Hola! Some new cuisine from South of the border!!

Ok, let’s be real here! The East Hampton Independent just published their review of the new “latin cuisine” restaurant D’Canela in Amagansett. I love the Indy as it’s affectionatly called on the east end … they’re kind of the rogue paper on the East End and they never hesitate to ruffle feathers but I’ve yet to really see a negative review on ANY restaurant. BUT I DIGRESS! Let’s get back to the issue at hand… D’CANELA.

It’s located at 195 Main St., Amagansett the home of the old Main Street Cafe. The decor as you can see from my lousy Iphone picture (but I do love my Iphone, more on that later) is sleek but a little cold. Who knew liquor bottles could ad so much warmth to the decor!? The round neon “open” sign didn’t help much either, I felt like I was dining somewhere in Asbury Park. Even though I felt south of the Jersey border instead of in Mexico, I can tell you the interior was clean and the service was prompt and friendly. I’m sure in time, they’ll get more liquor bottles, warm up the place and have a license to serve booze but in the meantime BYOB and save some dinero!!!!

So how was the food? We started with a mixed green salads and some chips and guacamole. They all got a B+. The salads were fresh and tasty as was the guacamole and the chips were crisp, thick and NOT greasy. So far… So good… they’re already about 10 steps ahead of the inedible BLUE PARROT! Now when it came time for the entrees things went downhill a bit. We weren’t exactly an adventourous crowd. Two chicken and one beef fajita and a mole chicken were the entrees. The fajitas weren’t bad… but they weren’t really good either. First off they came with melted cheese and my friends who are more health concious were NOT happy. Luckily our waitress did her best and got two new ones sans cheese asap! The beef fajita like the chicken was basically meat and onions with sides of salsa, sour and tortillas. The peppers; green, red and jalapeno were all missing. The mole chicken was the best choice. It was moist, tasty and tender (An A-).

All in all, better than Blue Parrot but far lacking anything close to the level of say Rosa’s Mexicana. But it is the Hamptons afterall and it’s January. I think D’Canela will improve in time, let’s just hope they can hang in there during this looooong and so far snowy winter!!!

Take a hike!!! It’s actually a glorious day… something to do for a change!

So the temperature in the Hamptons is relatively warm. Well not 80 degrees warm but high 40’s. Hey it’s not all that bad! If you missed the Polar Bear Plunge a few weeks ago, you still have a great opportunity to get outdoors today and have some fun. My suggestion today is go hang out with a Seal. No, not the singer. The animal.. or mammal… or whatever… this isn’t 5th grade science class people this is LIFE… and I have no idea what they are. But I do know they’re cute. Are they friendly? Well you got me on that one too, although i do hear they’re good conversationalists but you can’t believe a word they say. Everyone knows seals are b.s. artists!

Anyway, hop in the car and head to Montauk. It’s time for the annual seal migration and the best place to see them hanging out is The Montauk State Park seal haulout site. It’s easy to get to but you have to go during low tide. Seals love low tide apparently, who knew!?!? Check the tide tables for a low tide at Montauk Point’s north side. Then check the weather forecast for wind strength and direction; avoid anything too severe unless it’s from the southwest, south or southeast… I have no idea why.

The best access is to park at the south end of Camp Hero Road (near the Point Woods Trailhead), walk across the highway (Route 27) and head north on the well marked “Seal Haulout Trail.” In less than a mile you will reach the low bluff overlooking Block Island Sound and a view of all of the glacial boulders that comprise the playground on which the seals bask.

Although seals can rest, and even sleep, in the water, basking behavior is an important energy conservation strategy. If you want a guided tour check out the COASTAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SOCIETY OF LONG ISLAND INC.’S website. They frequently run tours in Montauk and in Westhampton.

http://www.cresli.org/cresli/seals/sealpage.html

They also have some tips on seal behavior and other stuff. Have a great weekend everyone!

If you haven’t seen AVATAR… don’t read today’s blog!

I saw this on the Internet and it is by far one of the most hilarious things I’ve seen in awhile. While I’ve been calling AVATAR “Dances with Nevi,” someone else saw the parallels between the blockbuster and another famous tale/movie. Now, I think AVATAR has it’s merits but it’s not James Cameron’s best (Titanic or Aliens in my humble opinion). Anyway, enjoy and have a great weekend everyone. FYI, in case you haven’t seen it yet it’s playing in East Hampton tonight at 6 and 9:30.

It’s a strange, strange, strange world out there!!! Especially the Hamptons!

First off, let me say to everyone “Happy New Year!” Let’s hope that 2010 is the year everyone is hoping it will be and better than 2009!

Today, I was reading the online edition of the Real Deal Magazine which posed the question to some real estate agents in New York City, “what’s the strangest experience you ever had at an open house?” While more than a few involved walking in on an unsuspecting couple in bed either sleeping, reading the newspaper in the nude or procreating there were a few I found a little hard to believe. So with this in mind I’m giving you the link to the real deal article and reflecting on some of the more unusual experiences I had conducting an open house. BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY GETS WEIRDER IN THE HAMPTONS!

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/25669/elert?utm_campaign=The+Real+Deal+News+-+Residential+Real+Estate&utm_content=The+Real+Deal+News+-+Residential+Real+Estate&utm_medium=email&utm_source=MadMimi&utm_term=%0D%0AAgents+see+the+strangest+things+at+open+houses%0D%0A

I think the oddest and perhaps most unnerving was conducting and open house for a couple who were in the midst of a divorce. I came to the open house about 10 minutes early, set up my sign-in sheets and signs and sat waiting to do my best imitation of Alec Baldwin in GLENGARY GLENN ROSS … although I think it was a little closer to Annette Benning in American Beauty. Well as my first few prospects came in to preview the home, the soon to be ex-wife arrived and started yelling “F” bombs at the soon to be ex-husband. It turns out that couple were not speaking and while the husband was aware of the open house, he never told the wife. Hmmmmmmmmm. LOVELY! Suffice to say, nobody bought the house that day and all but one overly nosey viewer split as soon as the screaming started.

Some other quick odd OPEN HOUSES; the neighbor who came to look at their neighbors house because they hated each other and wanted to see the inside… and the weirdest… the girlfriend who came to the open house to see if there were photographs of her in the house when she wasn’t around.

Finally if you ever come to an open house I’m selling don’t be nosey. One of these days I’m loading the medicine cabinet with ping pong balls.