August 2009

WINE & SPIRITS

WENDING OUR WAY THROUGH THE EAST END
WITH FINE SPIRITS, SUMMERY MIXERS AND
GOOD COMPANY

Eager to score a coveted terrace table with transporting views of the marina below, happy hour crowds gather early on weekends outside the Beacon in Sag Harbor—lining up even before the locale's 6 p.m. opening. Having secured my perch one recent Friday, I luxuriated outside, admiring the posh idling yachts. The Beacon was the first stop on a two-night bar crawl through the hottest spots in the Hamptons. I'd enlisted a bevy of girlfriends—my "crawlettes," I dubbed them—and one debonair Frenchman to join me on my annual summer cocktail tour. My partners in crime were instructed to join me on this quest to sip and evaluate; to soak up the ambience, the crowd and some canapés; to keep our designated driver in good spirits throughout; and most of all to have a weekend's worth of fun.

Our first drinks of the night were the Beacon's bright-orange Aperol Spritzers, breezy libations made with blood orange juice, Prosecco, a splash of soda and, of course, Aperol (a new-ish import from Italy that's like a lighter Campari). The spritzers (or "sprizzes," as they're known in the Old Country) were just as refreshing there as they had been when I first tried them in Venice (where they're the top summer sippers). The drinks were a perfect match for the bar snacks, red curry-kissed tuna tartare, delectable duck and goat cheese-filled puffs, which the kitchen sent out to accompany them. High marks all around—we were already off to a brilliant start.

Next it was off to Almond in Bridgehampton for round two. There, barman Kevin plied us with light Citrus Pops (muddled lemon, Skyy Citrus vodka, Fruja Mango liqueur and Prosecco). The frothy cocktails went down smooth with potato pancakes topped with house-smoked bluefish. Almond, a Provence-channeling hideaway, is such a relaxing haven it was hard to pull ourselves away and continue the crawl.

But off we went, venturing west to Southampton for drink number three. Crisp Pear Cosmos awaited at Red Bar Brasserie, mixed up by a barman named Shak, who cut the sweetness of the Cosmos made with Bacardi Pear Vodka with just enough citrus. The snacks that came alongside—jumbo crab spring rolls and a knockout tuna tartare with spicy mustard, semolina and seaweed—were among the best of the night.

The Friday-night crawl ended back on the water, at Oakland's Restaurant & Marina in Hampton Bays. Tuna, ubiquitous in the Hamptons this summer, showed up again on the plates on the bar—this time pan-seared and topped with a fiery sauce of chipotle chilies and coconut milk. A tart caipiriñha (made with Cabana Cachaça) was just the right drink for this tropical treat, and just the right end to the first weekend night on the Hamptons cocktail beat.

After sleeping off Friday, we started up again eager and thirsty on Saturday evening. Harbor Bistro on Three Mile Harbor is one of East Hampton's best waterfront spots for catching the sunset. It's a place so unspoiled I'm almost reluctant to write about it for fear of attracting the masses.

The house drink is the delicious Caribbean-style Slip 10, made with 10 Cane rum, grapefruit juice and Grand Marnier. Instead of the exceptional tuna poke they served during a similar crawl last year, this year's nibble was an even more innovative duck and goat cheese crépe sided with grapefruit-herb salad.

Armed with our Caribbean hair of the dog we set off next for landlocked Townline BBQ, a Tex-Mex destination on Route 27 near Sagaponack. With grilled smoked shrimp, the bartender presented a delicious pitcher of freshly made red wine sangria. Before we knew it we were off again, up the road to ultra-chic Matto. The white-on-white hotspot is now run by a crew of Italian 20-somethings, including a new man in the kitchen, Giovanni Zuanon of Padua, who has worked at Harry's Bar in Venice and at Cipriani Downtown. The chef brought out filet mignon carpaccio with truffled focaccia, which went down just right with—what else—fresh peach Bellinis.

With the Bellinis flowing and the scene red-hot, my fellow crawlettes decided to break off from the crawl and work their charms on the sexy crowd and on the young Italian Don Juans. My Frenchman and I took up the road, all the way east to the Montauk Yacht Club for one final drink. After a much-vaunted multimillion-dollar makeover the place is looking at its nautical best. It was there, at the last stop, that I found my favorite drink of the weekend—and some pretty outstanding bar food to go with it. Mixologist Eric Buyum created a special margarita rimmed with fiery habañero salt and infused with fresh lime, ginger-cilantro syrup, Cointreau and Milagro silver tequila. The complex cocktail had heat and a marvelous balance of sour and sweet tastes. It was served with some of telegenic young chef Michael Domitrovich's signature Gulf of Mexico cuisine—"barracuda bites," Cuban croquetas, roast duck sliders on sweet potato biscuits.

Fueled up after a long stretch on the road we took pity at last on the designated driver who'd been so dutifully shepherding us around for two nights. The Frenchman and I sent him on his way and grabbed a room for the night right there at the yacht club. And as for the rest of that story—the postscript of the cocktail crawl—you'll just have to wait for my memoirs.