For book and food lovers, Behind the Bookstore (BTB), the coffee shop located behind Edgartown Books, is a dream come true. Not only can you fuel your reading with a coffee (try their iced mint latte) in the early morning under the dewy canopy, but you can stop at midday for a delicious lunch, and better yet, end the night with their newly appointed dinner menu.
Barely two weeks old, the dinner menu at BTB is handcrafted and put together by Executive Chef Meave McAuliffe, with help from her sous-chef Mic Cripe. Previously the pair both worked in Los Angeles, and they bring California fare to New England with their seasonal, bright, and fresh recipes. Inspired by the Island, their West Coast ways are complemented by the endless ingredients they source locally. Whether it’s beef from Beetlebung Farm, feta cheese from Mermaid Farm, vegetables from Morning Glory Farm, or seafood from the Menemsha Fish House or Nic Turner’s Honeysuckle Oyster Farm, the menu shines with Island products. Every Friday, Chef McAuliffe receives a “mixed case” from Slip Away Farm, a mystery box of ingredients that she uses for inspiration on the menu. The surprise is half the fun.
Chef McAuliffe, who holds a degree in environmental justice, summered on the Cape during her childhood, and that’s where her love for the area comes from. She grew up in her mother’s bakery and restaurant, and her upbringing instilled her passion for food.
Now you can choose to enjoy her creations for all three meals of the day. What better way to enjoy the new dinner offerings than in the fresh summer breeze, beginning with one of their fantastic cocktails, carefully crafted and designed to entice? Try the “Captain’s Daughter,” tart with ruby-red grapefruit yet floral and sweet with lavender syrup and lime. Tequila-based, so it’s right in season.
As you peruse the appetizer menu, promise me you’ll order whatever seasonal crudo ($17) they are offering. The freshest seafood is presented raw, and last week it was a fresh salmon crudo served with grapefruit and orange segments, fennel fronds, sea salt, fennel pollen, and finger limes. The flavors exploded in your mouth, the citrus cleansing your palate in between bites of the unctuous salmon. Another sublime appetizer? Their Cape Cod Bay scallops, fava bean and summer corn succotash ($20), served on a pool of a grapefruit beurre blanc that will make you actually want to lick your plate.
For dinner, especially if you’re with a special someone, nothing says love like the act of sharing. Try splitting their ultimate entrée: a half-roasted chicken with duck-fat baby turnips, grilled turnip greens, creamy grits, and fried ramps ($30). Primal in a way, a half chicken seduces all our senses: the crisp, salty skin, the moist, tender meat, the savoriness of the chicken sauce pooling in the creamy grits, romancing your senses and creating the best bite. Like I mentioned earlier, dinner at Behind the Bookstore is a dream come true.
When asked what Chef McAuliffe’s last meal would be, she responds, “White sardines on grilled French bread and a side of braised kale.” I wouldn’t expect any less.
Discover inventive and fresh cuisine at Behind the Bookstore, 46 Main Street, Edgartown. Breakfast is served 8 am to 11:30 am, lunch is served 12 to 3 pm, and dinner is served 6 pm to 10 pm (closed for dinner on Mondays). Sunday brunch is served from 10 am to 3 pm; lunch is not available on Sundays. Follow them on Instagram at @BehindTheBookstore for daily updates.
