TOPPER'S at The Wauwinet - A Culinary Celebration
On the edge of Nantucket’s ruggedly beautiful Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge, you can dine in civilized tranquility, enjoying an award-winning international wine list and savoring the innovative cuisine of Chef Kyle Zachary.
Chef Zachary took the helm of the TOPPER’S kitchen this spring, bringing his vision of New American Cuisine to this extraordinary inn by the sea. In between cooking in Chicago and in Germany, Zachary had spent two seasons as sous chef at TOPPER’S and fell in love with Nantucket and our island lifestyle. “When we were in Germany, I used to say that the only thing that would bring me back to the states is if I could work again at TOPPER’S. Then one day, I got this call...”
Much has changed on the TOPPER’S menus this season. Patrons will be happy to know that the signature Lobster and Crab Cake is still served at dinner (and back to its original) and the Wauwinet Turkey Hash is still offered for breakfast, but little else remains the same. This chef’s talent for conjuring magical dishes from simple ingredients and his deft hand with presentation are making dinner at TOPPER’S an experience not to be missed!
The indoor dining room at TOPPER’S has an air of exclusivity tempered by warm hospitality. The deck has a more easygoing approach, with views of a lush garden, manicured lawn, and the sparkling waters of the Harbor beyond. It’s not uncommon for a few guests who know the beauty of it to move from their tables to the lawn for a few moments to watch the sunset.
TOPPER’S has several dinner menus to choose from: a Prix Fixe Dinner, a “Deep Blue Sea” Tasting Menu described as a “celebration of the sea,” a Vegetarian Tasting Menu featuring creative and hearty dishes, and an a la carte Deck Menu. The seven-course tasting menus are available with or without wine pairings.
For this week, we ordered from the prix fixe menu, which offers six appetizers, seven entrees with enhancements, and five desserts.
Local ingredients star in many of the preparations Chef Zachary has designed for TOPPER’S. In fact, many of his dishes begin with as a list of fresh, seasonal ingredients that he ponders and then mixes and matches to find what works together best. He uses cooking techniques that maximize flavor, and his combinations, sometimes unusual, reinforce those flavors. As Zachary explained: “The coolest thing is when you can take simple ingredients like a carrot and make it into something special.”
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We started our meal with one of the chef’s favorite appetizers: Katama Bay Oysters. If the oysters are fresh and harvested from pristine waters, as these definitely are, then there’s usually not a lot more to say. However, Chef Zachary’s presentation makes these oysters a special treat! The petite, juicy oysters are served out of their shells in a sweet-crisp-spicy mix of watermelon, cucumber, and ginger with a ginger beer granita. It’s a deliciously refreshing way to begin. |
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The Heirloom Tomato Soup & Salad is one single dish, not two. This appetizer is brought to table as a lovely construction of sliced tomatoes, different basils plucked fresh from the Wauwinet gardens, soft and creamy burrata cheese, and tiny pearls of twice-aged sherry vinegar. Then in a bit of performance art, your server pours around it a gazpacho that tastes of summer sunshine. The textures and tastes of this soup-salad dance around your tongue. |
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The final chilled appetizer we sampled is the Diver Scallop Crudo. Arguably the most beautiful dish served, the large sea scallop is thinly sliced and fanned out across a plate adorned with sliced cucumber, fronds of baby cilantro, and vibrant orange sake cured trout roe and it’s dotted with coconut milk reduction and avocado puree. The taste is as delicate as its appearance, and is best when a little of each element is in every bite. |
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As much as we loved the light and summery starters, we cannot give enough praise to the Hudson Valley Foie Gras au Torchon. Perfectly executed, the foie is indescribably rich, creamy, and refined. Toasted spice bread (ginger, nutmeg, anise, cloves) is served alongside, as are pureed pickled peach (white and yellow) and a roasted peach slice. The flavors combine to create a sensation of bliss. |
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Truffle makes everything better, and the Summer Truffle Gnocchi is no exception! The tender little puffs are beautifully seared and served in a truffle reduction with baby chanterelles, fava beans, and parmesan. A very generous amount of truffle shavings is served overtop: gilding for the lily! |
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As with the appetizers, Chef Zachary’s entrees are seasonally-driven with stylish flair.
Zachary spoke so highly of the the St. Canut Farm’s Milk Fed Piglet entree that would couldn’t wait to try it. The dish fully lived up to the chef’s description: the magnificently tender pork is succulent and, though it still tastes of pork, it’s more delicate than usual. The perfectly matched accompaniments are fennel, cannellini beans, and a sweet-piquant relish of piquillo peppers...so much more than pork & beans! |
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It was the Dry Aged Sirloin that won the vote at our table. A seductively simple dish, the sirloin is beefy and surprisingly tender, the sprinkle of sea salt as garnish a brilliant stroke. The sauce around the steak is tinged with truffle oil for a luxurious taste, and the colorful assortment of beets — golden, red, and chioggia — have outstanding flavor. A couple of bing cherries are tucked alongside the sirloin for a fun pop of sweetness.
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We savored the taste of August on Nantucket in Chef Zachary’s Striped Bass entree. Seasonal and very fresh, the bass is seared till the skin is has a lovely brittle crunch and the fish is moist yet cooked through. It’s the vegetables that steal the show on this dish: green and yellow beans, intensely sweet slices of dried tomato and roasted tomato, and purple potato. Fresh steamed clams and grilled octopus are tasty marine garnishes, and tracings of preserved lemon brighten the flavors of all. |
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We were delighted by how much outstanding flavor Chef Zachary infused into his Butter Poached Lobster! Perfectly cooked so the lobster is sweet and tender and very buttery, it’s curled atop a sea urchin risotto. We admit to being a bit wary of this until we took a bite. The flavor of the sea urchin did not, as we had feared, overpower the risotto: it was in perfect balance. Served alongside are carrots in chunks, sliced, and pureed—we didn’t know carrots could have so many flavors! When mixed into the risotto, dots of black garlic puree punctuating the dish add a deep, dark roasted flavor somewhere between French roast coffee and molasses. In a meal that was a symphony of flavor, this entree is the cadenza. |
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Among the varied desserts offered, three stood out. The Key Lime Cheesecake, Deconstructed is artfully presented, fun to eat, and very tasty in all its parts. We did, however, find it tasted best when reconstructed. |
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The White Chocolate Butterscotch Semi-Fredo is graphically and gastronomically pleasing...the luxuriously rich shot of hot chocolate went down first, followed by the ball of nutella ice cream rolled in crushed toasted hazlenuts. The semi-fredo melts lusciously on your tongue leaving behind a sweet kiss of flavor. |
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The Selection of Domestic and Imported Cheeses is the best cheese plate we’ve ever had. Ever. It’s thoughtfully composed, with attention to color and texture and taste, and the accompaniments (dates, dried cranberries, walnuts, nut bread, and honeycomb) are perfect crunchy, sweet, and savory counterpoints to the cheeses. |
Chef Zachary tells us that his goal is for his guests to leave wanting more and eager to return. We celebrate his success in reaching his goal!
TOPPER’S at The Wauwinet
508-228-8768, reservations recommended
www.wauwinet.com
Lunch served noon to 2 p.m.
Breakfast served 8 to 10:30 a.m.; Sunday Brunch 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dinner served nightly from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
$82 Prix Fixe Dinner, Deck Menu from $18 to $42, or Chef’s Tasting Menus
TOPPER’S Bar serves light, casual meals from noon to 11 p.m.
indoor & outdoor dining • award-winning wine list
TOPPER’S by Water complimentary cruises to TOPPER’S at 11 am & 5 pm
full bar service • major credit cards accepted
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