Just a few hours away from New York City this place pulls a curtain to all the stress, noise and energy the small island of high rises releases. Once we lose sight of the overcrowded Penn Station Train that brought us to peace we completely leave behind Manhattan. We are overwhelmed by the tons of peacefulness and luxury here. Tons of green, tons of crispy clean convertible classic cars, tons of sunglasses, tons of million dollar houses, tons of summer dresses, tons of tiny weekend bags, tons of bugs and tons of no worries until that Sunday when we expect to go back fully recharged.
I kept asking myself why the Hamptons have been this expensive and popular among New Yorkers all along. I came up with a few answers of my own. It is surely the closest getaway a hardworking, fast-living, completely stressed out New Yorker can have. It has access to maybe not the best, but the best possible beaches around New York. If you can take the cold and the men-size waves, swimming in the dark ocean water can be one of the best natural thrills you have ever experienced in the state of men-power and capitalism. If you consider the amount of money and stress a hardworking New Yorker earns while sweating in the high rise offices of Manhattan, Hamptons surely becomes a cheap access to the best possible summer vacation.
It is a different world here. You see a lot more of the chilled young crowd you expect to see around the Mediterranean Beaches. Yet the restaurants, bars, clubs and beaches still cry out “no matter what you think this is still America”. The restaurants are mostly laid back, but they lack all the pleasures you find in a waterside Mediterranean Restaurant. The tables are tacked indoors while the nice weather outside knocks on the windows. Our ears beg for some slow summer music but instead they get the brutal noises from the other tables around. Unlike our ears, our appetite is fulfilled with great lobsters. Most of the bars have great locations and terraces, but the lack of music still prevails in these “could-be-great-if-only” sources of amusement.
The best getaway for us seems to be at home where we can cook tons of food we like, drink tons of drinks we want and listen to tons of music we can dance to. If we are lucky next time we might get tons of sunny weather we have been praying for to go along with the tons of expensive peace we wish to get in the Hamptons.
Places that remind me of Istanbul do not come up often in New York. The lack of the Bosphorus and permenant outside seatings warmed up with portable heaters could be listed as the main barriers in comparison. One place where such barriers are lowered to a minimum is the Cipollini Restaurant in the Americana Manhasset Mall. This posh Italian bistro seems to have all the traits of Masa and Bej in the Istinye Park Mall, Istanbul. A heated outside seating area, a delicious menu and a somewhat tiring scenery of expensive cars and flashy visitors categorizes this spot as a “do not go there just to eat” location. Keep in mind that the drive takes 20-30 minutes from Manhattan. The Artichoke Fritti, Calamari alla Griglia and the Pizza Robiola with truffle oil are my favorites from the menu.
