Lookout Tavern in Oak Bluffs

What was that I was saying about kitschy signs? No problem here, the parking was difficult, the restaurant was packed and we nabbed the last whole lobster in the place. This was the New England seafood we were after and the atmosphere was mom and pop perfection with a bit of blue collar thrown in for a rough around the edges feel. It really was a tavern.

Finding clam chowder on every menu in the state did not deter us from ordering this creamy rendition at the Lookout. It was simple with few items tossed in other than clams, cream and onion. A shake or two of paprika was not even necessary because the flavor was clean and strong with clams and needed nothing more, but the paprika did perk up the color and perhaps that's all it was intended to do.

Not wanting to pout or fight over the last boiled lobster, I ordered a lobster roll and ended up with more lobster than could be comfortably held by the "white bread bun" so common in Massachusetts. The abundance of lobster meat was eaten with a fork until the bun held just the right amount of lobster and mayonnaise for a bite, with lobster and bread in perfect proportion. The chips and pickle were an afterthought and seemed unnecessary as they really could not add taste of the lobster roll, but what could?

"Last one out of the water is...." an amazing seafood dinner. As we walked to our table we over heard another patron ask and then debate about ordering the boiled dinner. Since her waitress was telling her there was only one left, we ordered then and there without a menu. Her indecision was our good fortune.

8 Seaview Ave

Oak Bluffs MA 02568
Phone: (508) 696-9844

Zephrus

Zephrus was a nice find on Martha's Vineyard, more sophisticated than most restaurants in a tourist area and open all year for the locals, who indeed like to eat well. The cookware shop in Vineyard Haven was enviable by any standard, and services the local population, who go into semi retirement when the tourists leave in early Fall. Seems they like to cook in their collective spare time. I can relate to that. The decor is kitchy modern, with small hand carved and painted fish hanging about from the ceiling.

I enjoyed the the way they served their bread in a paper cone even more than I enjoyed the bread. The clam chowder was creamy and tasty, but thin with few chunks, if any, so I felt obligated to add the oyster crackers just for the visual impact of the photo. I like oyster crackers, so it was not just for show, but texture too.

Pasta with mussels was a nice light dish, again with a thin but tasty sauce that I enjoyed. I did feel that more pasta would have been a good idea for this dish, since it was a main course.

The best selection of the evening had to be the crab cakes, which were more balls than cakes. They were crispy on the outside, delectable on the inside and most importantly, there were not a lot of "filler" ingredients. The crab was the star of this preparation and there were 4 "cakes" on the plate, with a generous serving of a mixed green salad. I admit that the dessert of Apple Crumble a La Mode had me swooning at the first bite and groaning at the last. That portion was just too generous and filled the soup size bowl to the brim.

9 Main St
Vineyard Haven
MA 02568
(508)-693-3416