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A mere twenty-nine years ago, Suzen and I were married on Cape Cod and honeymooned on Nantucket. We did what everybody does on a honeymoon. And we ate dinner, too. We had fallen in love, in part, because of our passion for cooking and cookbooks. On Nantucket, we really discovered how much we love exploring restaurants and, Suzen maintains, there are more great restaurants per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

Of course, downtown Nantucket has far less than one square mile. But, it was packed with great places to eat then and still is.

In 2001, prolific food writer Melissa Clark teamed with Samara Farber Mormar to write The Nantucket Restaurants Cookbook featuring menus and recipes “from the faraway isle.” It’s a book that Suzen and I treasure, both for our personal memories, and the recipe gems tucked away here from truly, truly wonderful restaurants.

The eighteen restaurants presented in this book from 2001 have mostly persisted. I just checked and I think only five of them have closed, sadly one of those closures being 21 Federal. But thanks to this book, we have a typical 21 Federal menu complete with recipes:

Slow-Roasted Portobello Mushroom with Parmesan Pudding

Bartlett Tomatoes with Pesto Vinaigrette, Fresh Mozzarella, Fennel and Onion Rings

Seared Muscovy Duck Breast with Caramelized Onions, Walnut-Cranberry Gratin, and Fried Parsnips

Banana Bread French Toast with Bananas Foster and Crème Fraiche

Read that menu and you can understand why almost thirty years ago 21 Federal was a benchmark for creative cuisine of sublime quality.

Restaurants still in place on Nantucket and spotlighted in this book include these spots that Suzen and I visited on hour honeymoon and many times since:

  • American Seasons
  • Boarding House
  • The Chanticleer
  • Company of the Cauldron
  • Le Languedoc
  • Straight Wharf

The iconic recipes from the eighteen landmark restaurants presented in this book include:

Soft Ravioli of Mascarpone and Walnuts in Mushroom Broth with Chanterelles and White Truffle Oil

Goat-Cheese-Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Grilled Onion and Organic Tomato Vinaigrette

Lobster and Asparagus Soup

Turbot avec Marmelade d’Oignon au Cidre

Roquefort and Walnut Terrine with Asian Pear

Roasted Quail Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Sweet Italian Sausage

Green Tomato Soup with Chipotle Corn Cream

Grilled Veal Medallions with Fresh Horseradish Cream and Poached Oyster

Ginger-Crusted Rack of Lamb with Plum and Rhubarb Chutney, Scallion Fried Rice, Steamed Asparagus, and Golden Beets

Grilled Yellowfin Tuna with Baby White Lima Bean Succotash and Jonah Crab

Chocolate Ganache and Grilled Fresh Figs with Candied Pecans and Cinnamon Syrup

Rosewater Angel Food Cake with Blackberries and Lemon Verbena Syrup

Banana-Butterscotch Cream Tart with Kahlua Chocolate Sauce

I’ve presented this longish list for a solid reason: to convince you that Nantucket restaurants present a tour de force of culinary creativity. These recipes are fourteen years old and if you visit these restaurants today, you will find the menus have shifted as chefs offer you new inspirations. But the level of that inspiration, the imagination, and the complexity will have only improved with time.

Nantucket is a magical faraway isle. But the food, the recipes, do not have to be faraway. You can still find copies of The Nantucket Restaurants to bring home, to sample, and to enjoy. The recipe titles are long, some time and attention are demanded, and the rewards are undeniable.