Gotham Gal

Clam Bar

Hands down the best place on the entire Eastern End of Long Island is the Clam Bar.  We love the place.  We actually were the first customers one year when they opened up for Spring. 

The serve what you expect.  See the black slate board in the picture, that is their specials.  They never change.  Steamers, Lobster, Grilled Fish, Fried Clam Bellies, Clam Chowder - Manhattan and New England, Lobster Bisque.  All good and all cash. 

There is nothing quite like pulling off Route 27 in Napeague, sitting outside, having a Corona and a bowl of chowder.  It really completes the beach day.  You can sit at a table or the bar stools in front.

LUNCH which is across the way has been there for just as long but in my book, the Clam Bar is superior on all fronts.  I haven't been to LUNCH in years and plan on keeping it that way. 

Podcast

Positively 10th street is up again.  Last week solo - no kids.  Good new music.  Click here.  And always, for the more information just go to Fred's site. 

Enjoy!!

Making It Up As I Go Along

Maria Lennon sent her novel to me.  She reads my blog.  I was delighted that someone would send me a book to read that they have just recently published.  As much as I am trying to finish Anna Karenina, I keep picking up everything else that looks a little more appealing.  Oh well.

I finally got around to reading Maria's book this weekend.  The name of the book through me.  I thought that book was going to be about having a first kid and the toils of motherhood.  I was wrong. 

The book is about a young woman, Saffron Roche, who does have her first child but also happens to be a war correspondent in Africa.  She becomes pregnant from her unfaithful lover and flows the coop back to Malibu where she grew up.  She returns to Malibu after her stand-in mother dies and leaves her a large inheritance with many attachments. 

As she tries to resettle herself in California with a young baby in tow maneuvering the baby scene,  Saffron is a total fish out of water.  Her perception of the young wealthy woman in Los Angeles with their baby in tow is actually pretty interesting.  Through it all she actually makes some good friends. 

The book weaves and bobs through Saffron's ties and her connections to her friends in Africa to her loyalties to her stand-in mother and the money she is to inherit. 

Maria does a good job developing Saffron's character.  The one thing that left me baffled is for such a smart girl, Saffron is incredibly stupid when it comes to dealing with reality on the home front.  Her brother (not by blood) is figuring out how he can screw her out of her inheritance and Saffron is absolutely oblivious to the scam. 

Although I really enjoyed the book.  Great beach read.  A good first novel.  Flows really well.  Well written.  Very layered.  I was annoyed at Saffron for not having the insight into how she was being ripped off.  It was plain stupid and I thought she was a smarter gal.

Vicki's Veggies

On the Eastern End of Long Island, local vegetable stands are abundant.  The favorite is generally the one that is within the closest vicinity of your home.  We are fans of Vicki's Veggies.  Behind this beautiful stand are homes (where they live), farm land planted up and a wonderful herb garden that is free pickings for the customers. 

I figure Vicki's provides for the majority of Amagansett.  It is a good local watering hole right on Route 27. 

If you are looking for Vicki, it would be the only person behind the counter that isn't wearing the t-shirt that say "I am not Vicki".  The veggie stand was started by her mother when Vicki was just a young one.  Now Vicki and her mom run the place.  Mom makes the jellies for sale.  Vicki chit chats.  Mom loves to cook, Vicki doesn't know how to boil water.  Weather is a favorite topic. 

Vicki's opens by 7am and closes at dusk.  I believe they are also open from April - October. 

Cindy Sheehan Update

I posted about Cindy Sheehan a few days ago.  She is the woman who lost her son in the Iraq war and is now camped out in Crawford in front of Bush's home.  Bush must be bummed since he just held a press conference about why we must not pull out of Iraq.  Conference during his vacation...can you imagine? 

Well the update on Cindy Sheehan is she is not the only person there now.  There are about 50 people and growing.  All I can say is, you go girl!  Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of this mislead war on terrorism.

Bostwicks Seafood Grill

There are plenty of restaurants of your choice in the East End of Long Island.  Most of them are just OK and packed.  One place we continue to go back to year after year is Bostwicks Seafood Grill.  The place is local.  They take no reservations. Get there early.  It is set in the parking lot of a boat yard.  But the restaurant is up high so if you sit outside on the deck not only do you not even notice the cars, you generally have an incredible sunset. 

The food is solid.  Local fish, big desserts, local vegetables, etc.  It isn't stellar but when you see the sunset, everything just hits the spot.

Amagansett Fish Market

Lucky for me, I get to spend the last few weeks of summer out in Amagansett, Long Island.  It is a beautiful place to be.  The beaches are incredible, the sunsets are beautiful and the fresh local food is abundant.  The downside is the traffic.  I am not the only person out here, drag.

One of my all time favorite shops out here is the Fish Market.  That's all it says, Fish Market.  There are many fish stores out this way.  You can go to Stewarts in Amagansett where it smells like fish.  Fish stores shouldn't smell like fish.  That is a bad sign.  Butchers don't smell like raw beef do they?  There is also Citarella but what is the point when the local places are getting fish off the boats. 

Mike is the owner of the Fish Market.  I actually call the place Mike's.  He is a charming Irishman who spends his summers here and his winters in Costa Rica.  The staff is friendly and very mellow.  His fish is always fresh.  He also makes some excellent salads.  I admit that I am addicted to the tuna fish salad.  Fresh tuna probably poached and mashed with red onions and it has a kick too.  I don't think there is mayo in there either.  It is a constant in our fridge.  His Lobster salad is also quite good.  Shrimp salad with onions and dill is also a winner.  He is also long on Japanese type salads.  The Wijiki salad which is loaded with lotus root is a big favorite in our house.  Another favorite is the crab and artichoke dip.  We spread it over sliced loaves of French bread they sell with a few sliced tomatoes and broil it in the oven for a few minutes for appetizers.  It is top!

Mike will also put together for you a lobster dinner.  I have the pot and can do it at home but why clean another pot when you don't have to.  Call Mike up, tell him the size and time and it's hot and ready to go with ample butter and anything else you want on the side.  The lobsters are always cooked to perfection.

Am I raving?  It is a great local spot.  Mike is great guy.  I look forward to seeing him and chatting every single summer.  So, if you happen to be on the East end of Long Island, make sure you stop by and pick up some goodies. 

Bellavitae

I literally walk down Minetta Lane daily during the school year.  There had been a restaurant at the end of Minetta for years and years.  One day they closed shop and as always a new restaurant took over the space in no time at all.  Bellavitae welcome to the neighborhood.

Fred and the kids had gone when it first opened up.  They summed it up by saying it was OK not great. 

On a Tuesday night in August, you can generally walk into any restaurant of your choice and get a seat.  Not this summer.  Restaurants are packed.  The streets are packed.  We saw a movie at the Angelica and got out around 9pm.  We were wondering where could we possibly find a place at the bar.  The people were teeming out on to the street of the restaurants on Houston.  Bar Pitti and Da Silvano on 6th Avenue, had people in line and in packs just drinking and waiting for a table.  It was ridiculous.  So, we walked by Bellavitae and there were 2 seats calling out our name at the bar.

There are 2 bars in the restaurant.  One in the front, which does not serve any food except for a few finger food items.  The bartender, who wasn't very friendly, told us that they won't even serve silverware there.  Fingers only.  Hmm.  Not a great way to develop a clientele.

We ordered a cheese platter and some fried eggplant.  A table opened up so we moved so we could at least eat something else.  Funny enough the cheese platter had a jelly on it so I wasn't sure how I was supposed to get the jelly on the cheese with my fingers if I was sitting at the bar.  Also, the eggplant was so fried to a crispy and greasy with a sauce on the side, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to do that fingers only too.   

We sat down and ordered 2 more things to split.  We had a fettuccine with roasted mushrooms.  The sauce was a massive amount of olive oil and some cheese.  The mushrooms were tasty but hard to work in a fettuccine.  You picked up the pasta and the mushrooms were so large that they couldn't work their way into the fork.  Zitti would have been more to the point, or at least chopped mushrooms. 

We also split the classic Italian cold veal with tuna sauce and capers.  The veal wasn't that good.  The sauce was to heavy handed. 

The kids were right.  OK, not great.  It is too bad.  The vibe in there is really nice.  Low ceilings, down a small street, intimate setting, etc.  The makings of a good restaurant.  It is in the neighborhood and I do like the place unfortunately the food isn't worth the journey.

When the President Talks

I usually don't post this type of stuff but I can't help it.  How can any person not think this is truly frightening.  Are we following the script from Being There or The Emperor Has No Clothes?
What is more amazing is that this is posted on the White House Site. 

This is not a joke. These are the President's exact words.
You can read the entire transcript at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050204-13.html

Subject: President Bush explains his Social Security  Reform Proposal.

WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: I don't really understand. How is the new plan
going to fix the problem?

Verbatim  response:

PRESIDENT BUSH: "Because the -- all which is on the table begins to
address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are 
calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise
based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of
parts of the  formula that are being considered. And when you couple
that, those different  cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those
with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more
likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised. Does
that make any sense to  you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a
series of things that cause  the --like, for example, benefits are
calculated based upon the increase  of wages, as opposed to the
increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the
benefits will rise based upon inflation, supposed to wage increases.
There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into
effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised
benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help 
on the red."

If you forward this to others, might they, or someone, be able to
understand?

The Aristocrats

If you can't get to a comedy club, at least get to the movie theater to see The Aristocrats.  This movie is absolutely hilarious.  The Aristocrats is a joke that has been told over and over and over again in the world of comedy.  Everyone tells it differently.  The film interviews over 50 comedians around the world.  Brilliant documentary. 

Note:  This is absolutely not for children but quite fun for adults.