In This Issue

The Summer House Beachside Bistro
Elegant Alfresco Dining

Once summer begins, many of us are reluctant to venture outside of our island enclaves. Whether we are determined to stay downtown, or comfortably positioned in Polpis, or firmly ensconced in Squam, that extra distance in any direction seems to require more effort than we can muster.

Too bad.

Of course, the lucky people who live in ‘Sconset like it this way.  If the rest of us stay put, they can keep for themselves their beautiful ocean beaches, their tranquil bluff, the gorgeous gardens, their incredible sunrises and stunning starlit evenings, and their fabulous Summer House. 

The Summer House in ‘Sconset has two restaurants—the Summer House Beachside Bistro, where we dined last week, is perched about as close to the eastern edge of Nantucket as a restaurant could be.  Sand, dune grass, and beach roses are all that separate the Bistro’s comfortable alfresco dining area from the deep blue Atlantic Ocean.  It’s hard to think of a more beautiful and relaxing location!  You can hear the surf as you sip your Chardonnay or fruity Summer House Cocktail.  If you come for lunch (served till 4 pm) or for an apres beach refreshment you may want to bring your sunglasses, though the wide market umbrellas do provide shade if you choose.  If you come later for dinner or for cocktails and the air turns cool, staff at the Beachside Bistro is ready to accommodate with blanket service.

The location may be laid-back and beachy, but the service is professional.  Waitstaff are well-trained, attentive, and know the menu well.  In addition to the assortment of house specialty drinks, the Bistro also has a modest yet well-planned selection of wines to match the menu and 17 available by the glass.

More than a dozen summery starters are offered at the Bistro, most featuring fresh seafood and salads.  Many are ideal for sharing round the table, like the Fruit de Mer platter laden with crab cake, cod cake, fried calamari, lobster salad, steamed lobster, jumbo shrimp, and king crab leg.  Chef Marc’s Antipasto, with cured meats, cheese, legume salad, and pickles offers a taste of the Mediterranean.

	One of our favorites is the Meza Platter.  A large piece of flatbread acts as the serving dish for an assortment of Greek delights that include chilled stuffed grape leaves, a very fresh tasting tabbouleh, feta cheese, a splendid black olive hummus, and baba ghanoush with plenty of grilled flatbread for scooping. There was more than enough on the Meza Platter for our party of four:  we thought the helping was large was because this was a sharing platter, but every dish we were served at the Bistro was very generously portioned.
	Additions to the menu are frequent and often made in response to what local fishermen have landed.  Thanks to John Manera’s good luck and skill in the form of a 150-pound tuna, everyone dining at The Bistro the evening we were there was able to order a superb Tuna Wrap.  This Vietnamese-style appetizer showcased the incredibly fresh fish in a colorful bundle.  Wrapped in the soft rice paper was the tuna, lightly seasoned, with carrot, mint leaves, and cilantro.  The dipping sauce as a simple and flavorful mix of soy, wasabi, and ginger that added a spark of heat, but not enough to overpower the delicate tuna.
	Two other appetizer specials were offered by the chef who, we hope, plans to include them on the regular menu.  Jumbo Shrimp Poppers may not be small enough to pop into your mouth, but they pop with flavor.  Each one provides several delicious mouthfuls of shrimp, goat cheese and American studded with pieces of jalapeno for a little mouth tingle.  A golden brown breading adds a pleasant crunchiness, and the sweet dipping sauce gives a new dimension of flavor.
	The other special app—Skirt Steak Wraps—quickly became a table favorite.  For this, leaves of bibb lettuce were laid across a long platter.  On each leaf was placed a dollop of rich avocado puree and a spoonful of pineapple salsa for a bit of a kick.  Two slices of medium-rare skirt steak were set on top of each, dressed with a black bean vinaigrette.  To eat them, we simply folded the soft lettuce up around the tender steak.  The combination of buttery avocado, piquant salsa, and tender beefy steak was sensational.
The Summer House Beachside Bistro serves a tempting variety of summer salads.  Bartlett Farm Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with basil dressing offers local tomatoes at their peak of sweetness, and Summer House Salad features crisp apples, candied walnuts, and goat cheese tossed with baby greens.  To these and to the classic Caesar Salad, guests can add shrimp, lobster, or chicken to make a meal.  Substantial even without additions is the Fried Calamari Salad with spinach and chili sweet and sour sauce.
	The salad we like the best is the Warm Poached Lobster Salad.  This is a fantastic seasonal kaleidoscope of taste and texture: delicate lobster, buttery beurre blanc, sweet-ripe cherry tomatoes, chilled tender-crisp green beans with a splash of lemon, and thin, crunchy fried onions.  This is delicious even as the warm lobster cools.  Dining on this lobster salad in this beachside location is a quintessential island experience!
	Entrees at Summer House Beachside Bistro cover a lot of ground in just nine international preparations of  lobster, shrimp, sole, swordfish, lamb, steak, chicken, and pastas.  If you’ve worked up an appetite during the day then order one of the four pasta dishes.  We didn’t ask, but it wouldn’t surprise us if nearly a pound of pasta went into each one that we tried.  Garlic lovers will adore the Chicken Carbonara.  Large succulent chunks of chicken, plenty of sauteed mushrooms, bits of proscuitto, and lots of sliced garlic, and fresh peas are folded into the pasta with a creamy white wine sauce.  Generous shavings of parmesan and parsley finish this dish.  The Carbonara is filling, but surprisingly not heavy, and there is enough for two meals!
	Just as good but with different flavor profiles is the Jumbo Shrimp Pesto Linguine.  For this, linguini tossed with a bold pesto and crumbles of parmesan cheese is piled high with roasted cherry tomatoes and large plump shrimp.
Steak Frites always seems like a casual summery meal to us, and The Beachside Bistro does it just right, with a slab of grilled New York strip, doused  with garlic butter.  Served alongside are hot, crisp, salty fries and some of the best creamed spinach we’ve ever tasted.
	Even better is the Grilled Medallions of Lamb.  The rub of cajun spice, salt, and paprika gives the Australian lamb an appealing aroma and a robust flavor.  It’s grilled to rare, sliced, and served fanned across the plate with a refreshing salad of sweet grape tomatoes, cubes of feta cheese, and juicy chunks of cucumber on one side and a cool and creamy white dill sauce along the other side.
	We were also very impressed with the Fish of the Day, which turned out to be Swordfish in a sensational Mediterranean preparation featuring the swordfish grilled and topped in a pesto sauce with roasted tomato, artichoke hearts, and a bean salad with kidney beans, chick peas, and green beans.  The fresh flavors of basil, garlic, pine nuts, and fine olive oil from the pesto, the mellow tomato and artichoke hearts, and the slightly briney bean salad  meld deliciously.  The fresh swordfish steak is meaty enough to stand up to the robust accompaniments.
	If you have room for dessert (and with the huge portions they serve here you may not) the Bistro offers a luscious Triple White Chocolate Mousse Cake, with layers of white, milk, and dark chocolate mousse.  A sweet Tiramisu, and a deep dish Peach Tart with almond paste. For a lighter finish, there’s also a variety of sorbets with or without fresh cut fruit and berries and espresso, cappuccino, or American-style—even the coffee at the Bistro is excellent.

Or you can do what we did and end your meal toasting the moonrise over the Atlantic with a glass of Veuve Clicquot.  Cheers!

Summer House Beachside Bistro

Below the bluff in Sconset  •  508-257-4542
www.thesummerhouse.com
Casual al fresco dining
Lunch served daily from 11 am to 4 pm
Light Menu from 4 to 5 pm
Dinner served from 5 to 9 pm • Bar closes at 10 pm
Dinner entree prices range from $22 to $37
children accommodated  •  major credit cards accepted