From coastal classics to bold new openings, we’re serving up the flavors, chefs, and hotspots defining the East End scene this season. BY BEVERLY STEPHEN
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urfs up! Traffic is snarled! Beaches are heavenly! Sunsets are sensational! It’s summer in the Hamptons.
Dan’s Rosé Soirée kicks off the season on Memorial Day Weekend at the Southampton Arts Center. It will be followed by a new Fourth of July event called red wine, white wine and beer forward.
This season will see the return The Hamptons Fine Art Fair (HFAF) from July 10–13. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the season will be punctuated by charity fundraisers, cookouts, wine tastings, art shows, wellness programs, yoga, and summer romance but everybody has to eat. Restaurants are firing up their ranges. Bartenders are shaking up cocktails and more and more mocktails. “The demand for summering in the Hamptons remains high, ensuring a solid business season,” says Mark Smith, owner of Honest Man Restaurants (Nick & Toni’s, Rowdy Hall, and others). Just being near the ocean whets the appetite for seafood, preferably eaten with spectacular sunset views. In East Hampton, casual Bostwick’s on the Harbor offers local seafood and stunning sunsets. The more upmarket SiSi Mediterranean Restaurant, accessible by boat, elevates dining in East Hampton’s Springs area. Tuna tartare, stripe bass or halibut compliments a
Clam Bar
crisp white as you watch the sun sink below the horizon on Three Mile Harbor. At the adjoining EHP Resort & Marina guests are treated to complimentary rides abord the 40-foot luxury yacht Van Dutch. In Sag Harbor, The Beacon offers spectacular sunset views. Across the street Sag Harbor Tavern (sister to Red Hook Tavern) looks forward to knocking it out of the park in its second season with its famous $30 cheeseburger. The first Sunset Music of the Season will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday May 23 at the Wolffér Estates wine stand in Sagaponack. There are plenty of sunset watching opportunities out in Montauk where surfing and fishing are added attractions as well as a lively party scene.International flair is on offer at Mostrador at the newish Marram resort where a chef and restaurateur behind popular restaurants in Uruguay and Argentina hold sway. Chef Jared McCarroll sails into his second season at Ocean Club Montauk at the Montauk Yacht Club which boasts the largest marina in the Hamptons with 200 wet slips and a new state of the art spa. Ever popular Duryea’s added four stand-alone Sunset Cottages last season in July. Corporate chef Philippe Corbet oversees all the food operations in Montauk as well as at the Orient Point location and LuLu in Sag Harbor. The generous lobster roll will always be a best seller but there are clams and oysters and a soaring seafood tower. Casa Serena will feed the Page Six celebs, political progeny and other party goers at the Surf Lodge where Chef Robert Sieber rides the range.
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