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Dinner Plans: Surf and Turf at The Bell & Anchor

June 21, 2012 | East End Eats

The Bell & Anchor

From David Loewenberg and Sam McCleland, the powerhouse team behind The Beacon, The Bell & Anchor is Sag Harbor’s newest hot spot. The waterfront venue, decorated by David’s wife Sarah, is elegantly masculine, with plank flooring, sturdy wooden tables, maritime accents, and cozy lighting perfect for canoodling over a romantic dinner. Executive chef McCleland’s surf and turf menu includes a full raw bar with shellfish plateaus, creative small plates, salads, and signature seafood entrées.

Raw oyster and clam plate

Appetizers and salads include salt cod brandade; smoked duck tacos with spicy hoisin jam; baked oysters with lump crabmeat and citrus beurre blanc; and chickpea salad with grilled octopus, preserved lemon, and arugula. Lobster comes in multiple persuasions: lobster cobb salad; “old-school” lobster mafaldine with corn, basil, and saffron cream; and lobster thermidor baked with mustard, Cognac, and Gruyère. For dessert, try the classic float with an anchor-shaped cookie or the rich brownie with coffee ice cream.

Full-time East End residents and homeowners will be happy to hear that the restaurant, which serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday, beginning at 5:30 PM, will be open year-round. 3253 Noyac Road, Sag Harbor, 631-725-3400

—LEYLA MARCHETTO
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TARA BERKOSKI (OYSTERS)

 

 

SINGER22 Owner Jon Singer Discusses Hamptons Pop-Up

June 21, 2012 | Style & Beauty

Launched simultaneously in 2003, as both a retail store and a website, SINGER22 has emerged as one of the leading retailers for contemporary women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, and accessories.

Known for stocking the latest designs sported by celebrities, the retailer is now bringing its signature of-the-moment style to the East End with a pop-up starting tomorrow in Southampton (50 Jobs Lane). Slated to be open through September 15th, you can expect to find gear from great labels like Elizabeth & James, Mara Hoffman, J. Brand, L*Space, Rebecca Minkoff, and Rag & Bone. Here’s what owner Jon Singer has to say.

How did you curate the brands and styles you’ll be stocking in your pop-up?
JON SINGER: Since we have limited space, we are going to be stocking the best of the best from our assortment. We carry a vast selection of merchandise from all different price points and for various target customers. We are hoping to provide something for everyone [just] as we do in our other retail locations.

You’re known for stocking styles worn by celebrities. Fashion-wise, what celebrities are you finding that people are currently obsessing over?
JS: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the Kardashians, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Ashley Tisdale, Kate Moss, Rachel Bilson, Olivia Palermo, Alessandra Ambrosio, Nicky Hilton, and Rihanna.

What are fashion must-haves for a weekend in the Hamptons?
JS: Siwy cut-off shorts, TKEES sandals, and Tibi silk tanks.

Can you highlight some of your favorite pieces stocked in the pop-up?
JS: My favorite pieces would be the Rag & Bone jean jacket, Parker leather sequin dress, Tibi silk tanks, Rebecca Minkoff Becky jacket, and Siwy cut off shorts.

What are some of your favorite spots out East?
JS: Surf Lodge, Bobby Van’s, Red Bar, Sant Ambroeus, The Palm, and Nick & Toni's.

—SHARON FEIEREISEN

 

Mary Giuliani's Small Bites, Big Stories: Throw a Really Unexpected Party

June 21, 2012 | At Home

To me, the best type of party is an unexpected one. In the past year, I have served food on small boats, on Ferris wheels in cemeteries, on rotating pu pu platters, in museums, and in gardens atop one of the city’s highest skyscrapers.

The more outrageous the better is my motto. I once hid my dining room table in the woods behind my house and led my guests on a quest to find the dinner table (I find this works best with friends who really enjoy drinking).

Opportunity knocked last summer, when we were redoing the tiles in our pool. While my husband looked at this as a home improvement project, I saw this as a chance to make a party dream of mine come true.

We invited some friends over that we knew wouldn’t ask too many questions.

“Hey, wanna have dinner at the bottom of our empty swimming pool?”

“Sure, what time?” Again, friends who drink are very easy to amuse.

We went to work. I decided to serve a light cioppino and very chilled sauvignon blanc (Tip: I love to find great white wines for the summer and stock up).

So, table was set, wine was chilling, music was blaring from our portable radio, and just as I am about to go up and get the meal to bring down to the pool…

…the pool guys show up…a day early with our water delivery! FOILED! Our dinner party was over before it began.

I pleaded with the nice gents to come back the next day, even tried to bribe them with some wine and cippino but no luck; my pool party dream was ruined. Defeated, I asked if they would mind if we took a few pictures before they turned on the hose and washed away my dreams (okay—a little melodramatic I know).

They laughed, nodding yes, and said, “Ma’am, in 28 years of working with swimming pools, we’ve never seen anything like this.”

Mission accomplished. This would have been one great dinner party.

This summer—even if you simply move from the dining room to the living room—think outside of the box and surprise your guests. I promise it will make them smile.

—MARY GIULIANI

Mary and her husband Ryan launched marygiuliani.com in 2005, based on their shared love of entertaining, food, and hospitality. The figurehead of the company, Mary creates parties and mingles with the absolute crème de la crème of the Hollywood and fashion scenes. Her clients look to her to break the traditions of entertaining norms and to provide them with party ideas that are one of a kind, out of the box, playful experiences.

Her schedule is jam packed from morning to night when she’s on the party circuit. Mary is the exclusive caterer for J. CREW, Madewell, and Christie’s. Her client roster includes: The Rolling Stones, Bradley Cooper, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Portman, Sephora, Conde Nast, Hearst, Time Inc., Stella McCartney, Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, and many more. In 2011, Mary executed 27 events in one evening across Manhattan for Vogue’s Fashion’s Night out and her company produces over 600 events a year. Biz Bash also honored her as “Caterer of the Year” in 2011. Follow Mary on Twitter: @mary_giuliani

 

Dispatch: Overheard on the LIRR; Midsummer Night Drinks; and the Brinkley Brood in SoFo

June 20, 2012 | Talk of the Town

Tony Ingrao and Margaret Russell at God's Love We Deliver Midsummer Night Drinks

Overheard on the LIRR
The armies of fresh-faced summer sharers that invade the Main Streets of the various Hamptons hamlets each summer never fail to entertain. On the LIRR Saturday morning, my car was filled with young sorority types whose entire vocabulary seemed to have been borrowed from a Gossip Girl script. Every third word was "seriously," "obviously," "totally," "like," "exactly," "absolutely," or "OMG." And the cadence of speech was so slow that each letter seemed to have extra syllables. Their voices cracked as they attempted to add extra inflections to every sound. In the seat behind me, the young women were dissing a Debbie Downer housemate, who would apparently always discuss being so tired when she wakes up after drinking and sleeping only two hours. (Seriously? That was totally her choice, right?)

Midsummer Night Drinks
That night, God's Love We Deliver held its elegant Midsummer Night Drinks at Woodhouse Park, the East Hampton home of Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper. Stellar choice. Dispatches had visited before, but the exquisite gardens rolled and curved on and on with follies and statues for what seemed like three-quarters of a mile. Apparently, Ingrao and Kemper have added two lots. “Now we’re just refining,” said Kemper. “We’ve gotten it down to where we only have two people working here. One is a tree guy, and one takes care of the lawns and weeding.” This garden is a waking dream. Seriously!

Sailor Brinkley Cook, Christie Brinkley, Alexa Ray Joel, and Jack Brinkley Cook at SoFo Goes SoHo

SoFo Goes SoHo
And speaking of acreage, SoHo Meets SoFo was the theme of the South Fork Natural History Museum fête on the museum's bucolic 800 acres. Christie Brinkley brought her children, Sailor and Jack, who are now as tall as or taller than the also present Alexa Ray Joel. Bites included shrimp cocktail in little glasses and tiny passed lobster rolls. Brinkley’s eponymous line of organic skin care products made the gift bag.

Around Town
On Shelter Island, Olympic runners Frank Shorter and Joan Benoit Samuelson helped to pace the annual 10K. My wife, on her birthday, came in third for her new age group; and then we stayed on the island for dinner at a friend’s idyllic house.  

Meanwhile, Kelly "I Can Make You Hot” Killoren Bensimon hit Banzai Burger in Amagansett and ended up jumping behind the counter to make vegetarian rolls with Japanese chef Isao. But ultimately, she just ended up downing a draft PBR and a cheeseburger.

And on Father's Day, Dispatches dined at Duryea's—you can’t beat the views—and took the train back from Montauk at 7:30 PM, following the spectacular sunset from Montauk to Bridgehampton. On this train ride, I overheard loud but witty runners who amused me. One told a story of staying out late, not eating dinner, drinking, and then getting up for a spin class to meet a friend. Halfway through the class, he lost his vision and then blacked out—but not before knocking over the water cooler.  Another gal spoke of ho-hum sex with a new partner who had stepped up his game in the sack over the past weekend. "What do you mean?" asked her male buddies. “More dominant . . . less wimpy,” she answered.

Sensitive types need not apply.

—JEFFREY SLONIM

 

Stephen Fanuka Perfects Your Pool Area

June 20, 2012 | At Home

In the Hamptons, there’s one thing that really defines a great backyard—your pool. Since summer is still just getting started, here are some ideas on infusing style into your swimming space from DIY Network’s Million Dollar Contractor, Stephen Fanuka.

Colored Tiles:

-Add a coping border around the perimeter of the pool to enhance the shape—especially if you’re working with an unusually shaped pool. I love colored concrete or flagstone. Other suggestions would be dark gray cement, brick, or slate. You want the pool to be a tangent of the house!

-Putting colored glass tiles onto any vertical surface like the jacuzzi wall or the pool side of a cabana will really make your swimming area sparkle. I'm leaning toward bright colors like orange, or bronze, metallic tiles. artistictile.com has a great selection for this.

-Haven’t filled your pool with water yet? Install colored tiles on the floor of the pool. Multi-colored, iridescent tiles will beautifully reflect sunlight, especially in the water.

Extras Around the Pool:

-Put some stone and gravel between the fence and pool, but don’t stop there. Really shape a pattern—it doesn’t have to be straightforward. I love white gravel for this as it goes with any landscape and reflects light really well.

-Now that you have some gravel, dress your pool area up even more with shrubs and bushes (placed far enough away from the pool so that the chlorinated water doesn’t kill them!). Avoid greenery that attracts bees or has thorns. You want something that won't shed and get into the pool, too.

-Summer flowers will also add color and zen to your pool area. My favorite plant for a pool area is lantana since it's annual, comes in many colors, and works well in the heat. Zinnias are another beautiful annual to adorn this space.

Enhance Your Work with Lights & Music: 

-I like to combine pool lights with landscape lighting for nighttime pool parties or midnight swims. Floating lights are another great idea.

-If you don’t have an outside stereo system, waterproof speakers are a must to enjoy poolside tunes. Ion offers a waterproof speaker that can even be brought into the pool with you.

—STEPHEN FANUKA

Stephen Fanuka has built himself an unsurpassed reputation among the leading decorators, architects, and elite clientele as the go-to guy for high quality general contracting and luxury interior renovations. He was driven by a passion for his family’s business and has grown it from a small father-son custom cabinet shop into the prestigious firm it is today, Fanuka, Inc. Fanuka, Inc. works with some of the world’s top designers and architects such as Francois Catroux, Jacques Grange, Eric Cohler, Thom Filicia, Nancy Bozhardt, Philip Gorrivan, Gordon Kahn, and Christopher Maya, as well as celebrities such as Bethenny Frankel, Beyonce, Lindsay Lohan, Rosanna Scotto, and Tony Bennett.

Stephen’s first television series, Million Dollar Contractor premiered in October 2011 on the DIY Network and in April 2012 moved to HGTV. M$C will debut it’s second season this fall on October 16th on the DIY Network. His book, co-written with Ed Lewine titled What’s A Homeowner to Do? was published by Artisan Books in November and is available on Amazon.com and independent and chain booksellers across the country. Catch more of Stephen's tips on Twitter @StephenFanuka and on Facebook: Stephen Fanuka, "Contractor to the Stars."

 
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