ANSWERING SAG’S KNEAD FOR DOUGH… AND IT’S THE ____ OF THE HAMPTONS.

I hope it doesn’t sound too too cheesy,  but I’ve been working on some snappy lines about the newest restaurant to open its doors in Sag Harbor.    Yes, I know I need to work on my delivery.    Anyway, for now I’ll just give you a piece of my mind about Sag Pizza.

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11am and they’re lining up!

Located in the site of the former Conca D’oro (they even kept the sign),  the newly renovated and sleekly designed restaurant opened it’s doors to a hungry horde earlier today.   Perhaps it’s because it’s from the same folks that brought us LT Burger that had them lining up outside an hour before a single pie was tossed.   So, how is it?   I thought it was pretty darn good, especially since they were only opened for about an hour.    While I heard some grumbling about having to wait in line to get a slice, it’s the first day folks!   I’m sure they know there’s mushroom for improvement and given the folks running the place,  they’ll get there soon enough.   Now, to the really important part… the food itself.    I had a slice of the margherita and one of the pepperoni.   Both were made with fresh mozzarella and sauce on a thin crust that was nicely complimented by a slight smoky

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Sagpizza.com

flavor from the wood burning oven.   Overall, a solid slice and a welcome addition to Sag Harbor.      If you want more menu information, click on the restaurants website here.    Let me know what YOU think.

You know how when you go to any town in the U.S. and the locals have a funny way of referring to their community,   you know like in Bayonne you’ll meet someone and they’ll tell you how “people call us the Paris of New Jersey!”    Hmmm, while I’m not sure I usually agree with these analogies I will tell you, I do have a few of my own about certain things in the Hamptons.    In fact, I asked some of my friends if they had some quaint ways to refer to the sites and sounds of the Hamptons.   Here are a few of my favorites:

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Madison and Main

Madison and Main Sag Harbor is the 42nd and Broadway of the Hamptons.    With pedestrians that don’t look, drivers who don’t know how to drive and more cars than these two streets can handle,  I can see it.      Hit that intersection on a Saturday at 7pm in July and August and you’ll be looking for the dirty Elmo to come take his picture with your kids for $5.

Stop and Shop stores are the DMV of the Hamptons.  Perhaps it’s the long lines.    It could also be the parking lot that’s full with the mayhem and madness of novice drivers.  Maybe it’s the cranky cashiers or maybe it’s the fact you really don’t want to buy the produce at either that this comparison makes sense.   Either way, I’m not a fan of either and they apparently bought their dingy lighting from the same place.

Gucci pants, shoes, shirt and an Hermes belt are the Garanimals of the Hamptons.    Remember those kids who used to eat the glue in 3rd grade?    The ones who were lucky enough to have their mother tell them to always make sure they wear a giraffe pants with a giraffe shirt?!   Well some of them grew up and now live in the Hamptons.   Yes, t

hermes
It matches!!!!

hey’re here and still dressing with the same amount of thought as they did when they were in phonics class.    It’s a thoughtless uniform but with a more expensive flair.     By the way, I would wear these Garanimals too if I had the money to spare.

Tesla is the Honda of the Hamptons.   If you live in a normal part of the world you go out to dinner, the movies or wherever and you park in a lot that’s probably Honda heavy.    It’s a good car.  It’s a sensible car.    It’s also the vehicle, 90 percent of your friends drive in the rest of the world.    Well this isn’t Cherry Hill here.    It’s the Hamptons.    Yes, sensible has a different look here on the East End.    But hey, I do like these cars.   I’m not knocking them.   BUT, if only there was a supercharging station closer than Southampton.

Amagansett is the Tribeca of the Hamptons.    It’s young, it’s hip, it’s loaded with celebs, it’s trendy and the coffee shops are so hip they hurt!    I hope I don’t need to explain this further.     If you don’t believe me, stop by Jack’s coffee anytime from now to Labor day.   Oh, and if you ever see a guy wearing gap khaki shorts and a polo shirt who stands out like a sore thumb in town…. that’s me.

 

 

 

 

HOW TO BUY NEAR WATER WITHOUT SPENDING $140,000,000…. PLUS COULD YOU GET CREDIT FOR THAT AMOUNT?

$140,00,000 and there is NO neighborhood block party?!

In the unlikely case your cocktail conversations have been focusing on such trivial matters such as terrorism, global warming or even Donald Trump.. instead of Hamptons real estate,  you might not have heard the  interesting news.   Entrepreneur Chris Whittle has put his East Hampton home on the market for a bargain price of $140 Million dollars.   While I’m not sure if the house comes furnished at that price or if he’s leaving the toaster oven, there are some who’d rather write a check with a few less zeros for their Hamptons home by the water.    So if you love the smell of salt air in the morning, where do you go without spending a fortune?   Luckily, Hamptons Chatter is here to guide you with a proverbial divining rod for some homes near water that won’t break the bank.  Because I’d rather spend my extra $140 million dollars on something more sensible like an I-tunes gift card, I’ve explored other options with slightly less intimidating price tags.

Amagansett Dunes – It’s like the nicest parts of the Jersey Shore and it’s not in New Jersey.  Causual summer living (think flip flops and t-shirts 24/7) and a quick stroll, skip or even levitation to beautiful ocean beaches is the real draw here.  While the lots can be small and not everyone has a pool, this is all about the beach.  Look to spend about 1.1 to 1.5 million for a comfortable home in the area.

Amagansett Dunes: Elliman.com H34948

Waterside Communities (Pine Neck, Whalebone Landing, Southampton Shores, Northampton Colony) –  Located about 10 minutes outside of Sag Harbor village off of Noyac Rd., these areas are all about community.    Community bay beaches, community docks and community club houses are a few of the features that attract buyers to this area.   The sunsets on Noyac bay are also spectacular and the icing on the cake.  Yet, for some folks the neighborly feel might seem a bit intrusive or suburban.   Look to spend about $1.0 million to get into the neighborhood and as much as $10,000,000 for one of the current waterfront listings.

Shinnecock Hills – Spectacular views and the fact it’s nestled between the villages of Southampton and Hampton Bays is only part of the big draw in this community.    One of the biggest draws for the growing popularity of this area is the time saving factor during those crazy weekends when Route 27 looks like a parking lot.     Considering you can get a waterfront with view for around $2.5… that’s a savings of $137,500,000 if you were thinking about that “other” waterfront.

A few more areas you might find worth visiting are the Redwood section of Sag Harbor, close to the village and with views and great water for the boater.    There is also Lions Head and Clearwater Beach areas of East Hampton.   Community beaches, views of the sound and some deep water docking are the big draw for this area located outside the village of East Hampton.    It also has several of the best waterfront dining spots in all of the Hamptons including Bay Kitchen and Harbor Bistro right in the hood.    Yes, I know there are other areas that are certainly worth mentioning but these few are the ones that I think are a good bang for the buck.   I’m only one guy without an editor and this ain’t my full time gig, so don’t get your panties in a bunch folks.   If you want another neighborhood mentioned in a blog, feel free to go write it!  I mean that in the nicest way possible! Sort of.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t matter if you’re buying a big ticket house or a little cottage, if you want to get financing from a bank… you better have good credit.  So how do you know if you have good credit?   Luckily credit expert Andrea Kent took some time out of her day to give Hamptons Chatter a quick tutorial on understanding your credit.

If you would like to contact Andrea for more information or about credit repair… you can e mail her at akent@primenationalny.com

UPDATE:  Sorry last weeks finalist for the $500 holiday gift certificate goes to the staff at Baron’s Cove who submitted their holiday tree for the Hamptons Chatter holiday contest.  If you want to enter the contest, send your photos to Hamptonsholiday15@gmail.com.  Finalist will be anoounced each week with the grand price being announced on December 1st.    And no, you can’t send me a picture of someone else’s tree!

The tree at Baron’s Cove – Sag Harbor!

 

 

!! YES!!! I USE TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!! BUT I’M TALKING WINE,PUPPIES AND WHAT TOWN IS FOR YOU!!!

For the party animals in us all!

It’s not the dog days of summer yet but its time for some doggone fun!   UGH.  Even I know that is a really bad pun!  First a little advertisement for a REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD CAUSE!   The Southampton Animal Shelter holds it’s Fourth Annual Unconditional Love Gala this Saturday.   The shelter was originally operated by the town but due to budget cuts, the town shut the shelter.   A group of concerned locals got together to save the shelter and formed the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation!  Ok, I’m a total sucker for animal charities.   I give to the ASPCA, ARF and I bought a ticket to this event.   I know my stigmata wounds are already acting up… I’m a saint!   It’s a great cause…. a really fun benefit and you can help out some of the cutest Hamptonites around!  You know the cute friendly ones who don’t cut you off, text and drive, brag about their decorator or flash their Panerai!  Bella and Russell can’t go but I know are giving their full support to the benefit.   Thanks to my friends Sarah Alvarez and Molly Molly for telling me about this event!  If you want to purchase tickets and help out… CLICK HERE!

So often I get asked as a real estate agent, “which town is best?”    You know, that’s a really hard question to answer.   I really think every town has some very unique benefits and it’s own pluses and minuses.     So I developed a little quiz here to help you find the town that’s right for you…. it’s fun…
it’s silly… and eerily accurate;  So here we go.

1)   On Saturday afternoons your footwear of choice during the summer is …
a) Barefoot

Where should you go???

b) Gucci or Prada
c) Teva’s
d) Custom Monogrammed slippers

2)    While driving a convertible around town, Paula Abdul comes on the radio.  Do you…
a) Remark “she was a singer? or “Who TF.”
b) Remark “I wish they were playing “Straight-up.”
c) Reduce the volume and hope nobody hears you listening.
d) You would never play the radio while your top was down!

3)    My idea of a memorable evening is…..
a) Not remembering how I got home.
b) Sitting next to Gwyneth and Jerry at The Grill.
c) Getting an invite for sailing and sunset cocktails.
d) Hosting an awesome dinner party and getting some great hostess gifts!

4)     My favorite drink before dinner is…
a) Red Bull and Vodka.
b) A nice Rose or Sancerre.
c) An awesome margarita with
d) A martini… shaken not stirred.

Wolffer Kitchen is open!

Well here are the results… if you answered “a” to more than three of the questions, you need to hang in Montauk baby.   More than 3 “b” answers you should try East Hampton to Water Mill…. “c” It’s Sag Harbor or Amagansett or Hampton Bays…. and “d” it’s Southampton or Quogue.   If you answered less than 3, leave me alone.  I don’t have all day to write this damn blog.

Finally, what’s the latest buzz in Sag Harbor?  Well the Cuddy has set sail and Wolffer Kitchen has arrived in port.   The soft opening was last night and tonight they’ll be serving food and hopefully lots of Wolffer Rose to keep that Summer Buzz going.   They’ll be unlocking the doors tonight at 5.  I’ll ty to stop by or at the very least get the early reviews to you asap.   If you’re curious about the complete menu… click here.

 

What’s New in the Hamptons Hood ’14… or What Happened While You Spent The Winter with People!

It has nothing to do with Nixon or Kung Fu pandadiplomacy.com

While the folks over at Curbed Hamptons talk about all the new restaurants this year, I decided to go a different direction and talk about all the other stuff!     Which calls to mind, I once had a very successful client in my car some time back talking about all things Hamptons.  As we drove by the East Hampton movie theatre he asked me, “Kung Fu Panda’, what’s that about?”   Really?  He wasn’t kidding. Isn’t it obvious that its a morality tale about a poor tailor and his struggle with alcoholism set in pre war Europe! UH… Kidding!  It’s a frigging cartoon about a Panda that knows Kung Fu!   So, that being said, I wonder what they’re going to think when they drive by Panda Diplomacy in Water Mill!   website.  It’ looks pretty cool and I have no doubt it’s what everyone will be wearing at The American Hotel this summer!  Ok, well maybe not there.  The wax museum has it’s own separate dress code.  Well, for those of you that don’t know it’s a surfing apparel, boards and accessories store.   Located at 760 Montauk Highway in Water Mill, better known as the shopping center where there used to be Blockbuster-Citarella-Water Mill Cupcake-Avanti-Subway-Foodies and the soon to be opened West Elm Shopping Center.    If you want more info on surfing pandas, check out the

Citarella has hit Southampton!   While it’s not a “full fledged” supermarket according to sources.   It is no doubt a welcome addition to a town that has the second worst supermarket in the Hamptons Walbaum’s which only comes after Walbaum’s in East Hampton.  The store got approved earlier this
month by the Southampton Village Planning board and quickly settled into their Hampton Street location.   While some locals have voiced their concern over the potential parking problems let me accentuate the positive, THEY HAVE FRESH FOOD!

Another newcomer is located on Main St. in Bridgehampton and it’s called BLOW.  No, it’s not that kind of place!  Get your minds out of the gutter people… this isn’t Nevada!  It’s a hair salon that’s specializing in blow outs for ladies and the occasional puffy haired gentleman about to kick up their heels at the given Hamptons benefit!    If you want more information on getting glamours you can check out their website here!    If you want the other kind you need to get on a plane and head to Vegas or perhaps Amsterdam (ohhhh Amsterdam… more on that later… apparently the Dutch love the Hamptons).

If you’re like me one of the greatest things about living out east is not the surf, the beaches, world class boating, golf or even the lack of good cell phone reception.   It’s the fact we have some of the best damn food anywhere.  One of those that has a reputation of being the best of the best is Tate’s Bakery and now they’re selling their White Chocolate Macadamia cookies among other masterpieces out of the Red Horse Market in East Hampton.  But if you’re worried about your waistline  don’t fret, the cookies are sugar, fat, calorie and dairy free…. NOT… if you have to read the calorie label, move on!   I have not doubt there is like 12 pounds of butter in each cookie but damn, they’re awesome!   They make great chipwiches too… just in case you need more calories!

www.barrysbootcamp.com

But if you’re worried about calories and such silliness, fear not Barry’s Bootcamp is opening a new outlet in Amagansett this summer.    Yes, the home of sadistic (IMHO) workouts that burn tons of calories!  According to Racked.com  the location will feature healthy to go meals from Hu Kitchen.      Great news but I’ll pass on the meals, there’s a coconut cupcake (from Mary’s) with my name on it!  The gym is located at 199 Montauk Highway, right behind Mary’s Marvelous!   Did I mention Mary’s coconut cupcake?  It’s another Hamptons masterpiece and makes a great reward for just doing one of their  before I do one of their infamous 1000 calorie burning classes. UGH!

Finally one more thing new in the Hamptons this summer!  A deadly new tick born disease!  Goody!  I’m not going to bore or kill the mood by writing about it.  If you’re curious let the kill joys at CBS News do it for you here.    In the meantime, i’m going to get some new panda surf clothes and eat my cookies and cupcakes in peace!