The Cookie Crumbles

Kathleen King's iron grip on the Hamptons cookie market is starting to slip. Her omnipotent Tate's brand of treats is now under siege by Hampton's HomeMade, an upstart company founded by one of Tate's old distributors after he was fired in February. The new cookies are the same style as Tate's (thin, flat, and hard...the type where it's sometimes hard to tell if they're actually fresh or stale), identically priced ($6 for an 8-ounce clear cellophane package), and have the same nutrition facts (90 calories, of which 40 come from fat). While some retailers are sticking with the old guard, many are switching to Hampton's HomeMade, such as the Country Garden stand in Bridgehampton and Hank's Farm Stand in Southampton. [27 East]