Seven Days In May – Day Four

This is the fourth daily report of our first seven-day cruise in the month of May.

Here are the first three:

Seven Days in May – Day One

Seven Days in May – Day Two

Seven Days in May – Day Three

We left Onset at 10:00 and made the 23-mile run to Oak Bluffs by 11:00. Much like Tuesday and Wednesday, Friday looked like a perfect early summer day on Buzzards Bay.

We’ve become very fond of tying up on The Dockside.

Peter and I headed over to Coop deVille for some oysters and wings. We sat at the far end of the Shuck Shack, where we met Odaine, a great Shuckmaster with an infectious personality.

These were the first Oysters I’ve had this season, and they were beautiful – plump and perfectly shucked. Odaine opened them expertly without damaging the oyster or spilling the nectar. My only criticism would be that it needed a mignonette.

We toyed with the notion of a bike ride, but offloading the bikes to a starboard side fixed dock scared us. Instead, we polished off most of the spring to-do list and charged the batteries for a Saturday ride through the State Forest.

New Red Cat Kitchen

The restaurant scene on Oak Bluffs underwent quite a shake-up in 2023. OB restaurateur Ben Deforest closed down both The Cardboard Box and Oyster Bar 02257. He also closed the tiny Red Cat Kitchen on Kennebac and reopened it on the old Oyster Bar 02257 site.

With the exception of Deforest’s three restaurants, OB’s culinary options have always been a bit monotone, with an abundance of “summer fun food” restaurants like Nancy’s, Coop deVille, or The Lookout. The fact is, these restaurants, and many others like them, offer virtually identical menus.

The Red Cat Kitchen consolidation made a lot of sense. Their eclectic menu brought a refreshing change to OB dining, but Deforest’s three menus were similar. The new, larger RCK essentially serves a consolidated menu of the three previous restaurants.

(NOTE: The preceding three paragraphs are excerpts from another post).

I have always loved the vibe of the old Oyster Bar 02257, and while Chef Ben has redecorated the new RCK, the vibe has been preserved.

The Red Cat Kitchen has a sample menu on their website. I planned to order the Big-Ass Crispy Fried Shrimp & Grits Pecorino, Watermelon Salad, Buttermilk Aioli ($41).

As seems always to be the case, the dish wasn’t on the menu Friday night. Our server suggested the Big Ass Shrimp on a Ceasar Salad, but I created a custom dish out of two appetizers instead.

Mrs. Horne went light and just ordered their Caesar.

I stole a few bites and instantly realized I should have taken the server’s advice and ordered the Big Ass Shrimp Caesar.

The ingredients were all fresh and crisp, but the dressing was outrageous – so creamy and flavorful. And nothing sets off a Caesar like White Anchovies.

Peter went with Grilled Halibut over Risotto, Tomatoes, and Olives.

I’m going to finish my report here. I always post on Facebook, but lately, they’ve removed my linked posts if they’re longer than 1750 words (who knows why?) Expect shorter reports in the future.

Next Up – Edgartown Saturday…