Now, the town in which I live is much smaller than Richmond. Take the population for instance. The Village of Sag Harbor has a year-round population of about 2,300. Even the School District, which is quite a bit larger than the Village has a year-round population of only about 6,600. You’ll notice that when I mention our local population figures, I always qualify them with the phrase “year-round.” The reason for that would be obvious if you were in downtown Sag Harbor with me last Sunday. Now, it is well known that our population swells considerably during the summer months, but I didn’t realize that all 199,999 people that I did not see in downtown Richmond two weeks ago, would be  vacationing in Sag Harbor a week later.

The week-to-week contrast was startling. In Richmond one week, we could drive around the city unencumbered by traffic or even pedestrians, park when and where we wished, make u-turns with impunity, and have free and easy access to whatever we wished to do. One week later, in Sag Harbor, driving and parking were near impossibilities, and walking the length of our two-block long Main Street was almost as difficult.

I don’t really have a point here, unless it’s to say that Richmond is a nice place to be on a summer Sunday, if you don’t like crowds. Of course, Sag Harbor is also a nice place to be on a summer Sunday — unless you don’t like crowds.

To be fair, we did see a few people at a church in Richmond. One of them was quite agitated about something. When we saw him he was shouting, “give me liberty, or give me death!” I was so impressed that, after he settled down, I took a couple of pictures which I include here for your edification.

————————————————
Currently listening to: Harbor by Vienna Teng

In a way though, it was a good thing that I left them off the list, because now I can write about them today, without feeling that I’m plugging one business too often. For those of my readers who haven’t been to Sag Hampton, let me describe Conca d’Oro. In appearance and menu it is a typical Italian-American restaurant/pizzeria. There’s one long, narrow room, with pizza ovens and a counter on the left, and a seating area on the right. Except at the front, by the street-side windows, it’s pretty dark. In the back, where it’s darkest, there’s a separate seating area with candles in wine bottles for those wanting to be waited upon. Design features are minimal — a few posters and chianti bottles, and fake plants about covers it.

But, it’s not the decor that draws the crowds, and crowds there be. It’s the food, and the friendly atmosphere. As I mentioned, the menu is fairly typical for restaurants of this type, with the mainstays being pizza, hot and cold hero sandwiches, plus the usual assortment of red-sauced dinner entrees: veal, chicken and eggplant parmigiana, manicotti, ravioli and other pasta dishes, with or without meat, and a few house specials. And, while I could riff on the pleasures of dining in a neighborhood hangout, where you’ll always run into several folks you know, today I want to focus on that seemingly ordinary food, ’cause a recent experience at another Italian dining establishment has made me much more appreciative of what Conca d’Oro has to offer.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I, and another couple went to the annual orchid show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx (spectacular — more than worth the trip, and the hefty entrance fee). Those of you who’ve been to the Botanical Garden or the nearby Bronx Zoo may know that both of these institutions are only a few blocks away from the Bronx’s Little Italy, also known as Arthur Avenue. I only discovered this fact recently, when I heard Arthur Avenue being praised for its fabulous “real” Italian restaurants. Prime among these was Dominick’s.

Since our trip would stretch over two mealtimes, we decided that for one of those we’d dine in Little Italy. We didn’t plan on eating at Dominick’s though, because we’d heard that it was very popular, with waits of up to two hours to get in. Instead, we picked another eatery – also highly rated, but not quite as popular as Domminck’s. Our plan was to have lunch there, but we arrived a bit early and our chosen restaurant was not yet open. Being on somewhat of a tight schedule, we couldn’t wait, and so set off down Arthur Avenue hoping to find some good Italian home cooking. After passing by several establishments, also closed, we found ourselves outside Dominick’s, and although they didn’t officially open for another half hour, a waiter waved us in, so in we went.

The good news was that since they weren’t yet officially open, there was no wait.  There’s also, no menu, no checks, and no private tables. All seating at Dominick’s is family style. While you cozy up to the new friends seated at your table, the waiter recites the various dishes that are available for each course. You have to pay close attention, as the list is quite long. No prices are mentioned. I guess you could ask, but that would take some of the fun out of the experience. So, you order, and hope you’ve got enough cash to cover what you’ve eaten ’cause they don’t take credit cards. While it may not sound like it, it was a lot of fun. As the various dishes we ordered arrived, we watched Dominick’s fill up with the most amazing assortment of New York characters I’ve ever seen — and I’ve lived in New York. It was like a casting call for a movie about the Bronx. On top of that, almost everyone seemed to know each other, not unlike our experience when eating locally at Conca d’Oro. By the time we’d finished our meal, there was indeed a long line of people waiting for tables.

So that was the good part. The highly praised, authentic Italian cuisine, on the other hand – not so much. It wasn’t bad, exactly, just disappointing. I won’t bore you with the details. We skipped dessert and escaped with a bill of $58.00 for four, which our waiter delivered verbally. Not a rip off, and we did have a good time, so, all-in-all, a mostly positive experience.

Yet — and here’s the good news for all you Sag Hampton residents — gustatorialy, Dominick’s was no Conca d’Oro. While not haute cuisine, the food at Conca d’oro is consistently good, and quite a bit better than what we had at the Bronx’s best “authentic” Italian restaurant. Score one for Sag Hampton, and thank you Conca d’Oro for continuing to provide Italian food-loving Sag Hamptonites with a reasonably-priced, casual alternative for very tasty family dining. By the way, I highly recommend the eggplant parmigiana, and did I mention how great the orchid show was? Here are a couple of photos I took there:

Currently listening to: Long Island Shores by Mindy Smith

But, let me tell you about Dahlonega. It is an interesting place that reminded me a great deal of Sag Hampton — if you overlook the fact that Dahlonega is landlocked. But aside from the lack of boats, there was much that was familiar in this small southern town, and I found that interesting indeed. One very obvious similarity was that like Sag Hampton, Dahlonega takes its history seriously.

(Digression: I would have liked to have some pictures to illustrate this post, but unfortunately, my camera broke while I was there, so I only have one, not very interesting, picture from Dahlonega. However, since this photo does reflect Dahlonega’s historic bent, I have published it in the sidebar.)

Dahlonega is principally famous as the location of the Georgia gold rush which, apparently, immediately preceded the better known California gold rush. Now I had never heard of the Georgia gold rush, so I’m taking their word for the fact that Dahlonega is, in fact, famous for it. But then again, I suppose not many Georgians would know that Sag Harbor was once a busier commercial seaport than New York City, so they’ll just have to take our word for that.

Another interesting similarity with Sag Hampton, is that today, Dahlonega is in the middle of Georgia wine country. Ok, once again, I have to admit my ignorance. I never would have guessed that they made wine in Georgia, moonshine maybe, but wine?  However, given that the wedding we attended took place in a very lovely winery, surrounded by an impressively large vineyard, I don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. They do indeed make wine in Georgia, and it is pretty good wine, at that.

They also take historic preservation pretty seriously. There’s a square in the center of Dahlonega, and in the center of the square is a lovingly restored courthouse circa 1836, that’s now the Gold Rush Museum. All around the square, are many original period buildings, and, except for a really bad traffic problem (sound familiar?), the entire area is quite lovely to look at. It felt comfortably unhurried, and very welcoming. In short, it reminded me of being here, without the boats and beaches.

Dahlonega is also a center of tourism. Maybe not on the same scale as Sag Hampton, but it was clear that the area drew a lot of vacationers and day-trippers from Atlanta, which is only an hour and a half to the south. This is where our visit to Dahlonega grew instructional, for I couldn’t help noticing that, pretty as their little square was, it was not a living part of their town anymore. Every business along all four sides of the square was tourist oriented: gift shops, souvenir shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors, a tourist information center, bed and breakfasts, coffee shops, the museum in the center of the square, and, of course, a sprinkling of the ever-present real estate offices that grow like warts on the face of every tourist town. All the businesses that provide real services to residents, had been banished to the outskirts of town…out by the Walmart. So, Dahlonega proper had pretty much devolved into a sort of Disneyesque historic attraction which was probably avoided like the plague by actual Dahlonegans.

I saw this as the writing on the wall for Sag Hampton. We’re more than halfway there already. You know you’re in trouble when everyone’s in denial about the problem and cites the same examples of why it’s not true. “We still have the Variety Store,” we all say. “And we still have a grocery store on Main Street. What about the dry cleaner and the laundromat? See, we’re still a working village.” Yeah, right. It’s pretty sad when you can count the number of non-summer-people-related businesses on the fingers of one hand.

So, I had a great time in Dahlonega, GA. Saw the sites, almost bought some souvenirs I didn’t need, drank some really nice wine, and danced the night away at my niece’s wedding. But, underlying my happiness, was a touch of dread, as I looked around and saw the future of Sag Hampton.

I promise to write more regularly. Someone needs to wake this burg up, before it’s too late.