In This Issue

Starlight Theatre & Café:
Two Thumbs Up

Tucked away in the heart of downtown Nantucket is the perfect spot to enjoy a relaxing meal and escape the stresses of day-to-day life:  The Starlight Theatre and Café.  Located on a lightly traveled side street between Main and India, the Starlight occupies nearly the entire block with its fun bar, casual dining room, outdoor patio, and the island’s only operating movie theatre just behind. 

This winter Mark Watson took the reins of this island favorite, and with the support of his family (brother-in-law Jeff is the chef, sister Debbie does the books, other brother-in-law Mike is assisting with management, and mother Susan will be hostessing), he is bringing the café up to its full potential with great service, a welcoming ambiance, and a fabulous new menu.

Fall, winter, and spring, the Starlight is warm and cozy, with a woodstove burning brightly in one corner of the dining room.  In-season, the huge windows that line the front are opened to let in the breezes, and the grapevine that grows over the patio arbor will be lush and green, providing a shady bower dappled with sunlight.

The 89-seat theatre with its comfortable seats, freshly made popcorn, and classic selection of movie candy is the perfect evening escape.  Movies play nightly, and matinees are scheduled for rainy days.  You don’t have to have dinner at the Starlight to buy a movie ticket, but dinner guests can reserve movie tickets with their dinner reservations.  The theatre is also available for private rentals, with customers bringing in their favorite DVDs.  This is not only popular for kids’ parties:  “Last year a woman rented the theatre to celebrate her first anniversary,” Mark explained.  “She told her husband that the movie started at 6:30 pm (it really started at 7) and surprised him with a DVD she had made with photos of their first year.  It was just the two of them, the pictures, and champagne.” 

The curtain goes up at Starlight Café at 11:30 am for a lunch that can feature soup, salad, finger foods, hot and cold sandwiches, or burgers.  Several sources have told us that their Garden Burger with roasted red pepper rouille is one of the best on-island.  We know first-hand that their California Fish Wrap is delicious, with its hot crisp fish filet topped with cheese and wrapped with cool avocado, lettuce, and tomato drizzled with dynamite sauce.

Mike is in the process of expanding The Starlight’s wine list to include more than 30 selections.  They have a dozen wines by the glass and a sophisticated choice of wines by the bottles from a modest $25 to a more celebratory $225.  The Starlight Bar offers a full range of cocktails.

The dinner menu is arranged thematically into Opening Acts, Intermission, In the Spotlight, Main Events, and After Party.  Chef Jeff Weiner, who came to the Starlight after more than a dozen years at the SeaGrille and a lifetime in the kitchen (starting in his grandparents’ French Restaurant), brings his sensibility for fine cuisine and talent for creating tasty dishes with a variety of styles.  Weiner’s new menu is the most significant change since Watson took over the Starlight—and it is a very welcome one! There are choices on the menu that will please every palate, from simple American classics to New England fare with Italian and Asian influences.  It’s unusual to be offered such a wide variety of bold flavors and different preparations on a single café menu.

	You can make a meal out of one of the salads served at The Starlight.  Portions here are generous, and grilled shrimp or chicken can be added to any one of them.  The Spinach Salad is perfectly dressed in a tangy sherry vinaigrette that clings to the fresh, tender leaves.  Crisp shredded carrot and slices of red onion, salty bits of pancetta, and creamy goat cheese add to the medley of flavor and make this salad one of our favorites.  Another that deserves extra applause is the Beet Salad.  Mixed greens with chilled slices of red beet, crumbles of blue cheese, and sweet candied walnuts are all tossed in a puckery balsamic dressing.
	We’re also fans of the Chicken Dumplings.  The four large steamed dumplings with a moist meat filling are presented around delightfully tender and slightly bitter wilted greens with carrot and sesame seeds  The spicy hot and sour sauce that is poured around the dumplings is good enough to eat with a spoon.
	Both the Twin Crabcakes and the Seared Tuna Cake share top billing.  The thick Crab Cakes are fried till the breading is deep brown and deliciously crunchy around a filling that is nearly solid crabmeat.  They’re served piping hot with a chilled roasted corn salsa with crisp, cool bits of bell pepper, corn kernels, red onion, and celery.  Drizzled over all is a smoky chipotle aioli.
	The Tuna Cake is very different but just as good, with a great mix of textures.  For this, Chef Weiner forms a single patty with fresh tuna, herbs, and the perfect amount of seasoning, sautés it, and serves it topped with a variety of crisp, pickled vegetables on a bed of cold seaweed salad.  Tracings of wasabi cream sauce add just the right amount of heat.
Chef Weiner’s Chilled Marinated Calamari is an absolute showstopper.  A welcome change from the ubiquitous breaded and fried version, this combination of impressively tender calamari, artichoke hearts, roasted cloves of garlic, and sundried tomatoes is full of deep, mellow Italian flavors.  Athough we’re a few weeks away from hot weather, we think this would be the ideal summertime appetizer.
	The appetizers at The Starlight are so good that it’s tempting to just order a selection of them for a meal.  But if you do that,then you don’t get to try their “blockbuster” — the Starlight Lobster Mac-n-Cheese.  This luscious version is so much better than what mom used to make:  it’s a bowl full of elegant comfort food.  The penne pasta is tossed with lobster meat, sauteed mushrooms, and peas and drenched in a blended cheese sauce that Chef Weiner manages to make luxurious yet keep light.  Consider sharing this entree or be prepared to take some home for lunch—as with the other dishes at Starlight, the portion is generous.
	Sweet Hot Vegetable Pad Thai is designed for vegetarians but so full of flavor that it will please any palate.  This Asian-inspired dish has layers of subtle tastes and different textures:  the noodles are tossed with straw mushrooms, tofu, carrot, bok choy, tomato, scallions, and peanuts in a sauce that truly is both sweet and hot, with hints of ginger and coconut.  This dish can be ordered with chicken or shrimp or both.  We recommend it with the shrimp, which are nicely complemented by the light, fresh ingredients.
	Another star of the menu is the Maple Farm Duck Breast.  The succulent duck is painted with a soy and orange sauce that imparts a slight sweetness to the meat that is accented by the sweet potatoes served alongside.  The vegetable egg roll is a fun and tasty accompaniment, and the mixed vegetable (broccoli and carrot) is cooked deliciously tender-crisp.
	If all you want is a really good steak, then The Starlight has just the thing:  Flat Iron Steak, grilled to temperature (order it medium rare) and served with a superb spicy tomato jam.  The chilled blue cheese potato salad that accompanies is sensational—made without mayonnaise, it’s light and flavorful.
	If you’ve got any room left after “The Main Event,” The Starlight offers four enticing desserts.  The Brownie a la Mode is dark and chocolatey decadence.
	On the other end of the spectrum, their Strawberry Shortcake, made with angel food cake instead of biscuits and plenty of berries and sauce is light and full of fresh flavor.
	If you’re feeling particularly indulgent, then finish with the  Xango — with its creamy cheese filling and crisp, cinnamon-sugar exterior, this will please any sweet tooth.
	Our choice for a grand finale is a throwback to childhood treats:  Root Beer Float with Chocolate Chip Cookies.