People ask me about places to eat late-night food quite frequently these days. Maybe you’ve been out for a few hours consuming more liquid than food, or maybe you’re in the service industry and get out of work several hours past a decent dinnertime and are just looking for something quick and satisfying. From food trucks, to backdoor donuts, to a sit-down dinner at Sharky’s, here are some of the places you can eat late night on Martha’s Vineyard.
ArtCliff Truck
In just the couple of summers it’s been around, the ArtCliff Truck, located outside the ArtCliff Diner on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, has gained quite a following. Maybe because it serves up an array of the best late-night snacks a hungry, weary person on their way home could want. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be late to go to the truck. The truck is open at 5 pm and serve until 2 am on Friday and Saturday and ’til 12 midnight on Thursday and Sunday. Stop by for burgers, falafel, fries, and more.
The Atlantic in Edgartown has a huge menu for big and small appetites and it is served on weekends until 12:30 am. Try the king crab guacamole with some friends: fresh avocado mixed with king crab, jalapenos, and mango served with corn chips; or the beef sliders with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and Dutch pepper aioli. Atlantic also offers individual pizzas, house specialties such as a crackling pork shank, and truffled lobster mac and cheese, as well as sides that will hold you over until breakfast like black truffle and St. Andre roasted fingerling potatoes, sautéed artichokes, and roasted Roma tomatoes.
If you need food in your belly, and a lot of it, Sharky’s Cantina in Oak Bluffs serves their full menu until 1 am every night, from nachos to chimichangas and even their wing menu.
Sharky’s Specials include slow-cooked St. Louis ribs served with fries and slaw; and the Quansoo Quesadilla, which is served with a warning: “THIS QUESADILLA BITES BACK:” grilled chicken topped with house-made habanero-mango-pineapple-cilantro salsa. Sharky’s in Edgartown stays open until 11 pm and if necessary until 12:30 am.
Backdoor Donuts sells its legendary apple fritters (among other things) out the back door behind Reliable Market in Oak Bluffs every night from 7:30 pm to 1 am. The smell of freshly baked apple fritters and donuts wafts up and down Circuit and Kennebec all day and night until one by one people give in and line up zombie-like for the just-out-of-the-oven goodness that is served in white paper bakery bags out the backdoor. Get there in time though: they close promptly at 1 am and there is often a line.
The Quarterdeck in Edgartown is open until 1 am Thursdays through Saturdays serving up greasy late-night delights such as chicken tenders, fried clams, mozzarella sticks, and a bacon blue cheese burger. Visit them on the harbor and enjoy while you’re waiting for a cab after the mad dash of last call.
Bite on the Go on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs serves burgers, fried foods and signature (delicious) crepes until 1 am. With the bacon, broccoli, cheddar, and hearts of palm crepe you’ve got your bases covered: cheesy, bacon-y and (a little) healthy. Check out their interesting desserts as well — like the passion fruit mousse or rice pudding.
Pirate Jack’s Burger Shack, also in Oak Bluffs, is open until 10 pm daily and ’til midnight or 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Stop in for a burger with any one of their delicious toppings, New Orleans-style fried chicken, and Belgian-style fries with a slew of dipping sauces.
Season’s Eatery and Pub on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs keeps its kitchen open until 11 pm for burgers, sandwiches, and more, and the sushi bar keeps rolling until midnight. Check them out for nightly entertainment as well.
Chesca’s in Edgartown will continue to make appetizers such as meatball sliders, fresh mozzarella sliders, and a marinated shrimp plate as long as their cooks are in the kitchen usually until 11 or so.
Noteworthy:
Last week, Goldbud Farm peaches and nectarines started appearing on the Island. No, they are not grown locally, but they are shipped on their very own jet from Placerville, Calif., in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and they are simply the best stone fruits anywhere.
You can find them in some restaurants where fine dining chefs do delicious things to them, like at Détente where chef Kevin Crowell slices the peaches, drizzles them in white truffle oil and ver jus, and tops them with melted Taleggio cheese and baby arugula. Or you can buy one whole at markets such as Morning Glory, Eden, and Fiddlehead Farm and enjoy them in all their naked glory. It’s okay to be taken aback by their $11-plus-per-pound price tag, but don’t let it prevent you from trying one — at least once. You deserve it.
