One October evening just before the clocks moved back, giving the Island an hour of sunlight in the morning which I’m sure I’ll sleep through, I arrived home from work to find my roommate in desperate need of the Rockfish Caesar salad. Seeing as we were in Oak Bluffs, I suggested Offshore, Sweet Life, or Red Cat Kitchen for what I assumed was a comparable Caesar, but she insisted: No Caesar salad on-Island could compete with the one found at 11 North Water St. in Edgartown.
Located in downtown Edgartown, Rockfish offers American bar food, wood-fired pizzas, and local seafood dishes in a casual, upscale dining setting. The restaurant will be open all winter, with several specialty nights, and meal deals including pasta night, half-off appetizers, and $1 oysters on select days and times.
We got to Rockfish around 7 pm, walking straight upstairs to the corner bar seats. We began browsing their drink menu, and settled on a Fiddlehead IPA and a Paper Plane as we waited for our third dinner guest to arrive.
When I see a Paper Plane on a menu, I tend to order it. The drink consists of Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. I haven’t decided yet if I like the taste of bourbon, or rather if I like the idea of sitting at a bar and drinking it, but either way it sticks out to me on a menu. Also, at some point mid-August a customer ordered this elusive cocktail from my brother, who was a bartender in training at the time. As someone new to the profession who had never heard of the beverage, he went on a Paper Plane kick to try and craft the perfect one. This process resulted in me drinking several of his experiments, and now I’m something of a connoisseur.
Once our final guest arrived, we ordered our dinner — Caesar salad (naturally), prosciutto and arugula pizza, and short ribs tacos.
“You’re going to really love this salad, I can assure you. It has those kinds of croutons that you can stab a fork through,” said Tatum Bryan as the Caesar landed in front of us. Although my dear friend and I often have different opinions when it comes to dining (big mayo lady), we agreed that this salad was crafted to perfection. Chopped romaine, shaved Italian cheeses, garlic croutons — that you really could stab a fork right through — all tied together with a homemade dressing that wasn’t too heavy. At one point our third dinner guest reached across the bar and attempted to take lettuce directly off my fork, which speaks to the appeal of this dish.
The prosciutto and arugula pizza went well with the salad. Marinara, mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan and prosciutto all melted together in their wood-fired oven, and were then topped with fresh arugula. We asked for some balsamic glaze on the side, which was the cherry on top.
Elena Grinblatas, who crashed our date, ordered the short ribs tacos after a brief but intense debate during which she considered the Italian Pizza. To stay hydrated, she ordered the Sunflower, which was a seasonal beverage made with Hendrick’s gin, St.-Germain, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, fee foam, and Pernod mist. She ordered this drink mainly out of curiosity for what exactly fee foam and pernod mist was. Fee foam, we learned, was simply an egg-white alternative to foam up the beverage. As to what Pernod mist is, that remains a mystery.
The short ribs tacos came in two soft flour tortillas with sliced avocado, cabbage-cilantro-carrot slaw, chipotle aioli, homemade pico de gallo, and the rich red meat. Although I didn’t steal a bite, I heard glowing reviews. Specifically mentioned was that Grinblatas was well past full, but continued to pick at the taco remnants on the plate out of fear of wasting the delicious meal.
After some debate over whether to order another drink, browse the dessert menu, or walk down the street for a cinnamon-sugar-rimmed pumpkin beer from the Wharf, we decided to return to Oak Bluffs. Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish were playing at the Ritz, and his music was calling our name. We left Edgartown full and content, with two slices of pizza boxed up for lunch the next day.
