FOUND: Getaways
Maine, Hamptons, Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, French Riviera, La Premiere, MORE
ABOUT FOUND • Getaways
Where we're headed
FOUND is deeply interested in getaway destinations within driving distance of New York City. That means the Hamptons and North Fork, Hudson Valley, Litchfield County, the Jersey Shore, the Berkshires, Maine, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard. What do the regulars eat and drink, where should you stay and shop, and, to take this to its logical end — what about buying a second home of one’s own there?
Beyond the world of weekend escapes, FOUND closely tracks airports, particularly NYC-area airports, and the need-to-know intel that can make or break a trip. From time to time, special correspondents file reports from the scene in places like the French Riviera and coastal Croatia, because there are some experiences that transcend this mortal plane and beg to be shared. As the weather turns colder in NYC, expect coverage of Los Angeles (get on the FOUND LA list) and ski destinations.
Welcome to FOUND Getaways. As we stow your bag, make yourself comfortable.
GETAWAYS • Maine Restaurant Report
The way life should be
Twelve (above) is the newest addition to Portland’s overachieving restaurant scene. It opened last summer to much food media acclaim, but we didn’t make it in until this June, when we did back-to-back nights there and at Fore Street, the standard-bearer for Portland fine dining.
Fore Street, which opened in 1996, is the Gramercy Tavern of Portland. I’ve had dozens of meals there over the years, and very little has changed about the dining room, the finest in New England. Much of the cooking happens over wood-fired grills and in a wood-burning oven that frames the open kitchen at the center of the restaurant. To start: oysters, of course, Bangs Island mussels, and if you’re there in tomato season, the tomato tart. For mains, order the seafood special, often served in cast-iron.
The cooking at Twelve is fussier — as befits the pedigrees of its principals, who worked at Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, and Tartine — but mostly wowed us. The menu is a four-course prix fixe for $90 in the dining room and a la carte at the bar, which takes walk-ins. The setting is lovely, too: a converted railroad building along a recently revitalized stretch of the harbor known as Portland Foreside.
Where Fore Street has always shined brightest, though, is service. Last month, as usual, the long-tenured waitstaff offered a deft, light, Danny Meyer-esque touch. Which stood in contrast to our over-attentive Twelve server asking us after every course, didn’t you love it? We did, and we might even more as the restaurant matures and settles into itself. Maine plays the long game. –Lockhart Steele
→ Twelve (Portland, ME), 115 Thames St., Resy
→ Fore Street (Portland, ME), 33 Wharf St., OpenTable
FOUND Pro, Portland alternatives: Fore Street sister restaurant Scales is considerably larger but still reliably excellent. Walk-ins are the order of business at modern classic Eventide — put your name in then plan a stroll — and its sister restaurant next-door, Asian-infused Honey Paw. Oyster bar The Shop is also reservation-free. Last-ditch dinner move: the show-stopping Sicilian pizzas at Slab.
GETAWAYS • Upstate
Casa Susanna at Camptown in the Catskills
The Skinny: Modern Mexican with a killer masa program. Right out of the gate this spring, this is the Hudson Valley place to be.
The Vibe: Log-cabin chic. The restaurant is part of Camptown, a rehauled 1930s-era motor lodge in the Catskills from the team behind Hudson’s beloved Rivertown Lodge.
The Food: Chef Efrén Hernández (formerly Mimi, Babs) built an upstate following at Rivertown Tavern. Here, his family’s heritage is front and center. The name of the game is masa, and it’s hued in all colors of the rainbow.
The Drinks: From the ice — crystal clear blocks that most bars won’t splurge on — to the agave-forward cocktail list, developed by Natasha David of the Lower East Side’s late Nightcap bar, this is one of the most sophisticated bar programs in all of the Hudson Valley. As for the wine, it’s natural. Naturally.
The Verdict: An instant contender for the mantle of best restaurant upstate. –Kat Odell
→ Casa Susanna (Catskills) • 800 Co Rd 23B, Leeds, NY • When to go: dinner Thurs-Sun 5pm - 10pm (bar until 11pm), brunch Sat-Sun 10am - 2pm • Reserve on Resy
GETAWAYS • Hamptons Real Estate Report
Future battlefronts for Hamptons bidding wars
With the back half of summer upon us and dreams of next summer’s getaways just coming into view, we embarked on a multi-part tour of NYC second-home markets, stopping in the Hudson Valley, Jersey Shore, Litchfield, and the Hamptons (below).
The real estate story in the Hamptons in the first half of this year mirrors that seen in our two previous second-home markets: namely, very little inventory, but often, fierce competition for the houses that actually do come to market. In the second quarter, that translated to the fewest number of luxury sales in 16 years of tracking by the Elliman Market Report — but also nearly one-third of all deals resulting from bidding wars, a record high.
The lesson for Hamptons buyers this summer? Move fast for the good stuff. Here are three new-to-market properties in the $10M range. Ready, set, go.
→ 33 Mashomuck Dr. (Sag Harbor), 4BR, 3.5BA, 3300 SF, waterfront on Sag Harbor Bay. Asking price: $9.995M. Days on market: 3. Broker: Saunders & Associates.
→ 700 Hedges Ln. (Sagaponack), 5BR, 6.5BA, 6060 SF, vintage farmhouse south of the highway. Asking price: $9.95M. Days on market: 70. Broker: Bespoke Real Estate.
→ 114 Meeting House Ln. (Amagansett, above), 6BR, 5.5BA, 4600 SF, new construction in the Amagansett Lanes. Asking price: $9.5M. Days on market: 7. Broker: Sotheby’s International Realty.
GETAWAYS • Finger Lakes Report
Once more to the lake
Mid-honeymoon in Curacao, the adult film industry descended on our hotel for a convention. We were caught unaware. One afternoon, we were blissfully paddling in the Caribbean and sipping daiquiris at the empty swim-up bar, the only soundtrack streaming from our newly wedded, rapidly beating hearts. By the next day’s lunch, all of the resort’s seafaring vessels were checked out and there was a DJ pumping beats imported from Brooklyn to a packed, warming pool.
Cut to: 19 summers later at the Lake House on Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes. We had just checked in for a few nights with the kids when we learned there was a wedding of a professional athlete on the premises during our stay. We greeted the news with some apprehension. We had lived the perils of mixing events and leisure stays.
The Lake House opened in 2020 after a complete, luxe redo of what was formerly the Inn on the Lake. It’s a gorgeous, amenity-laden property with sweeping views of Lake Canandaigua and artful design by TBHCo and Post Company (which also outfitted upstate getaway Inness and Raf’s with the A+ vibes in Noho). Blessedly, it seems to have been built for this type of occasion. The wedding, even when it closed the waterfront restaurant for a rehearsal dinner, was amusing background. The pool was open, the kayaks available, and the windows on The Barn, the event space where the DJ played dance music, nearly soundproof.
At the end of the wedding evening — Friday, July 7 — there were fireworks over the lake. We couldn’t decide if they were leftover from the 4th or an event planner’s flourish. Either way, everyone at the Lake House that night enjoyed them together. –Josh Albertson
GETAWAYS • Riviera Report
Le cannonball
Diving boards are rare these days, but one survivor stands out: the turquoise-blue board at the iconic Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on the French Riviera. The storied plank reaches over the Mediterranean, daring you into the sea. According to hotel lore, notables like Kate Moss, Marc Chagall, and F. Scott Fitzgerald have all taken the plunge.
Trick: Three options for experiencing this breathtaking dive.
After lunch at the Blue Grill, sneak away to the diving area. With some luck, the master lifeguard, Cyril (above), might tolerate your trespass for that one memorable dive.
Alternatively, splurge on an authentic European hospitality experience by staying at Eden Roc. I recommend room #621, a mid-century decorated seaside villa with a satellite concierge desk conveniently located right outside your door.
Lastly, if you plan to stay on the coast for the summer, you can join the Eden Roc private club, which offers full access to all of the hotel's amenities — pools, tennis, spa, bars and restaurants — for an annual fee of 7,000 euros.
Upshot: After the cold dip, warm up in the nearby saltwater rock pool and treat yourself to the Quench cocktail — Don Julio Blanco, St-Germain, agave syrup, lime juice, grapefruit juice, and soda water.
FOUND Pro: This season, the hotel opened Giovanni's, a new outdoor Italian restaurant nestled in a pine grove with seaside views, and charmingly named for Eden Roc's beloved cabana manager of 48 years. While the staff is still working out a few kinks, the traditional northern Italian food is already excellent. –Brad Inman in Antibes
GETAWAYS • International
Worth it: Air France’s La Première
On a recent flight to Paris, the Air France flight attendant hung up my bag, which, of course, I forgot when I exited. It traveled anonymously to Washington, D.C., and then back to Paris, where it was delivered the next day to my home in the 7th arrondissement without a wrinkle.