Tag: lunch lobster roll

Maserati To Montauk

Posted on by NikkiOnTheDaily in Hospitality, The Hamptons, Travel

This article first appeared in The Independent Newspaper. Read more about #EverythingEastEnd here

Independent/Amy Kalaczynski

Maserati: it’s not a car, it’s an experience.

I’d never driven a car with an MSRP reaching six figures. Purchasing my 2011 Hyundai, straight from the showroom post-college graduation, was about the biggest sense of automotive accomplishment I’ve achieved. So, when the opportunity to drive around a Maserati Quattroporte GranLusso for 24 hours presented itself, I was zero to ecstatic in 1.5 seconds.

The symbol of Maserati is a trident, the weapon of choice for Poseidon/Neptune, God of the Sea in mythology. Symbolically, Maserati is already connected to the East End, a place surrounded by water and those who have based their livelihoods off of it. And the sleek design of Quattroporte alone begged to be photographed. These waves of thought, in my mind, created a connection to the car that goes deeper than luxury. A car takes you from point A to point B. In this case, rather stylishly so. But at the end of the day, a car, no matter what the price tag, is about those in it and the adventures it drives us to.

Having the car wasn’t enough. I had to be seen in it. I needed to be noticed. I put on my red one-piece bathing suit as a top, with white jeans, to patriotically compliment the blue shimmer of the exterior. It reminded me of Montauk, blue like the ocean with subtle sparkles like the clear night sky.

Holiday House Hamptons with DanceBody and Paddle Diva. Below, Memory Motel, with Bella Ornaf of Fin Montauk. Independent/Amy Kalaczynski

Aiming to be mildly boastful yet inclusive, I sought out as many local businesses as I could to photograph with the car. Holiday House Hamptons in Bridgehampton, benefitting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, with Paddle Diva and DanceBody; The Lobster Roll in Amagansett; Gig Shack and Fin jewelry in Montauk. I dropped by The Montauk Beach House, Deep Hollow Ranch, The Montauk Lighthouse, and, concluded the day at John’s Drive-In. By including these establishments, with their teams or a just quick snap-shot, the car transformed from a solo experience to a communal one. I was the one behind the wheel but the gas pedal took me to the places that
mattered.

Independent/Amy Kalaczynski

I felt invincible driving such a power piece of machinery, gliding my hands over the wood-accented leather steering, blasting throwback music, opening the sunroof and all the windows. My Maserati hair was complemented by the salty air as I went back and forth on the stretch, from place to place, smiling to every passerby. However, nothing could overpower the joy that came from sharing my experience with others.

Not everyone has the means to drive such a lavishly designed car, not even myself (yet). But for a brief moment, we all shared in on a dream. The Hamptons is globally recognized as a place for people with money, a place to be seen. Underneath it all, year-round it’s a small town based on community support. For 24 hours, my Maserati was just that. A vehicle bringing people together.

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Andrea Anthony Serves More Than LUNCH

Posted on by NikkiOnTheDaily in Food, The Hamptons

This article first appeared in The Independent Newspaper. Read more about #EverythingEastEnd here

Film crews are having more than an affair with The Lobster Roll, they’re falling in love with its co-owner Andrea Anthony as she ventures onto her own cooking show, “Eat, Drink, and Bake with Andrea.”

Her show is set to air on Optimum Altice, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, and YouTube.

We Cook TV is a new station focused on a lifestyle community, united in its love for food, with seven million active users and 11 million monthly views. They discovered Anthony through her cookbook and famed restaurant on the Napeague stretch, affectionately known as “Lunch.” Anthony’s genuine smile, love for food, welcoming personality, and overall effervescent demeanor proved the perfect ingredients for her own cooking show, completely separate from the restaurant (although The Lobster Roll underwrote the show). The most surprising fact may be that it all takes place in her actual kitchen in Montauk, styled in true blue and aqua, a beach motif.

“The show took on its own life. It’s not about competition, or the throw down. This show is about high-quality ingredients, step-by-step recipes, and sharing time with friends and family,” Anthony said. In an oversaturated market of racing to the oven — i.e. “Top Chef,” “Master Chef,” “Iron Chef,” “Cutthroat Kitchen” — “Eat, Drink, and Bake” is kicking competition to the curb by focusing on the joy of eating. “It’s about building those moments together, in a busy, chaotic world we all live in. The moments with the people that are most important to us,” she said.

Despite coming from a Russian-Italian background, one often associated with family-style cooking, Anthony is self-taught. “I have a tremendous respect for chefs. I would never put myself in the same arena as Ken Arnone,” she said with a laugh, referencing the Global Master Chef who will be a guest on her show.

“I’m someone who has been cooking my whole life. I had to learn to cook really early because my mother couldn’t,” she said. At 15, Anthony watched her own mother endure a heart attack. While her mother survived, Anthony was forced to grow up quickly, having dinner ready by the time her mother returned home from work. However, growing up in Levittown, she surrounded herself with the Italian matriarchs of her friends.

Those who watch “Eat, Drink, and Bake” will get a sense of Anthony’s own motherly love. With a husband and three sons, each family gathering is an event within itself, with a six-course meal; the full treatment.

Anthony proudly shops at Citarella, IGA in Amagansett, Red Horse Market, and Stuart’s Seafood Market for all of her ingredients. She shares her feel-good, go-to meal, highlighted by an espresso cocoa rub for her filet mignon.

She takes espresso powder, mixing it with cocoa and various spices before rubbing it on the filet mignon. From there, she lets the meat sit for at least three hours so the flavors absorb fully, then she sears it in a cast iron pan. She then adds compound garlic and serves the meat with a horseradish cream on the side for dipping, and scallion potatoes in Monterey Jack cheese and onions. For dessert, a frozen Irish whiskey cream pie.

“It’s not something I do for show. It’s just who I am and it’s what gives me intrinsic joy. Cooking is therapy,” said Anthony.