Not surprisingly, Martha's Vineyard has plenty of interesting places to quaff and nibble. Few, if any, chains, either food or retail, are a blessing. Herewith, a few words on some quick bites around the island
The Wharf Restaurant and Pub sits on Edgartown's main drag. It's very popular, but much better than it appears from the street, with a bar, adjoining dining room and a larger room in the rear for music, food and drink.
This is a good place for a fast lesson on clams for those who know only chowder and perhaps fried clam strips like those Howard Johnson used to make. If you like them, and especially if you like them despite the rubber band-y texture, try clam bellies. (That's the picture next to the restaurant information below.) Meltingly tender and juicy inside their deep-fried crust, they're swell. Our batch at the Wharf was practically inhaled. And then there were the steamed clams, which start with soft-shells, unlike Little Necks or Cherrystones. They demand fingers, so that the dark skin on the neck (actually a foot) can be removed. (It slides right off.) The neck then becomes a handle for dipping the clam into the broth, to remove the last bits of sand, and then into butter, which we find superfluous.
The Wharf's steamers are unusual in their liquid, which has some cream, lime and tarragon, along with the more-common white wine, garlic and tomato. We've never seen it before. It's probably unique. It's definitely divine. Thank goodness it's polite to use a spoon on the broth or we would have made quite a scene guzzling the citrusy, tangy liquid.
We also knocked back what the menu calls and “angus and linguica burger on a bulky.” Linguica (pronounced with a soft "c" as in "certain") is a Portuguese sausage popular in Rhode Island and thereabouts, made in various diameters and degrees of spiciness. It worked well with the hamburger. A bulky? It's a sandwich roll with a little more heft than a standard hamburger bun.
Family-owned, mostly very good service, and, yes, they have lobster.
3 Main St., Edgartown, MA
508-627-9966
Lunch & Dinner daily
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Sandwiches & Entrees: $8-$34
We can all agree that most all pastries and baked goods are great when they're still warm from their original cooking. Oh, sure, some things do grow in flavor the next day, but there's a slightly forbidden magic about them when the oven door is still open. And in Oak Bluffs, there's Back Door Donuts. The pastry shop, known as Gourmet Cafe & Bakery, is open in the mornings, using the front door, but we're not sure who goes there. The action's at the back door, where folks line up from 9 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. to fork over cash for hot, freshly cooked donuts and giant apple fritters, the latter apparently rationed to one per customer. While the young, both residents and guests, adore this place, they're not the only ones in line. Wonderful while hot, and the leftovers are still tasty the next morning.
Back Door Donuts
5 Post Office Square, Oak Bluffs, MA
508-627-5880
The Net Result is a seafood market with a carryout-food counter plus picnic tables outside a newish upscale strip of shops. In the daze of lobster intoxication, we can't recall exactly what else we ate beyond a delicious chunk of smoked bluefish and a mess of superb smoked scallops from a case, and some first-rate clam chowda, as it's pronounced locally. The spot is busy, high-quality, and well-thought-of by locals. Don't be put off by its modern facade; this is The Real Thing.
The Net Result
79 Beach Road, Vineyard Haven, MA
508-693-6071
Open daily
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
And let us not forget the Orange Peel Bakery. In the middle of the woods, turning off into a parking lot reveals a house, a couple of out-buildings and a huge oven. Julie Vanderhoop, a self-taught baker and stone mason, and her associates are putting out fabulous bread, homey pastries and one night a week, there's pizza on outdoor tables. She also shows up at farmers' markets around the Vineyard. Watch out for the giant orange shovel-shaped sign. It's actually a peel, a giant spatula used to insert, arrange and remove things–like pies, pizza and otherwise–from an oven.
Orange Peel Bakery
22 State Rd., Aquinnah, MA
508-645-2025
Cash only
Daily. ("We're open as late as there's a light on.")