Meeting House

I was invited by a couple of girl friends to spend the weekend with them. I needed it badly - New York city tends to pick at your bones like a chill ever so often. You all know the feeling?

The Meeting House opened in March 2006 and is located in Amagansett Square about a 10 minuite ride from the little cottage in East Hampton where we were shacked up in. The food is real comfort food- and the bill when it arrives won't break your bank. The drinks are huge so be warned! The bartender is called Binky and he knows how to kill you with a Margarita... surprisingly good was our order of Macaroni and cheese and the artichoke heart. Another surprise was the wine list. Compact, but with a wonderful choice of whites, reds and rose's -mostly local and some from everywhere else.

4 Amagansett Square Drive
Amagansett, Long Island NY
ph: 631 267 2764

Craft Steak

If you are a 'meat eater,' then this is the place to be. Craft Steak, features beef from top producers from around the world and then dry ages it in the restaurant itself. I myself am not all that into red meat but during my first visit to the restaurant I had a rib eye steak, dry aged and it was incredible.

Last night I was there again with some friends but this time opted for the sea bass instead; although I made sure that I was able to sample the different cuts of beef from everyone else's plate! The wine list is just as formidable as the restaurant's cuts of beef and is presided over by their wine director, Mr. Link Landvik Larsen and his assistant- the lovely Kate. The most eye popping piece of decor in the room is their wine cellar. Built in between the dining room and the bar, it is completely see through and is probably 2 stories high. We chose an Arneis from Piemonte, a Minervois from the Languedoc- Roussillon region of France, (predominantly Carignan based wines) and then finished off with a Pahlmeyer Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.



85, Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
tel: 212 400 6873

Bar Tano

It has been quite an ordeal moving from my space on Desbrosses street in Manhattan to my new office in the area of Gowanus in Brooklyn. The good news is that I have exchanged one beautiful office space for another equally lovely spot located on the top floor of a former knitting factory.

Between 1840 and 1950, Red Hook and Gowanus supported many thriving industrial businesses; its docks were used by gasworks, coal yards, soap factories and tanneries. Jobs provided by these industries attracted a community with a diverse ethnic character- many of whom settled in the nearby brownstone rowhouses of Carroll Gardens. The construction of the Gowanus Expressway in 1942 and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in 1950 effectively severed Red Hook, Gowanus and Carroll Gardens leaving a tremendous negative impact on local businesses, oppressing the neighborhoods’ vibrancy and character.

All of a sudden, this area of Gowanus is undergoing a renaissance, re-attracting new, vibrant small creative manufacturing businesses. It is in this mushrooming scene that Bar Tano opened about 3 months ago, one of the first bar/restaurants to open besides the many delis and the family run Hispanic restaurants between 2nd and 3rd avneues. The lunch at Bar Tano - for under $10.00 you can get a bruschetta or a salad and order any item from their menu. They also have a wonderful selection of beer besides an array of wines from Italy.

Bar Tano
457, Third Avenue
at 9th Street. Brooklyn
NY 11215

Tel: 718 499 3400