In This Issue

The Galley Beach
A Perfect Evening Where Sea Meets Shore

Dining out should be a special treat.  An evening to be savored, with everything perfect: the ambiance, the service, the food, the drink.  It’s a rare treat when it happens and well worth the visit—during our recent trip to Galley Beach, our expectations were not only met, they were exceeded! 

Nestled in the sand at the end of Jefferson Avenue, Galley Beach is next to the exclusive Cliffside Beach Club.  Still well-polished after its complete reconstruction about a year ago, Galley Beach is chic and upscale without being pretentious.  You’ll feel equally comfortable dressed smartly or dressed to the nines. 

By day, Galley Beach is the ideal spot for a midday meal.  The scene is quintessential Nantucket: white sand beach, bright blue water, and sun-filled sky.  The dining room has open walls for a gorgeous panoramic view.  Lunch dishes include Croque Monsieur, Eggs Benedict, Cliffside Lobster Roll, Duck Confit Salad, the Galley Beach Burger, and more than a dozen other offerings.  Their refreshing house-made White Sangria goes with all of them!

We can’t think of a better way to end an afternoon than with a cocktail at the Galley Beach bar and tidbit from their Mid-Day Menu.  You can kick off your shoes, bask in the sunshine, and sip a Lemon Drop Martini or Mango Mohito while digging your toes in the sand and listing to the surf.  Or you can perch at the indoor bar, chat with friends and watch highlights of the game while enjoying the cool sea breeze. 

No matter what time of day you dine at Galley Beach, the service is exemplary and well orchestrated.  Owners David and Geoffrey Silva run a tight ship.  A team of waiters attends to every need, from refilling water glasses to replacing napkins.  Hieu, the astute and friendly sommelier, makes their impressive wine list approachable, with his intimate knowledge of the Galley's selection, from flavor to appellation and his brilliant pairing suggestions.  The list itself has been expanded this year to include a more diverse selection with a wider price range.  Hieu has managed to add what he describes as “lesser known wines that are a great value.”

There is substance beyond the style at Galley Beach.  Chef W. Scott Osif’s food delivers fully on the promise made by the stunning location, chic ambiance, and haute service.  Now in his fifth year at Galley Beach, Chef Osif is clearly up to the challenge of preparing dishes to satsify high expectations.  His is more than good cooking — it is culinary artistry.  Some of his preparations could be called “minimalist,” relying on the supremely fresh ingredients and the way that Chef Osif skillfully coaxes the maximum flavor from each.  Others stand out because of his blending and contrasting of tastes and textures.  Some unusual ingredients are used, such as roasted lemon oil, tatsoi, honshimeji mushrooms, and kimchee; and some dishes are familiar classics crafted with such talent and care that you’ve never had them so good.  The plating and presentation are as beautiful as the dishes are delicious.

The fog began to roll in as we drove to Galley Beach for our recent meal.  We’ve been at this restaurant on evenings when the sky is so clear and bright that the stars illuminate the beach.  We’ve been here in heavy rain and thunderstorms, the type of weather that co-owner David Silva describes as “a light show at the beach.”  And last week, we arrived enveloped in the soft, silvery veil that so often decends upon Nantucket and can make an evening so romantic.  No matter what the weather, dinner at Galley Beach is a treat. 

	We began our meal with a basket of warm rolls and a dish of fruity olive oil dusted with sea salt and pepper.  With just eight appetizers and eight entrees, it doesn’t take long to read over the menu—deciding among the tempting choices...now that can take some time!  Each dish is very different from the others, both in ingredients and in style.  But each member of our team agrees:  from the first bite of appetizer, no matter which your order, you know you're in for a fabulous meal.
	As the weather becomes warmer, we’re sure that the Spring Vegetable Salad will be a very popular choice.  This artfully arranged and very colorful plate of cool, crisp tidbits features peas, fiddleheads, zucchini ribbons, strips of green beans, roasted onion, a wedge of golden beet, red beet puree, white and green asparagus, morels, carrot adorned with a dusting of flax seed and a drizzle of lemony hemp seed vinaigrette.
	Another cool and refreshing appetizer choice is the Hamachi Tartare.  Sushi lovers will recognize the term for young yellowtail or amberjack that has a lovely rich and buttery taste.  The fish is diced, lightly seasoned, and simply presented with a topping of shaved radish and micro greens.  A delightfully crunchy seaweed crisp is served alongside with a scoop of creamy avocado and drop of aged soy.  This is another of Osif’s dishes that illustrates just how good deliciously fresh ingredients can be when prepared by a chef who knows how!
	A classic very well done is the generously sized Crab Cake.  It has a crisp golden exterior that breaks away to reveal sweet and juicy crabmeat flecked with tiny bits of scallion and bell pepper.  It’s presented in a pool of champagne beurre blanc and topped with a cool salad of julienne tomato, cucumber, and mint.
	Our first taste of Sauteed Frog’s Legs was at Galley Beach, and although this season’s presentation is different, they are every bit the tender, juicy morsels we remember.  No, they don’t really taste like chicken—the flavor is more delicate.  Chef Osif serves them on creamy grits surrounded by a light green parsley sauce.  Housemade croutons, each topped by a single plump clove of sweet roasted garlic add a different texture and a fun crunch.
	Heartiest of all the appetizers is the Braised Beef Short Rib.  Meltingly tender, the boneless rib breaks apart at the touch of a fork into a rich and slightly smoky reduction scented with lapsang souchong tea.  Escarole forms a pleasantly bitter base that helps cut the richness (this is, after all, an appetizer!), and crispy shoestring fries add a salty, crunchy counterpoint.
	Like the appetizers, Galley Beach entrees are wonderfully varied in their preparations, with selections to please any palate. Simplest of all is the Roasted George’s Bank Cod.   The roasted cod flakes apart in your mouth into richly flavored, moist pieces.  It is topped with microgreens and radish.  Tucked underneath is a tangle of udon tossed with bok choy and tiny, nutty Japanese honshimeji mushrooms.  The sauce on the noodles is a real accent to this dish.  Flavored with kimchi, it is hearty and hot, but not fiery.  The heat is an appealing backdrop to the fresh codfish, but never overtakes it.
	By June, most island folk are ready for a break from scallops, but Chef Osif’s Caramelized Sea Scallops dish is such a inspired presentation of perfectly cooked scallops that we won’t hesitate to highly recommend it!  The sweet and succulent scallops are served in a toothsome and multiflavored mix of mild artichoke hearts, briney olives, mellow sundried tomatoes, and meaty white beans.  Tracings of roasted lemon oil brighten the earthy flavors.
	Braised foods are not often served in summertime, so hurry to Galley Beach to savor Osif’s Braised Upstate NY Veal Cheeks.  The rich and tender cheeks are bathed in a luscious madeira sauce with gruyere cheese softening down overtop.  They’re presented on thick slices of potato, simply poached, which add a needed firm texture to the dish.  The best tasting ratatouille that we’ve had in years is the accompaniment.
	Although we couldn’t come to a concensus on our table favorite, we all loved the Seared Wild Boar Tenderloin.  Similar in texture to pork tenderloin, the flavor of the wild boar is slightly sweet and nutty, not gamey as we anticipated.  Served rare, the meat is moist and tender.  Chef Osif presents it with a uncommon combination of accompaniments that are sensational together:  juicy wedges of grapefruit, crunchy toasted shaved almonds, a sweet dijon mustard gastrique, and tiny creamed brussel sprouts.  The diverse flavors unfold as you eat this dish, teasing your palate and compelling you to keep tasting.
	Galley Beach desserts are classic favorites prepared as they should be.  The Chocolate Mousse is exquisitely light and intensely chocolately.
	The Creme Brulee, a vanilla dream, perfectly smooth and creamy with a brittle sugar crust.
	Puff pastry layered with fresh, tart, crisp apples makes up the Apple Tart, which is served with dulce de leche ice cream to add a touch of caramel sweetness.
	The brightly flavored filling of the Lemon-Lime Tart, one of our favorites, is perfectly balanced between sweet and tart.
	But if you want a full-on chocolate dessert, the Warm Chocolate Brownie, a Galley Beach classic, is just the ticket.  The brownie is crackly on top and soft and moist in the middle.  It’s served topped with vanilla ice cream and surrounded by crushed toasted hazlenuts with just a drizzle of dark chocolate sauce to bring it all together.