I really enjoy reading my staffer Emily Toy’s stories, but I especially enjoy when she writes about food.
Emily’s knowledge of Hamptons restaurant, chef, bartender and general hospitality history is unparalleled; the woman knows her stuff. Partly because she spent many years behind the scenes in some of the most renowned and beloved restos (as she likes to say) on the South Fork; partly because she’s an enthusiastic home cook who likes to know how a meal’s parts fit together; and partly because, like me, she grew up out here.
I’d interviewed Jesse Matsuoka a solid year prior to this story and he dropped during that conversation that Sen was turning 30, a surprising fact that kind of blew me away: How is Sen 30 years old?!? It’s a place that still feels so buzzy and fresh. That no-moss-gathers sensibility is thanks to the Matsuoka brothers, Jesse and Tora, who learned much of what they’ve ingested about hospitality from their father, Kazutomo, who passed away as the Sag Harbor staple celebrated its third successful decade. It was a watershed year for them, bittersweet perhaps, but also no small feat to keep a restaurant healthy and still an exciting place to be all these years later.
Toy captured all this so beautifully, as did photographer David Benthal, whose images catch the movement and aliveness of the place. Check out the story here (or listen to the podcast version, if you like). Arigato!
