm house had somehow worked its magic on us too.

It's hard to appreciate the beauty of the farmhouse-meets-clam-shack concept until you step inside Purdy's Farmer & The Fish. "Ahhh," you say, taking in the beamed ceiling, the stone chimney, the raw seafood bar, the tables topped with containers of Old Bay, Tabasco and sea salt. "Of course."

But there's more at work here than a gimmick.

Chef-owner Michael Kaphan grows much of the restaurant's produce on an adjoining five-acre farm. His business partner, Edward Taylor, relies on his wholesale company, Down East Seafood, for fish from mostly East Coast waters. The menu is naturally focused on locally grown food, and it's attracting crowds eager to experience that food in the countrified reaches of northern Westchester.

As we arrived for dinner one cold weeknight, my dining companion described the restaurant as an oasis in the darkness. Indeed, Purdy's Farmer & The Fish is set inside the old Purdy's Homestead, an 18th-century house on a lonely stretch of Titicus Road just off Interstate 684 in North Salem. And more often than not, it's filled with a boisterous crowd intent on having a good time.

The bar spills into the L-shaped dining room, where the tables are set together so closely, you can't help but take part in your neighbor's meal. Once you get used to the noise, however, you'll find yourself caught up in the happy atmosphere. Good food, good cheer, hoarse voices a few hours later - so what?

While we admired the tiered seafood towers coming into the dining room, we ordered the fried calamari, served with a puttanesca sauce just barely redolent of anchovies, and the Farmers Salad, with its interesting mix of greens, fennel, pickled shallots, olives, pine nuts and Hudson Valley feta.

Entrees, offered "from the grill" and "from the pan," include grass-fed beef, lobster pot pie, Amish free-range chicken, house-made pasta, lobster and, of course, a wide variety of fish.

There are also burgers (beef and tuna), fish and chips, a lobster roll and offbeat sides like polenta fries and escarole with pancetta.

Dishes are uniformly pretty, and portions are large. We decided on the pasta special (fettucine tossed in a rich tomato sauce with big pieces of red snapper) and the Gulf Big Eye Tuna (pepper-crusted, perfectly rare and served over spicy shrimp fried rice).

Service here is friendly and brisk, and though the tables are small, it's not as if you're balancing the bread basket on your lap. Somehow, the tight space fosters a sense of intimacy - and yes, you're able to have a conversation, though your discussion will likely be overheard by your neighbors.

Amid the bustle, time seems to fly. As we ordered dessert, we were surprised to realize we'd already been settled in for close to two hours. Though the choices don't appear on the menu, those desserts include a chocolate panna cotta, apple crumble, white chocolate bread pudding and a ricotta cheese cake.

We chose the delightfully light cheese cake, then headed back into the night feeling as cheery as the crowd inside Purdy's Farmer & The Fish. The air felt warmer. Summer didn't seem so far away. The clam shack in the farm house had somehow worked its magic on us too.