Friday, October 13

Martha's Vineyard, Day 2 Part 2 - Saturday, October 7

Dinner

Good afternoon, intrepid followers! As promised, I am posting about Saturday night's dinner at Martha's Vineyard Chowder Company. It is worthy of its own post. (And I want to keep the timeline correct; my OCD-ishness showing :) .)

As mentioned yesterday, Brother made reservations ahead of time and also reserved a taxi (unbeknownst to me until we were well into the drive down to the Cape)! I introduced him to the restaurant last year as his favorite food is - clam chowder. The Chowder Company has won awards year after year for their clam chowder, and last year he was in seventh heaven after having a bowl.

Martha's Vineyard Chowder Company

Does it need explanation? :)

We arrived a bit before the reservation, and sat in the bar area. I decided I wanted wine that evening, and our outstanding bartender, Alex, did not steer me wrong with his recommendation of an Argentinian Malbec. Smooth as silk!

We were seated shortly after, and I was very happy to be next to the fireplace! The days are beautiful and warm, but October's nights have a bit of a chill.

Fireplace

Brother started his meal with - of course! - the clam chowder. I swear it was almost thick enough to stand a spoon! I do not care for clam chowder, but he raved about it all year after our 2016 visit (and all weekend this year!). He worked in food service most of his life in a managerial position, has picky taste in food when dining out, so that says a lot.

I did not order an appetizer; I knew the dinner portion would be large from last year's experience. I had my heart set on scallops that night. They did not disappoint! Four large scallops, cooked to absolute perfection, with a few large shrimp served on top of mashed potatoes and wilted spinach. I could not resist taking a picture!

So wonderful!

It is so easy to overcook scallops - even 30 seconds renders them a bit rubbery. These had a wonderful bit of sear on the outside. Absolutely. Perfect.!! Brother ordered a filet mignon, which was also excellent. He shared and gave me a slice - I did not even need a steak knife to cut it; that is how tender it was.

Our wonderful waitress, Marina, was very attentive all evening. Here are a few pictures of our bartender and waitress with my brother.

Alex and Brother

Marina and Brother

I believe we closed the place down - we were the last customers to leave. The owner, John, even came out and he and Brother spoke for awhile. Here is a pretty good picture of the 2 of them, considering I had polished off about half the bottle of wine by that time!

UNfortunately - I neglected to ask John that evening if it was OK for me to use his picture on my blog. I was finally able to get in touch with him today to ask, and wouldn't ya know - he remembered us! He said it was OK. (I will not put someone's photo on my blog without their permission, and especially the owner of such a highly rated restaurant!) Brother, when you get around to reading this, he said to thank you again for buying him the cup of coffee :)

John and Brother

I will post one more blog this afternoon with Sunday's adventures. You get a "two-fer" today!