June 28, 2012
Vineyard Square Hotel & Suites was recommended as a great Boston road trip getaway destination on the hotel review site, Oyster.com.
It’s tempting to believe that Martha’s Vineyard and everything else are changeless and permanent. Alas, the fact is that all things of this earth change, our precious island among them. I’m not just talking about the opening or closing of businesses or the building of new homes. Those are well known and easily observed phenomena. I’m talking about the island itself.
Yes, the shape of Martha’s Vineyard is constantly changing. The progress (or regress) has been slow but steady, punctuated now and then by more dramatic events. Just Google “Martha’s Vineyard erosion” and you’ll find lots to see and more to think about. It’s more than a little sobering to consider such changes in view of our own transience.
My stark introduction to this reality occurred when I was staying on the island during a storm in April 2007. I vividly remember the Edgartown Harbor parking lot flooded as the water overflowed the seawall by the yacht club. That was just a benign symptom of a much more devastating effect.
The same storm tore through the sands of Norton Point to create a breach that changed the nature of the Harbor and all of Katama Bay. Where the Chappy ferry once traversed calm waters, it now had to deal with a strong current flowing through the harbor. Boating, fishing, and driving (across to Chappaquidick) were all affected.
There was talk of trying to artificially fix the breach, but this seemed like a bad idea all around. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and nothing came of it. Trying to stave off erosion is a short term and futile plan at best. Eventually, regardless of the outcome of the battle, you’re going to lose that war.
In recent years, Lucy Vincent Beach and Wasque Point have also witnessed massive changes that have altered not just the landscape but the way we view and use the island’s resources. Just last year more damage was done. Another breach has appeared on Cape Poge.
Are all these changes permanent? I’m told that a breach broke through Norton Point many years ago, but it “healed” itself over time. The Cape Poge breach is also expected to repair itself.
In truth, the only permanent thing is change itself. I’m just grateful to have experienced the snapshot that is Martha’s Vineyard today.
Chesca’s, the fabulous restaurant located right here at Vineyard Square, is offering a great deal in honor of Martha’s Vineyard’s Restaurant week. Each dining guest will receive $5 off every course, up to 3 courses (excluding dessert), with the purchase of an entrée.
For example, a guest may order a salad, an appetizer, and an entrée and receive a $15 discount off their bill. A guest ordering an entrée and a appetizer will receive $10 discounted off their bill. This offer is valid today (Sunday) through Thursday June 20.
Don’t miss this opportunity to dine at one of the island’s most popular restaurants – at a discount!
Disclaimer time. The author, an occasional contributor to this blog, is an uncultured barbarian when it comes to all things cuisine. I wouldn’t know a foie gras from a fra diavolo if my life depended on it. Hopefully, it never will.
My tastes (to use the term in its broadest sense) run more to the pedestrian, the lowbrow, the mundane. I’m not necessarily proud of it, but I won’t shirk from my identity. In Popeye’s words, “I yam what I yam” (though I don’t eat yams either… or spinach).
There are a limited number of food items about which I feel qualified to opine, but one of them is the humble fried potato, a.k.a. French fries, or if I want to put on airs appropriate to the Vineyard, pomme frites. On a recent visit to the Vineyard, I sampled this delicacy at several different eateries. I’m pleased to say that, if you want a fine French fry, you’ll find a great selection on the island. Here are a few of my favorite selections:
Henry’s at the Harborview in Edgartown has fantastic hand cut fries. (Side note: Why would anyone serve frozen fries?) They come in three varieties: regular, Maine sea salt and vinegar, and truffle and parmesan. (That last selection is a little hoity-toity, I realize, but even we Philistines must make accommodations when it comes to a good fry.) All these choices are delicious, especially when they accompany a good burger, and Henry’s burgers are very good indeed. (More on burgers in a future post.)
The State Road Restaurant in West Tisbury is another fine restaurant with an impressive menu that is completely lost on my taste buds. The frites, however, can be enjoyed by lowlife and highlife alike. These fresh cut beauties are worth savoring on their own, but if you really must have them with your “Pancetta wrapped bluefish” or “wood grilled Menemsha squid”, feel free. But you’re on your own from my perspective.
I have a particular fondness for one fry that is not remotely French. The “Bite Fries” at the Bite in Menemsha are bite-(what else?)-sized chunks of baked potatoes fried to a perfect crisp. They’re an unforgettable accompaniment to the simple but wonderful menu at this humble hideaway at the ocean’s edge.
At the other end of the size spectrum are the shoestring fries. The Atlantic in Edgartown serves up a huge side of those slender spuds that are impossible to resist. Another surprising find was Saltwater in Vineyard Haven. They also have done wonders with shoestring fries. I had to bring home half of my sandwich because I’d gorged myself on pommes frites.
I’m sure there are plenty more quality fries to sample. It’s a reporter’s burden to be complete in his research, so I’ll keep pushing ahead with my quest.
If I don’t die of clogged arteries in the meantime.
