Defend the Indefensible: LONG ISLAND

basically all I've absorbed from him is a deep mistrust of light rail.

So it looks like I'm going to be staying in Sayville for around a month. Anyone know it?

Ha, yes. I grew up in Bayport which is right next door to Sayville and my parents owned a restaurant in Sayville for 14 years so I'm very familiar with it. What would you like to know?

Basically what kind of place is it? What are its most interesting aspects?

there was a nice restaurant there about 14 years ago but I'm not sure it's there anymore.

OK, I've been thinking about this and the best thing I could come up with is that it's fairly close to NYC. I kid but really it's only about an hour on the Long Island Rail Road which isn't too bad and well worth taking advantage of - often.

Sayville is very . . . cute. It's a small town with a nice main street and quaint shops/restaurants. It's also a pretty quiet place with not too much going on. Since I don't know your age or what you like, making recommendations is tough but I'll give it a go.

Restaurants:

The Sayville Inn - small, cute, good food
Oysterman's - Has a bar with live music on weekends.
21 - Steakhouse. Possibly a little overpriced for what it is but it has a good atmostphere.
Pizza - Satallite pizza on Montauk Highway in Bayport (5 min. drive from Sayville) has AMAZING pizza. FYI - they do not deliver.
Crickets - family place has good burgers

Nightlife (lol):

There are a couple bars in town - Half Penny Pub, PJ Ryans, bars at various restaurants, and Cavanaugh's in Blue Point (two towns east of Sayville)which should be ok. There is one gay bar in Sayville - The Bunk House.

Things to do:

Movies: There is a very small and old movie theater in the center of town but it's actually a pretty neat place and shows current movies.

Golf: If you like golf, there is a very pretty pubic golf course on the water in West Sayville.

Arboretum: The Bayard Cutting Arboretum is about a 5-10 minute drive and it's really beautiful.

Go to the Dairy Barn on Main Street. It's a drive-thru convenience store which is the epitome of laziness and very Long Island.

Borders: There is a huge Borders on Sunrise Highway. I spent most of my high school years hanging out there (sadly). That might be an indication of how little there is to do in Sayville itself.

Sayville fun facts: Hometown of Melissa J. Hart - aka Sabrina the Teenage Witch. My dad used to buy lobsters from her dad. It's true.
Also home to Lotus Tattoo which is owned by Anthony Civarelli of the Gorilla Biscuits. I think he still tattoos there too.

What time of year will you be there? It's much better in the spring/summer when you can take advantage of local beaches. If you'll be there then let me know and I'll give more info on that.

I should probably also mention Blackbird'ssince a good family friend owns it. The food is supposed to be pretty good and the bar is PACKED on weekends. I think the crowd is mostly in the 20-35 range on w/e nights.

It isn't far to nyc on LIRR at all i see.

I like to poke around looking at things, I like coldness and emptyness but i'm not immune to the charms of cute or quaint either. Do you like it better than Patchogue?

I'll be there in winter

my girl and i roll out to Cedar Beach in LI during the summer. not too far from the city actually just a few miles further then Jones but the vibe there is super cool and relaxing, with minimal crowds. they also allow alcohol on the beach!!

Yes, it's better than Patchogue. Patchogue is pretty much a hole. Although check out Reese's (http://reeses1900pub.com/) which is an old pub and pretty interesting to experience.

You could also check out these places if you like to poke around: http://www.bayportbluepoint.com/seeanddo/seeanddo.html
Although, I lived there most of my life and have been to neither.

Bellport, which is next to Patchogue has some beautiful old homes is worth driving around.

Also, you won't be far from the Hamptons by car or train which are lovely to look at esp in the winter and will definitely be cold and empty.

Let me know if you have any other questions . . .

x-post

we had a blast. Got lifted, hit the wineries, played mini-golf, ate every lobster roll we could find.

Whaling museum was closed for repairs :(

yup, check out montauk off-season if you want cold and empty. not sure if the shagwong is open year-round, but it's a good place to get a drink.

which lobster roll was your favorite, will? it's the unimaginative choice, but i do think that lunch (aka lobster roll) in amagansett is tops.

Lauren, you're totally right. They're soooooo good.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alidasphotos/323797029/

is there much of this?

Yes, there is actually. Can I ask why you're going to be in Sayville for a month? It just seems kind of random.

kind of blur but that just might have been one of the places we hit. a roadside joint on the way to Montauk?

xxpost

they're the best value, too, i think. one can feed two people. we had the worst one at duryea's - tiny portion, weird roll, more $$ than lunch. they have the greatest outdoor deck, but boy do you pay for it.

xpost

yup, that's lunch. it's across the street from the clam bar.

i said that i didn't want to go out to li this weekend, and now i'm kind of regretting it!

Lauren - when you go do you stay in Montauk or somewhere near there?

e. hampton, in the springs.

Oooh, nice. It's beautiful there.

Ok i'm not really going for a month - i feel bad for saying that now. I'm just going for the day

Wow. What the fuck?

Well, if anyone else does every spend an extended amount of time in Sayville the time I wasted this morning actually being nice and coming up with all those suggestions might come in handy.

How does Long Island get to claim Fire Island? It's a separate island!

sorry i'm not sure why i typed a month! your suggestions weren't wasted though, i'm still interested in all the things there

How does Long Island get to claim Fire Island? It's a separate island!

True, but they're very close. That said, they're VERY different.

Anyway, who said LI was claiming FI?

Anthony Civarelli

OK fine, Civ. Better?

YAY

:-)

How does Long Island get to claim Fire Island?

???

Long Island improves the weather in NYC

And our friends Brooklyn and Queens sublet from it

http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-history_then_and_now_htim813,0,2928891,full.story?coll=ny_community_guide_lihistory_util

My grandfather (and great-grandfather) mentioned at the beginning of the article.

That's so neat TR!

ON THE PATH called Burma Road that leads from the communities of Saltaire and Kismet to the Fire Island Lighthouse, hikers today see mostly sand, sky and grazing deer

I lived on Fire Island all year round when I was little and we'd have to go down Burma Road to get access to the beach which we'd drive on until we reached our town.

it's shaped like a japanese vibrator

GO LONG ISLAND!!!!!!!!

I'm really enjoying the L.I. beaches this summer--so convenient from the Woodside L.I.R.R. stop. Long Beach is always a treat, and Robert Moses was lovely, though a bit of a pain to get to (had to wait an hour for the bus connection in Babylon--because I missed the previous bus by one minute). Would it be feasible to do Montauk in a day trip? Which of the Hamptons beaches are most friendly to daytrippers?

Reading this thread, who's ever fought over whether NJ or LI was superior? What a transplanty thing to say.

I don't really know about feasibility, but A in this map is an (not the only?) Amagansett beach and B is the Amagansett Hampton Jitney stop, which is supposed to be an easy walk to (another?) beach. The map suggests that the walk from LIRR is less than a mile, but you have to cross Montauk Highway. B in this map is supposedly the approximate location of the Montauk stop. I don't know where the beach access is, but it obviously isn't far. The LIRR stop is significantly further away.

the approximate location of the Montauk stop

the Hampton Jitney stop, that is

oh and the Jitney also stops here, which looks fairly close to the beach

montauk is the most easily walkable, but it's just a bit too far for a day trip (at least 3hrs each way) imo.

i guess those maps didn't work. try plugging in the following as destinations/departure points after the link:
1st map - atlantic avenue beach (closer to LIRR) or amagansett beach (closer to jitney)
2nd map - montauk beach (or oceanside beach resort)
3rd map - select A, then beach, amagansett, ny

re: transport - the train has a more limited schedule, but it's much better than the jitney, which combines the worst of all worlds : it's expensive ($30 one way fri-mon), gets stuck in traffic, and is filled solely with hamptons people.

Reading this thread, who's ever fought over whether NJ or LI was superior? What a transplanty thing to say.

-- burt_stanton, Monday, August 4, 2008 2:09 AM (12 hours ago) Bookmark Link

i've done it

So what are interesting day trips on Long Island that don't involve beaches? Keep in mind that I (1) have a car (2) live by a LIRR station, and (3) live in far queens, so it's pretty easy for me to get to various LI locales.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_Manhasset

http://gawker.com/comedian-trolls-the-drunks-of-the-long-island-railroad-1506161498