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East Hampton Many people come to "America’s most beautiful village" for the beaches, which have been ranked among the nation’s cleanest. But there is much more to see and do. Beaches. Parking at any village or town beach along Long Island’s south shore is limited to fifteen minutes or requires a parking sticker indicating residency. All parking is banned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the residential streets lined with great estates near the beaches. For those without stickers, parking is available at Main Beach and Atlantic Avenue Beach for $15 on weekdays. Many inns have beach passes for guests. Walking Tour. Walk Main Street in the heart of East Hampton’s historic district from Montauk Highway to Newtown Lane. The Town Pond is a tranquil spot at the end of the village green, between Main Street and James Lane. Tombstones date back to the 17th century in the adjacent South End Cemetery, where many gravestones are so worn they are no longer legible. Home Sweet Home, the 1680 saltbox that was the boyhood home of poet John Howard Payne, who wrote the song of the same name, is open for guided tours and features fine furniture collected over three centuries. Nearby is an early windmill. The Mulford Farmstead, long the center of a working farm, also is open for tours in summer. Guild Hall, given to the town in 1931, is an art museum with three galleries and the John Drew Theater, the oldest playhouse on Long Island, the site for plays, musicals and concerts. Across the street is the charming brick and stucco, English-looking East Hampton Library. There’s not a computer terminal in sight, but stacks of newspapers and two old typewriters can be seen through the front office windows of the East Hampton Star, the thick and newsy local weekly. Beside it is the Wild Flower Garden of Long Island, a shady oasis of native plants, the gift of the Garden Club of East Hampton. Clinton Academy, built in 1784, is marked as the oldest "academical" institution in New York State. It’s used for Historical Society exhibits of period furniture, artifacts, decoys and dolls. School desks, handwriting lessons and quill pens are on view next door in the shingled Town House, a former school and town hall built in 1731. The 1735 Osborne-Jackson House is the headquarters of the East Hampton Historical Society. In the triangle between North Main and Pantigo Lane is the Hook Mill, a still-operable windmill open to the public for tours in summer. Driving Tours. Residential streets in the estate area between Main Beach and Georgica Pond are worth a look-see. Tall trees, privet hedges and deep lawns screen some estates from view, but others are visible from the road and most show signs of big money and good taste. Another pleasant drive is along the dunes on Further Lane to Bluff Road in Amagansett. Shopping. East Hampton’s tree-shaded shopping district along Main Street and Newtown Lane is quite villagey and low-key, as opposed, say, to Southampton. Garden benches provide welcome seating every thirty feet or so. Two stores that everybody seems to like are the ultra decorated Polo Country Store, the second of summer resident Ralph Lauren’s country stores, and the Coach Factory Store, where the handsome and expensive bags are sold at a slight discount (we got a discontinued model for half price, however). There are so many designer clothing shops that you wonder if visiting New Yorkers are simply too busy to shop in Manhattan; ditto for antiques and interiors stores. The options vary from Cashmere Hampton, Bonne Nuit (lacy lingerie and children’s outfits), Whitewash (almost all white clothing) to Victory Garden ("antiques, etc." for garden and home) and Long Island Sound (music store). We coveted the incredible carved wood sculptures and acrylics (one of Noah’s Ark and all the passengers for $2,400) at Anne Kolb Gallery. More to our price range were the handful of upscale outlet stores, spread out around sculptures and benches flanking the large lawn at Amagansett Square. The trendoids pick up their gourmet foods at Jerry and David’s Red Horse Market, owned by Jerry Della Femina and a partner from Dean & DeLuca, at 74 Montauk Hwy. One of the more exotic salad bars is located across the plaza at Red Horse to Go. Other good lunchy spots with salads, focaccia sandwiches, gourmet foods and such are JL Bean and Barefoot Contessa, both along Newtown Lane. Farm Stands. Long known for potatoes and ducks, eastern Long Island has become a center for fresh produce. Round Swamp Farm at 184 Three Mile Harbor Road was featured in the New York Times as one of summer resident Craig Claiborne’s favorite markets. It sells everything from fruits and exotic vegetables to preserves, fish, cheese, baked goods and more, and we picked up a couple of jars of their good salsas. We thought Round Swamp couldn’t be topped, but it was – at least in terms of size and crowds – by the Amagansett Farmers Market on the Montauk Highway in Amagansett, a privately owned "stand" bigger than any we’ve seen. Here, at what is obviously a local gathering spot, everyone was buying cut flowers for the weekend, picking up oyster mushrooms and baby pattypan squash, and sifting through every salsa, mustard, oil and vinegar ever made. An incredible bakery produces the best sticky buns, and folks sit out front with croissants and cappuccino from the espresso bar. There also are a section of prepared foods and a great meat market. Extra-Special Sag Pond Vineyards Long Island has become known for fine wines, since the Hargrave Vineyard pioneered on the North Fork in the 1970s. Lately, the South Fork is diverting attention from North Fork vintners. Here, a stunning new state-of-the-art winery opened atop a hill above the Atlantic Ocean in 1997. It looks like something straight out of Tuscany with its blue shutters on a sand-colored façade, imposing gates, colorful gardens and a fountain at the entry. Windows in the cathedral-ceilinged tasting room look onto the tanks in the fermentation room. Christian Wolffer, German-born international venture capitalist, bought the property on the north side of the Montauk Highway to raise horses, and his Sag Pond Farm is considered the top stable on the South Fork. He then planted 50 acres of grapes in 1987. Winemaker Roman Roth from Germany produces award-winning chardonnays and pinot noirs in the European style. Bone dry rosé, champagne and dessert wines are newer releases among Sag Pond’s production of 7,000 cases a year. Prices range from $11.99 to $20.99. It claims to be the only New York State winery whose offerings are carried in all five of Manhattan's highest ranked restaurants. (631) 537-5106. Showroom daily, 11 to 6; tours, Friday-Sunday 11 to 6. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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