The $10M club
Ultra-luxe real estate rankings, Black Eyed Susans, best Nantucket restaurants, Exumas, Pines Party, Illinoise closing night, MORE
GETAWAYS • Nantucket
Flower power
Returning to Nantucket after two decades away, I found the joy of the island’s slow pace of change in long-familiar foods: donuts from Downyflake, still nearly perfect, and sandwiches from Provisions at the foot of Straight Wharf, still the move for lunch on the beach (consider the right-for-any-season Turkey Terrific, with stuffing and cranberry sauce on Portuguese bread).
On the advice of an old family friend and Nantucket summertime local, we set out for dinner at his longtime favorite, Black Eyed Susans. As island fog rolled in and mixed with sunlight over downtown Nantucket’s cobblestone streets, we sat at the two-top below the front window. The tables, down one side of the tiny restaurant, filled up immediately; the bar stools fronting the open kitchen did too, albeit at a slightly more leisurely pace. By 6p, the room was packed, the vibe perfect. It’s the sort of restaurant one dreams of finding on vacation: totally unassuming, extremely fun, and deeply delicious, with generous service to boot.
The menu at the 40-year-old spot has a bit of ‘90s flair, but changes often. On our table, for starters, chilled watermelon salad with mozzarella, kaffir lime, and Thai basil, and a tuna tartare special that reminded us why the dish became so ubiquitous in the first place. Mid-course, make room for pasta, half-portion sized for us — capellini covered in a dreamy tomato sauce, and as perfect a linguine vongole (“with local quahogs”) as I’ll ever eat. For mains, Idaho rainbow trout in a Thai red curry sauce, and halibut atop risotto, both spot on.
For wine, it’s BYOB with $10 corkage — another reminder that you’re so very far away from it all, and in no hurry to get back. –Lockhart Steele
→ Black Eyed Susans (Nantucket) • 10 India St • Breakfast Thurs-Tues, 7a-1230p, Dinner Wed-Sun, seatings at 530p, 7p, 845p • Reserve (walk-ins only for breakfast).
GETAWAYS LINKS: More on the East Hampton village ‘vendetta’ rocking Sartiano’s: ‘They’re out to get him’ • Delta scrapping shortest route from LGA (to Hartford) • Six of the best things to eat and drink in Asheville, NC • How to go car camping in your Porsche • The best new hotels of summer 2024.
REAL ESTATE • Market Report
Luxe life
Conversation starter for this weekend’s cocktail party: How many $10M+ properties traded across the country in the first half of 2024?
Who guessed 838? Winner! That’s a 3.9% increase over last year, per Compass’s mid-year report. Ten markets accounted for over 75% of all sales, with Manhattan in the second slot and the Hamptons in the seventh.
The full top 10:
Greater Los Angeles CA • 135 sales (-15.62% YoY)
Manhattan NY • 121 (-2.41%)
Palm Beach County FL • 79 (46.29%)
Miami Dade FL • 74 (21.31%)
Orange County CA • 51 (96.15%)
Southwest Florida FL • 41 (46.42%)
The Hamptons NY • 37 (8.82%)
Silicon Valley & Peninsula CA • 35 (12.90%)
Big Island, Kauai, Oahu & Maui HI • 32 (18.51%)
Aspen CO • 29 -9.37%
Elsewhere in the (loosely defined) ultra-luxe neighborhood, Central Jersey (six sales, 500%) and the Jersey Shore (two sales, 100%) each made the report’s list of 20 markets that saw year-over-year increases, as did Greenwich, CT (nine sales, 80%).
Final stumper for your cocktail party friends: Which ultra-luxe market saw the largest percentage increase in sales YoY? Nashville, with seven transactions over last year’s single transaction, thanks to (in no particular order) its moderate climate, good food and music, and tax-free livin’.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Condo board suing David Copperfield after his Midtown penthouse falls into disrepair • Espying the hidden glory of Turtle Bay Gardens • Giorgio Armani residences sell out on Upper East Side • 1 Park Row’s exterior coming into focus • Renderings revealed for SHoP designed restaurants-events space on Governors Island.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Off road
JAMIE MULHOLLAND • restaurateur • Ketchy Shuby
Neighborhood you live in: Soho
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I usually spend my morning at my restaurant Ketchy Shuby meeting with the team, then head out to look at commercial spaces before coming back to taste-test the specials for the following week. Afternoons include heading to Thom Sweeney for a fitting, then an early dinner with my family before beginning the weekend at 7:30p for a fun filled weekend at the restaurant.
Where are you dining this weekend?
Likely Ketchy Shuby, for the Branzino! Two of my other favorite dishes in New York would have to be the chicken parm platter at Parm on Mulberry Street, or the tuna of Gari at Sushi of Gari.
How about a little leisure or culture?
One of my favorite activities is racing dirt bikes with my son. I’ve been riding since I was 12-years-old. Growing up, we had sand dunes behind the house where my family and I got into the hobby. My favorite thing about riding is: once you get on the bike, you have to be so focused that you can't worry about outside distractions. It allows me to clear my mind and just focus on the fun I’m having.
Any weekend getaways?
We have a property upstate New York in the Catskills, and it’s the perfect place to regenerate, take your shoes off, and not see another soul. During the week, my job can get really busy. In the Catskills, I don't leave the house other than to fly fish or ride my dirt bike. I eat all three meals at home and really get to relax.
What was your last great vacation?
My family and I love the Exumas in the Bahamas. We go at least once a year and usually go with a large group of friends. It’s the perfect getaway. While in the Exumas, we always stay in a house at Little Bay. Our favorite activities are freediving and spearfishing. We always eat what we catch — we have a chef that prepares the snapper and grouper we catch, which makes everything super fresh. There’s nothing better than that.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Fire Island
Fire fest
This weekend (August 9-11) is the annual Pines Party on Fire Island. The theme is Galactic Rodeo — imagine a blend of Burning Man, Pride weekend, and Halloween, all bundled into one wild, three-day party.
There’s a football field-sized outdoor dance floor, with DJs and bands playing all weekend. General admission tickets are still available for $583 per, as are Gold Tier 3 tickets ($901 per), with VIP access to help avoid the lines. The outfits will be extravagant, the festivities will go late, and the debauchery will continue at house parties all weekend long.
→ Pines Party (Sayville, NY) • Fire Island Pines, Aug 9-11.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Putnam’s Delight
The Sugarhill Gang • Putnam County Golf Course (Mahopac, NY) • Fri @ 630p, GA, $49 per
Illinoise • closing night • St. James Theatre (Theater District) • Sat @ 8p • orchestra, $189 per
Russell Crowe's Indoor Garden Party • The Stone Pony (Asbury Park) • Sun @ 7p • GA, $40 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Social-wellness club Remedy Place sets September date for Soho opening • Pioneer Works in Red Hook reopening September 6, NYC’s first free observatory on deck • 8 art shows to see in NYC (and online) in August • Why New York’s airports need great art • Starry cast prepping for spring Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross • Aspen ArtWeek Is the anti–Art Basel Miami Beach.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Restaurants, Nantucket
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of NYC's best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com. For the full archives, click here.
The Nautilus (Nantucket), Asian-y Boston import, toughest table on the island