East Hampton

The beauty of Sam's is its simplicity (not a word that’s often associated with the Hamptons). It’s an old school pizzeria in the best way, with a pine-paneled dining room and vinyl-covered booths where families cozy up to share classic thin crust pies. We love the Sam’s Special (sausage, onions, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms), though the pastas are worth a look, too, especially the rigatoni broccoli rabe in garlic and olive oil and the linguini with fresh, local clams. It’s right in the center of East Hampton, which means you can walk across the street to Scoop du Jour for ice cream after.

This Union Square Japanese sushi spot (unofficially dubbed “Shuko Beach”) pops up in East Hampton’s Highway Restaurant & Bar this summer, taking over the New American restaurant’s space on Friday and Saturday nights (and adding Thursday nights in August). Chefs and Masa alums Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau are offering special chef’s counter dinners, where the omakase menu consists of a sixteen-piece sushi progression (using locally caught Long Island fish) and comes with a front row look at its preparation. With only three seatings a night, at 6, 8, and 10 p.m., reservations are essential.

Making a comeback this summer is Moby’s, one of the centers of East Hampton’s social scene in 2016, though it skipped last year when the space was scooped up by the Eleven Madison Park pop-up. Its new spot is at East Hampton Point, a harborside resort compound right on the water and an ideal place for a cocktail before grabbing a table on the expansive outdoor deck or in the large dining room (an almost-life-size replica of a sailboat sets the nautical mood). The food is typical of what you’ll find at many high-end restaurants on the East End, which is to say, coastal Italian, but it’s executed almost flawlessly, especially the wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizzas and Montauk swordfish with Cerignola olives, tomatoes, and capers.

Fresh picks from the best high-end designers.

As part of the Maidstone's new revamp this summer, the hotel brought in Chef David Strandridge (of Cafe Clover) to redo the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Like at Standridge's West Village eatery, the menus are somehow both beautifully simple and very sophisticated. For breakfast, you'll find a balance of old-school comfort (whole grain avocado toast that can be ordered with lobster salad, egg in a hole, and a selection of smoothies) alongside more creative options, like the "nova," a smoked salmon dish with Greek yogurt, and an orange blossom pain perdue that's stewed in blackberries. Dinner, entirely worth booking even for non-hotel guests, is seafood-centric: lump crab cake, a local catch simply grilled, and black linguini with peekytoe crab, all with a side of old bay fries. Photos: Melissa Horn & Fran Parente

Eclectic, bohemian gifts, accessories, and home goods.

The East Hampton outpost of Dylan Lauren's bright, graphic candy shop is a go-to for housewarming gifts, especially when you're hoping to get on the good side of your younger hosts. The Hamptons shop also has a summery assortment of pool and beach accessories, like candy-shaped pool floats, striped beach towels, frisbees, and adorable goggles decorated with plastic sprinkles. This summer, they're also selling DO, the customizable, safe-to-eat cookie dough you have to wait hours for in the city.

NYC’s ever-expanding Juice Press now has three locations in the Hamptons (East Hampton, Southampton, and Bridgehampton), right in time for summertime cleansing. Along with their cold-pressed, organic juices, they also sell healthy, raw snacks like falafel, kale salad, and yogurt parfaits.

Anything Tracy Anderson does, we jump on the bandwagon. Our go-to trainer has drastically improved our lives and our health–so naturally we're excited about her latest collaboration with Golden Pear Cafe. This summer, Tracy has curated a menu of smoothies available at all four cafe locations, including Southampton, East Hampton, Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton. Organic, gluten and fructose-free, each blend is mixed with her patented protein powder, ideal for pre/post workout nutrition and detoxing.

Opened by some serious NYC restaurant and nightlife veterans (among them, Jason Hook, Todd English, and Andrew Molen), this new sustainable restaurant is sure to be a hit–for the food and the after hours. The seafood-heavy menu is fresh (note: citrus salmon and Thai mussels) and the décor pops with contrasting black and white. The overall vibe speaks of summer, when long dinners lend way to late-night dancing.