Restaurants : Feasting on the Fourth
By Eleni Collins
Published: July 2, 2009
Like most holidays, Independence Day is a time to eat. Whether you are going to a party or having a barbeque, the Katama General Store in Edgartown offers a special holiday menu. There are catering platters such as BBQ Pulled Pork and Roasted Free Range Chickens; sides that include Fingerling Potato Salad with Haricot Verts in a mustardy lemon vinaigrette, a red and white quinoa salad, and a colorful marinated vegetable salad; and cupcakes and pies made by Cakes by Liz, including vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet cupcakes. Today is the last day to make advance orders.
Restaurants often beef up their menus during holiday weekends. Here is a sampling of special offers.
Espresso Love has a colorful menu every Fourth. From Presidential Muffins (blueberry, strawberry, and cream cheese) and a Fourth of July Cake (vanilla cake, vanilla frosting, blueberries, and strawberries) to a savory Independence Day Sandwich, the café is a great spot to visit after the parade and before the fireworks.
Water Street at the Harbor View offers a $75 prix fixe dinner menu on Saturday night. A casual buffet barbeque from 3 to 6:30 pm costs $25; children five and under are free.
Lattanzi's Restaurant serves several special holiday entrees: Tutto Mare, a feast of seafood in a saffron tomato broth with linguini; Lobster Aiolio, chopped tomato, garlic, herbs and spices sautéed with lobster meat, tossed with linguini, and topped with a grilled split Maine lobster tail.
From 12 noon to 4 pm, enjoy tapas at Détente. Not normally open for lunch, the restaurant offers a special tapas menu and diners can eat outside (weather permitting), at the bar, or in the dining room.
For the late-night crowd, Sharky's in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs features $4.99 Late Night Specials after 11 pm. Included are the special sauce burger, pulled pork sandwich, and boneless chicken wings.
And from 4 to 6 pm, feast at the Fourth of July Barbeque, catered by Fella Caterers, on the Old Whaling Church lawn, hosted by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust. There's also a raw bar at the Anchors in Edgartown, home of the Edgartown Council on Aging, hosted in part by the M.V. Shellfish Group.
