Hamptons Survives Winter of Discontent

At the center of the new Maidstone is the new eatery The Living Room, a culinary collaboration by East End chef James Carpenter and Bjorn Eriksson. A dressy design of hardwood floors, colorfully bold-print upholstered chairs and stark-white tabletops alit with candlelight offers "a new American menu with a Scandinavian twist." Beet salads with Mecox Bay cheese or Swedish potato cakes topped with caviar appetize a hearty dinner menu of homemade pasta topped with chanterelle mushrooms or Halibut with local Stur Farm asparagus.

Where to shop: The shopping streets of East Hampton and Southampton haven't been immune to the real estate downturn. A large number of store vacancies along prime village streets led landlords, who were charging up to $200 a square foot, to negotiate short-term leases with several big-name luxury retailers. The result is an impressive offering of pop-up outposts of Hermes, Trina Turk and Michael Kors open specifically for the summer along ever-stylish Main Street and Newtown Lane.

Joining the more-permanent shopping fray of beach shops that include Scoop and Diane von Furstenberg, Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier debuts another outpost of his self-named beach emporium along the Montauk Highway in nearby Wainscott. An elongated beach bungalow with oversized picture windows and large logo contains an airy display of men's and women's swimwear collections currently the hottest in the Hamptons.

A laidback staff with model-looks assists in navigating the various small rooms of the shop. Maier offers a little something for every price point, with men's swimsuits in perky Polynesian prints or simple black designs, priced from $125 to $395. For women, there's more of a selection, with one- and two-piece swimsuits as well as uber-couture collection of cashmere, sleepwear and lingerie. Additionally, the shop offers a small home collection of coffee-table books, cashmere pillows and comfy throws for brisk summer nights.