Doggone it!!! I’ll soon let you know if piping plover really do taste like chicken!!!

While walking along the beach with my beloved dog Boo, I discoverd the following sign on what I long believed to be one of the friendliest dog beaches around!! NO DOGS! So, what’s up with this? Well it’s due to none other than the wonderful piping plover of lore!! Apparently they’ve chosen to nest on the beach between Indian Wells and Two Mile Hollow. Let me be honest, one of the only reasons I agreed to move and buy a house here is because I love to take Boo for long walks on the beach. This has now gone too far and I understand the frustration of when they cancelled the fireworks because of the birds! Did they have to fence off the whole beach?! Well just know Boo and I will still continue to stroll the beach but on the surf line. There are no signs and no fences there!! But have no fear.. not all of the Hamptons are unfriendly to man’s best buddy!

My favorite numero uno place for pooches in the Hamptons is the Hampton Pet Club in Water Mill. Owner Jason Neimark and his entire staff will treat your pet like one of their own. The pet club offers dooggy day care, boarding and training sessions . The accomidations are wonderful, many of the dogs get their own “rooms” complete with beds and televisions… no cages here!! The doggy daycare is awesome, Jason regularly goes out and throws some toys around with the kids and they get some good runnning in. The dog yard does have it’s draw backs though…. the POLITICS!!! Apparently dog clicks are no different than your high school. I’m disheartened though to say, my beloved girl gets along with everyone but she instead chooses to hang in the office with the staff, like one of those geeky kids who sharpened pencils and filed in the Principals office all day! MY DOG IS A GEEK! OH NO!!!
Finally, for food , toys and the occasional grooming…. go see Harbor Pets in Sag Harbor on Bay St. They’ve got the goodstuff there for your four legged companions both canine and feline. Merricks, EVO , Wellness and Science Diet are all available. The owner Alan (oops. don’t know your last name) and his staff are friendly and helpful. They also have grooming services available by appointment. If you go in and tell them you read this blog…he’ll even give you a FREE GIFT! SERIOUSLY! By the way… I had to put a picture of Boo in my blog!! HERE IT IS!!

What’s with the attitutde!!!???

The Hamptons are getting some bad press lately and personally I find this shocking!!! One would have thought with the lousy weather and that in turn causing a lousy turnout on top of everything else in the world.. one would think we would have a season with better food, better service and a better attitude in Hampton’s restaurants. Well guess what!? You were wrong.

Gawker has made it a sport for attacking Hamptons attitude and the first target they assassinated was “Georgica!” Watch the video!!
http://gawker.com/5299198/the-hamptons-still-sucking
Then there’s the “Blue Parrot” owned by the trio of Perlman, Zellweggerrere (whatever) and Bon Jovi. Yes, they’re finally open but I haven’t had a chance to go yet. I heard the food is pretty good but the portions are tiny. But have no fear, the margaritas are here… and from what I hear they’re strong. The only odd thing I find about all of this is… THEY HAVE A BOUNCER! How come they didn’t have bouncers at the Chi-Chi’s I used to frequent in college! Well it wasn’t in the Hamptons for one! I promise I’ll go in the next few days to the “Parrot” and let you know if it’s everything I hear. If they let me in! ONE LAST THOUGHT… Why is HBO playing “FRED CLAUS” in the middle of June?!?

SUNRISE… sunset… SUNRISE… sunset. Tevye’s Turmoil!!!

NO! Today’s blog has nothing to do with Fiddler on the Roof! Although good trivia… did you know Paul Michael Glazer was in the movie?!? Seriously! Starsky!
So the Hamptons are a summer place… right? So what better than dinning on the water and watching a fiery sun set in the distance. In my book there are only 3… ok 4 great places to go watch the sun set.

The following are my top 4 in no particular order:
The Beacon in Sag Harbor. Owner David Lowenberg and his crew run one of the most consistently great seasonal restaurants on the east end. The crowd is Hamptons chic and there’s usually a celebrity or two there when you dine… Richard Gere is my most notable. Try the seared tuna it’s fresh and tender. My other favorite is the iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese , a gourmet flashback to 1970. They don’t take reservations so get there early and put your name on the list. The photo to the left was taken last night! WHAT NO RAIN!!!?
NEXT… drum roll…is East Hampton Point. The menu is limited and the food is probably a C+… prices are steep but the view is spectacular. Overlooking Three Mile Harbor it’s ideal on a late Sunday afternoon to hang for cocktails and enjoy some live reggae music!!! The service is slow but hey “don’t worry mon.. enjoy the music!!” What I typically do is go early for drinks and then head over to ……
Bostwicks – 423 Three Mile Harbor. I grew up in Joisy and this is the closest thing I can find to one of those fancy Atlantic City type restaurants! HA!. It’s a cool mix of local and weekenders at Bostwicks. The food isn’t priced like it’s Joisy joint but the menu is diverse and solid. Try the

Lobster… The Surf and Turf… or any of the fish or huge lobsters. Once again.. NO RESERVATIONS. Send a friend a few minutes early to put the name on the list and have a drink and relax. Here’s a pic of the view. I’d pay extra for that wouldn’t you!!? Yes, I took the picture myself!!!

Finally, Sunset Beach on Shelter Island. 35 Shore Rd. , Shelter Island. It has to be about the view because let’s face it the service is HOSTILE… but of course they have every right to be… they’re better looking than you!!! The food is expensive… um because “we the staff are beautiful .. you can’t’ look at us for free“… and the food is very mediocre. Um, you have a problem with that!?!? Ubermodels from around the world have come to play with their food here! It’s an A for attitude at Sunset Beach!!!! I’m sure there’s some sort of secret menu for the glamorous… like a cigarette salad with Stoli dressing. So, why do I actually look forward to going there!?!?!

There are deals… except for when it comes to Chili!! Plus watch out or you might get sued!!!

Most New Yorkers may not have noticed but according to a recent report by the Federal Department of Labor, in the past year… New York has become a cheaper place to live!! This is the first time this has happened in over 50Years.

It may be a temporary condition, that was likely caused by a substantial drop in the cost of energy.   Over this last year, the Consumer Price Index for the city dropped by 0.1 percent, its first decline in any 12-month period since 1956. 1956!!!! But have no fear… it’s still not that cheap here out east! I have to clarify, we don’t want people to think we’re giving it away in the Hamptons!!!
Today, I had a turkey chili, salad and bottle of seltzer water at the Golden Pear. What was the cost ?? $19.50. I get the same thing at least 3 times a week but for some reason, getting .50 back from a $20 rankled me this afternoon. The food is great.. but I took it to go and ate it with a plastic set of utensils. I don’t know about you but even compared to Manhattan… that felt a little pricey to me. But I wasn’t sure! So I did some chili research!
I have a friend from Cincinnati (did I spell it right?) who brags about how good the chili is there… why I can’t actually tell you how the chili tastes, I can tell you about the service.   It took me about 20 minutes to get an answer. But at the “world famous” SKYLINE CHILI, I guess it’s famous everywhere else in the world but Long Island, my new favorite discovery on the Internet charges $5.99 for a QUART of chili and $2.49 for a garden salad and $1.50 for a soda. These prices could be inaccurate since the guy answering the phone wasn’t too sure himself. That’s a grand total of $9.98!!!! So take that Department of Labor!!! We’re still expensive in the Hamptons! And we like it that way!!!!
On a real estate note, a friend of mine who is an attorney was doing some research. She remarked to me, you won’t believe this agent who is known about town and knows the way of country living but he/she “sues everybody!!!” I can’t tell you who it is but I’m not surprised.
Also, an offer you can’t refuse!! There’s a great historical restoration in Sag Harbor village. 4 Bedrooms, 4 Baths and it’s under two million. Cheaper than having a chili!! E-mail me or call me if you want details.
It’s a dogs life this weekend and I’ll give you details tomorrow!!!