If you're headed to the East End for an upcoming weekend, forgo the cheesy nightclubs and instead have dinner at Matto, the perfect stop after a day at The Beach.

Matto's dining room features white-fabric draped ceilings, soft candlelight, and a decidedly chic-but-beachy feel. The menu includes "Angry Shrimp" that are perfectly spiced with roasted garlic and scallions, as well as thin crust pizzas, fresh housemade pastas, and traditional meats and fish. Drink wine by the glass or the bottle and stare at the local--and visiting--beautiful people. Something about being at Matto refreshingly makes you feel like one too.

Related Stories:
· Matto [Official Site] ]]> sedona 2007-08-14T14:45:01-05:00 40.968930 -72.181781 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/27/23391/3101 Long Island Travel Guide Map

A beach you'd actually want to put your toes into in Long Island City? We know what you're thinking, too good to be true. Not so, my friends. Enter Water Taxi Beach, a public/private partnership (ie. tented bar) run by New York Water Taxi that offers the perfect sandy floor (a covered parking lot) right on the water. If you close your eyes for a minute, it's like being at an actual beach.

Grab your friends and pull up a picnic table (provided). Sip on beer, sangria, or wine and snack on a Coney Joe (beef chili on a bun) or the famous Friday Night chicken bbq. It's open most nights (without rain) and is free before 8pm. Show up later and you'll only cough up $3-$5. The 7/G/E/F train will get you there in no time too.

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Long Island City [Jaunted]
· Water Taxi Beach [Official Site]

[Photo: Maura] ]]> sedona 2007-06-28T12:28:27-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/8/1/125140/3733

Click here to go straight to the Long Island Beach Houses Map

File this one in the Things We Do For You category: Here's a recap of last night's One Ocean View. OOV is a short reality TV series by the same production team that does the Real World. In it, a bunch of heavily waxed singles spend the summer in Fire Island (mostly weekends, as some are working New Yorkers) and do all the things one would expect from reality TV housemates. The show is kind enough to give one line descriptions for the cast members, and we'll do the same:

Miki and Rhada: Twins that own an organic pizza shop in New York City. Tastefully crunchy.

Mary--A handbag designer that lives in both New York and L.A. She's got L.A. attitude and New York looks. Uh oh.

Lisa--The "shy" one, who is also a "dancer". A shy dancer, we assume.

KJ--Originally from North Jersey, he owns a gym. Guido.

John--Described as the romantic one, he's a broker of some kind. Sensitive Guido.

Usman--Ethnic and horny, much like if Fez from That 70's Show was a wealthy lawyer. Metro Guido.

Zach and Lauren--Formerly a couple, Lauren is keeping Zach on the hook (she was his only girlfriend) while she sluts around with other men. He's a delusional Guido, she's mostly evil.]]> AVB 2006-08-01T12:51:40-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/7/28/11167/2077


Click here to go straight to the Long Island Beach Houses Map

Surprise, surprise, Fire Island never cottoned to the whole reality show (One Ocean View) filming in their midst. Just like residents of Denver, where the Real World is currently filming, and Scottsdale, which was the location for an MTV Super Sweet Sixteen episode, Fire Island would rather not have a bunch of drunken, horny egomaniacs careening through their hometown.

According to locals, portraying the area as a super-sexy Hamptons lite, as ABC is aiming to do, is inaccurate:

"From their pictures, the guys on the show are all glamorous," said Maria Rondisi, who works in magazine production and was spending a recent Friday on the beach in front of the shared house where the show was shot in June and early July..."The real guys out here are beer-drinking, shower-once-a-week, down-to-earth fun guys," she said. "It's not the Hamptons."

"We're not crawling all over the dunes," said Bob Ruymen, co-owner of Visual Concepts in Islip. "I'm probably more careful than park visitors who throw their junk around."

From Long Island:
· Party pics from the Hamptons [Hamptons Magazine]
· Wilmer Valderrama Hits Up Stereo, Place Officially "Over" [TMZ]
· People finally realize that its ridiculous to pay $1,000 for a summer share where you sleep on the floor [NY Times]

From the Jersey Shore:
· More bad smells hit the Jersey Shore and its not just Drakkar Noir [NBC10]
· Europeans are visiting Cape May [Press of Atlantic City]
· Park Model RVs sure to make Jersey Shore classier [Courier Post Online]]]> juliana 2006-07-07T14:17:53-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/