Category: Nantucket

The Ships Inn: elegant and understated

The Ship’s Inn at 13 Fair St is an elegant, understate and creative restaurant you shouldn’t miss. The restaurant is on the lower level of the inn itself, and has its own entrance at right rear. Or you can go into the inn and down the stairs. Fair Street is one way inbound towards Main and you have to drive out and back in to get to the restaurant. On street parking is limited and you may have to park some distance away or somewhere downtown.

The inn itself is quite elegant and has a comfortable and old-fashioned quality, and claims to be on the site of the birthplace of Lucretia Mott, the first abolitionist and women’s suffrage pioneer.

Chef Mark Gottwald’s menu is creative and priced on the high end of moderate, with only three of the 12 entrees above $40. The appetizers are priced from $12 to $20. The service is elegant and attentive, and quite rapid.

We started with two excellent salads, a House Salad ($12) of field greens, feta cheese and a lemon thyme vinaigrette, and a classic Caesar salad ($14) with romaine, parmesan and croutons. Both salads were ample, and the Caesar so

rich we could hardly finish it.

For our main course, we ordered Boneless Beef Short Ribs ($36) with horse radish spatzle. The beef was amazingly tender and richly flavored and the spatzle small and elegant. It was so huge we were able to take some home for lunch the next day.

Our other entrée was Grilled Shrimp ($35) served with English peas, chorizo and baby clams (shown in the dish on the left, and saffron and tomato rice shown on the right. The huge shrimp plus the chorizo and clams made an enormous but satisfying meal and one we’d enthusiastically recommend to anyone.

We decided there wasn’t room for dessert, but we certainly will return to try some more dishes on this excellent menu.

Galley Beach: excellent but pricey

Galley Beach offers picturesque dining on Cliffside Beach, with a view of the ocean and sunset. Under the (returning) Chef W Scott Osif, the menu is again highly imaginative and very tasty. It is also almost unreasonably pricey, topping out with a jaw-dropping $58 veal chop entrée and a $59 lobster entrée. The complete set of entrée prices are almost all over $40: 42,45,40,59,39,58,54. The appetizers are somewhat more reasonable, running from$16 to $25. Portion sizes are again good-sized, unlike under the prior chef’s reign. It is perfectly possible to make a meal out of two appetizers and feel completely satisfied.

There is no doubt that you will enjoy your meal and excellent service at Galley Beach, and some of the dishes are definitely worth sampling.

We begin our evening with an appetizer Summer Vegetable Tasting ($19), made up of tomatoes, radishes, broccolini, melon,sunchoke and greens. Thoughtfully composed, this light appetizer was a welcome relief from Nantucket overkill.

Our other appetizer was a truly excellent clam chowder ($16), made with Yukon gold potatoes and applewood smoked bacon. It was thick and bursting with clams and potatoes. Surely the best clam chowder on the island.

For one entrée, we chose the crab cake ($27), served with cucumber and tomato mint salad and a champagne beurre blanc. While this was nominally an appetizer, it was large and so filling it made an excellent dinner.

Our other entrée was Sea Scallops ($44) served with kale, pickled apple, celery root and a lemon coriander dressing. The four large scallops were almost more than we could eat, but the accompaniments were fascinating and went well with the scallops.

Finally, we succumbed to a dessert, splitting an excellent Crème Brulee ($15) served with two huge blackberries. The crust was crispy and more important, the underlying custard was warm and not just pulled from the fridge and torched.

Overall we had an excellent meal, which with two glasses of $22 chardonnay set us back $187 including tax but before tip. Galley Beach has set itself up with price points as a special occasion venue, or for the wealthy and this is too bad, because everyone would enjoy eating there. The view and service are excellent, and if you bring plenty of money, it is a terrific experience.

Incidentally, it appears that they have dropped the $15 valet parking of the past two years, which was really just annoying.

Brotherhood of Thieves: a popular family restaurant

The Brotherhood of Thieves has been a fixture on Nantucket since 1972, providing families a convenient place to eat relatively inexpensively. It was damaged by fire in 1999, but was reopened in 2004 thanks to restaurateurs EJ Harvey and Larry Wheldon. In 2011, Chef Christopher Hinds was appointed Chef de Cuisine, and oversees all operations.

In fact, it was Hinds work that brought back the quality the Brotherhood was known for and their menu now emphasizes burgers and specialty sandwiches, along with a few entrées and shared plates. They have 9 different craft beers on tap, and of course feature a children’s menu as well.

The restaurant is exceptionally popular in high season as visitors and day trippers look for a quick, but decent place to take their children for lunch or dinner.

We dropped by the Brotherhood last Tuesday, and found it much the same. The lower level remains as it was, rather like an old whaling bar. The upper levels are more light and airy.

We ordered an excellent Reuben sandwich ($18) and the Brotherhood Burger with cheddar ($15). Both come with curly fries. The Reuben was juicy and flavorful, and so substantial that we save part for the next day’s lunch.

The burger was pretty good, but neither as juicy or as flavorful as you can get right across the street at Le Languedoc for only about $3 more. The fries likewise were fairly good, but not in the class of Le Languedoc’s.

Overall, The Brotherhood is a really decent family restaurant, but for burgers only, go across the street.

Fog Island Café: best breakfasts on the island

Every time we have breakfast at Fog Island, on South Water Street, we wonder why we’d go anywhere else. The food and service are terrific, as evidenced by the crowds it attracts. We went a little later after a morning hike and had the place almost to ourselves. The breakfast menu features pancakes, French toast, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, fruits, cereal, basic egg dishes, and several styles of Eggs Benedict.

We ordered their wildly popular Sausage Biscuit ($11.95) : scrambled eggs and sausage and cheddar cheese on a homemade buttermilk biscuit. It is so good it can bring tears to your eyes!

And, we ordered their classic French toast: thick cut cinnamon bread, dipped in cinnamon batter ($10.95). It was beautiful to behold as well as to eat.

Fog Island Café serves breakfast and lunch and is open from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm (1:00 pm on Sundays). You are sure to be delighted.

Incidentally, their website doesn’t display the menus correctly using Chrome, but it works fine using Firefox, but this does not take away from the excellent food.

The Summer House: relaxing and elegant

We returned to The Summer House in ‘Sconset, as we do most years, knowing that we can always count on good service, an elegant atmosphere and fine cuisine. The Summer House includes a few elegant cottages, a poolside bar and cafe, and a full-service restaurant open each evening. The restaurant is decorated in white, with white tablecloths and has both indoor and outdoor tables to choose from.

Soon after we were seated, the waitress brought us a small amuse-bouche, smoked bluefish on melba toast, which was flavorful, and with a nice crunch. We cannot praise our waitress too much, as on a Monday night, she was the only waitress for the entire dining room (8 tables), and kept up her exhausting duties with good cheer and exceptional skill.

One of our appetizers was an absolutely superb Caesar salad ($17) where you could pick out the garlic and anchovy flavors, as well as the thinly slice Parmesan cheese on top. This was a substantial salad, and you could consider sharing it if you are ordering one of the more filling entrees.

Our other appetizer was a bowl of Lobster Bisque ($19) with crème fraiche and chives. There is no requirement that a lobster bisque contain any lobster, but this one did contain two thin strips of lobster buried in a delicious, rich bisque. And, it should be noted, the bisque was not a bit bitter, which often happens when they cook the shells too long. This one was perfect.

The Agnolotti ($36) we ordered for one of our entrees was far and away the best dish we’ve had on the island this year, and it doesn’t even include meat or seafood. This was Sweet Corn Agnolotti al Plin, which are little ravioli, pinched together by hand (that’s what al plin means). They are filled with corn and ricotta, and served with grilled mushrooms, blistered tomatoes, basil and truffle. Again, this was absolutely excellent.

Finally, our other entrée was Fluke Meuniere ($38) with pole beans, baby greens, confit potato and caper brown butter. You will note that this bears some similarity to the flounder preparation we had at the Grey Lady. And both have the potential for being overcooked. And both of them were. At the Summer House, however, the waitress was quite attentive and when she learned we found the fluke dry, she whisked it away and replaced it within 5 minutes. The new one was much improved, but we wish the brown butter had been spooned over the entire fish to keep it moist.

Finally we split a dessert just called “Chocolate,” ($14) consisting of chocolate ganache, chocolate ice cream, chocolate mousse, chocolate cookies, cookie crumbs, pieces of dark chocolate and whipped cream. An utterly spectacular end to an excellent meal. We’ll be back next year.

The Grey Lady: Nantucket’s newest seafood restaurant

You might think that The Grey Lady would be a perfect name for a Nantucket restaurant, but the operators of the 2 Chin’s Way establishment already have branches in New York and Aspen. This Grey Lady is on Chin’s Way, just next to the Island Kitchen. Chin’s way is little more than an entrance to the parking lot for the two restaurants and runs between West Creek and Dave St, pretty much directly across from Stop and Shop.

The restaurant is in the building formerly occupied by the Bamboo Supper Club, with a long thin dining area and a bar on the other side of the wall. The décor is light an airy.

Of the four things we ordered, the Lobster Roll was far awn away the best, although it was $38. It was a buttered brioche roll filled to the brim with warm, buttered lobster. They also offer it cold with mayonnaise, but this is the one you want. The lobster roll is served with copious hot French fries, and makes a very filling meal by itself.

We ordered Crispy Fried Oysters ($14) served with Buffalo style hot sauce, blue cheese dressing and shaved celery. Now, to us, Buffalo hot sauce is half Frank’s bottled sauce and half butter, but this was just Frank’s sauce dumped on all the oysters. The hot pepper smell was simply choking and the strong hot sauce flavor completely overpowered the oysters.

Our other appetizer was a pair of Crab Cakes ($15) served with fresh tomatoes. The crab cakes were meaty and not filled with a lot of bread crumbs, but lacked much flavor: Baltimore style crab cakes usually have a mustard flavor. And without any tartar sauce, they were kind of dry.

Finally, our other entrée was Pan Roasted Native Flounder ($26) served with toasted corn, zucchini, Italian sausage, salsa verde and white bean puree. Unfortunately the flounder were too brown and overcooked and dry. And it really didn’t seem to make sense that sausage was served with the flounder.

Our bill with 2 beers and a glass of wine was $132.66 with tax but before tip. Our waitress was very fast and efficient, but the kitchen work needs some serious rethinking.

Oran Mor: one of Nantucket’s top restaurants

We look forward to visiting Oran Mor each year because of the wide variety of interesting dishes Chef Chris Freeman puts together. We are told that “Oran Mor” means “Great Song,” and that this sometimes refers to a song sung in Scotland after being victorious in battle. It is also one of Scotland’s most popular whiskey bars and a single malt whiskey liqueur.

Chef Freeman has been running Oran Mor since 2006 and many have sung the Great Song in praise of his work there. The restaurant is up a flight of copper stairs to the second floor at 2 South Beach St. There is no elevator available.

The restaurant is made up of a number of second floor rooms in this rambling house, all elegantly decorated.

We visited Oran Mor last Saturday, and while the menu changes daily, this one is at least typical of what Oran Mor offers. Appetizer prices run from $13 to $23 and entrees from $31 to $40, with the ribeye being the highest priced item.

For appetizers we ordered the Bartlett’s Farm Organic Greens ($13), consisting of Feta cheese, compressed watermelon, red onion and almonds. The watermelon added a lot to the salad, which we found delightful.

For our other appetizer, we ordered Hudson Valley Foie Gras Torchon and sausage ($23) with black mission fig compote, lemon cake crumbs and Portuguese bread. (A torchon is similar to a terrine, except that one is cooked in cheesecloth and the other in a special terrine vessel.) It doesn’t look from the picture like we were served any lemon cake crumbs, but there is a half fig in the center of the platter instead. Both the torchon and the sausage were delicious spread on the Portuguese bread toast, combined with the fig compote.

For one entrée, we ordered Roasted Pekin Duck Breast and Leg Confit ($35). It was served with Okinawa sweet potato puree, arugula, emmer, quinoa and huckleberries. The duck breast was tender and delicious, although the confit was not quite as good as we’ve had in the past. But with the grains and berries, this was quite a successful dish. The dish came with three little flat brown pieces of what might best be described as “sesame brittle,” and that was a lovely and creative idea.

Our other entrée was Roasted Lamb Chop and Sausage ($36) with roasted summer vegetables, olive tapenade, pesto and herbed croutons. If you go to a restaurant on a busy Saturday night, there are likely to be flubs from time to time and we felt this was one of them. The lamb chop was tough and a bit gamey, and the tapenade and pesto overpoweringly strong for the lamb. And the spicing of the lamb sausage was quite strong and reminiscent of kielbasa, which probably wasn’t exactly what they intended. We found it disappointing.

But 3 out of 4 isn’t bad on a Saturday and we’ll certainly be back again next year.

The Downyflake: a Nantucket tradition

The Downyflake has been serving breakfast and lunch and making terrific doughnuts since 1935. It has been operated by one family after another since that time. Currently the owners are Ron Oldham and Patti Kennedy, who were previously the chef and manager of The Ropewalk. The Downyflake is the last of a chain of restaurants started by the Donut Corporation of America, and maintains the retro chain look of that chain. While it originally was downtown, the current building is at 18 Sparks Ave, across from the Fire Station, and just down the street from Stop and Shop.

The Downyflake is noted for reasonable prices, and quick and friendly service, and is beloved by locals and tourists alike. We always try to get there a couple of times while we are on the island. The menu is simple but deliciously prepared breakfast and lunch fare along with their excellent donuts.

On this visit, we ordered the Flake Special (eggs, sausage, home fries and toast, $7.95), which was hot and perfectly prepared.

We also ordered the Downy omelet ($8.50), made from mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and sour cream. Again, absolutely perfect.

Next time, we’ll go for the remarkable donuts!

Don’t miss the Downyflake while you are on the island. Parking is tight, and we were not above walking down there after shopping at Stop and Shop! And do not forget that they don’t take credit cards. However, they do have an ATM machine.

Le Languedoc: best burger on the island

Le Languedoc (on Broad St) is a French bistro with a small but imaginative menu of steaks, chicken lobster, fluke, quail, duck and sweetbreads. We’ve written about it before, describing their more formal menu, but had never ventured to the below stairs café where burgers and the like predominate.

This year, all that has changed. You can order the fancier menu in any room, and the cheeseburger in any room, and have the option of pairing that burger with an appetizer if you like. The dining room décor is really quite elegant with bottom-lit floating flowers and white tablecloth service.

We ate at Le Languedoc last night for the burgers, but preceded them with a couple of salads.

One was a delicious Bartlett Farms fresh tomato and bleu cheese salad ($18), and the other a Burrata salad ($16) with figs, Arugula, Zucchini, Seasoned Crumbs, and Balsamic dressing.

We both ordered the Cheeseburger and Garlic Fries ($18.75) and it is easily the best burger on the island.

It’s a fairly thick burger, prepared to the doneness you request, served on an English muffin, open on the platter, with lettuce, tomato and onion under the top muffin, so you can edit them before putting the top layer on. The waiter brought us each three little dishes of ketchup, ketchup and mustard to use on or burger and with our fries.

The garlic fries were hot and mildly redolent of garlic so they don’t overwhelm you, but exceptionally good fries.

We should note that the burger and fries are quite filling, and you really don’t need those salads unless you are exceptionally hungry. Desserts are available, but we confess that we finished our meal with ice cream from the Juice Guys.

You can also get a rather good burger from LolaBurger (for about $17.50 with cheese and fries) at the Milestone Rotary, but not only is this one better; the atmosphere and service at Le Languedoc are unsurpassed. Besides, if someone wants to order from the rest of their menu they can do that, too!

The Sea Grille is always excellent

You can tell that The Sea Grille is good by the crowd of both tourists and locals that eat there every night. Located on Sparks Ave, between the Shell station and the Boys and Girls Club, it is a somewhat unobtrusive large building with amply parking in the rear. Supervised by E J Harvey, the Sea Grille has been providing creative and comforting meals for over 20 year. And for non-seafood enthusiasts, they do serve steaks and chicken as well.

The Sea Grille’s large menu lists a number of fish they will cook for you steamed or fried, as well as a number of more elaborate Island Favorites and Creative Coastal items and some nightly specials. They also have several soups, including E J Harvey’s award winning Quahog Chowder.

On our Wednesday visit this week, the dining room (and parking lot) were lively, but not completely full. For busy times and weekends, you definitely should make a reservation.

On this visit, we succumbed again to our favorite: Harvey’s Quahog chowder ($8) and their creative and colorful Roasted Beet Salad ($14) with herb crusted local goat milk cheese, onion, caramelized pecans and country dressing.

The chowder (a quahog is a large clam) was full of pieces of chopped clam along with potatoes, and garnished with paprika, had an absolutely delicious flavor. Don’t miss this one!

The beet salad, with the accompanying goat cheese (shown a 2 o’clock in the photo) was excellent, with a mixture of red and yellow beets, red onions and lettuce.

We ordered their nightly special, Miso-glazed Hake ($34), served with a couple of head-on shrimp, rice and a delicious sweet miso sauce. And sitting right on top were little “tree branches,” which turned out to be batter fried broccoli (shown along the top rear). They were so good, we’ll never steam broccoli again!

For our second entree, we ordered the Free Form Ravioli ($33), a single huge ravioli stuffed with seafood: shrimp, scallops, lobster, ricotta and mushrooms, with a crispy leek.

The Sea Grille never disappoints: their food is always excellent and reasonably priced. You can’t go wrong in this family-friendly restaurant.