If you’ve been following My Buzzards Bay for any time, you’ve heard me speak fondly of our flotilla friends.
Boating is fun, bringing friends on your boat creates special memories, but when a group of boating friends gets together in a flotilla, it’s magical.
We have been hosting a cocktail party on our Friday night in Nantucket for five years. This season, we had an unusually large crowd and we ended up doing a bit of a progressive with Dave Hogan on his 61’ Marlow Elysian.
But before I get to the party, I have a few restaurants to talk about!
Slip 14
Shortly after welcoming our flotilla friend Doc Ruel and his crew, we headed over to Slip 14 for lunch.
It was close to noon, so it was pretty empty and we grabbed three stools at the bar.
Slip 14 offers a unique “Mahogany” wing. It’s an asian flavor and traditionally I’ve found them to be huge (almost drumstick size).
Mahogany (or Buffalo) Bleu Cheese Dressing
These were quite good, but more normal size.
Yuzu Soy, Avocado, Pickled
Onion, Cucumber, Wakame,
Furikake, House Dynamite Sauce
American Cheese, Thousand Island, Bacon, L TO,
Brioche Bun, Za’atar Fries
Not only is the food great, but the open-air porch seating – with a roof over my head, is my favorite seaside vibe.
After lunch, I took a stroll up Main Street and grabbed an iced espresso at The Hub…
It’s a bit of a tradition. The coffee is excellent, and nothing beats grabbin’g a park bench on the sidewalk and Nantucket people-watching!
By now, the morning winds had vanished and we were enjoying the kind of summer warmth we seldom find on Nantucket in June.
The Straight Wharf
This has always been one of my favorite restaurants on Nantucket. It sits on the water and the food is impeccable.
It’s a tad pricey and their prix fixe menu requires everyone to have an appetizer and an entree.
I am frequently asked “With all the great food you eat cruising, why aren’t you 300 lbs?”
The answer is simple – we never eat a full meal. We split meals, order light, or bring leftovers home.
And this is the challenge with the Straight Wharf, everyone must buy a very substantial meal!
And to make matters worse, they start every table off with a mouthwatering fish dip and Parmesan crisps.
We all ordered different first courses…
our grilled milk bread, apricot mustard
marcona almonds, & house pickles
nantucket oysters, aperol granita, & mignonette
pickled maitake mushrooms, fennel,
island arugula, & sunchoke chili crisp
At this point, we all agreed we were nearly full (well, perhaps we had room to share a dessert).
But then came the main course…
spring-dug parsnip, green garlic, oyster mushrooms,
house bacon, and spring vegetables
cannelini beans, asparagus, baby artichokes, fava beans, & ramp
It was a splendid meal, but totaled $356 (before the $80 tip).
Afterwards, we all agreed that it may be our last dinner at the Straight Wharf main dining room.
We decided to check out the bar and the bar menu…
The menu was better suited to our culinary style, but even 3/4’s full, it was very loud!
Flotilla Friday
Friday was even nicer than Thursday and we took our third eBike off the boat and Doc Ruel joined us for the twenty-mile run up Polpis Road to Sankaty and Siasconset.
After lunch, we decided to try out another new restaurant – Bar Yoshi.
Along the way, we came up our newest flotilla members – Chris and Diane, who we met through our Maritimo Facebook group.
Chris and Diane pretty much live aboard their classic Maritimo A50.
bar YOSHI
Bar Yoshi sits in the alley near Slip 14.
There were six of us and we didn’t have a reservation, but they created a spot for us by putting together three rather small round tables.
They didn’t offer an IPA, but they did have an interesting Hazy Pale Ale that was more than adequate.
Although they are primarily a Sushi Bar, there were plenty of other asian style dishes on the menu.
We ordered a couple of “scallion pancakes.”
dill créme + red onion + smoked salmon + caviar
This is a very creative dish that eats like a pizza, delivering a surprisingly tasty combination of smoked salmon and an Asian hoisin salad.
salmon + tuna + avocado + cucumber
avocado
The food was delicious, but the small round tables were a cruel joke.
Each table barely held one plate of Scallion Pancakes.
After lunch I decided to check out the interior where I found several empty regular tables…
bar YOSHI also owns the Obar across the alley that shares a kitchen and menu.
It too had an inside bar and regular seating…
I will be adding bar YOSHI and Obar to our preferred restaurant list on Nantucket, but only if we can dine inside at the bar or on a regular table.
The Flotilla Cocktail Party
As mentioned earlier, we had a record crowd for the flotilla cocktail party, so Dave Hogan and I decided to start the party on Amazing Grace and then do a progressive to Elysian,
aboard Elysian
aboard Elysian
aboard Elysian
It was a great party made even better thanks to the perfect (and unusual) Nantucket weather.
Next Up: Wrapping Up Nantucket Week