Author Archive: PaulKenny

A House In The Hamptons Is Like Having A Lake House

If you tell someone that you are going your mother’s house in Westhampton, you usually get asked if you are going to “The Hamptons”.  As in where the rich and famous spend their summers. It is true that there is a lot of stupid money, and stupid people, in the Hamptons during the summer. However, there are lots of normal, very nice people there as well. And yes, you might have seen Shaquille O.Neil eating an ice cream cone in Bridgehampton last week.

I try to explain to my friends in Memphis that having a house in the Hamptons is a lot like having a lake house in Iuka Mississippi. The more you try to explain this, the worse it gets. Then I try to explain that my mom lives in Westhampton which is the “Poor man’s Hampton”.

The story that I think categorizes this fact the best is told by Ina Gartner the Barefoot Contessa. Ina opened her first Barefoot Contessa shop in Westhampton. After a few years she decided to move to Easthampton. Early on in Easthampton she noticed a customer hemming and hawing over her Lobster Salad. Her initial reaction was that her (then) price of $40 per pound was too high. She asked the man if she could help him and he said: I am just not sure if I need 5 or 8 pounds. She knew then that she was in the right Hampton. There is lots of stupid money in Easthampton.

So maybe you can’t buy $40/lb. lobster salad in Iuka Mississippi. My buddy has a  lake house in Iuka and he loves the practice where when you come to a four way stop in the road, drivers exchange finger waves by raising their index finger off the steering wheel. In New York a finger wave usually involves the middle finger, but that is different story.

Another, itty bitty difference between Iuka and Westhampton is the weather. As I write this, it is a bright sunny July day and the temperature is 75 degrees with a cool breeze off the bay in Westhampton. It takes pretty good air-conditioning to get to 75 degrees at mid-day in July in Iuka. OK, so maybe there is a difference.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

Dinner under the arbor in Westhampton

Brian and Lauren enjoying a cool breeze on Moriches Bay.

The Seven Dollar Tomato

There are good things and bad things about spending the summer in Westhampton. And, sometimes even the bad things are good.

When you tell people that you are spending the summer in the “Hamptons”, quite often you get that look. You know the one, it is where someone looks at you as if you are too cool for school. My buddy, the “High Rolling Redneck” from Memphis once flicked his finger off of his nose when I told him my mom lived in Westhampton. My mom, who is one of the least pretentious people on earth, has taken to telling people she lives on Long Island, versus Westhampton, just to avoid that look.

One of the really good things about summer in the Hamptons is the local produce. Everyone has heard about the rich and the famous, but the truth is, historically, the Hamptons is more famous for its farm produce, than its celebrities. There is a local farm stand that we have been fans of for over 40 years. It is one of my mom’s favorites and she has gotten to know its owners. Not only are the owners good farmers, but they are really good business people. They have built a reputation and expanded their offering to meet what the market will bear.

To me, very little says summer more than a home-grown tomato. In Westhampton, you usually don’t get the real thing until August. To push the season, our local farm stand has found a local source (probably New Jersey) of tomatoes that gets a decent tomato to market a little bit early, but you have to pay for it. Hence:

The Seven Dollar Tomato

Mom’s favorite farm stand sells a bunch of them. They have even come up with ways to ripen them (see photo below). The early tomato is sold as an “Amish Tomato” which builds on the mystique of the farm stand’s elderly owners long flowing white beard. My guess is that he is more likely a good presbyterian versus Amish, but one thing is for sure, he is a good marketer and I buy his Seven Dollar Tomato. They also sell a full offering of produce, and emphasize local wherever possible. I once heard a New York City-ite right off the expressway, ask the bearded owner if his pineapple was local. To his credit, and marketing skill, he didn’t laugh at her, but you can.

Note: The farm stand offers a wide range of produce, some it local and some not so much. Notice how they ripen their $7 tomatoes under the shelves.

If you ever make it to the Hamptons, make sure you check out the farm stands, just be sure that you don’t pay too much for the good and the bad. But,then again, even the bad is good.

The Seven Dollar Tomato Caprese Salad

Check out the recipe

 

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.