In This Issue

The Jetties - Come for the Beach, Stay for the Food

Most people go to Jetties Beach for the sun, the sand, and the surf.  We go for the pizza, the pasta, and the sangria.

Jetties Beach is within walking distance of Nantucket Town; it’s an easy bike ride; and there is an NRTA shuttle that services the beach from a stop outside the Whaling Museum.  There’s plenty of parking but on busy summer days it’s best to leave your car at home.

There are lifeguards at Jetties, as well as public restrooms, changing rooms, and a playground, making it the first choice for families.  Windsurfers and kayakers often start off from Jetties, and, when the weather is windy enough, kiteboarders can be seen soaring through the sky.

Later in the day, Jetties is the perfect spot to watch boats sail back to dock and the evening ferry arrive and depart, and it offers beautiful sunsets over the grassy dunes. 
At 5 pm The Jetties at Jetties Beach starts dinner service and draws a mix of residents and visitors back to the beach.  This beachside restaurant is open from early in the morning through the day, serving freshly brewed coffee, croissants, coffee cake, muffins, bagels, fruit, granola, yogurt, and breakfast sandwiches.  At 11 am, the menu expands to include sandwiches and wraps, traditional lobster and clam rolls, crisp salads, hummus, chowder and gazpacho, and grill selections from burgers and chili dogs to cheesey fries and popcorn chicken.  Beach treats are available all day —  ice cream bars, candy, chips, cold and frozen drinks.  You can rent chairs and umbrellas from The Jetties shop, and if you feel that you really must check in with the office, The Jetties has wireless for your laptop.

Evening fun begins with The Jetties Buck-a-Shuck: between 5 and 6 pm , you can enjoy shrimp and freshly shucked clams and oysters for just $1 apiece from their Raw Bar in their Oceanside Bar on the uppermost deck of The Jetties . 

Guests can perch at the beach bar and savor these delicate morsels along with margaritas, daquiris, sangria (white and red), pina coladas, and specialty martinis.  The Jetties also has a respectable selection of beer and wine.  After 6 pm, you can order a variety of selections from the Raw Bar Menu, including “West Jetty,” “East Jetty,” half a dozen of each shellfish, or a chilled Lobster Tail with lemon herb aioli.  You can also order some of each in “The Whole Shucking Thing.”  Celebrating a special occasion at Jetties?  Their “Veuvelicious” is the perfect way to begin: a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and a dozen freshly shucked Island Creek Oysters.

On warm summer evenings, prime seats at The Jetties are on the beach patio, where you can stretch out a leg and dig your toes in the sand, and the tables along the edge of the deck with panoramic views of the beach, the dunes, and the ocean.  The multi-level deck is sheltered with an awning, and if the weather turns stormy, the staff drops clear sides to protect their guests and preserve the gorgeous views.  Starting at 5:30 pm on most evenings, The Jetties offers a changing schedule of live entertainment, usually featuring acoustic guitar and vocalists.

Whether you come to The Jetties for the views, the beach, the music, or the cocktails, you should definitely stay for the food!  For dinner The Jetties transforms from a beach concession to a delightful beachside bistro.  The dinner menu at The Jetties has an appealing variety of hot and cold salads, appetizers, and light bites in addition to housemade pizzas, pasta dishes, and seafood.

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	Lobster Roll, Handcrafted Italian Burger, and the Antipasto Roulade are ideal for light meal choices.  Seafood dominates the appetizer choices, and their Clams Casino and Bacon Wrapped Scallops are classic island favorites.  The Casino clams are tender and succulent under their golden-brown topping of bread crumbs, herbs, bacon, and red pepper.
	Underneath their cloaks of crunchy bacon, the Bacon Wrapped Scallops are moist and delicious.  We especially like these tidbits with a touch of the honey dijon dipping sauce served alongside.
	Also very popular are The Jetties’ 12-inch Thin Crust Pizzas.  They pair very nicely with the Raw Bar choices for sharing if you’ve come to Jetties with friends for an evening out.  The Jetties offers 8 different house selections from a simple Margherita Pizza to a filling Sausage and Pepper Pizza.  Our favorites are the Caprese, with its fresh tomato, fresh basil, and tangy tracings of balsamic, the Funghi, topped with mushrooms, mozzarella, and red sauce, and the amazing Jetties Lobster Pizza that showcases fresh lobster meat, goat cheese, mozzarella, and red pepper cream sauce.  If you prefer to design your own pizza, The Jetties offers 15 different toppings to mix and match.
	Among the five different salads served at Jetties, the Lobster Salad Caesar is a sensational seaside treat!  There’s just enough garlicky caesar dressing to coat the crisp romaine; the croutons are crunchy and the parmesan plentiful; and, best of all, the salad is topped with a generous portion of clean-tasting, freshly made lobster salad.
	Speaking of lobster...The Jetties still offers their Lobster Dinner that features a steamed 1-1/4 pound lobster, sweet corn, and potato.  Served with drawn butter and lemon, the dinners are tucked into biodegradeable boxes whose lids, when open, serve as trays for the shells and the cob.  You can dig in on the deck at The Jetties, but we suggest that you order a couple to go and set up your own private feast on the beach.
	Lobster is also featured in two of the The Jetties pasta entrees.  For the Surf and Turf entree, Chef Bruce Yancy tops a lobster tail with his red pepper cream sauce and pairs it with a steak medallion with gorgonzola and alfredo sauce.  We highly recommend the chef’s Lobster Carbonara.  The platter is heaped with linguini twirled in a creamy carbonara sauce that clings perfectly to the pasta.  Herbs, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, and smoky bacon add depth to the sauce.  Arranged around the pile of pasta are more than a dozen freshly steamed lobster claws, their sweet and delicate meat highlighted by the buttery carbonara.  Order this with a glass of Veuve or a pitcher of White Sangria and you have an affordable and elegant alfresco dinner on par with a much fancier in-town restaurant.
	The Chicken Pesto is a pasta dish full of garden-fresh flavors of roasted red and yellow bell pepper, strips of basil, and grilled chicken drenched in a delectable pesto cream sauce.  Comfort food at the beach.  The flavors are bold, yet the pesto sauce is surprisingly light.  You might even have room for dessert after this entree.
	Every time we have dinner at The Jetties, someone in our party orders the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo, and we all beg for a bite.  Three impressively tender beef tenderloin medallions, marinated and grilled till the tops are charred but the insides are a perfect medium-rare (as ordered), are presented around Yancy’s delicious linguini alfredo.  We like this dish best with the whole wheat linguini.  Gorgonzola cheese is generously crumbled overtop and drizzles of balsamic add the final luscious, tangy touch.
	Every evening Chef Yancy prepares an evening special, usually featuring whatever is freshest from the docks.  We sampled his Pan-Seared Halibut, perfectly seasoned and cooked through, served over crusty roasted fingerling potatoes and topped with a superb Mediterranean mix of capers, shallots, tomato, and mushrooms in a white wine sauce.  The interplay of flavors made this special dish memorable!
	If you like ending your meal with something sweet, The Jetties has three different desserts that fit the bill.  Their Lemon Berry Cake is a moist and sweet white cake studded with blueberries with a thick layer of tart lemon cream in the middle that helps cut the sweetness.
	The Carrot Cake is moist and full of warm spice.  We like the drizzles of caramel sauce and the chopped walnuts along the side.
	If you want an ending that is completely over the top, then it’s the Mississippi Mud Pie you want to order.  A cross between a brownie and a truffle, this will thrill any chocolate lover.

After dinner at The Jetties, stroll down the beach to watch the sunset or order a cocktail sit in one of the beach chairs around the patio and listen to the live music.  An evening at The Jetties is a wonderful way to enjoy Nantucket.

The Jetties

Bathing Beach Road at Jetties Beach
www.thejetties.com
508-228-2279
Breakfast 8 to 11 am; Lunch 11 am to 5 pm (till 3 pm for the grill)
Dinner 5 to 10 pm; Bar open 5 to 10 pm
Most dinner entree prices range from $12.50 to $26
Kid’s menu available • Sheltered and open air outdoor seating
Live Music • Full liquor license • major credit cards accepted
plenty of parking and next to an NRTA shuttle stop