This week’s food adventure took us on a five mile drive to the west end of Nantucket, out to Madaket Beach and to the newly revived Mille’s.
Millie’s is named for the beloved island character and seaside sentinel Mildred “Madaket Millie” Jewett, who lived across the street until her death in 1990. Her portraits, photographed by Beverly Hall, adorn the downstairs dining room. Owners Bo Blair and Chef David Scribner “hope to carry on Millie’s commitment to and passion for Madaket by offering a gathering place for visitors—old and new—to experience this unique part of Nantucket.”
Quiet and serene, Madaket Village is the ideal day trip from Town. Those who venture out there love it for its soft sand beaches with ocean surf on one side and calm harbor waters on the other, great fishing, and gorgeous sunsets. And with Millie’s open for their second season, Madaket now has a fabulous eatery. Perched at the end of Madaket Road, Millie’s is situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Madaket Harbor, with stunning views of both.
On the first floor, a café-style dining room provides the ideal casual spot for families. There’s no need to change out of your beachwear to dine here (indoors you do need shoes and shirts)—you simply place your order at the counter, find a favorite seat in the dining room, or on the covered deck, or at one of the picnic tables in the yard, and Millie’s servers will bring your food to you. Families that vacation together find this the ideal situation: parents can relax during lunch or dinner while the little ones run around in flip-flops and bathing suits.
Full table service is offered in their second floor dining room, where walls of windows offers 270 degree views of the Madaket shoreline. Nearly every table has water views, even from the center of the room where guests can share a bar-height “community table.”
There are bars that serve food and restaurants with bars: Millie's straddles both with its spacious bar next to the dining room. When food service ends after 9:30 pm, patrons who gather for late night fun can enjoy panoramic vistas as they sip their Madaket Mystery (a famous secret recipe rum punch), Citrus Pimms Cup, West End Bloody Mary, Blue Lemonade, or the Cisco Beer of the week. Live music will be offered this season five evenings a week from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.
If you’ve come for the views, it’s the food that will convince you to return to Millie’s. Executive Chef-Owner David Scribner describes his cuisine as “California Baja Style: local, fresh, and casual.” With a background that includes upscale restaurants on Nantucket, in Georgetown, and in Washington DC, Scribner explained that many of the dishes he designed for Millie’s are fine dining food in a casual format.
The wine list at Millie’s reflects this fine dining sensibility with some impressive bottles that make up their modest but well matched international selections, including Dom Perignon as well as Viogner, Ramian Estates and Le Mont Sancerre, among others.
Scribner takes great pride, and justifiably so, that nearly everything served at Millie’s is made fresh in-house “Every morning our staff makes the guacamole and the queso and grills the corn.” It’s evident from the first bite and the lively flavors that the salsa, dips, sauces, and accompaniments don’t come out of jars. “Freshness makes the flavors shine. My style is clean and simple,” Scribner explained. “...there is an elegance to restraint.”
The menu at Millie’s is dominated by tacos and quesadillas, with hearty salads and po’ boys rounding out the selection. But these are not typical street food preparations: taco fillings feature striped bass, tuna, tilapia, scallops, salmon, and shrimp along with chicken, pork, and steak. Quesadillas feature many of the same main ingredients with a lobster and a vegetarian version added.
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We began our feast at Millie’s by sharing their Altar Rock appetizer, a platter of warm, crips tortilla chips and a trio of their homemade dips. The guacamole at Millie’s is chunky and very fresh tasting; their queso, made with jack and cheddar, stays smooth and creamy, and carries a slight kick; and their cooked salsa is beautifully seasoned with deep flavors and cumulative heat. We liked this best of all with a little of each on every chip.
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The Tacos served at Millie’s are an appealing combination of the robust and the refined. Of the nine offered, six feature seafood. There are so many tempting variations that it takes willpower not to over-order here...willpower that clearly we were lacking.
NOTE: Tacos cannot be ordered in combination plates. |
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Bracingly fresh tuna steals the show in the Eel Point taco. Seared and sushi grade, it’s anointed with wasabi creme fraiche, drizzled with soy glaze, and topped with a crisp and summery sesame lime fennel salad. Tucked underneath the pair of tacos is a Summer Rice Salad. Made with jasmine rice, this salad is cool and fresh with cherry tomatoes, chick peas, red onion, citrus rinds, mint, and a touch of cinnamon.
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On the other end of the flavor spectrum is the Arkansas Ave taco, constructed from a grilled salmon filet piled high with chopped cured black olives, feta cheese, and a tomato cucumer salad. |
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Of all three seafood tacos we sampled, our favorite of the evening was the Smith Point. For this, Chef Scribner grills plump shrimp and tucks them into his soft corn tortillas with a delightfully sweet and crunchy kernels of grilled corn, tomato and onion. The tacos are topped with guacamole and chili ranch dressing. The mix of textures and flavors and temperatures is superb—this taco alone would lure us back to Millie’s! |
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Tuckernuck is their simplest taco: grilled marinated steak, sliced thin and served in a flour shell with roasted poblano peppers, red onion, guacamole, and lime sour cream. This taco that perfectly illustrates Chef Scribner’s comment about there being “an elegance to restraint.” |
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But we did love the sheer indulgence of the Pocomo taco, with its smoky and very tender braised pork, crisp slices of radish, fruity-sweet peach tomatillo salsa, onion and cilantro. |
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Chef Scribner’s Quesadillas at Millie’s are cooked on a traditional la plancha to give them a wonderfully toasty browning. The large flour tortillas are folded over seven different fillings, each as well thought-out and delicious as the tacos. We enjoyed the Rhode Island Avenue, a mix of grilled marinated steak, mushrooms, poblano peppers, onion, and jack and cheddar cheeses. The mix is perfectly balanced: just enough cheese to keep it all together and add flavor, but not so much as to ooze out or overpower.
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What was absolutely sensational was the Bartlett Farm, a real tribute to the fresh produce grown there. This bold and satifying vegetarian quesadilla is stuffed with sauteed spinach, mushrooms, tomato, black bean & corn salsa, zucchini, and jack & cheddar cheeses. As with so many of Chef Scribner’s preparations, the balance of flavors and textures is delicious.
All the Quesadillas at Millie’s are served with homemade salsa, their guac, and their tasty lime sour cream. |
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With scant room left for more, the four of us dug into the Cambridge Street, one of Millie’s hearty entree salads. The fresh greens are tossed in a honey scallion dressing with tangy chunks of grilled marinated chicken, juicy wedges of mandarin orange, peanuts, and radish slices. Crunchy tortilla strips garnish the top. One forkful was just not enough of this flavorful and summery salad.
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The pièce de résistance was at once the simplest and the most elegant of all: Chef Scribner’s Muskeget Po’ Boy—a soft roll slathered with butter and grilled to a golden brown then filled with a lobster salad that was simply fresh lobster tossed with mayonnaise. A New England classic, very well done! |
Drive or bike or take the NRTA Shuttle bus out to Madaket and share the experience of Millie’s. The views, the sunset, the food, and the cocktails...it’s sure to become your favorite memory of Nantucket.
Millie’s
www.milliesnantucket.com
326 Madaket Road • 508-228-8435
Open seasonally
Lunch 11 am to 4 pm • Dinner from 4 to 9:30 pm •
Bar open till 1 am
Prices range from $12.95 to $21.95
Reservations only accepted for parties of 8 or from 5-7 p.m.
& 8:30-close
Children Welcome • Take-Out Available • Handicap Access
Beer, Wine, & Cocktails • Major Credit Cards Accepted •
Casual Dress
Indoor & Outdoor Dining • Free Shuttle to Town
Upstairs dining room available for private celebrations spring & fall only
