Dune- One of Nantucket’s Finer Pleasures

With so many choices this season, it can be difficult to decide where to dine.  Let us make it simple for you: Go to Dune!  Big, bold flavors, well-crafted cocktails, and an ambiance that is both chic and welcoming is the winning combination you’ll find at this restaurant in the heart of town. 

The bar scene here is fun and friendly—it’s a great place to meet old friends and make new ones.  Libation expert Anna Worgess keeps the cocktails and the conversation flowing.  She’s highly skilled in the classics (she makes the best Manhattan on the island), and she uses her creative talents to design drink specialities.  This trip to Dune we sampled Anna’s Watermelon Margarita: smooth, not too sweet, and very refreshing.  And we have yet to find a bartender who can match her excellent Espresso Martini!

On warm summer evenings and afternoons for lunch, Dune’s brick patio offers elegant alfresco dining without sacrificing service.  Indoors, their upstairs dining room is bright and airy and ideal for larger groups; the downstairs dining room is chic yet retains that relaxed ambiance that makes Dune’s sophistication so approachable. 

Service at Dune is pleasant, prompt, and professional.  Every member of the waitstaff is well-versed in the menu and will readily offer explanations and suggestions for wine and cocktail pairings that are dead-on. 

Chef-Owner Michael Getter honed his talents over the years as executive chef of 21 Federal and then as chef-owner of American Seasons.  His work has been published in Bon Appetite, Gourmet, New York Times, and the Boston Globe.  At Dune, Chef Getter has mastered the art of adult dining with an impressive level of culinary sophistication.  His menu celebrates summer in freshness and flavor!  Every plate that emerges from the kitchen is beautifully presented and designed so that each ingredient is in perfect balance.  No gratuitous garnishes here:  everything on the plate adds to the whole experience.

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	Vibrant in color and in flavor, the Summer Butter Corn Bisque made us swoon!  It tastes of summer sunshine.  Getter conjures every bit of flavor from the corn, adds just a touch of cream and a drizzle of chili oil.  Chunks of Maine crabmeat and strips of sugar snap peas add sweetness and crunch.  We found ourselves wishing the large bowl was larger and using the sourdough bread that is served here by the basketful to finish every drop.  This wonderful soup is one of several dinner offerings also served at lunchtime.  Suggested Pairing: Aperol-tif Cocktail
	It’s rarely a salad that we choose as the dish that would lure us back to a restaurant, but then we’ve rarely had a salad as delicious as Michael Getter’s Salad of Arugula & Smoked Peaches.  Peppery leaves of arugula are dressed in just the right amount of Banyuls vinaigrette and tossed with chunks of Great HIll blue, toasted hazelnuts, and hickory-smoked peaches.  It’s the perfect salad for those who seek harmony in flavor and freshness and texture — crisp and juicy, soft and crunchy, smoky and tangy, and astonishingly good! And, yes, this is on the lunch menu as well.  Suggested Pairing: Pierre Amadieu, Cotes du Rhone
	“Salad” doesn’t fully describe the sophisticated and satisfying Chilled Chatham Lobster Salad.  For this appetizer, Chef Getter anoints fresh lobster meat with orange and lime vinaigrette, combines it with kernels of sweet corn and avocado, and shapes it into a tower of flavor.  This dish is clean and fresh—all creaminess is from the avocado, there’s no heavy mayo in this lobster salad.  The salad is set on a ring of thin, crunchy slices of cucumber, and orange and lime vinaigrettes dot the plate.  Suggested Pairing: Lunetta Prosecco, Trentino
	With summer comes softshells, and Chef Getter’s preparation of Crispy Maryland Softshell Crab is the best we’ve ever tasted!  In fact, one of our party exclaimed “I’ve never met a softshell crab that I liked, but I’d come back for more of this!”  As promised, the crab is delicately crispy on the outside and tastes fresh, clean, and discreetly sweet.  It’s served on a cake of grits flavored with bacon and garnished with a dollop of celery slaw, pickled okra, and tomato remoulade that you’ll want to dip the crab into.  A real Southern treat!  Suggested Pairing: Cortijo, Viura, Rioja
	Chef Getter is expert with duck.  We’ve savored it in a variety of his preparations and adored every one.  The Leg of Duck Confit appetizer on the summer menu is yet another winner.  Succulent and meltingly tender, the duck is served over a a mix of green lentils, diced carrot and celery, in a pool of curried carrot pureé.  Chopped toasted almonds and a wedge of fresh fig are the finishing touches in this dish of savory delights.  As with all of Getter’s preparations, each element is delicious eaten separately—taken together, it’s heavenly!  Suggested Pairing: Cisco Whale’s Tale
The selection of dinner entrees on Dune’s summer menu are as tantalizing as the starters.  In just eight choices, Chef Getter showcases fish, shellfish, chicken, pork, and beef, as well as a seasonal vegetable risotto.
	We highly recommend the Gianone Farms Chicken Breast.  Skin is crisp and well-seasoned, and the meat underneath moist and full-flavored.  Be sure to drag each bite of chicken through the tracings of jus and pomegranate honey around the plate for a lusciously rich hint of sweetnees.  Tucked under the chicken breast is a refreshing summery salad of watermelon and feta cheese that pairs beautifully with the chicken and the savory oregano bread pudding (and the jus and the honey).  We very nearly licked the plate clean.  Suggested Pairing: Chimay Rouge
	If your appetite is hearty, order the Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop, a hefty 14 ounces of impressively tender pork with a perfect char along the edges.  Juicy pickled cherries, sweet grilled vidalia onions, and a thick slice of smoky bacon top the pork and add great depth of flavor.  Served alongside is a vegetable tian constructed from thin slices of summer squash, roasted red pepper, zucchini, and eggplant.  The harmony of flavors in this entree makes it another favorite.  Suggested Pairing: Latitude 34, Malbec, Mendozza
	Another marvelous choice is the Grilled Jumbo Shrimp.  Four jumbo shrimp are presented curled around each other on tracings of saffron butter, chili oil, balsamic, and a dusting of fennel pollen.  In the center of the dish is a single arancini, cooked till the outside is crunchy-brown and the inside still has the texture of rice.  Marinated eggplant and roasted red pepper is the final crowning touch and is simply delicious with the arancini.   Suggested Pairing: Fournier, Sauvignon Blanc
	Pan-Seared Yellowfin Tuna is the ideal choice for a summer meal.  The tuna is absolutely gorgeous:  fresh from the sea and treated as it should be, lightly seared with its middle still a glistening dark pink.  Panzanella salad in a basil vinaigrette adds texture and accents to the tuna—the contrasting flavors, textures, and temperatures are delightful.  And the intensely flavorful dried tomato and yellow tomato gazpacho garnishes are very tasty with the tuna.  Suggested Pairing: Firestead, Pinot Noir, Oregon
	We couldn’t quite agree on a table favorite among the sensational entrees, but it was the Sauteed Nantucket Fluke that came closest.  The bracingly fresh fish has a flaky texture and delicate flavor, enhanced by plenty of briny capers, savory bits of ham, English peas, swiss chard, and fingerlings with a luxurious lemony beurre blanc.  The combination of briny, mellow, earthy, tangy, delicate flavors and the variety of textures makes this dish lively and startlingly good.  Suggested Pairing: Pascal & Renaud, Macon Villages, Burgundy
	Chef Getter creates an imaginative assortment of ice creams and sorbets to offer his guests, every time we dine here there’s a new flavor.  The Bacon Maple is a popular choice, but I must say we couldn’t stop spooning up the Chocolate Bourbon.
	The Lemon Marscarpone Torte was a special dessert of the evening that we’d love to see added to the nightly selection.
	Moist and sweet (but not too sweet), warm and cozy, the Warm Fig, Bread & Butter Pudding earns highest praise.  Pair it with a glass of Steele, Late Harvest Chardonnay or a Middleton neat.

Dinner at Dune is one of Nantucket’s finer pleasures.

Dune

20 Broad Street   •   www.DuneNantucket.com
Reservations suggested:  508-228-5550
Lunch daily from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
Dinner nightly from 6 to 10 p.m.
Bar opens at 5 p.m., Cocktails served until 1 a.m.
Dinner entrees range in price from $24 to $31
Entire Menu available for takeout  •  Children accommodated
Full Bar  •  Indoor & Outdoor Dining  •  Major Credit Cards Accepted
Private Dining available for 8 to 60 people  •  Call to arrange celebrations