Martha's Vineyard: Convention Crashers

Leigh Ann was a speaker at a housing conference on Martha's Vineyard, so sweet sister decided to let her relatives come along for the ride. She and Mom got there on Tuesday, and I arrived on Thursday. This was the view from the front porch of our lovely hotel, the Harbor View.

We walked around Oak Bluffs, and although we loved the gingerbread cottages, we thought the waterfront area was a bit reminiscent of, um, Carrabelle, Florida. Nevertheless, despite the men in tank tops, we had a tasty dinner and a nice view at Nancy's.

I was thrilled to see they had fattoush salad on the menu...you may remember my addiction to this in Lebanon. It was excellent!

Mom had the Greek salad with shrimp, and I had the stuffed lobster...as seen before:

And after. Leigh Ann became exasperated with my inept cracking skills and took over for me. The grown-up equivalent of having your mom cut up your meat! Thanks, Sissie.

I can still taste now how delicious it was. Leigh Ann had a lobster roll, which she also really enjoyed.

Next up was dessert at Back Door Donuts, which Leigh Ann read about in the New York Times. It's a bakery that sells donuts starting at 7 p.m., but only out the back door. Literally -- you line up in the parking lot. For $1 each, these donuts were not only delicious, they were a bargain! I do believe this is the Yankee equivalent of a warm Krispy Kreme. (If you go, try the apple fritters...I read ex post facto they're the best. Then again, my buttermilk cake donut was pretty hard to beat.) Mom and LA both went for the Boston creme. I can't remember why Mom was holding Leigh Ann's, but I assure you she wasn't double-fisting!

Leigh Ann had some meetings to attend on Friday morning, so Mom and I walked to Among the Flowers in Edgartown. Mom and LA had actually eaten there the day before, and those of you who know my mom know that she never eats at the same place twice when she's out of town. So, the fact she was willing to return said a lot! It was reasonably priced, with a view of the harbor.

We split a salmon bagel; a bowl of fruit, granola and yogurt; and a toasted, grilled cranberry muffin. It was a perfect brunch for a warm day...I think there may be a lot more fruit and granola to accompany the rest of the summer.

Friday night was a real adventure. Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven has a Friday night lobster roll sale, and their rolls are considered among the best on the Vineyard. Lobster for Jesus? We were in!

Unfortunately, this trek involved a long bus ride, followed by a long stroll through Vineyard Haven (a dry town -- is this the Massachusetts Bible belt??) to the church. (Oh, and Leigh Ann got us off to a great start by insisting we speed walk in the 90 degree heat to catch the 5:15 bus. We were just in time to see it pull out!) We were all pretty sweaty and cranky by the time we got there. At the risk of TMI, I cannot stop myself from telling you my stick-on bra was coming off because I was so sweaty!  

I think that picture pretty well captures it.

I will give the church ladies SNAPS for the generous serving of lobster...for $15, I am pretty sure there was at least twice as much meat on that roll as there was on the one I had at Luke's in Manhattan a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, they lost points for not toasting the bun.

Upon returning to Edgartown, Leigh Ann and I needed a pit stop to return to good spirits! We all agreed we had enjoyed our last bus ride on the Vineyard.

Saturday we were determined to get Leigh Ann the lobster mac and cheese she'd been jonesing for all weekend. The Atlantic Grill didn't open until 12, so Mom and I had an iced coffee on the sidewalk while Leigh Ann shopped. (I'm just putting this photo in here so you can see my cute Madras skirt!)

LA and I both liked the mac and cheese. Mom was not a big fan of the truffle oil. I had a very tasty oyster po' boy.

Dinner on Saturday night was stellar. We went to Atria (via taxi, mind you!). I started with the watermelon and arugula salad with feta, crispy prosciutto, pine nuts, basil oil and vintage balsamic. I will definitely attempt to recreate this one!

Leigh Ann had the island greens with blueberries, gorgonzola and toasted hazelnuts, with shaved red onions and balsamic vinaigrette. For her entree, she had the grilled swordfish with dill whipped potatoes, crispy capers, watercress, shaved onions and preserved lemon.

Mom and I both ordered the "summer on a plate," which consisted of island striped bass, chilled heirloom tomatoes, basil whipped potatoes, lobster-tomato relish and olive oil. The waiter took pains to warn us it was a hot-cold-hot-cold dish -- apparently he'd had some complaints. We both LOVED it.

Seriously, this may be the best thing I've eaten all summer. I'd been craving fish and potatoes ever since Nate out-ordered me at Pierre's a few weeks ago, so this really hit the spot. Even better, it was a generous portion of fish. I couldn't finish it! Leigh Ann and I also split an incredibly good bottle of Chardonnay, so that certainly added to the experience.

For dessert, we shared a peach and blueberry cobbler and a coconut cream cookie stack. (I forgot to save the dessert menu, so I am winging it. But I think the cookie thing could be made with those Nabisco's Famous Wafers, so maybe I'll give that one a whirl too sometime.)

It takes forever to upload photos on Blogger, so if you'd like to see the non-food pics and are not my Facebook friend, you should be able to click here for the album.

We strolled home at sunset. Big thanks to my generous sister for treating us to a lovely weekend!