The Hamptons Here at Home
Updated: July 20, 2009
It's summer in the city, which means the upper echelon of New York society will be packing up their Mercedes SUVs and heading out to the Hamptons. For those of us left behind, however, the closest we'll get to that playground of the rich and idle are restaurants here in the city that boast Hamptons' bloodlines--so if you can't join 'em, at least you can eat like 'em. (Photo: Almond)
Montauk, Meet Manhattan
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Almond Restaurant
Read Reviews12 E 22nd StVE Rd., New York, NY 10010 (map)
Jason Weiner and Eric Lemonides have had a lot of success with their comfort food restaurant in Bridgehampton, and that formula has translated better than anybody expected at the Flatiron District outpost. Almond NYC has developed a loyal local clientele not unlike the Hamptons crowd. Copious portions of steak, lovingly roasted farm chicken and house-made pastas are just the thing after frisking around in the park with with other Manhattan grandees; this is a place where tanned, fit bodies go to fatten.
Dylan's Candy Bar
Read Reviews1011 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10021 (map)
When not quaffing Cristal or joining the mile-high club, deep-pocketed types in both Manhattan and East Hampton head to this high-concept candy store to gesture at their long-lost innocence. Dylan's is in fact one of the great candy stores, manufacturing its own as well as selling hundreds of other brands (there's even a whole wall of Pez). The ice cream fountain, though, may be what puts it over the top.
Nello
Read Reviews696 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021 (map)
Nello may have the distinction of being the most ludicrously priced restaurant, even among that strange, small clique of restaurants that cater to fatuous plutocrats. Twenty-nine dollars for an endive salad? That's nothing! This is the place that once charged $700 for a Kobe steak when everybody else was charging $250. But if you can stay afloat in Manhattan with those prices, then heading to the East End is the next logical step; it wasn't long before Nello opened up in the Hamptons, and the two restaurants are as identical in spirit as Leopold and Loeb.
Nick & Toni's Cafe
Read Reviews100 W 67TH St, New York, NY 10023 (map)
This casually elegant steakhouse fed the moguls of Manhattan for years in East Hampton before opening a branch on the Upper West Side, serving wood-fired pizzas, risotto and simple proteins, along with a stellar wine list. The childrens' drawings are a bit much, though--as is the frequent presence of the increasingly plump Baldwin brothers. Then again, maybe that explains why it's much easier to get a table.
Sant Ambroeus
Read Reviews259 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014 (map)
This celebrated gelatteria and cafe originated in Milan, made its way over to New York, and migrated hence to Southampton, getting more precious and rarefied all the time. It's been imitated a thousand times, but it's the template for all the Italian-style little cafes whose pastries, creamy pastel gelati and perfectly made cappuccinos have restored dowagers resting from an especially heavy bout of shopping at Henri Bendel.




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