Fashionable Fall Foods:

This is Restaurant Week:

A celebration of fine dining highlighted by an amazing array of culinary talents on the island.

Great foods start with fresh ingredients, and nothing could be more robust than the harvests of Nantucket. See this week's delicious video collection on the right side of this page for some fresh inspiration! And, read below to learn about special events and for a sampling of nearly thirty restaurants offering special prix fixe dinners during Restaurant Week....

(click arrow to watch the Nantucket Junior Chef Competition from 2008)

Student Chefs Featured in Nantucket Junior Chef Competition

12 - 2pm Sunday, October 4th at Cisco Brewery, 5 Bartlett Farm Road

Three teams comprised of two Nantucket High School Culinary Arts students and a chef supervisor will cook a three-course dinner LIVE in front of judges! Each student on the winning team will receive a $500 scholarship.

This year's students competing:
TEAM 1: Odesha Clarke & Billy Trott, w/ American Seasons chef
TEAM 2: Lindsay Holdgate & Zach Churns, w/ Brotherhood chef
TEAM 3: Stephanie Guzman & Cade Larrabee, w/ Pearl chef

Who will be this year's Nantucket Junior Chef? Tickets are $20/adult, $5/students. Refreshments provided by Bob Buccino and the Nantucket High School Culinary Arts Department. The Nantucket Junior Chef Competition couldn't happen without the support of these sponsors: Bartlett's Farm, Pelligrino Water, American Seasons, Cisco Brewery, N Magazine and the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce.

• • • • • • •

Here are some highlights of great meals at great prices during Restaurant Week

AMERICAN SEASONS features modern American cuisine, created by chef Michael LaScola using local, seasonal produce and accompanied by an award winning, All-American wine list selected by Orla Murphy-LaScola. Their $38 Restaurant Week three-course dinner is savory and unusual, as expected. Dishes include; braised short rib on buttermilk biscuit, grilled pork loin and braised cheek, sauteéd skate wing and their pastry chef's signature "Flying Elvis" ...a rockin' dessert so decadent you'll swear it's the devil in disguise. Located at 80 Centre Street. Limited reservations available, call 508-228-7111.

THE SEAGRILLE welcomes fall with sensational seasonal selections including a harvest salad with roasted butternut squash, toasted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries, and entrees including seared diver scallops with Pumpkin Ravioli, followed by carmel apple cake with cinnamon ice cream. The three-course Restaurant Week dinner menu has several options and is is just $30. Located at 45 Sparks Avenue, call for reservations 508-325-3154.

STRAIGHT WHARF has a menu with a focus on seasonal, sustainable ingredients, with an emphasis on New England seafood, island-grown produce and herbs from the restaurant's own waterfront garden. Their $45 three-course special dinner menu for Restaurant Week celebrates the end of summer and the beginning of fall with sauteed squash blossoms from Bartlett's Farm and local halibut with Sicilian eggplant caponata, among a dozen other choices. Located at 6 Harbor Square, on Straight Wharf. Call for reservations, 508-228-4499.

THE COMPANY OF THE CAULDRON has a special $45 prix fixe menu that changes every night this week. Each night has something unique to offer with a range of selections from savory beef Bourguignon on wednesday, Atlantic sole baked in parchment on thursday, rack of lamb on friday, classic steak Diane on saturday and shrimp with cranberry short ribs on sunday ...and truly amazing accompaniments every night. Located at 5 India Street. Limited availability, call for reservations 508-228-4016.

TOPPER'S AT THE WAUWINET is pure deliciousness made more wonderful by the elegant atmosphere. The comfortable estate surrounding feels as far away from town as can be, and it is. Well worth the drive to the north-easternmost region of the island, Toppers stands alone as a reminder of an earlier era of fine dining. However "old school" the atmosphere is, the menu is totally "today." Topper's three-course Restaurant Week $45 prix fixe menu makes it difficult to choose from more than five selections within each course. Lobster & crab cakes, beef carpaccio and a special ricotta cavetelli carbonara with quail eggs are just some of the first course items. The second course includes yellow fin tuna à la Japanaise, poached lobster and beef wellington. The five dessert selections went blurry after I saw "vanilla fig créme bruleé" on the menu. Located at 120 Wauwinet Road. Reservations, 508-228-8678.

QUEEQUEG'S is a little bistro with a romantic and comfortable feel. Soft lights and warm colors set the mood with dining available at the bar or at an intimate table. In addition to their regular menu, with what has to be the most sumptuous yellow fin tuna tartare anywhere, Queequeg's has a great menu selected for Restaurant Week. At just $35 for three courses, the choices range from savory soup, mussels, crispy skin salmon with creamy polenta, braised short rib, to meatloaf and finishes with a special pumpkin cheesecake with candied almonds and caramel sauce. Yum! It's no wonder this is one of my favorite places. Located in the heart of downtown at 6 Oak Street. Call for reservations, 508-325-0992.

SPECIAL EVENT:

Bloodies, Brunch and Bartlett's 10am Saturday October 3rd

BARTLETT'S FARM & 888 DISTILLERY team up to spice things up and teach you how to make the best Bloody Mary on the planet at "Bloodies, Brunch and Bartlett's." Come learn how to make your own mix and concoct vodka infusions, while munching on delicious farm-made brunch hors d'oeuvres in the hayloft at Bartlett's Farm. Located on Bartlett Farm Road. It's FREE! No reservation necessary. For more information call 508-228-9403.