This Summer’s Hamptons
SILHOUETTED against a dying sun on a late July evening, more than a dozen Hamptons regulars eased into the warm darkness of Sagaponack Pond.
One by one, they climbed gingerly on top of what looked to be fatter, longer versions of surfboards. They balanced first on their knees, each holding an oar, before rising to stand tall on the boards. Then they quietly paddled off to a beach about a mile away. Gliding past cornfields and multimillion-dollar estates, they shifted their oars from side to side to the rhythm of a drumming circle in the distance. The sky turned lavender.
When at last they reached the beach, they gathered for a yoga session, coiling and unfolding their bodies until it was time to convene around a growing bonfire. “The moon is the closest that it gets to the earth on this night,” a group leader said softly. “Close your eyes and listen to your breath.”Amid the crackling of burning driftwood and the crashing of waves, eyes closed and palms rested on kneecaps as the group entered into silent meditation. Embers coiled upward in the wind. When they opened their eyes again, the moon was fat and pink and low over the horizon.
The group exhaled in unison: “Ommmmmmm.” Together they recited in Sanskrit, “Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu,” which, the yoga instructor said, means “May all beings be happy and free from suffering.”
They chanted this nine times.
They whispered “Namaste.”
And then they ate S’mores.
MIDWAY through prime Hamptons season, it’s clear that stand-up paddling is emerging as the sport of the summer, much as Kadima and Rollerblading did in years past.Surf shops are inundated with requests for stand-up paddle rentals and lessons.
But other trends — as well as this summer’s hot spots — are also beginning to reveal themselves as weekenders settle in for the remaining month or so of summer revelry.
Nearly every summer, a few places in the Hamptons emerge as the places to be, whether through fame (the celebrity-laden East Hampton restaurant Nick & Toni’s from the first day it opened in 1988) or infamy (the Conscience Point Inn nightclub, after Lizzie Grubman’s car crash in 2001 made it a paparazzi favorite) or a sudden nostalgia for the days when the East End wasn’t overrun with hedge fund managers and Real Housewives (the surf beach at Ditch Plains).
This season, Montauk, at the far end of the island, is asserting itself as the place to be, with partygoers streaming toward the Surf Lodge and Navy Beach and a quirky new designer boutique drawing the fashion forward farther east. Meanwhile, several new restaurants in East Hampton are pulling in crowds, a new bar and grill is enlivening Amagansett night life, and the East End finally has a decent coffee bar scene.
Here’s a glimpse of what summer 2010 will be remembered for when fall rolls around and the crowds are gone.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Stand-up paddling (or as devotees call it, SUP) is the latest craze to capture attention and wallets on the eastern end of Long Island. It can be rigorous when attempted in an ocean or undertaken for many miles. But the full- moon paddles are like pétanque or boccie: drinking and socializing are as essential as the activity itself.
A number of shops offer stand-up paddle equipment and lessons, but this particular paddle was led by Lars Svanberg of Main Beach Surf & Sport in Wainscott and Jessica Bellofatto of KamaDeva Yoga in East Hampton. It occurs only during full moons and includes board rental, instruction for beginners, healthy snacks, wine and beer, a yoga session, meditation and a bonfire for $85.
Stand-up paddling is easy to learn. It can be a good workout, and many practitioners find the repetition of the paddling to be meditative. Enthusiasts liken it to walking on water. Besides, it’s a reason to buy cool surf-inspired gear without taking on the risks of that sport.
KamaDeva Yoga; (631) 604-1382;
FUELING UP
Over winding, woodsy roads (look out for deer), up hills and beyond train tracks, you eventually arrive at a dead-end sign and a remote stretch of private beach. At this point you might think you’ve been teleported to the south of France. But no, this is Fort Pond Bay, and if you walk past the unassuming Port Royal hotel and co-op, you’ll discover its pearl: Navy Beach, one of the most buzzed about new restaurants and bars in Montauk.
The porthole windows and glossy navy and white décor are meant to evoke a 1950s yacht club, said Martin Cabrera, Navy Beach’s director of operations. Vintage fishing reels and framed bathing suits from the 1940s and beyond are among the space’s nautical charms. But nothing compares to its waterfront views. Visitors in jean shorts and fetching sundresses alike wander from the bar to the beach to watch the sun melt. Everyone lingers as day turns to night, drinking caipirinhas and sampling ceviche on outdoor beds and at gleaming white picnic tables. There is live music on many Fridays and Saturdays during sunset. Visit the Navy Beach Web site for upcoming performances.
“It’s a very chill vibe,” Kristina Davis, an owner of Navy Beach, said one evening. “Reggae or easy listening.”
Chef Paul LaBue, formerly of Nick & Toni’s and other Hamptons standbys, cooks up the restaurant’s tasty coastal cuisine. Yet the most popular dish on the menu, said Mr. Cabrera, is the Navy Burger with Cabot Cheddar and bacon marmalade. (You read that correctly.)
Among the most requested drinks? A $28 beer called Inedit. Before you balk, it arrives in a wine-size bottle and was created by chef Ferran Adrià of the famed El Bulli restaurant in Spain along with the Spanish pilsner maker Estrella Damm. A blend of lager and wheat beer styles, Inedit is served cold in a white wine glass and is meant to be paired with foods that contain citrus and oils or bitter notes. Split a bottle and keep an eye out for some of the restaurant’s better-known patrons, like Martha Stewart and Calvin Klein.
Navy Beach; 16 Navy Road, Montauk; (631) 668-6868; navybeach.com.
You can’t drive through a town in the Hamptons this summer without encountering a new restaurant. There’s the Grill on Pantigo, Race Lane and Serafina in East Hampton; Copa in Bridgehampton; 75 Main in Southampton; LT Burger in Sag Harbor; and South Edison, When Pigs Fly, and Cross Eyed Clam Bar & Grill in Montauk, to name a few.
In Amagansett, night life has long been dominated by the live music joint the Stephen Talkhouse (161 Main Street; stephentalkhouse.com), where youthful merrymakers dance and ignite fleeting romances. But this year, Exile Bar and Grill, a new Mediterranean tapas joint down the street, provides a fresh, elegant late-night option. Go for cocktails at the industrial bar area up front, or try small plates, meats, cheeses and pizzas at tables along the pretty glass-walled perimeter.
Exile Bar and Grill; 231 Main Street, Amagansett; (631) 267-6399;
For some, coffee is a meal in itself, and happily for them, Montauk finally has a true coffee joint. At the new Coffee Tauk — which notes on its Facebook page that it’s already a favorite of the singer and songwriter Rufus Wainwright — you’ll find espresso, gelato and a “fisherman’s” blend created exclusively for the shop by Gimmee! Coffee, the beloved New York brand.
Also new this season, Hampton Coffee of Water Mill and Westhampton Beach takes its joe on the road in what it calls a “mobile espresso unit” — a Mercedes van chock full of caffeine. Find it at Kirk Park Beach, in the parking lot next to the IGA parking lot, daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed on certain dates; details at Hamptoncoffee.com. Farther west, Jack’s Stir Brew has opened in Amagansett and has organic and fair trade brews (154 Montauk Highway; Jacksstirbrew.com).
Coffee Tauk; 83 South Elmwood Avenue; Montauk; (631) 668-7007;
SUNSETS AND MUSIC SETS
Relocated this year to a postcard-worthy spot on Three Mile Harbor, the Boathouse is now one of the few places in East Hampton to enjoy a waterfront dinner as the sun sets. Yet after dark this favorite destination of both locals and seasonal visitors “morphs from a silky smooth dinner spot on the water into a late night lounge,” as the general manager Rory J. Boothby put it in the wee hours of the morning recently.
On Fridays, the D.J. Francesco Civetta aims to keep the crowd on their feet, sliding from Tupac Shakur’s “California Love” into Phantom Planet’s “California” (better known as the theme from “The O.C.”). At the adjacent bar, guests cool off with watermelon martinis, the Boathouse’s signature summer drink.
Catch the music on Fridays and Saturdays from around 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Barron Ricks of Cypress Hill showed up unannounced a couple of weeks ago, though some boldface names are always in the neighborhood, Mr. Boothby said as he pointed a finger across the harbor to where P. Diddy and Donna Karan have homes.
The Boathouse; 39 Gann Road, East Hampton; (631) 329-3663;
The Surf Lodge, a whitewashed hotel, restaurant and lounge on Fort Pond, now in its second year, draws so many celebrants that before you see the lodge itself, you see its patrons’ cars parked along Edgemere Street.
Sunsets bring performers like Dan Bailey & Living Rhythm and See-I to the Lodge’s sprawling decks, where the bay is the backdrop. Above the sand, a hanging sign entices: “Light my fire.” Below is — what else? — a fire pit and outdoor couches from which to sip the Lodge’s often-ordered Montauk Storm: Gosling’s dark rum, lime juice and fresh ginger.
Inside, the ceilings are adorned with surfboards from the 1950s and ’60s, and old surf films play on large screens above a splashy aqua floor. The hotel’s nascent Surf Bazaarproffers sea-worthy gear, like bags made from recycled sails (from $122 to $185) and sweatshirts that say “Locals Only” ($149).
The Surf Lodge is known, somewhat infamously among locals, for its after-hours party crowd, but try it, too, in the late afternoon when it’s mellow (save for the occasional child running amok) and you can still get a seat at the bar, an outdoor table to savor a meal by Sam Talbot of “Top Chef” fame and, perhaps most satisfying of all, a parking spot.
The Surf Lodge; 183 Edgemere Street, Montauk; (631) 668-1562;
While it may seem that every car is headed to Montauk these days, there are bustling places to dine and dance that are not as far east, like Georgica and Lily Pond in East Hampton. New this year in Southampton is RdV East, the brainchild of the entertainment group behind the Manhattan clubs Bagatelle and Kiss & Fly. A dimly lighted space dappled with chandeliers and mirrors, this is where the young and young at heart go to dance. When you’ve worked up a sweat and need to cool off, there’s a patio — with daybeds of course.
RdV East, 125 Tuckahoe Lane,
Southampton; (212) 255-1933;
YOUR SHOPPING FIX
Designer boutiques are scarce on Montauk’s main shopping drag. Spending sprees typically involve fishing tackle or a sweatshirt that says “Montauk: The End” (a nod to its status as the last stop on the island). But this summer, the designer Cynthia Rowley appears to be foreshadowing a tonier Montauk, opening a store next to the appropriately timeworn Memory Motel.
Look for the swath of sea grass on the roof and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it neon “shop” sign in a window. A mini-boardwalk leads inside, where you’ll find surfing-inspired clothes and global home goods like Diptyque candles and books like “To India With Love.” Capitalizing on its location, the store sells tote bags that say “Save Gas, Shop Montauk” ($10) and Memory Motel T-shirts ($35). But its best sellers are the wet suits and other curve-hugging neoprene wonders by Cynthia Rowley and Roxy, like a black tank dress with strips of neon at the arm holes and hem ($160), and an icy blue and lemon strapless one-piece bathing suit ($135).
The Cynthia Rowley store also curates a shed — or as employees like to call it, the shack in the back — a continually changing nook for temporary shops and art installations by other designers. There is also a concert series at the adjoining motel.
Cynthia Rowley, 696 Montauk Highway, Montauk; (631) 668-8077;
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