Brew's Cafe

It seems hard to believe that it's been 12 years since Della Femina in East Hampton closed its doors, but if anyone would know, it'd be Walter Struble. Walter was perhaps more synonymous with the iconic restaurant of the 90's and 00's than its namesake himself. Ever present, overseeing the door, the dining room, the bar, the staff, the customers, the phone, the books and every other aspect of the place, Walter did it all. And though he did it with grace and charm and made it look easy, woe betide the occasional wannabe big shot who tried to bully a server or overtake the maitre'd post-- Walter was not one to be crossed. It was great to sit down with him and hear some of the famous stories of those one or two bad apples, but more importantly the great stories of the long line of amazing people who had the distinction of working there during Walter's run. Of course, we catch up on what's been going on in his life in the years since, and what he plans for the future.

You know that old story about the beautiful young girl walking on the beach in Hawaii and someone comes up to her and says "do you want to be a model"? It's either a fairy tale or an intro to a "Criminal Minds" episode, right? Either way, that never happens in real life. Well, don't tell that to Leilani Bishop. Of course,  nothing happens overnight, in modeling or anywhere else, and Leilani's story involves the usual episodes of rooming with four wannabe models for a summer in a tiny NYC apartment, countless appointments that went nowhere, months and years away from family and friends at home. Until that one call comes. And, to keep up the fairy tale, these careers never last more than a couple years, never mind decades. Oops, again, don't tell Leilani.  And "just a pretty face"? Once more, cliche does not apply. As this conversation will attest, Leilani is intensely thoughtful, highly intelligent, deeply spiritual and downright funny. Today she lives with her family in Amgansett and operates Botanica Bazaar, a carefully curated store in Amagansett Square, filled with natural health and beauty products that meet extremely stringent standards of quality, purity and beauty.  Tune in to this episode and join us as Leilani Bishop takes us on a tour of the adventure that has been her life so far.

If you don't know what 20,000 vinyl LP's looks like, then you've never been in Gian Carlo Feleppa's basement slash recording studio slash office slash record depository. Add to that many hundreds, even thousands of reel to reel tapes, numerous and various machines to play them on, speakers to listen to them through, mixers, recorders and other various and sundry music recording mechanisms-- and we haven't even begin to discuss the instruments. I arrive and Giancarlo is on the porch of his house, strumming and picking and harmonizing on a sitar about as tall as he is, the base of which is fashioned from a dried pumpkin. Three drum kits are also on the porch. Inside, The Beatles (or was it Wings, I was too overwhelmed to recall) spin on the turntable. A tour ensues, not unlike a tour of a local museum, and if GC and his family didn't live there, and if it weren't an active rehearsal, recording, teaching and just noodling around space, maybe it could be. Then we sit down for a conversation that took us places I hadn't planned, but wasn't surprised when we got there. Gian Carlo is the epitome of a local treasure: unique, multi-talented, highly productive, and eager to share his enthusiasm with his young students, the concert-goers at Student Body show, or the random amateur podcaster, which I've been lucky enough to be all of at one point or another.

Considering how long Jimmy Minardi has been a valuable member of this community, and how many athletes, semi-athletes and non-athletes (he'd say they're all athletes but since I've done some training with him I'm equipped to say they're not!) he has trained on the beach, on the roads, in the ocean and in the gyms and yoga studios of the east end, you might think you've seen all of his tricks. But Jimmy is full of surprises, and bringing a "date" to his session at Brew's Cafe Podcast was one of them. Fortunately, his "date", psychologist and therapist Bardie Rose, came prepared to chat! So we had a three way chat about all kinds of matters, some you'd expect, like ocean safety and fitness, two of Jimmy's specialties, but also of the minds of Americans now, our mental health and what might be good and bad for it. Join us as we explore the physical health and mental well-being of me, Jimmy and Bardie, as well as the people we come in contact with on a constant basis.

Most American high schoolers do exchange programs in places like France, or Spain, or maybe Japan. Mark Crandall went to Zimbabwe, a small country in southern Africa that didn't technically exist just a few years earlier. What he experienced there-- a way of living known as "Ubuntu"-- set the course of his life's work from that moment until today. Mark's organization, Hoops4Hope operates in Zimbabwe and South Africa, using sports, most specifically basketball, to teach responsibility, accountability, mentorship and citizenship in a culture where such lessons aren't always easy to come by. Now celebrating 25 years, Hoops4Hope still brings these lessons to countless children in Africa, who usually play without shoes, and often without even a ball, as well as to children in local schools and in his local summer camp, East Hampton Sports Camp. Listen in as Mark tells the story of how it all came about, what challenges is presently faces, and where he hopes the future will take the program.

Today I visit Jack Luber in "The Cave", a very special place that might double as  Jack's Garage, if it weren't filled with surfboards, bicycles, PA Speakers, vintage advertising signs, weights, a couple of old leather couches and a bunch more surfboards. Many know it as the home of Jack's nightly Covid parties, where he spun records and entertained us in quarantine as his wife, Leilani, grooved in the background and son, Cassius, made an occasional cameo. Today it's home to our easygoing convo about the East Hampton Airport, Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green, the beauty of the Berkshires, the value of really good weed and the state of building homes in East Hampton. Join Jack and me as we chat casually-- really the only way to chat with Luber-- about this and several other entertaining topics.

I hadn't ever met Springs Artist Chris Kelly until we sat down to do the podcast, so forgive me if I hogged the mic a little more than usual, since we were both getting to know each other and have quite a bit in common. Chris makes gorgeous paintings and sculptures in his Springs studio, and you'll be able to see them for yourself later this month.  The Colm Rowan Gallery in East Hampton will host an exclusive show featuring his works beginning Memorial Day Weekend. Join us in the Cafe as Chris recounts his journey from East Hampton to the top of the Himalayas, back to East Hampton, with a long stop in Brookly along the way.

You don't so much visit Dalton Portella's as you enter his world. Large scale oil paintings hang on the walls, above works still in progress. An array of gorgeous vintage guitars stand ready in front of an assembly of amps, cables, pedals, microphones and stands intertwine between them. A colony of drums occupy a full corner of the oversized room. In the side room computer screens, printers, keyboards, scanners and other assorted accessories sit open, ready for input. And that's just the main level. Bouncing between it all, like a kid showing off his playroom, is Dalton: painter, graphic artist, musician, NFT pioneer and, of course, incurable surfer. I sat down with Dalton and he took me on another tour, back to NYC in the 80's working on computers the size of your house, right through to now, selling NFT's on OpenSea and promoting them on Discord. Join us as we bounce around the fantastical, creative world of Dalton Portella.

Add to the list of things I learn in podcasting: ROLLER DERBY! I honestly thought this was a fictitious thing... you know, the scantily clad women clawing, elbowing, hair pulling and all as they circle a track on roller skates. Turns out, it's a real sport. Played by real athletes on real teams in real arenas, with real live audiences. And instead of fishnets and hot pants they wear double bullet belts and jungle paint (ok, maybe fishnets too). And hair pulling is a penalty, as is elbowing, clawing and tossing over the railing. But it's extremely competitive and it goes on all over the country. Of course, this is only one of the fascinating things "Rambo" and I cover in this highly informative and terrifically entertaining conversations. Sam is an absolute delight to talk to, as her energy, enthusiasm and joie de vivre is more contagious than an airborne pathogen (which, thankfully, we barely even mentioned!).

If you want to know what's going on in the restaurant world on Long Island, you go to one guy: Steve Haweeli. Founder of WordHampton, the go to PR and Media Relations firm for South Fork businesses and organizations, including most restaurants, Steve pretty much invented the restaurant PR game in the Hamptons. Thirty years ago, when phones were still attached to the rest of the world by cables and fax machines were cutting edge tech, Steve created a business from behind the bar at Nick and Toni's and from his phone and fax. Thirty years later, the world is connected by thoughts we haven't yet thunk (yeah, my phone does that too), and Steve is still the guy. Join us as Steve fills us in on what's going where in the restaurant scene here, as well as how he navigates a field that's more complex than ever.