An illegal Hamptons zoo escape theory 🦩
+ a war at Surf Lodge, lobster roll economics, and Biden's fundraiser invite list.
Today’s Hamptons Feed Me letter is made up of 3500 mouthwatering words, focused on Hamptons-only news and gossip. It includes everything from Larry Gagosian’s weekend uniform, a war between Surf Lodge and its new competitor (started by its former owner), the economics of the lobster roll, an interview with a hot couple who runs a 7-acre farm in Springs, and what bottle service will cost you on the Fourth of July. Because of the phone calls, driving, and humiliation that went into getting these exclusives, and my guarantee that nobody else is reporting on the Hamptons like this, this letter is for paid readers only.
Before we get into that, I will see many of you tonight! As a reminder, there are two parties:
The first one, paid readers got exclusive access to. If you are on the list, I will see you at 6pm. Please don’t bring people who aren’t on the list, I can’t handle getting in trouble tonight.
The second one is at Jean’s on Lafayette from 9pm to midnight, and is open to everyone. There is no list. Ezra Marcus will be DJing. A lot of hot guys and girls will be there who are single. I do ask that you go over to my Instagram Story and respond to the poll if you’re going so that we can have the right amount of security. It’s going to be a blast… finance interns get free shots. I also get free shots so if you find me I’ll treat ya.
Now sit back, relax, and let’s go out east for THE NEWS:
Biden is going to the Hamptons. He is throwing a campaign event at the oceanfront estate of hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein. I know from trusted sources that the Rosensteins are friends with Jerry Seinfeld, who lives on the same block. Neighbors also include Lorne Michaels (who will probably go) and Carl Icahn (who probably won’t go). I also heard Larry Gagosian was doing some walking laps around the block this weekend in CASHMERE despite it being 80-degrees and sunny.
The East Hampton flamingo escape theory. A few weeks ago, a flamingo was spotted in East Hampton’s Georgica Pond. A relative of mine who was out there said that she spoke to people who drove up to six hours to come see the bird!!! The most common theory was that the American flamingo was displaced by Hurricane Idalia, a Category 4 hurricane that hit the southeastern part of the U.S. last August. That sounded like a stretch to me, so last night I reached out to local Georgica Pond expert Levi Shaw-Faber. His theory blew my mind:
“I was 10 ft. away from him yesterday, he’s pretty magical. My theory is that he escaped from a private illegal zoo. People have everything out here – a pet flamingo would not be shocking. This story about Pablo Escobar’s hippos is what gave me the private zoo theory. I’ve also been wondering if flamingos are pink from eating shrimp, will he lose his color and look like an egret? He’s gone everywhere – he was in Cape Cod last week – but he likes Georgica Pond the most.”
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BREAKING media news: the Shelter Island Reporter has plans to close permanently at the end of this year unless someone else buys it. According to an investigative reporter who lives on the island, “The plan is for it to be replaced/subsumed with some additional Shelter Island content in The Suffolk Times, which is owned by the same family publishing business that bought The Reporter 24 years ago and also owns the Riverhead News Review… I don’t know how much The Reporter would cost. Andrew Olsen, the publisher of the Times Review Media Group, hasn’t set a price. He told me he's willing to sell and it would be a very fair price and he'd like the Shelter Island brand to continue. Any value would be professionally appraised before any sale. I also don’t know how much financial risk or possible gain there’d be. I haven’t analyzed revenues or expenses, gross or net. There are formulas and experts to do that sort of thing expeditiously. My brother has some ideas about that. Olsen told me the paper did well through covid but dropped off more recently into a money-losing proposition. He told me he wants to simplify and streamline his portfolio, which also includes the northforker and southforker magazines.” In the time from when I received this news yesterday, to this morning, I’ve made some powerful moves that have included some of my plugged-in Feed Me readers so see what I can do about this.
Remember how in the last Hamptons letter we said The Row’s store in Amagansett was stocking items from Happier Grocery? Well… Alexandra Hamile, longtime friend of the Olsen twins, is Happier Grocery’s new Head of Marketing, Strategy, and Legal. We call that linking and building.
🦞🦞🦞 LOBSTER ROLL CALL: the economic state of Long Island’s favorite sandwich 🦞🦞🦞
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Lobster roll: $38, with fries OR sweet potato fries
Gurney’s: $48, served with black truffle that nobody asked for
Bostwick’s: $34
Duryea’s: $44, served with what appears to be burnt potato chips
SALT: $40, interesting they serve with tarragon
Commander Cody’s: $25 (weekends only)
Gosman’s Dock: $37
Claudio’s: $39, served hot or cold… with fries
Now here’s an interesting one….Bounce: $40 for brunch lobster roll, $43 for dinner lobster roll
Inlet Seafood: $42, with fries
Topping Rose House: $48 with YUZU, SOY, AND PICKLED CHILIS! AND HERBY FRIES! My favorite hotel in the Hamptons for a reason.
Noah’s: $40, with fries and pickles
🦞🦞🦞 END OF LOBSTER ROLL CALL 🦞🦞🦞
Christie Brinkley launched a clothing line inspired by her house, Tower Hill. So I have quite the affinity for this house. Brinkley allowed me into the tower that her estate got its name from when I was shooting my documentary about Gardiner’s Island (the builder of the house, John Lyon Gardiner, made sure one could see his family’s island from the tower). During this whole experience, Brinkley was overwhelmingly generous. This week, I found out she launched a Hamptons-inspired clothing line called TWRHLL (get it?) with HSN – everything is under $100. Brinkley has listed the $30mm estate several times over the 25 years she’s lived there, but she keeps holding on to it.
From a reader: “I went to dinner at the new Montauk Yacht Club restaurant. Proper Hotels (Kelly Wearstler’s husband) took over operations and the chef and restaurant are from St. Barth’s. Food was really good and the space was very nice – big open kitchen.” If you’re like me and didn’t know who Kelly was, she’s the interior designer responsible for Ulla Johnson’s LA boutique, the Bergdorf Goodman restaurant, and the San Francisco Proper.
LDV, the restaurant group behind Scarpetta and The Beach Club at Gurney’s, opened in East Hampton’s Maidstone. Party and food looked fine, but I found Ramona’s lemon dress. I will say, the restaurant’s site looks better than most out there.
Greenport is debating whether short-term tourism is good for the North Fork community. I really like Greenport; I’ve been out there every summer for the past few years and even went in the winter a few times for long weekends outside of the city – they’re getting some great restaurants and almost every hotel has been redone in the last few years. More than 220 of the town’s approximately 800 homes are registered as short-term rentals, Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi said. If approved, Greenport’s change would take effect in January. Limits on short-term rentals would likely increase demand for hotels and motels, though it is not clear they need it. Many have been purchased and spruced up by investors, who have raised prices. A stay this weekend at the Greenporter Hotel downtown starts at $359 a night, and during summer weekends rooms at seaside North Fork establishments can exceed $1,000.
SO YOU WANT TO POP BOTTLES FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY 🇺🇸🥂?
I enquired about bottle serve so you don’t have to — and I hope you don’t!
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CABANA SERVICE at GURNEY’S for 8
FREE: Two bottles of flat water, two bottles of sparkling water, and a Sun Bum Suncare kit, and DJ set by former finance guy, current DJ, Beau Cruz.
CABANA RENTAL: $2,500
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MINIMUM SPEND: $2,500
FROZEN ESPRESSO MARTINI: $23
ADDITIONAL GUESTS: $250 each
INSIDE TABLE at BOUNCE BEACH for 8
FREE: The table, seeing someone from your office who has never been to the Hamptons, a DJ set by “Rick Wonder” (GA tickets are $55). A friend told me, “Bounce Beach is like a great house party, with good vibes and less pretentious than Surf Lodge. A frat party full of people who grew up to work at Goldman.”
FOOD AND BEVERAGE MINIMUM: $2000
HAMPTON WATER FROSE: $19
SURF LODGE
FREE: Seeing every influencer you follow on TikTok, DJ set by Diplo, baby!
GENERAL ADMISSION: Sold out, sorry!
BEACH TABLE: $7,500 (disclosure: no direct view of the performance, which means you can’t see our boy Diplo)
DECK TABLE: $10k
ADDITIONAL INFO: You will get kicked out if you wear bachelorette attire of any kind; coincidentally, The Surf Lodge took down their menu PDF’s after the last time I wrote about their prices.
Marram Montauk has quickly become the brand magnet hotel of Hamptons. Which means brands buyout rooms (probably at a slight discount) to host influencers for events – Marram doesn’t give them out for free. In any case, I was looking at the police logs and it looks like a guest at the hotel reported the theft of a necklace and other items from his room earlier this month. First of all, that’s my biggest fear. Second of all, don’t you guys kind of feel like when a restaurant or hotel repeatedly hosts brand dinners and events it becomes less appealing to spend money at for a normal dinner or hotel stay? Event Gurney’s now has an IG Story highlight of “brand partnerships.” It turns these luxury experience into something slightly… mall-y.
One of my ultimate girl crushes, Mickey Lee, is taking over Broadway Gallery this summer.
The Guest plot line wasn’t based on nothing. People really do leave their Hermes sandals on the beach while they go swimming in the ocean…
The former Surf Lodge owner opened a competitor club in Southampton. Ketchy Shuby, which my friends describe as “cheugy Tulum vibes,” opened a club in Southampton. Ketchy Beach is located within Capri Southampton, a $500/night hotel that opened in 2011 by David Edelstein (who is also the developer of the W South Beach). Weekend Instagram Stories of the club-staurant (new term which I keep hearing hospitality people use) include a lot of neon lights, Revolve dresses, trance music, and bad camp collar shirts. It looks like a bootleg, albeit more spacious, Surf Lodge… which makes sense because Jamie Mulholland, who used to own Surf Lodge, owns Ketchy Shuby. I also found out this morning that Ketchy Beach offered Montauk regulars a bus to the club, assuming as an alternative to Surf Lodge. I did what any woman would do. I texted the investor/promoter (classic combo) who I saw on Ketchy Beach’s Instagram all weekend, and he told me they’re different than Surf Lodge because they have “a pool, bar, lounge and restaurant all in one.” He also said the two vibes of the DJ’s will be, “inside and outside. Different vibes,” and that the concept is “all about togetherness and the fusion of many different vibrations to make something special. The dinner menu has something for everyone and the vibes are electric till 4am.” I might make shirts that say I CAN’T WAIT TO ACTIVATE THE POOL VIBE.
Speaking of Hamptons nightclubs… The Room, a new music venue in East Hampton has officially opened., and I imagine it will become the new late-night spot for people after Surf Lodge. The lineup for the summer includes Cheat Codes, Jesse Royal, and a few more that I want to tell you but can’t yet. Matt Rubenstein, The Clubhouse and The Room entertainment director, teamed up with Cassie Goldring of Levitate Creative (formerly Conde) and Lauren Acampora (Wieden + Kennedy) led the rebrand and launch of The Room. Current brand partners for the property include:
Blade and Hampton Streamliner (Blade’s luxury Hampton Jitney)
Brisas (trendy new Padel spot which is on the same property as The Room)
A recent thread in the r/rich Subreddit asks what people who lived in the Hamptons do for a living. The original poster says, “I’m a young male pursuing a finance degree from the South. Just got super curious.” Oh, did you now? Answers include:
Hedge fund manager
“The man who invented the paper bag”
The owner of a sheet metal company
Tech CEO
“I knew a couple who owned a private club and high-end spa in NYC with a house in the Hampton’s. They picked me up in a helicopter and flew me out for the day!” Sick.
Professional Son
Publishing CEO
Martha Stewart
Surgeons
“I know a short bald guy that works for the Yankees. He’s always bragging about his house in the Hamptons.” Georgeeeeee.
SPOTTED ON THE STREETS: a Carissa’s Bakery x Kith sweatshirt. I hear from trusted sources that the Ina Garten-approved bakery and streetwear brand are working on a collab, which hopefully comes with a special Turkish coffee Kith Treats flavor.
The Reform Club, a wellness focused inn in Amagansett, opened a restaurant down the block. I’ve always been curious about The Reform Club – my friend has a house across from the boutique hotel’s stately hedges and I always see gorgeous cars parked out front. An adventure for another day… but in the meantime, the team behind the hotel opened The Meeting House which is located right in Amagansett’s town square.
The perfect life exists: 7 acres in the Hamptons, running a farm with your partner, and a roadside produce stand.
James Burke and Andie Fortier started Sand and Soil Farm in 2020 with the intent to bring organically grown produce to the local community and ensure that it does not come at the expense of their soil. They also went to prom together. They also happen to be family friends of my cousin, who grew up with James.
The pair's journey began at Nick and Toni's (one of my top-3 restaurants out east) in 2019. Their first responsibility was weeding and harvesting, "since they were between gardeners at the time," Ms. Fortier told The East Hampton Star in 2021. "James saw so much potential and possibility in the garden and convinced me to seed something new from them the very first night we were there. We seeded one bed of pea shoots and haven't stopped ever since. Our farm couldn't exist without the support from everyone at Nick and Toni's. They've allowed us to experiment and make mistakes along the way that have made us better farmers today," she said.
I spoke to them about farming in a community that has been harder and harder to live in, why you should talk to your farmers in the Hamptons – and not just at the checkout counter! It’s also important to know what it’s like to be in a relationship with your business partner as a farmer.
First of all, what do you grow and who is it for?
We grow mixed vegetables, fruits, and flowers! We grow a little bit of everything with our main crops being tomatoes, salad greens, head lettuce, peppers, eggplant, radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and watermelons. We grow everything using organic practices.
We do up to four farmers markets in the height of the season (The Port Jefferson Farmers Market, The Springs Farmers Market, Montauk Farmers Market, and the East Hampton Farmers Market. We also wholesale our veggies to local restaurants including Nick & Tonis, Coche Comedor, and Rowdy Hall. We are currently in the process of setting up a self-serve roadside stand in Springs so keep an eye out for us!
How did you end up with the current land that you work on?
We have about 7 acres of farmable land that we lease through both the Peconic Land Trust and the Town of East Hampton. This is a common way for farmers to have access to land in an area where land has become unaffordable and in high demand. We currently farm on 3 of the 7 acres through the Farms for the Future program at the Peconic Land Trust. This is where our farm began, in Amagansett. We recently moved onto a farm that we lease through the Town of East Hampton in Springs. This land has housing so we are very grateful to know that we can continue living and farming in a community where for many this has become harder and harder.
The Hamptons are often glamorized, and now with the explosion of chefs in The Hamptons on TikTok, working in The Hamptons is also glamorized. What have you learned about this sparkly world while working out there? What are the biggest misconceptions?
It is super exciting to be a farm in a place where people are excited about fresh and local produce. One of my favorite components of the farm is Farmers Market days, where I get to interact with customers and chefs. We exchange tips, tricks, and recipes and share in the excitement of what is coming out of our field that week.
At times a tension can exist between folks who live year round in this community and those just visiting for our beautiful summers. The farmers market, for me, can feel like a great equalizer. A place for people to catch up with old friends, connect with local food suppliers in their community, and overall act as a celebration of what each season brings.
Agriculture in the Hamptons and on Eastern Long Island has a rich and long history. While many may think of the glamor, don't miss out on supporting local farms. Many restaurants in the Hamptons incorporate local farms onto their menu. Nick & Toni's, where we actually manage and care for a 1 acre restaurant garden (everything grown in the on-site garden gets brought into the kitchen and incorporated into the menu) offers a great menu filled with produce from the garden itself and/or local farms.
Last year, every time I scrolled on Instagram, I saw viral posts about the farm stands in The Hamptons. Now, I see the hats from those farm stands on every person in Manhattan. Are all of the farm stands out there equal?
Each farm stand offers something unique. Whether it be through what they grow, how they present it, or their farming practices. We focus on the quality of our produce as well as organic/bio-diverse farming practices. We always prioritize soil health and we think this leads to some pretty great veggies as well and minimizing the impact a farm can have on land and the surrounding environment. Talk to your farmer! The advantage of going to a farm stand is that you can meet the people growing your food. You can ask what they value on their farm and decide what you value in a farm stand.
Have you had any business-changing moments? Either big wins or frustrations?
Up until this year when we were able to lease our new home and farmland through our town, the future of our farm always felt unstable. Our land lease program we participated in was not long term and the possibility of being able to afford the purchase of farmland, felt unattainable. Having the stability of a long term land lease and stable housing will allow us to grow and better plan as a business.
In farming there are big and small wins and frustrations almost daily. This is something you learn to cope with improve upon as a farmer each year. We try to control as much as we can and refine our farming practices each year to minimize the frustrations, but sometimes you just can't help a heavy rain, strong wind, broken equipment, or plant disease. It is a fine line of holding tight to what we can fix and letting go of what we cannot.
Farming is problem solving. We seeded a round of carrots this past week that didn't germinate well.This is a stressful problem because carrots are an important crop and this could mean we may be without them for a few weeks this season. We had to decide if it could be a heavy rain washing out some seeds, our older seeder dropping seeds inconsistently, or the soil remaining too dry for too long. We adjust what we can and try to learn from our mistakes.
“Farming is problem solving… we adjust what we can and try to learn from our mistakes.” - Andie Fortier
I have a few readers who are either beginning or have expressed interest in starting a career in farming. Any advice for them?
Farming is a rewarding career that allows you to wear many hats, be creative, and be a part of a greater community. It does not come without challenges and requires a great commitment, especially if you decide to run your own farm. My advice would be to work on some other farms. Test out different models of farms and see what is a good fit for you.
And lastly.... any advice for someone looking to run a business with their partner?
I can't speak for all businesses because I feel farming is different in many ways. Farming in the height of the season is all consuming and requires constant thought. The seedlings in the greenhouse need water everyday, three times a day, they don't take days off. Because of the hard work a farm requires I feel it is a great business to run with your partner. We both are able to understand the commitment to the farm required each season. We also both have a strong shared interest and a mutual investment in our farm being sustainable each year, our goals as partners are the same.
Of course, running a business with a partner comes with challenges. I think setting aside some time to just be partners and not business partners is important. For us, in the height of our season this is easier said than done, but being that we have some down time each winter, we try to travel somewhere each year and this gives us time away from the business which can be re-energizing.
Hope this was fun. We’re back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!
How are we supposed to be expected to just work all day after reading about lobster rolls, bottle service and roadside produce stands? How?
will mondays ever be the same after tonight? no, no they won't #summermondays #FeedMeInterns