East Hampton

A fancy term for “garage sale” and Southampton landlords beware!!!

Google went to something called CHROME and my blog looked like garbage for over a month.  It was hard to read and I didn’t have any enthusiasm for posting on something that looked like Coogi sweater.    So much has and is happening on the Hamptons so I’ll try to get on top of it asap.

A new fancy term for getting rid of junk?
First issue I think we need to tackle in the Hamptons is what do we call it when you’re unloading junk in front of your house?! We all see those signs all over the place advertising “estate sale” or “garage sale.”    Well in East Hampton they have something entirely new and unconventional and it’s apparently called a “YERD SALE.”    I guess that’s a fancy Hamptons way of announcing a “yard sale.”

Meanwhile, in Southampton town landlords beware!!  A few years ago they decided to require that landlord get a permit to rent their home.  Local Law No. 40 went into effect in the areas of the Town of Southampton back in 2008.    Well now some homeowners are being challenged in court by their tenants for partial or full rent refunds for various complaints from the pool heater doesn’t get hot enough to the back yard had too much shade.   But guess what, the tenants are winning because the landlord didn’t get a permit.  So if you’re thinking about renting your house this summer in Southampton, make sure to get a permit and don’t say we didn’t warn you!     And if you think I’m kidding about tenants complaining about things like shade guess again, it’s a true one!
The former Turtle Crossing

 

Finally, if you’re depressed about the demise of Turtle Crossing in East Hampton take heart.   There’s a a new BBQ place coming to town.   A big thank you to my friend at East Hampton Patch for the details. I was a big fan of the old Turtle Crossing before they got fancy.   My expectations for this new establishment will be high especially since it’s being opened by the former executive chef and BBQ expert of the “Crossing”  Arthur Wolf and his wife Michelle.

 

Five Faux Pas of 2011…. or the Scratchiest Head Scratchers of the Year!

Well to every ying, there needs to be a yang… for every Batman there needs to be a Joker…for every East Hampton Patch there is a Hamptons Chatter and for every U2 there needs to be a Justin Bieber. In other words, you have to learn to take the good with the bad. So in response to the good stuff that we had out east last year, there were some less than stellar moments in the Hamptons. So starting with number 5 and going to number 1, I’m counting down the biggest mistakes in the Hamptons, 2011!

#5 The Empty Red Horse Market in East Hampton – What a waste to let a prime piece of Hamptons real estate sit for over a year totally vacant. It was last fall when Tutto Italiano shuttered its doors in this prime location only to leave shop owners in the center collecting cob webs on their registers. Well the only reason this isn’t number one is because it looks as if they finally have a new tenant there. Prime Meats, formerly of the over cooked and newly scorched Hamptons Market (personally I like uncharred non-burnt markets) moving into the new location along with Gurney’s Bakery, a bread shop and a cheese vendor. Although, I heard it’s the former Pasquale of Tutto Italiano as far as I know that is an unconfirmed. Let’s hope they can stand the challenge if that Whole Foods really goes in the old Plitt Ford as rumored.

#4 The Carvel Drive Thru Window – Now, I love my soft serve and Cookie Puss Cakes as much as the next guy but I’m willing to park my Mercedees before I make a dash for a vanilla cone with sprinkles. Hey, it would have been ok if you called even! I mean, it’s in the store and it’s not melting yet, so relax. In all seriousness, luckily nobody was hurt in this race for the cone. But don’t you think Carvel should have just left it that way?!

#3 Rugosa – Ok, I checked in there once in 2010 and I was the “MAYOR” on Foursquare til the day they closed. Ok, so you’re telling me I’m the only one who ate there!? I know, it looked like it. The food wasn’t bad but the menu there was virtually impossible. While I don’t know who owned Rugosa, I have to ask did they really think there was a big demand in the summer for “squab in plum sauce?” But even if you found something you could eat on the menu, while the food was actually pretty good the service was enough to make you beg for a scrap of bread or a “Hungry Man” tv dinner. So essentially 2011 was a mistake.

#2 LIPA’s Hurricane Irene Recovery Plan – Ummmmm yeah, they’ll be there to fix uh… the.. um.. what do you call it.. the uh…the power lines….ummmm… sometime between… ummmmmm… uh… later today and next Saturday at 5pm! It was like they were getting their customer service playbook from Cablevision. But what LIPA screwed up this past year has been a boom for contractors on the east end. HOW? I have never met more people installing generators than I have in the past 3 months.

#1 THE MTK Festival or Music to Know – Ok guys, first mistake was did you ever look into how much it costs to rent a house or hotel room in the Hamptons during August?! Second, where were all these sort of Woodstockers going to sleep… pitch a tent on some lawn on Gin Lane? Third, the people who actually like Vampire Weekend for example (although I do but I’m very cool for my age) are probably working at the restaurants and stores in August and they can’t take off because it’s busy! DUH! My suggestion, skip the music to know and give me music I already know. I would have paid to see The GO-GO’s, The Pretenders or Duran Duran… or even Neil Diamond for G-d’s sake. But that’s just me and most of the 40 something friends I know. I’m forever stuck in the 80’s and the rest are too tired learn anything new.

Seasons Greetings… Another local business bites the dust

After years on Main St., then moving to a less trafficked area Hampton Cards has finally called it quits. I don’t know the woman who ran this but she was always in her store, friendly and worked hard. I always made it a point to try and support this local store owner but I guess I was one of a few. After a valiant attempt she succumbed to the economy and rising rents and joins the ranks of local store owners who were forced to shutter their doors. We will miss you!

ON A HAPPIER SEASONAL NOTE….I did a little project for Prudential Douglas Elliman’s holiday party in the Hamptons this year. It’s sad but I didn’t get to show it to everyone, I had tech problems. But better late than never and here it is. Happy Holiday everyone, from the gang!

Is the Grill cooked… and we need a little Christmas in the Hamptons!

I know it’s been wayyyyyyyyy toooo long since my last blog. But hey, really… I’ve been busy. So anyway, what’s going on, let me see.

Last month, the GRILL ON PANTIGO, formerly Wei Fun quietly closed their door for the season. But while the sign on the door says “see you next spring” the rumor is that the reopening will be “Wei unlikely.” Apparently after an uneventful summer season, the owners have quietly but the business and the building on the block for a cool $5,000,000. I asked the management will they be reopening next spring and they claim they’ll be there come warm weather… we’ll see. While the inside space is pretty awesome, the food there just didn’t cut the mustard…. or the house specialty rubber chicken (It made airplane food look good). I know it’s not the location because before it was Wei Fun it was O’Malley’s which was in the location for almost 20 years. Whatever it was O’Malley’s was packed every night year round, let’s hope the owners can get it right with the next incarnation.

Meanwhile, what’s up with the lack of festivity in the Hamptons. I decided I was going to try and spot some of the best decorated windows around town from Montauk to Southampton. So you know how many windows I found worth discussing? 3! Yep, that’s it folks three windows. Somewhere the Grinch is smiling about the humbuggery in the Hamptons. So who is worth discussing this holiday season?

Well, JCrew for one… it’s festive its fun and it looks like it took more than 20 minutes to put together! Yeah J Crew.

The other two are Ralph Lauren (we’ll say all three stores) look awesome. But what else would you expect from the brand that ate the Hamptons. It’s chic and unassuming and puts you in the holiday mood. So if your in East Hampton, check out Rugby, Polo Kids and the Polo stores.

Finally, I loved COMERFORDS windows in Bridgehampton. It’s a funky metal Christmas tree in lights and a snow covered terrain that looks like it was made from old window shades. Totally cool and very innovative, the window is one of the funkiest in the Hamptons. So anyway, I’m trying to get more organized and get more blogs up. Please be patient and happy holidays everyone!!!