There is an artifact that is now housed in the Long Island Collection at the East Hampton Library — framed, and hung on the wall behind protective glass — that dates back 323 years. It measures just under four-and-a-half inches long and less than half that high.  It is only a small fragment of cloth, woven of silk, cotton, and metallic gold and silver thread. Yet, this remarkable remnant of sumptuous silk is the very stuff of pirate legend. 

Sushi and sashimi — they're fun to eat, fun to look at, and fun to make yourself. With the right combination of tools, tutorials, practice, and products — mostly accessible on the East End, with maybe a little help from the internet gods — it’s not all that hard to pull off your own night of Japanese cooking.

Before there were free electric-buggy rides offering ice-cold mineral waters on your way to Main Beach — before the instant chill of ducking into a brisk Ralph Lauren boutique to escape the blazing rays, before anyone had ever heard the words “climate change”  — there were ice houses.