Fog rolling in over the weekend made it a perfect setting for the first annual “Hamptons Whodunit” event. Dan’s Papers was one of the sponsors of the inaugural Mystery and Crime Festival. What fun it was!
Opening night was at the historic Maidstone Club, a private country club and golf course founded in 1891 that is perched on acres of oceanfront property in East Hampton.
The gracious hosts welcomed the event’s founders and friends to the weekend festival that had been months in the planning.
I remember meeting on a cold September evening for dinner with Jerry Larsen, the innovative respected mayor of East Hampton, and Carrie Doyle, Jackie Dunphy and Lisa Larson — the creative co-founders of this event — to brainstorm ideas.
I knew the event would be a success and immediately offered Dan’s Papers to be a media sponsor.
These innovative people brought together an incredible lineup of respected authors, filmmakers, legal experts and media personalities. I got to see some old friends and make new ones!
As Mayor Jerry said, “it exceeded all our hopes and expectations!”
They created a uniquely themed weekend and I was blessed to be there for the launch of what I think will be a continuing success.
Reopening Salt & Loft
Happily back in the Hamptons for the ‘Whodunit” festival, I was happy to see that Salt & Loft, one of my favorite restaurants in Westhampton Beach, reopened with Chef Patrick Fromm back in the kitchen to bring out one mouthwatering dish after another.
Barry Bernstein, the owner and landlord of Salt & Loft, greeted me at the door with a big “welcome back” hug.
Westhampton Beach’s Main Street small businesses — most of which are family owned — create a small-town warmth. It’s one of the things I love most about the village!
Elyse Richman, who owns Shock Clothing Store and Shock Ice Cream (the second oldest businesses in town), joined me for dinner. We asked the chef to send out some of his favorites on the menu.
Elyse loved the eggplant meatballs, which were served in a tangy marinara sauce. A perfect dish if you are a vegetarian!
I loved the large shell baked clams loaded with clams and light on the breadcrumbs, just how I like them!
A staple not to be missed is the tantalizing flatbreads. This evening, it was filled with roasted sun gold tomatoes, fava beans, wild mushrooms, bush basil and juicy Fontina cheese. How delicious!
We thoroughly enjoyed the crisp Caesar salad made with little romaine lettuce and topped with reggiano parmigiano and house made tasty Caesar dressing and presented with crusty, crushed bread crumbs sprinkled over the lettuce.
For our main courses, we shared a perfectly cooked skirt steak served with either French fries or a baked potato — we tried both!
We also ordered the salmon. I am a salmon lover and this one was perfectly cooked to my medium rare request. It was covered in an almost unseen filo dough.
Of course, there are plenty of choices for dessert. We shared a creamy cheesecake that is not to be missed.
There is also a children’s menu for kids 14 and under that features choices of juicy hamburgers and crispy chicken fingers — my kids’ favorites!
It was good to be back!
Southampton visit
On Saturday afternoon, I ventured into Southampton for lunch to see my brilliant friend Dr. Peter Michalos and Zach Erdem, owner of Main 75.
Sitting at “his” table, Zach shared with us his exciting new ventures in Greenport on the North Fork. I worried he’d have a long trip, but he assured me it’s only 45 minutes from Southampton if one travels through Riverhead. The scenic way on the expensive ferry takes an hour and half!
Zach has started running The Gallery Hotel and 314 Main Street restaurant in Greenport. Good luck to a man who is living the dream that is reminiscent of Horatio Alger’s success story, having come to America with nothing and building hugely successful hospitality businesses. I’m so proud of Zach and am happy to have him as a friend. Stay tuned for more details!
Doing it right
“News has to be the news,” was said by a pundit on CBS’ “Sunday Morning,” my favorite TV show.
I grew up assuming that was so, but I now realize how truly powerful that statement is, considering our recent recognition by leading industry media Editor & Publisher as one of the country’s top “10 News Publishers that Do It Right.” We were the only media company selected in New York State!
They announced the winners by stating the following:
“We at E&P are inspired by what each one does to keep news vibrant in their local communities.”
I’m so proud of our team for being recognized that we cover real news about real people. Fake news is not in our family-owned media DNA.
It’s a timely win, especially with the recent Dominion v. Fox defamation lawsuit settlement and related pending case of Smartmatic v. Fox. It will be fascinating to see what the trial reveals about how allegedly fake news from Fox made millions in profits!
We at Schneps Media and our 90 media outlets are proudly committed to our mission to “tell it like it is” and be “all about you!”
