I have long complained there are no good bakeries in the Hamptons. Ever since Ina Garten closed the doors on the Barefoot Contessa, I’ve been searching the East End tirelessly looking for the next great coconut cupcake. Ok, yes you can buy the box kit but it was forever ruined when my sister Gina decided to make them as a surprise for me! Yes they were a surprise… a surprise like being stuck in the Sahara without water. This is the same sister who confused the abbreviation for a tablespoon with pound while one time surprising me with pasta dinner!!! But enough about my sister’s culinary clumsiness. Ok, one last jab…I shingled a roof once with her pancakes! But alas, there are good baked goods. First up on my list is BREADZILLA on Wainscott Northwest Rd. Great focaccia breads and in my opinion, the only place to buy a birthday cake this side of the canal. No, the prices are not for the faint of heart but they put their money where the butter is!!!
For cookies, try Levain Bakery on 27 at the Wainscott shopping center. The oatmeal raisin are my favorite. They each weigh about 3 lbs a piece.. or at least they feel like it… but they are awesome!!! The chocolate chip rock and the peanut butter…incredible. They’re not open during the winter and hours are choppy at best. But if you catch them open, the fumes alone are awesome and they should charge admission! You can also get the cookies fresh out oven… wait I have to go wipe my drooling chin.
Finally ROUND SWAMP FARM, what can I say. The cinnamon buns, the sour c
ream coffee cake, the brownies, the triple berry pie and the corn bread muffins….. well lets just say I know them all intimately! The farm is and has been run for over 40 years by Carolyn Lester Snyder who along with her family create the baked goods and meals fresh daily. It’s a small shop but it covered from wall to wall with quality stuff. It’s not a baked good.. but it is baked… their Mexican cheese dip is just plain wrong!!! It has to be about 4000 calories but it’s worth every scoop on your tortilla chip. The market is located on Three Mile Harbor Rd in East Hampton and is opened 9-5 Mon-Saturday… 9-1pm on Sunday. I know they accept cash, visa and I’m hoping soon will assist with financing!
Speaking of financing… in the … It’s not my listing but I know of a great deal section.… south of the highway property… it’s a bank sale and an amazing deal. Contact me for details!!!! In fact, a few more distressed properties came onto the market last week… I’m about to start a weekly mailing here. Let me know if you want to be on the list. E mail me!!!!
Well first on my list today is that RUGOSA is now open!! Located at the site of the old ALMONDCELLO an ALMONDITTO. Chef Bill Mammes has created a truly inspired menu. All of your favorite dishes with a destinctive East End flair. While I only got to try a few of the dishes, I arrived for the opening night party a little late.. although I did show up early on Sunday… the party was on Tuesday. Anyway what I did have was really impressive. If memory serves me right an awesome “carrot with ginger soup and mussles.” Also, a salt cod, I hate cod but it was was pretty terrific. Served 
with potato and grilled asparagus. Finally the ceviche, I didn’t get a chance to try it but Ben from the East Hampton Independent said a big thumbs up. Congrats to chef Bill Mammes formerly of The Maidstone Club and general manager and my budette Chimene Visser. The interior by the way has been totally redone since Almoncello and it’s stunning (see above).
So I discovered that high end real estate is really a lot like high end retail. Some brokers are forcing themselves to be a lot nicer to both customers and other agents but the prices ain’t coming down!!! The following is a real conversation with “L” from HERMES in East Hampton. She was absolutly lovely and nice… I’m sure she’s now laughing with all of her co-workers at me.
I’m sweaty and I’m in pain… and that’s the good news. For those of you just coming out east for the first time since last year, Zone Hampton has undergone some changes. Gone are the old stationary spin cycles, and in are RealRyder Core Balance bikes. According to local legend (Sam who does the check in) these bikes help you burn up to 30% more calories than a normal spin class. I need to burn more calories too… my closet is starting to look like the “huskies” section from MEN’S WEARHOUSE. The manufacturers web site states that this bike “It tilts, turns, and banks like an outdoor bike–works out the core, upper body, legs, cardio, and improves balance the way other indoor cycling bikes can’t.” The first time I tried to get on I fell off the bike, which is better than falling off the wagon!
While going fast at spin class is good… going fast anywhere in the Hamptons is very bad. The Hamptons have always been a bad place for future Andretti’s but this year it seems worse! They’re are speed traps everywhere!!! I mean EVERYWHERE! If you don’t carry a fresh box of Krispe Creme donuts I advise you all to mind the speedometer. So… what are you to do… keep the following in mind:
Frank Calvo of East Hampton Pharmacy and Bridgehampton Pharmacy told me he did “THREE times the business he did last year!” In case you haven’t been skip the big chain place and go visit Frank, you’ll get