Clambulance
Picture this: a warm summer evening, cotton candy clouds, flutes filled with bubbly, waves lapping on the shore. Ah, shucks, something’s missing. You don’t see food. It is an emergency — a raw bar emergency — admittedly the best type of emergency to have. In comes the Clambulance, lights flashing and sirens wailing, bringing fresh seafood to revive your crabby friends. Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t cover shell care. If you don’t want to shell out on a catered raw bar, the Clambulance team now sells emergency raw bar kits, with everything you need to shuck-from-home. The Clambulance pop-up raw bar is available for private events, and can be found at Vineyard Haven’s First Friday celebrations every month. The emergency raw bar kits are being shelled out at the Green Room and Backwater Trading. clambulancemv.com; Instagram: @clambulancemv
Farmers Market
Less is not more at the West Tisbury Farmers Market this summer. There will be more vendors, selling more vegetables, more flowers, and more seafood, but more importantly, in a more inclusive way. The entire market will be accepting Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) state funds that make healthy and local food more accessible for anyone needing financial help. There will also be more fun, with live music and pop-up vendors sprinkled in throughout the summer. wtfmarket.org; Instagram: @westtisburyfarmersmarket
Katie Leaird Pasta
Summertime means colorful plates of fresh fruit and vegetables, and now, pasta. Katie Leaird is combining her Italian cooking school education, which she admits stands no ground next to the time she spent learning from Italian grandmas, with her love of the Island that has drawn her back year after year. Katie is now based on Martha’s Vineyard full-time, where she creates handmade pasta from scratch, using fresh Island eggs and vegetables to create a rainbow of products. Beets, red peppers, and spinach are incorporated into five different doughs to boost the nutrition and aesthetics of the pasta, resulting in a rainbow of options. The palettes of pasta will be available at the Edgartown Village Market this summer. katieleaird.com; Instagram: @katieleairdfood
MV Seafood Collaborative
This summer, the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative is selling fresh and flash-frozen fish (say that five times fast) at the West Tisbury Farmers Market and through their Community Supported Fishery. Buying from and supporting our local fishing fleet, the fish will be quickly vacuum-packed and flash-frozen to preserve flavor and nutrition, offering a fresher than fresh option compared to fish sitting out in refrigerated cases. Choices will include black sea bass, flounder, scallops, scup, blue fish, striped bass, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna, and will be labeled with the vessel it was caught on. Summer and fall Community Supported Fishery memberships are available and include two to three monthly pickups of local seafood. vineyardseafood.org; Instagram: @vineyardseafood
Pearl’s Plateau
Words you think of when you think about Martha’s Vineyard: beach, shark, pearl. Plateau? Probably not, at least not yet. This summer, Pearl’s Plateau is grilling up local seafood behind The Cove in Vineyard Haven. With music, games, and a raw bar, the only thing missing is a sunset view. Instead, diners can watch their food be grilled and shucked right in front of them, fresh as could be. Pearl’s Plateau is going to be the backyard party you wish you had been invited to, and now you are. Instagram: @pearlsplateau
Attic at Waterside
Martha’s Vineyard has had a long and hushed history with alcohol sales, dating back to Prohibition times. In the Roaring Twenties, Aquinnah reportedly housed rumrunners who hid their bounty under the sands of Nomans Land. One hundred years later, alcohol sales are still banned in some Vineyard towns, but 2023 marks the first summer that alcohol can be sold without food in Vineyard Haven. The new prohibition-era restaurant The Attic, housing the largest bourbon collection on-Island, is now making its timely introduction to Vineyard Haven. Inside, photographs and history lessons about local rum runners, rum chasers, and the boats that battled for bourbon dot the walls. A creative tavern style menu paired with extensive cocktail options will take you on a delicious and devious trip back in time. Instagram: @theatticwaterside
Aalia’s Coffee
Aaila’s in Oak Bluffs is splitting up. But don’t worry, in this case, two is better than one. Aaila’s AM will continue to serve coffee and morning meals, but when the lights go down, Aaila’s PM will turn into a tapas restaurant. Dinner options will include small Mediterranean-style plates accompanied by natural wines, beers, and music. aaliascoffee.com; Instagram: @aaliaspm
North Tabor Farm
The farm stands on Martha’s Vineyard are special spots that embody the truest sense of farm-to-table, or more often, farm-to-post beach snack in the car ride home. This summer, North Tabor Farm is taking one step closer to your table with their new commercial kitchen. The farm’s fresh produce will be whipped up into salads, bowls, sandwiches, and other goodies, then sold at the farm stand and the farmers market. The prepared food options will change with the growing season, and include the farm’s new unique crops such as tomatillos, husk cherry tomatoes, heirloom cucumbers, and squash. northtaborfarm.com; Instagram: @northtaborfarm
Edgartown Village Market
Among the beauty of downtown Edgartown, between blue hydrangeas and white columns, there is little space for parking, a bittersweet reality we all know too well. This summer, the new Edgartown Village Market is fighting back — providing a walkable location for Edgartown residents, and bikeable for the rest of the Island, to stock up on local goods. On Tuesdays, between 9 am and 2 pm, the lower lawn at the Dr. Daniel Fisher House will fill with 20 stalls selling locally grown produce, food, and flowers, and Island-made arts and crafts. You will be able to fill your basket with everything from picnic provisions to artisanal souvenirs. Just remember, you will have to carry it all home, unless you are one of the lucky few who found a nearby parking spot. edgartownvillagemarket.com; Instagram: @edgartownvillagemarket
La Strada
Vineyard Haven’s Salvatore’s Restaurant team will open another year-round spot coming soon to Main Street called La Strada. The smaller space will focus on delivering the same authentic Italian dishes, but in a takeaway style for quick lunch and dinner pick up. They will also sell Italian groceries such as olives, wines, cheeses, sliced meats, and high-quality coffee. salvatoresristorante.com
Home Port
After over almost a century of serving sunset snacks, Home Port is making steps to modernize while maintaining their beloved traditions. Functionally, there is new decking, furniture, and bathrooms that smell like they belong in a fancy restaurant. The raw bar has been replaced with a zero-proof alcohol bar serving mocktails that can be enjoyed alone or topped off with your own alcohol. The kitchen will continue to serve traditional seafood and local favorites from the front and back doors. Out front, an elevated menu will include three courses of creative combinations. This summer the back door will also be reopening, serving takeaway meals and picnics that pair perfectly with Menemsha’s sunsets. thehomeportmv.com; Instagram: @thehomeportmv
Midnight Taco
Oak Bluffs is getting a new late night snack spot, for those who prefer a savory option over ice cream and donuts after dark. Midnight Taco, a takeout spot with a rotating coastal Mexican inspired menu will be satiating those without a sweet tooth from 11:30 am to 1 am seven days a week. Instagram: @midnighttacomv
S&S Kitchenette pop-ups
The soundtrack of dirty bananas and fried oysters can be an appealing option to play on repeat all summer long, but S&S Kitchenette is shaking things up with different themed dinners, cooking classes, guest chefs, and karaoke nights throughout the season. sskitchenette.com; Instagram: @sskitchenettemv
Cottage City at Beach Road
Beach Road restaurant is located on the edge of the lagoon in Vineyard Haven. The water views are often dotted with silhouettes raking in littlenecks to shuck and serve in true pond-to-table style. This summer, the restaurant has a new raw bar, operated by Cottage City Oysters, that will serve fresh and local littlenecks and oysters, harvested only hours before shuck-time. You can sit at the raw bar for a slippery snack or add the goodies to a seated restaurant meal. cottagecityoysters.com; Instagram: @cottagecityoysters; Beachroadmv.com; Instagram: @beachroadmv
