At the Table
Two North Fork clubs that barely existed last year now book vineyards, hotels and a biscuit shop
A northforker feature published August 25 traces two American mah jongg clubs founded within roughly a year, one of which started as a book club looking for something new to do.
The article reports that NoFo Mahj Club was founded by Stacy Kostoulas, who according to the piece learned the game just over a year ago. Hamptons Mahj was founded by Liz Lachcik and Lindsay Carroll, who the paper says learned to play in order to bring new life to their book club.
The rooms are the part worth noticing. The feature names sessions and series at Mint boutique in Mattituck, Aldo's Coffee in Greenport, Main Road Biscuit Co. in Jamesport, Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, ColorPop Workshop in Southampton, the Maidstone in East Hampton, The Pridwin and Ram's Head Inn on Shelter Island, The Shoals in Southold, and a group at the East Hampton Library. Not one of them is a kitchen table.
The game is American mah jongg. The piece describes the 152 tile set with jokers and western numerals matched to the National Mah Jongg League annual card, played with racks and pushers, and notes the card at $15 a year.
Prim's read, offered as opinion: both of these clubs were started by people who had only recently learned the game, and one of them was simply a group that already met on a night that already existed. That is a far smaller thing to ask of yourself than starting a club from nothing.