By now you’ve probably seen those signs posted all over the Hamptons touting the various vineyards on the east end. Wineries like, Bedell, Wolffer and Channing Daughters have all made their mark and established Long Island as a solid manufacturer of wines. Well in Baiting Hollow one man is throwing his hat into the ring. But he’s not using east end grapes and he’s not making wine…
By the way, the vodka is really that good. I know Sag Harbor Liquors carries LIV Vodka and others around town as well. So, go check it out and let me know what you think!
For more information, check out their website! Now, if only they would deliver!
We all know that Sag Harbor has been a haven for artists and writers of all types for years. John Steinbeck, E.L. Doctrow and the late great Spaulding Gray have all found their inspiration among the waters of the fair Harbor and the stale beer of Murph’s. Well, maybe Steinbeck never went to Murph’s but I bet he would have loved it! But I digress… so, I learned something new the other day when talking to a friend of mine in Hamptons. The house is located on Jermain Avenue in Sag Harbor and to be honest, I fail to see how this sweet property could have ever been the birth place of the red wine swilling cannibal known as Hannibal Lechter. The house is currently on the market for a little under $1.5 million dollars and listed with Gioia DiPaolo of Douglas Elliman in Sag Harbor. You can see the listing here…. and yes it’s walking distance to Murph’s! That alone makes it worth more than the asking price!! So make and offer and tell them I sent you… and who knows if you buy it, maybe you too can be inspired to write one of the most frightening best sellers of all time!!
our Sag Harbor office.
Sidewalk dining at Madison and Main
So speaking of Sag Harbor and dining but not the cannibalistic kind; the town was recently voted one of the friendliest places in the country. But now I think it deserves another honor. I’m declaring Sag Harbor the “Lunch Capital of the Hamptons.” Sure, there are plenty of restaurants in the Hamptons but where can you go to have a good lunch (especially during the week)? With the recent addition of Madison and Main, Sag Harbor is by a long shot the best place for the mid day meals. While East Hampton has Ralph Lauren and Bridgehampton has real estate offices, the Harbor has more eating restaurants per foot than any other town. It’s also the only one where you can dine out doors without breathing in the exhaust from Rt. 27. Let’s think about this, you have the American Hotel (I suggest The Cobb salad), LT Burger (I recommend the fries and turkey burgers), Dockside (the tuna wrap), Madison and Main (tuna tacos), Bay Burger (the burger duh) and Page (you’re on your own) all with open air dining. So why am I writing this? Well because when you have your weekend guests and you want to get them out of the house for some privacy Saturday afternoon, send them to Sag. See this blog is good for something!
While I don’t consider Memorial Day Weekend the true D-day for summer rentals. That day is of course the first Friday of August. It does sometimes get a bit hairy for everybody. So how do I know? Well as we all know brokers and agents love to tell war stories. So, I’ve been collecting some tales while buying martinis or Malbacs. Believe me it’s worth it and the stories are quite entertaining.
In vino or vodka veritas! Although I’ve personally had nothing but smooth sailing with all of my landlords and tenants (Is my nose bigger?) this year, I’ll be happy to share with you some of my favorite anecdotes … so far… from the summer of 2013!
Now, this doesn’t seem very comfy does it?
Yes,the traditional “tenant goes to the wrong house” I heard happened again this year. Although unlike previous tales where there was a key indeed hidden in the fake rock by the side door, nobody actually moved into the wrong location! Somebody ate my porridge .. slept in my bed and ordered something on my pay per view account!!!
Ah, that’s nothing compared to what one agent told me. Let’s call this agent “Ted.” Well being the good agent he is Ted went to meet his tenants with a bottle of champagne (darn, there is a lot of drinking in the Hamptons) as they moved into their new summer rental. Well when hewent to check on the house, not only did Goldilocks sleep in the bed she liked it so much she took it with her! Yes, that’s right. Ted had bedlam because of not one but two missing beds. Apparently the landlord had decided to throw out some saggy mattresses but forgot to replace them! OOOPS! Luckily tragedy was avoided since there are like 20 Sleepy’s from Southampton to Amagansett.
Finally, this is an oldie but a goodie. Nobody decided to clean up after the bears left the cottage! The house keeper didn’t show??!? shocking! OOOOPS AGAIN! Luckily in this case the agent was a good sport and ran home to their house to get a vacuum cleaner and some clean sheets. The crisis was averted and everyone lived happily ever after …or at least until they got stuck in traffic on 27 Monday afternoon (I heard 4 hours E. Hampton to the city!).
Well last year, I did a little video for Elliman about what to expenses to anticipate for summer rentals. It’s on You Tube but didn’t get posted anywhere for people to find it. So, I am once again posting (with a little Hamptons Chatter Intro) this video reminder of what tenants should expect when they rent in the Hamptons. Feel free to use this video my fellow agents but next time you’re buying the drinks!
In my book there are a few sayings or truth’s that I believe to actually be true. A few of the ones I believe are: 1: Let sleeping dogs lie especially if they’re a Jack Russell/Beagle mix (my dog Russell). 2: In real estate, every home owner thinks their house is “unique and special.” (Yes, I know the cherub grotto in the foyer was custom made!) 3: Never go to a restaurant on an opening night. Well now, I can say I’m reexamining things now that rule number 3 has actually been proven wrong for a second time. The first time was when the East Hampton Grill opened a few years ago. They hit the ground running and are still going strong. The more recent was last Saturday when friends of mine took me to the opening night of Sienna. Located at the site of the former Lilly Pond/Phillipe’s. The new restaurant is run by the folks behind the successful “T Bar” on Manhattan’s upper east side.
Sienna… a great first night.. and it can only get better!
Well it’s apparent these guys know what they’re doing. Some of the reviews in Zagat’s have said about T Bar that the food is “delicious,” with a “pleasant and gracious crew.” Well it’s pretty much the same thing here in the Hamptons at Sienna. My table mates pretty much gave thumbs up to every dish including the shrimp cocktail, the Caesar salad (creamy but not too heavy), chopped salad, a perfectly done tuna (rare but not still swimming and delicious) and steak. Not only that, the service was on the ball, while not perfect it was a solid B+ and better than most restaurants that have been open in the Hamptons for years. It was the first night and the food came out on time, hot and with a smile! It was the first night!!! So you know me, I’m not like other publications that say nice things about everyone because they’re hoping they advertise (Blue Parrot is good!?!? Really???? Rugosa??! Enough said). Although if they want to advertise I’ll do another good review. I can be bought and cheaply. Anyway, take my advice and go check out Sienna at 44 Three Mile Harbor Rd, East Hampton 631-604-6060. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Meantime, what is one of the biggest problems for dogs on the east end? The answer may surprise you. Recently I sat down with Dr. Barry Browning from Sag Harbor Veterinary Clinic (yes, I had to spell check veterinary because when I was a tv producer I got into trouble with veteran’s groups once… enough said) and he filled me in.
