I’m the oldest of three girls (my sisters are my everything) so when I initially discovered Amy Zavatto (my sister from another mister), was going to be doing a story on two Springs-born sisters that own a small home goods business on Jobs Lane that I had never heard of, I was immediately intrigued.
Hidden Gem owners and sisters Temidra Willock Morsch and Tanya Willock bring their creatively curated sensibilities and skills to their brick-and-mortar location — acting as a Mecca for both the functional and the artistic. The sisters’ innate sense and understanding of craftsmanship (or maybe in this case, craftsWOMANship), with a touch of influence from their Barbadian and Antiguan heritage, help make their store such a special place, with its contents sure to help make any occasion you use them in special.
And speaking of special occasions, to me it was only fitting to include my story on Stone Creek Inn in East Quogue. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Christian Mir (who is also the executive chef) and Elaine DiGiacomo, Stone Creek is, in my humble opinion, one of the leading restaurants in the Hamptons not only when it comes to just going out to eat, but in terms of providing its patrons with consistent, luxuriously detailed and truly memorable, fine-dining experiences that keep guests coming back because they can’t get it anywhere else around.
What was also interesting about Stone Creek is that a good chunk of the staff had been there for years, and for a handful, decades. “Once you become a Stone Creeker, you’re a Stone Creeker for life,” says general manager and Westhampton Beach native Gabi Walsh. The resto is not only serving up some of the most beautiful, locally sourced food here on the East End, they have a dedicated staff and to me, that’s usually an accurate indicator of how good the place is. If the staff sticks around, so will the patrons.
“When you’re trying to figure out where you want to go to eat, you’re going to end up going to the place that makes you feel good,” says Walsh. “That’s the relationship we have here. And aren’t relationships what life is all about anyway?”
I couldn’t decide between these two stories and it’s 100% because of the covers.
Both were shot by world-class photographer (and world-class friend) Doug Young and are equally important to me for almost the same reason: they both celebrate the idea of being special. The sisters of Hidden Gem on the cover for our June issue was significant for me not only because it featured two (yes, count ’em, not one, but TWO!) women of color, it featured two women that were relatively unknown. No one on the East End was doing that. But maybe, after seeing this killer story and photography from Amy and Doug, that’ll change.
In the case of Stone Creek, not only was it the feature that maybe best encapsulated local dining for our last issue of the year it was the first a story I wrote that was going to be the cover. I worked in restaurants here on the East End for about 25 years and I’m very familiar with how hard it is, so this story being on the cover is a proud moment for me.
Click the links above to read Amy and my stories, or listen on our podcast (here for Hidden Gem and here for Stone Creek).
