Good Taste : Eating local
By Eleni Collins
Published: August 13, 2009
Eating locally grown food is trendy and smart. Since harvest season in the Northeast is approaching, look for menu changes and more local meat, produce, and seafood at Island restaurants. Here is a sampling of restaurants and their local offerings.
The Home Port currently serves both Katama and Menemsha oysters. The Katama are the three larger oysters on the top; the Menemsha are smaller and a bit saltier. Photo by Eleni CollinsMediterranean now offers Chef's creation salads using Whippoorwill Farm tomatoes. For entrees, find local tuna and bluefish on the menu. And co-owner Leslie Hewson boasts the local oxala greens grown at the restaurant, served with appetizers.
The Home Port has oysters from Katama and Menemsha. Both are $14 for a half-dozen; the Katama's are bigger.
Offshore Ale Co. always has local oysters on the menu. Sweet Necks from Katama go for $2.45 each.
Sidecar often features produce from Fiddlehead Farm, such as beets and turnips. Selections change daily and are served as sides or with entrees.
Atlantic Fish and Chop House serves a lot of local seafood: sautéed mussels ($14), an Island lobster cocktail ($17), local cold water lobster and a catch of the day (market price).
Now we know it's August: outside dining at one of the many Island restaurants that have a porch or a patio, like the Sand Bar & Grille on Oak Bluffs Harbor. Photo by Ralph Stewart David Ryan's uses local greens in most of its six salads, which range from a $7 Farmer's Salad to a $12 Cobb Salad.
At Chilmark Tavern, chef Paul O'Connell tries to use as much Island produce, seafood, and meat as he can. He uses Tabor Farm vegetables and greens in his salads, including the Farmhouse Salad: hearty greens with aged cheddar, warm bacon vinaigrette, up-Island chopped eggs, and picked onion ($14).
Lure Grill at the Winnetu resort in Edgartown features a 10-ounce Wood-Grilled Katama Farms Burger with aged cheddar, in-house ketchup, and hand-cut fries ($18); and Katama oysters with cucumber-ginger mignonette ($15).
State Road features a Farm to Table Plate appetizer: salt-crusted fingerling potatoes, radishes, and asparagus served with herb dressing and bagna cauda ($13); and a Wood Fired Local Asparagus with braised Berkshire pork belly, a poached Oscar egg, and lemon vinaigrette ($15).
At Zephrus, find many local ingredients and entrees on the menu, from the Island Arugula salad with grilled peaches, Marcone almonds, and shaved sheep's milk cheese with roasted shallot-dill vinaigrette ($8); the New England Artisanal Cheeses with fruit, Katama honey, and Island beach plum jam ($12); to the Island Catch: local seafood on Island tomato-fennel broth, new potatoes, and roasted garlic-red pepper rouille ($30).
Water Street at the Harbor View Hotel serves small and large plates with local food, such as the small Grass-fed Beef Carpaccio with Tabor Farm greens, and aged New England cheddar ($16); and the large Katama Farm Chicken with Mennonite dumplings and pan gravy ($25).
And the Sweet Life Café uses local roasted vegetables with their Roasted Chicken Breast entrée; also offered is an Island Greens Salad, and Katama Bay oysters.
Prices are subject to change
