Hamptons

Come on Baby Light My Fire!!! Warm Ideas for a Very Cold Day!

With Valentine’s day right around the corner and the 12″ of snow on the ground I know a lot of you are thinking about a nice romantic evening with a glass of wine….. or 6…. in front of a roaring fire!    So are there any good spots for that romantic dinner before dipping into the champagne glass tub (you know what I’m talking about) without heading to the Poconos?    Yes, there are my friends and I’m here to tell you more!

First up… The American Hotel, Sag Harbor. –    The Hotel has a big huge hearth and a style from an era gone by…. and I’m not talking about the clientele.   Big fluffy chairs a warm wooden bar and some nice dark lightening that would make Joan Rivers look like Kate Upton…. or at least Florence Henderson.   It’s the perfect date night location with a solid menu, great service and dim flickering lights that are going to make you look good!

Hey baby, am I making you hot?  At  EH GRILL.

1770 House, East Hampton.   –  I  love this place but I’m particularly fond of eating in the basement.  Its far less formal than the main dining room and they have the rustic brick walls, gas fireplace and some of the best meat loaf I’ve ever had!     Be sure to make a reservation if you want to eat downstairs, it’s now more popular than ever before.     A nice relaxing place to spend your Valentines Day.

East Hampton Grill, East Hampton. –  Where did you think the EH Grill would be, Quogue!?   A great
bar scene, great food, a huge fireplace and some of the fastest service on the East End.  So, why is fast service so important?   Well if you’re looking to get lucky that night, who has time for a 5 hour dinner!?!?

Robert’s, Water Mill.   –  If one of you is from Southampton and the other is from East Hampton, this is the perfect place.   My favorite dish there is the “penne bolognese”… but I can’t eat that anymore. Summer is around the corner…. oh hell i’ll order it anyway.   Featuring a great menu, great service, a really extensive wine list and a toasty gas fireplace, Robert’s is a great place for a little smooching.

There are two more I want to mention but I’m running out of space.  Red Bar in Southampton is another great location for a romantic evening, featuring it’s great open space and plenty of candle light.   Also, Race Lane in East Hampton…. Big sofas in front of a fireplace… enough said.

Finally for those desiring something a little off the beaten Hamptons path, may I suggest going to Riverhead.   No, I won’t suggest going to the only waterfront McDonald’s with boat slips in the country (trivia fact.. check it out) but rather one of the most innovative and different restaurants I’ve experienced in a long time.   THE RIVERHEAD PROJECT or RHP is located at 300 E. Main St., Riverhead and in addition to the chic decor, diverse menue and great service there are some out of the box events like “The Wine Project” … with a sommolier supervised wine pairing dinner and “The Movie Project”… which is…. well you get it.  Go to their website for more information.   It’s fun stuff!  Recently, I had the chance to talk with owner Dennis McDermott (formerly of The Frisky Oyster in Greenport ) and chef Lia Fallon about what makes RHP so unique.

 

DOH! The Deer, the Female… and Male Deer! Plus, Don’t Turn Off Potential Buyers… It Has Nothing to do with Your Attitude!

Save Bambi Damnit!

Yeah, my computer has some cob webs on it.   The chatter hasn’t been very chatty lately but my muse is back from holiday vacation, so here I am.   Was that a run on sentence?  ANNNNNYYYYWAYYYYY…… So this past weekend PETA and a host of other animal rights activists descended on the east end to protest the upcoming deer culling.  In case you don’t know, cull is a euphemistic word for slaughter.    Granted there is a definite over population on the east end according to experts. But there are more humane ways of dealing with this problem, IMHO.

Anyway, the planned protest didn’t quite have the huge turn out I had hoped (there is an online petition that has about 11,000 signatures) Meanwhile,
as if almost to add insult to injury …for those of us who saw “Bambi” as
children… there was a mailer sent around offering home dinero to allow hunters to go Rambo on their properties.  Yikes!!  I really wish I
understood the sport in hunting.  While some people in the area, including one uninformed politician I really dislike claim health concerns and site the spread of Lyme disease, I’m suggesting they use another excuse.    There have been numerous studies suggesting the link between deer and the spread of the tick borne illness is greatly exaggerated.  So without that urgency, isn’t there a more humane way to handle this whole thing?  Please people remember Bambi and besides venison taste awful.

awwwwwwwwwwww

So, how is the market??? Well Douglas Elliman is releasing their Q4 market report later this week.  While I can’t tell you what it says ( I haven’t seen it) I can guess the news will be pretty positive.    In the past, the phones in Hamptons real estate offices are normally fairly quiet from Thanksgiving to Presidents Day Weekend but this season seems to be the exception.   Almost every broker I spoke to this past Martin Luther King holiday weekend was booked all weekend long!  In fact, holiday shopping was interrupted this year by east end agents actually having to work!!!  Oh the humanity!

Invitation to kill!?

I’ve heard more than a few theories about why it’s so busy.  Maybe it’s the wall street bonuses…. maybe it’s that the Hamptons is growing as a year round destination… or maybe it’s even the Russians (Yes, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!!).    But personally, I think it’s the fact people have been sitting on the side lines for so long and now they’re reading.  Prices are starting to rise and interest rates are still low.  So, the question really is why haven’t you bought in the Hamptons already!?!  Call me!

from Amazon!

Finally, I’ve been showing like a mad man lately and I’m shocked I’m encountering expensive homes with a simple problem that’s a major turn off for buyers.    So what is it?  Damp and smelly basements believe it or not can turn a buyer off a potential dream home faster than you can say “it’s too much work for us.” Many buyers as they see it’s indicator of flooding or mold issues.  While that isn’t necessarily true, do your real estate agent a favor and spend the $200 bucks to buy a dehumidifier.   It’s not only going to give your home more appeal it might actually help you breathe a little easier as it comes time to sell.

Million Dollar Listing …errr… Bankruptcy… and Fine Hamptons Dining on aBudget!

Call me wacky but I always find it hard to believe that someone who owns a pricey piece of property would ever allow it to go to auction.   Well maybe that’s why I’m just a humble Hamptons farmer… er… real estate agent.   Anyway, it’s happening two blocks from the beach in the most expensive zip code in the country on Sesascape Lane, in Sagaponack.   The home originally listed at (click for details) $5,995,000 in ’10, briefly went down to $4.9 only to go back up to $5.3 is now on the auction block with Maltz and Company of Central Islip.   The auction takes

Million dollar bankruptcy!  photo from TRULIA.COM

place this Thursday at the “auctioneer’s Gallery, 39 Windsor Place in Central Islip.”    In order to register to bid, all prospective bidders must “present a bank check in the amount of $260,000.”   Check Maltz’s website for all the details.  The property which is quite charming will no doubt be torn down by whoever buys it.  I guess when you have $11,000,000 properties in the hood and J-Lo around the corner, humble just won’t cut it with the neighbors.    Darn, I would have loved to try and sell this puppy.  It’s on a great block and an elegant and unpretentious home.    While it’s too late to take a tour of the house, it’s not too late for the auction so get your bids and your bank checks ready everyone!   I’m sure this is just great for property values!

UPDATE… according to my sources, the property went for $3.800,00!  Not bad!

Finally, a little something I didn’t know.  Apparently the local Hess is a gas station and a dining establishment!  If you don’t believe me, just look no further than the photo attached.  When I asked the attendant on duty about what other delicacies they feature he pointed out the hot dogs, the sandwiches and more!!!  So of course, since I’m more of a wine drinker than a beer drinker I asked the attendant if they charged a corking fee.   His response, after I explained what I meant, “no problem, we won’t charge you.”    He chuckled and obviously got where I was going once I took a pic of the sign.    So who said there is no inexpensive dining in the Hamptons!?  Kids we’re going to the Hess station!!!

Finally…..

CB
CB
LB
FW
BT
EM2
…. more to come.   Thx guys.

The Banana Splits…. and Which Professionals have the most psychopaths… I know what I think!?

In another strike against the average Joe, the Banana Republic store in Bridgehampton Commons has packed up and split.    While I don’t really buy my clothes at Kmart (OK, I bought a few Land’s End sweaters there) nor do I shop Bergdorf Goodman (OK I bought a few things there too), B.R. was one of the rare quality middle of the road shops out here in the Hamptons.    When I tried calling the company for a response, the woman on the phone couldn’t tell me why they left town but she did tell me she could save me 10% on my next purchase if I opened a Banana Republic credit card.

In other sad news, TheWeek.com has posed the question, “which professions have the most psychopaths?”  Now before you start thinking about “American Psycho,”  lets take a look at the definition of Psychopathy.   By definition, Psychopathy is a “personality disorder that has been variously described as characterized by shallow emotions (in particular reduced fear) stress tolerance, lacking empathy, cold heartedness, egocentricity …. and antisocial behaviors such as parasitic lifestyle and criminality.”  So those two sales agents that brawled at The Hotel a few weeks ago probably  psychopaths, it’s more likely they have anger issues.   So do you want to take a guess where sales people came on the list?  They were #4!  YIKES! Wedged between media personalities and surgeons.   That’s not such bad company is it?   So who are some of the biggest psychopaths I met working here on the East End?  Well, I never blog and tell.  But buy me a drink sometime… in vino veritas!

Finally, so why is this picture on my blog?  Because I can.  Happy Birthday Bella!!!