Tag Archives: Nantucket
Something Natural’s Hummus and Sprouts Sandwich
Once you make hummus at home, you may be disappointed you haven’t been making it yourself all along. This Middle Eastern standard is incredibly easy to whip up in a food processor, and it lasts for about two weeks in the fridge. The best recipe I’ve found is Mark Bittman’s from his excellent cookbook The Best Recipes in the World. Using the Bittman recipe as a basis, you can customize hummus to your taste with more garlic, lemon, etc., as I have here. Keep the ingredients on hand and you’ll never want mass-market hummus again.
One of the best uses for homemade hummus is this sandwich, based on the delicious version from Something Natural in Nantucket. Though you’ll be hard-pressed to find the same wonderful Portuguese bread off the island, you can use fresh multi-grain bread for a healthy lunch that fits into a low-cal, low-salt diet. This sandwich almost like a salad between two pieces of bread, and as such, it’s a lot easier to take to the beach or the park. You may want to wrap the sandwich in waxed paper and cut it in half – or just enjoy the messiness. (more…)
Posted in food, recipes
Tagged entree recipes, Nantucket, snack recipes, the copycat chef
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Sfoglia Nantucket
If anything can be termed “hot” on Nantucket, an island where miniskirts are still revolutionary, Sfoglia is it. Impossible to get into last July 4th weekend, it had calmed down somewhat by this year’s Labor Day weekend–because at eight years old, Sfoglia is still considered “new.”
The waiting area, where the bench is an old buggy seat (New England was never known for comfort), can get crammed with a mix of regulars and people who make a pilgrimage here. Inside, though, the restaurant doesn’t feel overly crowded, even at the height of the night. Open and lofty, the interior is furnished with antiques, and why not? There sure are a lot of them around here. The floors are puritan plank and the whitewashed walls are inlaid with interesting details stashed into bookshelves–island memorabilia and vintage books. A new room off to the right is dominated by an arched marble-topped bar.
The theme is Italian, but this is a new kind of farmhouse Tuscan that would have had the old masters scratching their heads. If you take the Italian principal that every edible local element–from eggs to coxcombs–is potential fodder for a meal, however, Sfoglia stays true to Tuscan ideology. Drawing from Nantucket’s substantial farming and fishing resources, Sfoglia combines spaghetti with melon and tagliatelli with sea urchin. The results are intriguing and unusually good.
Dishes that look simple are actually the result of a lot of effort and technique, like the seafood spiedino, skewered scallops that are poached in wine then chilled and garnished with fried capers and a salsa verde. They’re not just throwing some shrimps on the barbie here. The afffetati misti was as plain and simple a salad as they come, but also true to Italian cuisine, it was perfectly dressed.
Back to that tagliatelli with sea urchin: Chefs Ron Suhanosky and Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky, a husband-and-wife team who settled on the island after stints at Il Buco and Gramercy Tavern, are obsessed with pasta, so much so that the restaurant was named for an uncut sheet of pasta. The pasta that arrives at our table could compete with the best–we were reminded of Alto–and we’re out on “the Rock,” not in a major metropolis. Tender, eggy, and springy under a fork, the tagliatelli is simply but lavishly dressed with olive oil, roasted grape tomatoes, parsley, and chunks of sea urchin. Bite into that element and you’ll think you’ve discovered the sea itself.
For traditionalists, every sort of pasta on the menu, including gnocchi and pappardelle, can be made with a basic “scuie scuie” sauce of San Marzano tomatoes and basil. With this one the chefs get down to the essence of the thing and capture the flavors of summer at its peak.
Freshly caught sea bass is a special that night. It arrives at the table as a thick steak cut–not what my delicate friend was expecting–but it’s excellent nevertheless, redolent of smoke and char and perfectly cooked. Again Sfoglia turns to fresh local vegetables–in this case Swiss chard and fennel–as groundwork for the dish.
Sfoglia’s chicken al mattone–chicken under a brick, the waiter explains–has rightfully earned its title of house special. The skin is buttery and crispy, but the bird also tastes of the light lemony sauce that surrounds it. It’s a little spicy from the crushed red pepper, but not too much so. All in all, a beautifully balanced dish.
One of the worst things about traveling is that you can come to crave a dish that’s only served hundreds or even thousands of miles away. New York’s Sfoglia is no longer considered “new”–it opened way back in 2006–but the Manhattan branch has many of the same dishes on the menu. Not that tagliatelle with sea urchin, however–for that, we’ll have wait for another summer and another trip to the Rock.
130 Pleasant Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-325-4500
American Seasons
There are a number of great restaurants on Nantucket, among them Sfoglia (so popular that we couldn’t get a table in a five-day period), 21 Federal (for classic food, excellent service and choice people-watching), and the Galley (for elegant beach-side dining and fantastic New England clam chowder). But the one that stood out from the concept right down to every detail of the execution was American Seasons.
“Seasons” here means not just a seasonal menu but a riff on four chunks of the U.S. as “seasons.” Each region on the menu – Pacific Coast, New England, Down South, and Wild West – has been creatively interpreted here by chef Michael LaScola, who has been with the restaurant since age 16. As anyone who’s ever worked the tourist trade knows, it’s a peripatetic existence in which you go where the crowd (and money) goes from season to season. American Seasons has capitalized perfectly on the chef’s wintertime travels to bring authentic cuisine from all over the States to Nantucket.
Here’s a review in photos – every dish was as good as it looks.
They have an excellent wine list.
The tables are painted with a folk-art-like take on board games.
Warm butter basted lobster “BLT” on brioche with avocado puree and lemon confit.
Bartlett Farm tomato and baby beet salad with arugula and peppered ricotta in a citrus and chickpea dressing.
A Grilled Wolfe’s Neck Farm beef sirloin special with a Great Hill blue cheese.
Seared Nantucket day-boat scallops with a warm crab and andouille potato salad in a sweet corn veloute. It’s listed as an appetizer but is rich enough to serve as an entree.
What a surf ‘n’ turf: Potato-wrapped yellowfin tuna and braised beef short rib with lobster reduction and tomato lemon jam.
Grimaud Farms guinea hen with crispy mascarpone polenta, a foie gras reduction, and black mission figs.
American Seasons
80 Centre Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-7111
Ack! More Fashion
We ran into a friend in Nantucket – let’s call him Ping Pong – who begged to be included in Gastro Chic. He pointed out that he was wearing espadrilles a friend had brought him back from Morocco. After much scoffing, we took several joke photos of him.
Turns out Ping Pong was right: Espadrilles do seem to be a burgeoning trend for men. They were also Max Snow’s footwear of choice in this photo from US Weekly.
Presumably Max can afford to buy anything he wants on his shopping jaunts with Mary-Kate, but he chose espadrilles. And here they are again in Nantucket:
Mary-Kate may also be an influence.
Counter to the preppy culture is a Rasta-ish hippie vibe that has been going strong now on the island for a while now. Bob Marley himself stayed in ‘Sconset while on tour in the 70’s.
But most folks are just plain preppy.
Head-to-toe color.
The coveted basket purse. OK, lady, not that coveted.
Bagel? Check. Cigarette? Check? I heart NY shirt? Check. New Yorkers on Nantucket? Check. Now if only there were a decent bagel shop in town.
Walking to the ferry.
Lobster Rolls at the Rotary
What do you call a restaurant on a hardscrabble piece of land just off the main rotary in Nantucket? Well, how about “The Rotary.”
This and other no-nonsense details about this “fast food” shack make it seem truly New England. The grill master may bend the rules to serve you a lobster roll a couple minutes after closing, but don’t expect him to crack a smile while doing it.
The whole restaurant is a paradox of parsimony and generosity. It’s hard to imagine a place with less frills than the Rotary, with its rudimentary picnic tables separated from a highly trafficked intersection by only a slim hodgepodge of a hedge. Prominently posted rules warn diners what to do and what not to do (arrive without shirt or shoes, skate or bike up to the window), and everything about the place is self-serve – forage for your own utensils, napkins, condiments, and stake out your own place outside.
But look down at your sandwich and you may have a thief’s giddiness of having gotten away with something. The lobster roll here is generally accepted by Nantucketers to be the best on the island, and no wonder. At least an entire lobster’s-worth of meat fills each bun. This may be the only time I found myself wishing for a little more mayonnaise and celery in a lobster salad mix, because it’s pretty much all lobster in huge chunks. Shake it the wrong way and a whole claw may fall out.
The New York standard, disseminated far and wide from places like the Lobster Roll (a.k.a. “Lunch”) in Amagansett and Pearl Oyster Bar in NYC, is a daintier amount of lobster salad served on a perfectly grilled buttered hot dog roll. While I missed the crunch of that roll, I couldn’t complain about the bonanza of lobster that comprised the Rotary’s edition of this classic.
New Yorkers, if you find your way up in these pahts, it’s definitely worth a detour to the Rotary.
The Rotary Restaurant
Milestone Rotary
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-9505
Posted in food, Nantucket, restaurants
Tagged lobster rolls, Nantucket, travel
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Nantucket Shops
Back to ACK!
The winner for best Nantucket shop in our book is Gypsy. Chock full of bags from Lanvin and Chloe and the latest clothes from Missioni, Alessandro Dell’Acqua, Derek Lam, Clu, and more, Gypsy is one-stop-shopping for the jet set – or the just plain aspirational.
The above photo is a stealth shot of their old location, but they have a brand spanking new, fancy shop now on Federal Street, below. Ask for fabulous sales guy Eddy.
Gypsy
20 Federal Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-4404
Three Girls and a Dog
15 Centre Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
The above photo is a stealth shot of their old location, but they have a brand spanking new, fancy shop now on Federal Street, below. Ask for fabulous sales guy Eddy.
Gypsy20 Federal Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-4404
If only all beach towns had a shop like Beauty By the Sea. Stock up on beauty products from Malie, Fresh, Korres, Henrikson, and Bliss, plus cosmetics and pretty jewelry.
Beauty By the Sea
29 Center Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-1771
29 Center Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-1771
Ladybird Lingerie has all sorts of nice lacy things.
How cute are these grown-up day-of-the-week panties?
OK, so Simon Doonan is not doing the window design here, but Murray’s Toggery is a must-visit in Nantucket for madras and all things whale-print.
The interior reflects that old WASP truism: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – or redesign it. The Nan reds sold here have been the same for years.
The Hub has been the center of activity in town for as long as anyone can remember.
On an island where cell phone and wireless internet service are spotty, newspapers are highly necessary items.
The Hub
31 Main Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-325-0200
31 Main Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-325-0200
There are several good book stores on Nantucket, but we were partial to the friendly, homey atmosphere and local selections at Nantucket Bookworks.
High Maintenance first introduced me to Peter Beaton, a hat shop tucked down an alley at 16 1/2 Federal Street.
This fabulous milliner turns out hundreds of beautiful straw hats a year. Perfect for weddings and polo matches, dahling.
The black-and-white box is a Nantucket status symbol in and of itself.
But of course, the ultimate insider Nantucket status symbol is a handwoven basket purse from Four Winds. They may look cutesy, but they start at about $700 – and that’s pre-scrimshaw. Check out Four Winds’ selection of beautiful antique purses as well, some with monograms.
Ther
e are plenty of touristy tee shirt shops on Nantucket, but our favorite was Three Girls and a Dog. Here you can find the famous “oversand vehicle permit” Nantucket tees.
Three Girls and a Dog15 Centre Street
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Something Natural
One of the best sunny-day activities in Nantucket is lunch at Something Natural. This hippie-flavored take-out place, first opened in the 1970’s as a health food store, has been a hit since Matthew Fee converted it to a sandwich shop over 20 years ago. Here’s the drill:
1. Take in the quaint view from the parking lot.
2. Get in line. Confusingly, there is a separate line for the bakery closer to the door. At lunch time assume that everyone who is waiting is waiting for sandwiches. If you accidentally cut in line, a displaced New Yorker may yell at you as one did at me. Insert yourself between people and their Something Natural sandwiches at your own risk.
3. Order at the counter. All the sandwiches are good here, but the vegetarian offerings are especially fresh, excellent and more like California sandwiches than anything else I’ve tasted on the East Coast. Try the sprouts, vegetables, and hummus sandwich on multi-grain or Portuguese bread.
A note on bread in Nantucket: The ubiquity of Portuguese bread on Nantucket may seem random, but it’s actually in the island’s blood. Many Portuguese entrepreneurs emigrated here over the centuries, because, as many a sailor knows, the Azores islands of Portugal are a straight shot here as the crow flies. Several Portuguese families bought and ran the Old Mill in the 19th century. Thus, Portuguese bread.
4. Go outside and find a seat. The lunchtime setting is slightly more bucolic than a midtown PAX deli, no?
5. Pick up your order inside or outside at the screened in porch. Make sure to get some chocolate chip cookies and Nantucket Nectars lemonade.
6. Chill out and enjoy.
Something Natural
50 Cliff Road
Nantucket, Massachusetts
508-228-0504
Ack! Fashion
There’s been a lot of noise recently about the resurgence of preppy style. It’s even taken off in the hip hop world, in a trend that started with pink-wearing rapper Cam’ron.
Let’s take it back to where this whole deal started: ACK, y’all. On Nantucket it’s always been cool to dress in eye-achingly bright colors and outrageous prints. Is it any coincidence that preppiness is now the nexus of insane black and white style?
And no, it’s not “plaid,” Wall Street Journal. It’s madras, yo.
Wouldn’t want to run into this gang on a dark cobblestone street. Especially after they’ve had a few Goombay smashes…
Posted in fashion
Tagged Nantucket, preppy fashion, street chic, travel
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