Hamptons, Brooklyn, + Manhattan

November 8-15, 2018

TL;DR: We were lucky enough to stay with friends the entire time we were in the Hamptons and Manhattan, and saw a ton of friends. It was a good mix of relaxed and productive in the Hamptons, and jam-packed in the city. Didn’t see nearly enough, though—friends or things—so we’ll be back.

The sights

East Hampton Grill

Quintessential Hamptons crowd. Amazing biscuits and cocktails. Good people watching. Feeding frenzy over the seats.

Montauk

We drove out to see the Montauk lighthouse and thought we could find a restaurant along the way, but most places were closed. So we ended up eating crispy fried fish and drinking cold beers at the restaurant right by the Montauk lighthouse. Not the greatest but it definitely works in a pinch. It was $8 to park and then another $11 per person to go to the lighthouse… so we opted out of that one, but walked around the outside which was beautiful, and according to Chloe, “the end of the world.”

Sag Harbor

We didn’t spend nearly enough time here, but had breakfast with our house hostess and longtime family friend Chris on our last morning and it was lovely. Really good salmon bagel at SagTown Coffee. Cute little town with no chain stores, which is definitely a change of pace from the rest of the Hamptons.

Wolffer winery

This winery is a two-minute walk from our friend’s house, so how could we not go? The winery was nice but overpriced. Cool atmosphere, probably more so during the summer.

Murder Alley

One night in Manhattan, we went to a party in a Chinese theater and opera house that was witness to a gang rivalry killing that apparently ignited a war in the early 1900s. The area is also home to Wo Hop, where they’ve been serving delicious Chinese food since 1938. Apparently the restaurant was copied—down to the name—by its neighbor, but those in the know go down the stairs anytime from 10 AM to 7 AM for delicious everything (that’s right, they’re only closed for 3 hours, from 7-10 AM).

Goldberg’s

Fell in love with this place in the Hamptons. Everything bagels are so good. Also got to do a turkey reuben on an everything bagel and it was delicious (though they were very confused about Jess’s request).

Mile End Delicatessen

This delicious spot in Brooklyn turns out perfect hangover food. We met Soph here (used to work with Jess at Lyft) and had a splendid time.

Fausto

We stayed with one of Jess’s best friends in Brooklyn and met her boyfriend for the most delicious pastaaaa here. Yes, yes, yes.

Bien Cuit

Pretty delicious croissant to tide us over on our trip back to the Hamptons.

Details, details, details

The drive to the Hamptons felt like a verrrryyyy long drive. We saw signs about no trucks on parkways and had a minor freak-out because we realized we were going to have to really pay attention not to hit a low bridge.

Introduced Bri to the movie, Coco, and he thought it was just as magical as Jess. Thank goodness.

In Manhattan, we quickly hit a few hot spots—Chrysler Building, Grand Central, Rockefeller Center (the tree wasn’t up yet), Highline—but otherwise mainly stuck to Brooklyn and Cobble Hill.

Though we did see a lot of great friends who we haven’t in a while, the fast and furious nature of our Manhattan visit made it hard to see many others. We’ll just have to come back!

And then this happened…

We went through Times Square not once but twice in one day… never again.

On that same day, we ended up at a Jim James concert even though we knew basically none of his songs and it was definitely for hardcore fans. Whoops.

Our wonderful hostess in the Hamptons got back from Paris on our second to last night, but it took her six hours to get back from the airport because of the snow! And then there were 60 MPH winds that night, and her door blew open on her. Talk about a welcome home.

The engine grill/grate started coming loose (and not just in that one corner). Not fun worrying about that falling off and wreaking havoc under the RV and then in traffic behind us.

Road food

A small, bustling bakeshop, Breadzilla is the spot for hot clam chowder with bacon, fresh shrimp salad sandwiches (yep), and cinnamon buns the size of popovers.

Look past the less-than-ideal location and be rewarded with Los Tacos No. 1’s mouthwatering adobada pork, fresh tortillas, and mini calzone–like quesadilla.

Where we stayed

The majority of the time, we were lucky enough to stay at Jess’s best friend’s Mom’s house in the Hamptons, and her home was just downright gorgeous. And spacious. And had internet. And laundry. It was magical. Thank you, Chris!

When we were in Brooklyn, we stayed with Ariel for two days, which was awesome. She has an adorable apartment and a real cute pup. Plus, it was just nice to see her. Thanks, AK!