•Wine Cellar: King Cab Published by The Inquirer and Mirror
Thursday, July 16
Nantucket By Design
Final day, various Nantucket Historical Association locations around town. The NHA hosts its annual four-day celebration of art, design and history that brings together world-renowned designers, artisans and skilled craftspeople for panels, keynotes, master classes, social events and more. Tickets and more information at www.nha.org
Sunrise Yoga
7:30 a.m. daily, Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. Bettina Broer leads this early-morning yoga session. Bring your own mat.
Pick Your Own Vegetables
8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Journey on the Bartlett’s Farm hay wagon into the heart of its produce fields, with plenty of time to fill your own bag.
Feeding Frenzy at the Aquarium
9 a.m. Monday-Saturday, Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. Join MMA aquarists and staff as they feed the creatures at the aquarium and learn about their feeding behaviors. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Island Calendar
Ravenous Reptiles
9 a.m. Monday-Saturday, Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Join MMA staff as they feed the hungry animals at the museum and learn about the adaptations of turtles, frogs, snakes and more. $20. Registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Marine Storytime
9:15 a.m. Monday-Saturday, Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. An MMA educator will read a marine- or science-themed book, introduce one of the MMA’s animal friends and finish with an activity related to the book. $15 per child, chaperones free. Registration recommended on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Dance Party in the Garden
9:45 a.m. Atheneum garden, 1 India St. Cory Morgan leads an energetic, joy-filled dance time with songs, silly dance moves and challenges like Freeze Dance and the Cha-Cha Slide. Weather permitting. Bringa blanket.
THURSDAY, PAGE 11
Courtesy of Blue Violin
Blue Violin, which transforms rock classics into cinematic soundscapes using live looping and intricate arrangements, brings “Thunderstruck” to the Congregational Church Friday. See listing, page 20, for details.
Le Languedoc: 50 years of timeless elegance
By Francesca Giangiulio fgiangiulio@inkym.com
Le Languedoc is a magical place.
I wrote a similar sentiment last year when I reviewed the restaurant’s famous burger, but it’s something I’ve always believed to be true since the first time I walked through those doors and down those steps as a teenager.
Some restaurants feed you, others leave an impression. Le Languedoc has always done both.
You feel warm when you walk through the door, like the heat from a fire, even when the fireplace isn’t lit.
Everything seems to take on an amber hue, like candlelight. The edges of your vision soften, like you’re watching an old movie. Shoes clack across the wooden floors and conversations bounce jovially between the bar and the blue-checked bistro tables. It feels almost impressionist, like we’re all unknowingly sitting for a Van Gogh painting.
The feeling hasn’t changed much in 50 years.
This summer marks the 50th anniversary of Alan and Ann Cunha and brothers Neal and Ed Grennan purchasing Le Languedoc from founders Leon and Rose Marty.
In an industry where restaurants often
Let’s Eat!
struggle to survive five years – let alone 50 – the milestone feels almost impossible. All four owners are now in their 70s and 80s, with Ed approaching 90, and they’re still in the restaurant every day. They’re not slowing down, and they aren’t interested in selling.
“We’ve had many offers to sell, many people try to purchase, but we’re not ready,” Alan Cunha said. “We are defined in what we want to do now. “We don’t see it as a burden, so we plan on being around for a little while anyway.”
So what keeps a restaurant alive (with the original owners) for half a century? Starting young helps. Alan was just 24 when the team bought Le Languedoc. But, the trick, he said, is don’t fall victim to passing trends, food-wise or design-wise. But also, don’t be scared to evolve.
“To survive this number of years, you have to really develop a sense of self,” Cunha said. “You have to always be in flux and change, but not to a degree that is too dramatic. You want people to know it’s dependable, but they also want to try something new.”
EAT, PAGE 40
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
The steak frites is one of Le Languedoc’s odes to classic bistro fare done perfectly.
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
The cheese soufflé is airy and impossibly light, beneath a crispy shell.
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
The Small Town Girl Sundae is dessert perfection: vanilla ice cream, rich chocolate fudge hidden beneath every scoop, ribbons of caramel, salty toffee crunch, whipped cream and dark, glossy maraschino cherries.
Outwash plain: Maddequecham Valley after the rain
By Neil Foley I&M Columnist
With the drought we have had, I cannot complain about rain.
The four inches of rain in 24 hours last week, however, was a lot to handle. In those conditions, the parched topsoil gives way to torrential downpours, causing washouts and advanced erosion around the island.
With that much rain in an abbreviated period of time, it has nowhere to go quickly. Instead, it collects at the surface in puddles and pools.
Since we have had such a dry year so far, I felt like I needed to see how the deluge has affected another landscape shaped by water over longer periods of time. Another journey to the outwash plains.
I turn off Milestone Road down the often-missed Russell’s Way and through a tunnel of planted pitch pines. The corridor opens into a firebreak, a physically mowed habitat where removal of woody fuel helps to prevent wildfires from breaking out and consuming the moors.
As I look into the clearing, I can see the
shallow ‘V’ of an ancient riverbed called Maddequecham Valley. These gouges were created as the glacier that formed Nantucket began to melt and decay, releasing fresh water which moved southward toward the edge of the continental shelf.
The meltwater deposited sandy soils along the south shore and forever carved the north-south oriented grooves in the outwash plain.
Common green darners, a large species of dragonfly, hover above the truck as I traverse the straight path to the south shore.
Smaller flying insects flushed by my vehicle become prey to these deft and agile hunters. Dragonflies have one of the highest capture rates of any predator in the animal kingdom, where they are successful on about 95 percent of their hunting attempts.
I follow the road parallel to Maddequecham Valley to the reedy wetland that was Maddequecham Pond.
Patches of Lowbush blueberry alongside
Photo by Neil Foley
Native Carolina rose bushes in bloom fuel pollinators with fragrant nectar.
Photo by Neil Foley
Lowbush blueberry ripening in the outwash plain.
Walk with Neil
Women+Wellness
Join Us: Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s annual lecture series, featuring two renowned Harvard experts sharing the latest research on healthy aging, nutrition, intermittent fasting, cancer prevention, and women’s health.
Date: Monday, July 20, 2026
Doors Open: 4:30 p.m.
Program: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m
Reception: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Great Harbor Yacht Club
Tickets: Thanks to our generous sponsors, tickets are free but reservations are required. For tickets and more information, visit nantuckethospital.org/womenandwellness
Heather Eliassen, ScD
Courtney Peterson, PhD, MSc, MS, MA
Presenting Sponsor
Photo by Neil Foley
The straight drive down Maddequecham Valley toward the island’s south shore.
King Cab: A title earned, not inherited
By Peter McEachern I&M Columnist
For close to 30 years – at every date-night dinner, in every restaurant from Nantucket to Napa to the back streets of Florence – Stacey has asked me the same two questions, in the same order, without variation or apology.
The first is, “Tell me how much you love me.”
The second, delivered immediately after, while scanning the wine list with the focused intensity of someone who already knows what she wants, is, “What is the most in-depth, hearty red on this list?”
I have answered both questions the same way for a quarter of a century. The answer is Cabernet Sauvignon. Always Cabernet Sauvignon.
She looks up from the list, nods, and says, “That’s the right answer,” and it is never entirely clear which question she is referring to.
After 30 years, I have decided she means both. Stacey’s instinct is correct on every level.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most complex, hearty red on any list it appears on, not because it is the loudest, the most alcoholic or the most expensive, though it is frequently all three, but because it is the most complete.
It has the tannin to stand up to serious food, the acidity to keep it lively over a long meal, the dark fruit to satisfy anyone who came to dinner with a genuine appetite and the structural complexity to reward anyone willing to pay attention.
In its finest expressions, it can sit in your cellar for 20 years and emerge so transformed and so profound that you feel slightly embarrassed for having opened anything else in the interim.
No other grape does all of these things at once. No other grape has spent three centuries proving it.
Photo by Charles Wollertz
A colorful autumn vineyard in Calistoga, Calif. with the sun breaking through the fog in the background.
Courtesy of Peter McEachern
A Cabernet Sauvignon grape cluster in a Napa Valley vineyard.
Wine Cellar: The Noble Grapes
Courtesy of Peter McEachern
The green fields of Maremma in Tuscany at sunrise.
“The Alchemist” a spiritual journey to the subconscious
By James Estrada Flores
Contributing Writer
This might be my favorite book of all time. I was in a very unstable, transitional phase of uncertainty and personal trouble in my life when I first picked it up, and it could not have found me at a better moment.
Within “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho, I was able to go on a journey I would have never been able to go on in my own life. It took me to Spain, the Sahara and the pyramids of Giza, where I was met with a multitude of characters, people who uncannily reflected the real humans present in my life at the time.
The concepts presented in this story gave names to the subconscious ways of thinking I adopted on my own growing up, such as “the language of the world,” where if you listen closely and allow your environment to guide you with its own messages, it will, and it will be overwhelmingly clear in doing so.
This novel reminded me of just how powerful reading the right book can be, because after finishing it, I felt like I was reminded of who I really was after a long time of not being 100 percent certain. I had been brought back to myself.
Growing up on Nantucket there are many walks of life to be observed. Some are born into astronomically wealthy families with their whole lives set out in front of them, others are the first of the generation to make their families wealthy out of the dirt and ashes, all with their own self-appointed purpose and hard work.
A good amount of the population will spend most of their lives just barely floating, surviving while trying to balance the living aspect and slowly pushing forward to achieve their own dreams.
That was me. For a long time, I had no idea what to do with my own life. Growing up, I just wanted to have fun while I was here. I didn’t want to work until I died and I didn’t want to be a part of something where I had to pretend just to maintain.
There was a time I genuinely didn’t think I would make it past the age of 21. I’m glad I no longer think that way, and a big part of the reason was having found this book.
Around the age of 17 I discovered a song called “Growing Up” by American rapper Macklemore, where he speaks to his future
Paulo Coehlo
Good Reads
son or daughter about what to do to achieve a life well lived, and in one of those lines he recommends they read “The Alchemist.”
I half-seriously took that recommendation and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Every lesson I forgot I learned in life was reawakened in every single chapter of this book: love lost, love found, rejection, acceptance, unexpected hardship, divine luck, problems and perseverance, understanding and confronting destiny and so much more.
Doing what you can with what you have was something that resonated with me a lot, because throughout the whole story, the main character is able to do so much with so little.
All we really have in life is time, dreams and our own free will. Wherever and whenever we realize our own destiny or purpose is the moment we decide to become people for ourselves instead of fading into a background character inside the bigger picture of life.
The truth sets us free to do anything and everything and the obstacles we face reinforce that truth with the lessons required to keep moving forward.
Since reading this book back in 2018, I’ve tried to listen to the world when I feel it is
desperately telling me something I’ve forgotten how to hear.
Overall, just like life, this book is a spiritual trip that must be experienced with an open mind, heart and soul. I recommend “The Alchemist” to anyone looking for both guidance in life or a sign from the universe. I didn’t want to give any of the plot away
in this review because going into this story not knowing anything is the best possible way I can think of for someone experiencing it their first time.
This is a book I will keep recommending until my last breath and I forever hope that more people my age and those both younger or older will pick it up for themselves.
Island Calendar
The tall ship Lynx, a replica War of 1812 privateer, returns to its summer home in Nantucket Harbor this week. The Egan Maritime Institute is hosting a sail and photography talk Tuesday. See listing, page 22, for details.
(Thursday, continued from page 3)
Tree Tour
10 a.m. Nantucket Land & Water Council, 6 Ash Lane. Nantucket waterkeeper RJ Turcotte leads a tour of downtown trees and discusses how the island’s trees have been preserved over the decades. Tickets at www. nantucketlandwater.org
Hands-on History
10:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Nantucket Whaling Museum Discovery Room, 13 Broad St. Hands-on family programming connecting the Nantucket Historical Association’s 2026 exhibition “The Wider World and Scrimshaw” with a craft for participants to make and take home. Register on calendar page of www.nha.org
Book-signing:
Julie Gerstenblatt
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner 54 Main St. Author Julie Gerstenblatt will sign copies of her book, “The Stargazer of Nantucket.”
Family Connections Tour
10:30 a.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Museum guides bring the NHA’s 2026 exhibit, “The Wider World and Scrimshaw,” to life with visual and tactile elements. Concludes with a take-home craft activity. Free with museum admission. Register on calendar page of www.nha.org
Walking Tour
10:45 a.m. Monday-Saturday, Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. The Nantucket Historical Association’s downtown walking tour transports visitors on a journey through Nantucket’s past and tells the story of the rise and the fall of the whaling industry, the rise of tourism and the impacts the island’s economy had on social and racial development on Nantucket. Reserve tickets at www.nha.org
Mini Movers
11 a.m. Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Young children and their caregivers are invited to wiggle, dance and explore the animal kingdom through movement, music and hands-on discovery. $15. Additional session Saturday. Registration recommended on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org. Additional session Tuesday.
Author Talk: Reyna Grande
2 p.m. online at www.nantucketatheneum.org. Bestselling author Reyna Grande discusses her ambitious new memoir “Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget.” Register on calendar page of www. nantucketatheneum.org
MONDAYS WITH MAGIC MARK Mon | 10:00 - 10:45 AM | 6.29 - 8.31
MUSIC AND MOVEMENT WITH COOL CORY Fridays | 10:00 - 10:30 AM | 7.10 - 8.21
CAPOEIRA ON THE BANDSTAND WITH WERDUM Sat | 9:00 - 10:30 AM | 6.13 - 10.03
SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Sundays | 6:00 - 7:15 PM | 6.21 - 9.6
File photo
Island Calendar
The 15th Nantucket Triathlon will be held Saturday morning, starting and ending at Jetties Beach. There are plenty of spectating opportunities around
Road. Charleston, S.C.-based indie rock and Americana band Tounds will perform.
Sustainability and Creativity Talk
Thursday Night Fete
Kids Metal Detecting 101
2 p.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 2 p.m. Metal detectorist Nikoline Bohr leads this hands-on adventure just for kids. Learn the basics of metal detecting while searching for treasure on the beach. $30. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org. Additional session Tuesday.
Read to a Buddy
2 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Children 6-12 are invited to bring a book from home or choose one from the library and read to a READ (Reading Education Assistance Dog) therapy dog. Registration required by calling (508) 228-1110, ext. 103.
Live Music: Tounds
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm
Art Reception: AAN
5 p.m. Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery, 8 Federal St. The Artists Association of Nantucket will host a public reception for its Brilliant Days, Luminous Nights exhibition, on display through July 21.
Evening Art
5 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Artist Nikoline Bohr instructs participants on how to create a personal work of art inspired by Nantucket’s iconic lighthouses and resident animal ambassadors in the museum’s collection. Intended for adults. $45. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
5 p.m. Hostetler Gallery, 42 Centre St. Architect Whitely Saruth will discuss her practice, grounded in empowered international design, salvaged or reused materials and creative storytelling.
A Safe Place Summer Soiree
5:30 p.m. Great Harbor Yacht Club, 96 Washington St. Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, auctions and more to benefit A Safe Place, the island’s sexual assault and domestic violence prevention and advocacy organization. For tickets or more information, visit www. asafeplace.org
Artisan Market
6 p.m. Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts, 23 Wauwinet Road. NISDA hosts a market featuring island artists and artisans during its Thursday night fete.
6-8 p.m. Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts, 23 Wauwinet Road. NISDA hosts an evening of food trucks, island tunes, open mic and a chance to make a ceramic bowl to contribute to the Nantucket Food, Fuel and Rental Assistance No More Empty Bowls fall fundraiser. All are welcome.
Special Screening: “The Five Star Weekend”
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland will screen the first episode of “The Five Star Weekend,” followed by an on-stage conversation between author Elin Hilderbrand and Tim Ehrenberg. A separately-ticketed post-event wine reception will follow. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
File photo
Brant Point.
(Thursday, continued from page 11)
Island Calendar
“Escape to Margaritaville”
7 p.m. Bennett Hall, 62 Centre St. Theatre Workshop of Nantucket presents the musical review “Escape to Margaritaville,” an homage to the original Parrothead himself, Jimmy Buffett. Visit www.theatrenantucket.org for additional dates, times and tickets.
Sip and Stitch
6 p.m. Erica Wilson, 25 Main St. An evening of creativity, conversation and community. All are welcome, whether you’re a seasoned embroiderer or threading your first needle. Free.
“Men on Boats”
7:30 p.m. Nantucket Performing Arts Center, 5 North Water St. NPAC presents “Men on Boats,” part true adventure, part outrageous comedy. Visit www.nantucketperformingarts.org for tickets, additional dates and times. Through July 29.
Owl Prowl
8 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 4 Vestal St. MMA field ornithologist and I&M columnist Ginger Andrews leads this search for owls and other nocturnal animals and birds. Intended for adults and children 8 and up. $30. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Nighttime Marine Ecology Field Trip
8:30 p.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. The aquarium staff discusses the fish, squid, crabs and other creatures that come out to feed at night in the shallow waters of Nantucket Harbor. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
DJ Pete
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket’s own master of the turntables, DJ Pete Ahern, takes the stage. 21 and over.
Live Music: Overserved Again
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. New England country band Overserved Again will perform. 21 and over. Additional shows Friday and Saturday.
Live Music: Local Notes
10 p.m. Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket’s homegrown rock band Local Notes will perform. 21 and over.
Friday, July 17
The Nantucket Show
Through Monday, Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 30 Bartlett Farm Road. The Nantucket Show presents a carefully curated selection of antiques dealers from across the United States and abroad exhibiting a diverse range of antiques jewelry, contemporary and traditional fine art and decorative objects. Visit www.thenantucketshow. com for specific times, events and a list of vendors.
Marine Ecology Field Trip
8:30 a.m. Hither Creek, Madaket, near 25 Massachusetts Ave. Adults and children 8 and older are invited to help Maria Mitchell Association staff collect, identify and release fish, crabs, shrimp and other marine creatures with a seine net. Additional sessions Monday and Wednesday. Tickets, $35, on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Nature Walk: Clark’s Cove and Hummock Pond
8:30 a.m. Starting location provided upon registration. Explore the outwash plain ponds and south shore beach of Clark’s Cove with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org
FRIDAY, PAGE 20
Celebrity Makeup Artist, Esthetician, & creator of her own skincare line, Christina is bringing all her talents together with her amazing knowledge of skin care to Nantucket, MA.
Come experience one of her sensational treatments!!
White Elephant Spa by Darya 50 Easton St (508)638-3440
Wilbert Barber Shop 15 Amelia Dr (508)208-7477
Shopping Clothing: Alice Walk
18b Federal St (508)680-2423
Annie & the Tees 19 S Water St (508)228-5505
ASHA Nantucket 18 Federal St (508)221.6180
Assemble 18 Federal St (508)680-1845
Atlantic Nantucket 4 India St (508)228-7776
Beau & Ro Nantucket 4 Federal St (508)901-5792
Download the app for the island’s most complete calendar of events, restaurants, business listings, and things to do.
Breezin Up 48 Main St (508)325-4622
Cartolina 22 Centre Street (508)228-4900
Cattivo Nantucket 20 Centre St (508)680-1215
Centre Pointe 22 Centre St (508)228-4900
Charleston Shoe Co. 4 S Water St (508)901-9134
Clorinda Antinori 58 Main St (508)825-5321
Commonwealth 16 Federal St (508)901-9222
D Dream & Poeta 26 Center St (508)742-8328
Dair y Boy 14 Federal St (508)901-2159
David Chase Inc 56 Main St (508)325-8678
DAWN 2 Harbor Sq (508)901-5406
DÔEN 32 Main St (877)756-7353
Ellsworth + Ivey 34 Main St (774)333-3661
Erica Wilson Inc 25 Main St (508)228-9881
Erin Hielle Nantucket 0 Main St (508)901-5561
Faherty Nantucket 0 Candle St (774)325-5161
For Now 48 Centre St
Four Winds Gifts 8 Straight Wharf (508)228-1597
Grace Geier 16 Straight Wharf #1 (603)667-5862
Gypsy 20 Federal St (508)228-4404
Hepburn 3 Salem St (508)228-1458
Hill House Home 33 Main St
Hospital Thrift Shop 17 India Street (508)228-1125
Inkerman Nantucket 13 Centre St (508)825-5865
Island Treasures Retail Store 128 Old South Rd (508)228-0789
J.McLaughlin 1 Salem St (508)325-6351
Julia Amory 28B Easy St (774)325-5490
Ladybird Lingerie 7 Centre St (508)228-6093
Legit 12 Old South Wharf Levitate Surf Shack 39 Straight Wharf
Lilly Pulitzer 5 S Water St (508)228-0569
Long Wharf Supply Co. 31 Centre St
Marissa Collections 25 Centre St (774)325-5193
Milly & Grace 2 Washington St (508)901-5051
Monelle 32 Centre St (508)680-1316
Murray’s Toggery Shop 62 Main St (508)228-0437
Nalu 14 Cambridge St (508)325-6110
Nantucket Beach Chair Company 24 Macys Ln (508)325-7793
Nantucket Clothing Company 6 S Water St (508)228-3356
Nantucket Peddler 37 Straight Wharf (508)325-5654
Nantucket Surf Club 21 S Water St (508)325-2792
Peachtree Kids & Monogram Shop 19 Main St (508)228-8555
Peter England Nantucket 3 Old South Wharf (508)241-8301
Polo Ralph Lauren 16 Main St (508)228-9451
REMY
2 Old South Wharf (617)840-5898
Res Ipsa 3 India St (508)955-2288
Respoke 41 Straight Wharf (508)413-3221
Sal Amore 8 Washington St
Sara Campbell 5 S Beach St (508)680-1626
Seconds Shop 32 Sparks Ave (508)228-6677
Serenella 9 S Beach St (508)228-3400
Southern Tide Nantucket 34 Main St (774)325-5171
Stephanie’s Nantucket 42 Main St (508)228-0624
Your Destination for all things Nantucket
Steplane 29 Centre St (617)455-2318
Summer Shades 16 Straight Wharf (508)325-5530
Sunken Ship 12 Broad St (508)228-9226
The Black Dog Nantucket 40 Straight Wharf (508)325-5411
The Dress Code 9 Centre St (508)680-1716
The General Store by Roller Rabbit 44 Centre St (917)692-0316
The Rainbow Fleet 167 Orange St (508)680-1159
The Shop by WHEAT Nantucket 5 S Water St (774)382-6787
The Skinny Dip: A Summer Collective 23 Old South Wharf (508)901-5870
Townpool 53 Main St
Trish Wescoat Pound 33 Main St (774)317-5790
Tuckernuck 23 Centre St
University of Nantucket 14 S Water St (508)228-4795
Valentina Kova 44 Main St (508)257-2006
Veronica Beard Nantucket 11 S Water St (508)556-9936
Vineyard Vines 2 Straight Wharf (508)325-9600
Farm & Market
Bartlett’s Farm 33 Bartlett Farm Rd (508)228-9403
Moors End Farm 40 Polpis Rd (508)228-2674
Pumpkin Pond Farm 25 Millbrook Rd (508)221-2254
Sconset Market 4 Main Street, Siasconset (508)257-9915
Sustainable Nantucket 14 Federal St (508)228-3399
Nantucket Meat & Fish Market 21 Old South Rd (774)333-5176
167 Raw Nantucket 167 Hummock Pond Rd (508)228-2871
Pip & Anchor 14 Amelia Dr (508)413-9940
Jewelry
Anna P. Jay 5 Washington St (508)680-3518
Barbara Harris Water Jewels 14 Centre St (508)228-0825
Blue Beetle 12 Main St (508)228-3227
Craftmasters of Nantucket 7 India St (508)228-0322
Har t 25B Washington St (854)333-7670
Icarus + C° 19 Old South Wharf
Jessica Hicks 2 Union St
Jewel in the Sea 6 Straight Wharf (508)228-2448
Jewelers’ Gallery 21 Centre St (508)228-0229
Joy West Collection 14 South Water St
Lemon & Line 43 Straight Wharf
Melissa Dudley Designs 10 Main St, Sconset (508)221-9521
Nantucket Estate Jewelry 1 Orange Street (508)280-1958
Pageo Jewelers - Nantucket 46 Main Street (508)343-8628
R Simantov 1 Old North Wharf (917)324-4410
Seaman Schepps 47 Main St (508)325-5806
Susan Lister Locke Jeweler 28 Easy Street (508)221-0531
The Love Shack by LOLA 10 Old South Wharf (774)325-5982
The Vault Nantucket 33 Centre Street (508)825-6764
Trinity / E. Townsend Watch Collection 50 Main St (508)220-7557
your
with a logo or website. Call 508-228-0001or email msharpe@inkym.com asforza@inkym.com
Download the app for the island’s most complete calendar of events, restaurants, business listings, and things to do.
Island Calendar
Community Sailing will host the Coffin Cup youth regatta Friday in Polpis Harbor.
Friday, continued from page 13
Pick Your Own Flowers
8:30 a .m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Spend a picturesque morning in the farm’s organic flower fields. The Bartlett’s team provides the clippers and guidance to help you create the perfect bouquet. Rain or shine.
Garden Pop-up: A Safe Place
9 a.m. Atheneum Garden, 1 India St. Advocates and staff from A Safe Place, the island’s sexual assault and domestic violence awareness and prevention organization will answer questions and provide information about the organization’s mission, objectives and accomplishments.
Kids Bird Watching
9 a.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32
Washington St. Children 7 and up are invited to learn how to observe, listen for and identify the birds of Nantucket’s coastal ecosystem. $25. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Bike and Scooter Safety Day
9:30 a.m. Sconset Casino, 10 New St. The Sconset Trust hosts its annual east end bike and scooter safety day for kids.
Coffin
Cup
10 a.m. Polpis Harbor. Nantucket Community Sailing hosts its annual Coffin Cup regatta open to youth sailors in the morning session of its Polpis program. Spectating opportunities available. Visit www.nantucketcommunitysailing.org for more information.
Guided Nature Walk
10 a .m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. LLNF director of
research and conservation Sarah Bois leads a guided tour of the foundation’s property with a special focus on where the wild things are. Free, but registration required on calendar page of www.llnf.org
Morning Mah
Jong
10 a.m. 33 Washington St. Join the Nantucket Mah Jong Club and the Maria Mitchell Association for beginner group lessons and open play. All levels welcome. Tiles and cards provided. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Dharma Yoga
10:15 a.m., Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Joanne Burnham of Dharma Yoga leads this session to strengthen and lengthen, enliven and invigorate, soothe and calm. Visit www.dharmayoganantucket.com to register or for additional dates and times.
Bug Bonanza
11 a.m. Mill Hill Park, off Prospect Street. Maria Mitchell Association staff lead this exploration of the insects and small creatures that live in the grasses, flowers and trees of Nantucket. Intended for children 4 and up and adults. $20. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org. Additional sessions Monday and Wednesday.
Dreamland Kids Weekly Showcase
11 a.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Young performers in the Dreamland’s Stage Explorers showcase what they’ve learned through theater, language and etiquette, followed by an interactive tea service and singalong. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Midday Mah Jong
2 p.m. 33 Washington St. The Nantucket Mah Jong Club and Maria Mitchell Associa-
File photo
Nantucket
tion host a midday session of mah jong group play. All skill levels welcome. Tiles and cards provided. Register on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org
Wines & Rinds
3:30-5 p.m. Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. A relaxed, guided pairing of the farms favorite wines and cheeses.
Live Music: Tales of Joy
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Connecticut-based roots reggae and soul band Tales of Joy will perform. Second show 4 p.m. Saturday.
Backgammon Open Play
5 p.m. 33 Washington St. Nantucket Backgammon and the Maria Mitchell Association host a casual evening of open backgammon play. All levels welcome. Boards provided but bring your own if you prefer. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
DreamBIG 2026
5:30 p.m. Sconset Casino, 10 New St., Sconset. The Dreamland Theater hosts its annual signature fundraiser, DreamBIG “Nantucket Royale,” featuring an evening of gaming, glamour and gratitude. Tickets, $1,250, available at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Island Calendar
Art Opening
6 p.m. The Gallery at Four India Street, 4 India St. The gallery will host an opening reception for its exhibition of works by Tom Meyer, Kevin Paulsen and Geddes Jones Paulsen, on display through July 31.
Teen Game Night
6 p.m. Nantucket Atheneum, 1 India St. Teens and tweens are invited to play a selection of Nintendo Switch games like Just Dance, Mario Party and more. The games will rotate and are first-come, first-served.
LGBTQ+ Group
6:30 p.m. Atheneum first floor, 1 India St. An unstructured, supportive environment for anyone identifying as LGBTQ+ to come together for mutual support and to build community.
Thunderstruck: A Classic Rock Tribute
First Congregational Church, 62 Centre St. Blue Violin transforms rock classics into cinematic soundscapes using live looping and intricate arrangements. Tickets, $35, at www.eventbrite.com.
Stargazing at the Observatory
9:30 p.m. Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Join Maria Mitchell Association astronomers for a tour of the night sky, including t he moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae and other galaxies. $27 for adults, $17 for children. Register on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org. Additional sessions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Karaoke
10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Channel your inner rock star on The Rose & Crown stage.
Live Music: Jimmy Denny
10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Southern singer-songwriter Jimmy Denny, who blends Americana, folk and pop, will perform. 21 and over.
Saturday, July 18
Nantucket Triathlon
6:30 a.m. Jetties Beach, end of Bathing Beach Road. Nearly 1,000 athletes will swim, bike and run across the island in the 15th annual Nantucket Triathlon. The event is sold out, but there are plenty of opportunities for spectating in the Brant Point area.
Birding with Woody
8 a.m. Location provided upon registration. Nantucket Conservation Foundation trustee Woody Newell leads this birding adventure through an NCF property. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org
Nantucket Clean Team
8 a.m. Handlebar Café, 15 Washington St., and Low Beach, off Low Beach Road in Sconset. The Nantucket Clean Team meets Saturdays from spring through fall to pick up trash around the island. Pickers and bags provided.
Farmers & Artisans Market
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cambridge Street, between North Union and South Water streets. Sustainable Nantucket hosts a market of fresh local produce, island cottage-industry artisans and food. Weather permitting.
Capoeira at the Beach
9 a.m. Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. Kick off your Saturday mornings with an exciting Brazilian martial arts experience that’s fun for all ages. Free.
SATURDAY, PAGE 22
Island Calendar
The Nantucket Atheneum hosts two sessions a week of Read to a Buddy, where children are invited to read with a canine companion. Saturday, continued from page 21
NanPuppets
9:30 a.m. Something Natural, 50 Cliff Road. Lizza Obremski brings her puppet friends for a half hour of education and fun. $10, kids under 1 free. Bring a blanket.
Read to a Buddy
10 a.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Children 6-12 are invited to bring a book from home or choose one from the library and read to a READ (Reading Education Assistance Dog) therapy dog. Registration required by calling (508) 228-1110, ext. 103.
Storytime with a Princess 10 and 11 a. m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Children 4-10 are invited to go backstage, dress up in authentic theatrical costumes and work directly with the
Princess and her royal cast to learn their role on stage. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Dreamland Conversations: Jill Biden
11 a.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Former first lady Jill Biden will share her White House experiences, reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, the shadow of Jan. 6 and her advocacy for women’s health, military families and education. A separate VIP reception will follow. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Music and Movement
11:45 a.m. Children’s Beach bandstand, Harborview Way. Cory Morgan leads a half hour of song and dance intended for children.
Live Music: Different Strokez
Noon, Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Somerville-based party band Different Strokez will perform.
Bartlett Farm Walking Tour
2 p.m. Saturday and Wednesday, Meet in front of farm market, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. A free, 30-minute behind-the-scenes journey into 200 years of agricultural history on this farm owned by the same family since the early 1800s.
Beach Biology Field Trip
2 p.m. Low Beach Parking Lot, Low Beach Road, Sconset. Join the Maria Mitchell Association aquarium staff for a hands-on beach exploration. A fun and engaging way to connect with the shoreline and better understand the plants, animals and natural processes that shape Nantucket’s beaches. $30. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Stanford University Reception
5 p.m. Location provided upon registra -
tion. Stanford University alumni, students and parents are invited to a reception featuring remarks by Dr. Lloyd Minor, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine. RSVP to josthaus@stanford.edu
AAN Gala
6 p.m. Great Harbor Yacht Club, 96 Washington St. The Artists Association of Nantucket hosts its signature annual fundraiser, a live art auction of the best work of its artist members, and this year honors longtime member artist Jan Purdy Metcalf. Tickets at www.nantucketarts.org
Karaoke
10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Channel your inner rock star on The Rose & Crown stage.
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Live Music: Congress the Band
10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Water St. Charleston, S.C.-based indie rock band Congress the Band will perform. 21 and over.
Sunday, July 19
Nantucket Bird Walk
7:45 a.m. 4 Vestal St. Island bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror birding columnist Ginger Andrews leads this exploration of birding landscapes and hidden nooks. Loaner binoculars available. Dress for the weather. $35. Register on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org
Madaket Conservation Association Annual Meeting
8:30 a.m. Maddequet Admiralty Association, 15 Tennessee Ave. The Madaket Conservation Association will hold its annual meeting. Members and newcomers welcome. Lite bites and conversation.
Yin Yoga
9 a.m. Location provided upon registration. Yin yoga uses slower pacing and longer holds to increase circulation and joint flexibility. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org
Island Calendar
Yoga Workshop
2:30 p.m. Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm Hayloft, 33 Bartlett Farm Road. Dharma Yoga’s Joanne Burnham leads a special workshop. Visit www.dharmayoga.com for details and registration information.
Live Music: Cranberry Alarm Clock
3-6 p.m. Sandbar, end of Bathing Beach Road. Nantucket’s favorite Beatles tribute band, Cranberry Alarm Clock, will perform.
Live Music: Slap Dragon
3 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Nashville-based bluegrass, funk, soul and groove-driven Slap Dragon will perform.
Beginner’s Ukulele
5:30 p.m. Nantucket Community Music Center, 56 Centre St. No instrument? No problem. Ukuleles availa5ble. All ages welcome. Free.
Big Screen Bucket List: “The Dark Knight”
6 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland screens 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, as part of its summer Big Screen Bucket List series.
Sign up for our
Night Under the Light Gala
6 p.m. Sankaty Head Golf Club, 100 Sankaty Road. The Sconset Trust hosts its annual summer fundraiser. For tickets, visit www.sconsettrust.org
Live Music: Local Notes
6 p.m. Children’s Beach bandstand, Harborview Way. Nantucket’s own rock band Local Notes will perform. Free.
Live Music: Julia Newman
6 p.m. Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket singer-songwriter Julia Newman will perform.
Curtis on Nantucket
7 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Violinist Elissa Koljonen, guitarist Hao Yang and cellist Romain-Olivier Gray present a program of solo pieces by J.S. Bach. Free.
Live Music: Foggy Roots
10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket’s own roots reggae band Foggy Roots will perform. 21 and over.
Monday, July 20
Bike Tour
7:30 a.m. Location provided upon registration. Nantucket Conservation Foundation trustee Jim Meehan leads this bike tour over the trails and dirt roads of the Middle Moors or Ram Pasture. Space is limited. Helmet and mountain bike required. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org
En Plein Air
10 a.m. Maria Mitchell Association Outdoor Classroom, 33 Washington St. Artist Nikoline Bohr leads this class that guides participants through the techniques of creating art directly in nature. Intended for adults. $45. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Monday Magic
10 a.m. Children’s Beach bandstand, Harborview Way. Magician, musician and artist Mark Carapezza provides free, family-friendly entertainment and hands-on activities.
MONDAY, PAGE 24
Make Mental Health a Priority on Nantucket!
For over sixty years, Fairwinds has been the Heartbeat of our Community, offering Caring, Professional Support tailored to the unique challenges of island life. We are committed to building resilience and fostering healing, ensuring that no one has to face life’s challenges alone.
But we need YOU!
The demand for mental health resources has never been higher, and your support can make all the difference. With your donation, we can provide vital services to everyone who needs help, regardless of their ability to pay. Not all struggles are visible but they are real.
Island Calendar
The Nantucket Conservation Foundation will lead a kayak paddle through Polpis Harbor Wednesday. See listing, page xx for details.
Book-Reading and Signing:
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt will read from and sign some of her books, including “Fish in a Tree,” Shouting in the Rain” and “One for the Murphys.”
Drop-in Craft Gam
1 p.m. 1800 House, 4 Mill St. Have an unfinished chair, basket, beading or stitching project? Bring any project and work in the company of other creative people. Free.
Outdoor Art
2 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association Classroom, 33 Washington St. Outdoor art invites participants to slow down, observe and connect with the natural world through close-up drawing and artistic exploration. $45. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Live Music: Ian Biggs
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Connecticut singer-songwriter Ian Biggs will perform.
Women + Wellness
4:30 p.m. Great Harbor Yacht Club, 96 Washington St. Nantucket Cottage Hospital hosts two renowned Harvard experts shar-
ing the latest research on healthy aging, nutrition, intermittent fasting, cancer prevention and women’s health. Free, but reservations required at www.nantuckethospital. org/womenandwellness
Meet the Artists: Ying Li
5:30 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. A free and informal meet and greet with pianist Ying Li before her Nantucket Musical Arts Society concert Tuesday. Free.
Harborview Concert: The Wails
6 p.m. Dreamland Theater Harborview Room, 17 South Water St. Nantucket’s own Beatles Tribute Band The Wails – Cole Corper, Ty Fleischut, Merrick Brannigan and Jeff Cutts – will perform. Tickets at www. nantucketdreamland.org
Karaoke
10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. The Gaslight continues its summer of karaoke with Yolo Joe. 21 and over.
Tuesday, July 21
Kayak Tour
8 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. The Linda Loring Nature Foundation and Nantucket Land and Water Council lead this kayak tour of the North Head of Long Pond. Register on calendar page of www.llnf.org
Ecologist in Training
9 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. This LLNF workshop focuses on the ways rare and unique Nantucket plants are monitored, recorded and tracked. Intended for participants 15 and older. Register on calendar page of www.llnf.org
Music in the Morning
9:45 a.m. Atheneum garden, 1 India St. Island musician and teacher Cory Morgan invites babies and children to explore rhythm, sound and music through clapping, instrument play and music games. Free. Weather permitting.
Little Riders and Lasting Connections
10 a.m. Tuesdays through June 9. The Creeks Reserve, 2 Milestone Road. A stroller walking group for parents and children eight weeks to five years. Meet new people, enjoy the outdoors and support community wellbeing. Call (508) 957-7423 to register.
Tie-Dye at the Beach
10 a.m. Children’s Beach bandstand, Harborview Way. A fun-filled tie-dye session. T-shirts and all materials are included. Free.
Book Reading and Signing: Maria Zodda
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Island author Maria Zodda will read from and sign copies of her book “Griffin Saves His Tree.”
Family Connections Tour
10:30 a.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Museum guides bring the NHA’s 2026 exhibit, “The Wider World and Scrimshaw,” to life with visual and tactile elements. Concludes with a take-home craft activity in the Discovery Room. Free with museum admission. Register on calendar page of www.nha.org
Preservation Trust Summer Lecture and Luncheon
11 a.m. White Elephant Village Ballroom, 19 North Water St. Award-winning de signer Hutton Wilkinson will discuss the restoration of Dawnbridge, the Beverly Hills estate of the artist and designer Tony Duquette. Tickets at www.nantucketpreservation.org
NanPuppets
11:30 a.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Lizza Obremski brings her island puppet friends to the brewery. Fun for all ages. Free, but donations welcome.
Somatic Yoga
12:30 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Forty-five minutes of slow, focused movement concluding with full-body relaxation that will leave you feeling relaxed and recharged. Registration required on calendar page of www.nantucketatheneum.org
Courtesy of Nantucket Conservation Foundation
Monday, continued from page 23
Golden Age Films: “North by Northwest”
1:30 p.m. The Dreamland will screen 1959’s “North by Northwest,” starring Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint. Free for seniors. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Adult Metal Detecting
2 p.m. Maria Mitchell Association Aquarium, 32 Washington St. Metal detectorist Nicoline Bohr leads this hands-on introductory course intended for adults interested in exploring the world of metal detecting. $40. Additional session Wednesday. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Live Music: Wax Monkey
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Southern jam band Wax Monkey will perform. Second show 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Teen Tuesday Crafternoon
4 p.m. Atheneum courtyard, 1 India St. Teens 12-18 are invited to make a bookshelf in a tin to take home. Weather permitting. Registration required by e-mailing shurd@ nantucketatheneum.org
Island Calendar
Art Talk: Georgia Marsh
5 p.m. Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery courtyard, 8 Federal St. Artists Association of Nantucket artist-in-residence Georgia Marsh will discuss her process and inspiration. Free. Weather permitting.
Freedom and Equality Lecture
5:30 p.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Historian Ronald Angelo Johnson will discuss the myriad ways United States patriots and Black Atlantic inhabitants of Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) sought and fought for freedom during the American Revolution. Free but registration recommended on calendar page of www.nha.org
Lynx Sail and Photography Tips
5:30 p.m. Boat location provided upon registration. Set sail aboard the tall ship Lynx for a sunset cruise through Nantucket Sound, accompanied by photographer Matt Notarangelo, who will discuss how to capture the perfect Nantucket golden-hour shot. Tickets, $100 for Egan Maritime Institute members, $125 for non-members, available on events page of www.eganmaritime.org
FAJITAS, BURRITOS AND SOFT SERVE
Brant Point Runners
5:30 p.m. corner of Easton and North Beach streets. Brant Point Runners meets weekly at the corner of Easton and North Beach streets until early July, when the route will change, for a friendly but competitive 5K run. All are welcome.
Live Music: Tyler Ballgame
6 p.m. Almanack Arts, 25 Almanack Pond Road. Rhode island singer songwriter Tyler Ballgame, whose style has been compared to both Roy Orbison and David Bowie, will perform. For tickets visit www.almanackarts.com
Open Arts Night
6:30 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. The stage and mic are still open for any and all, but the library has added an arts a crafts component so people may feel free to come and work on any kind of art project while listening to the entertainment.
Night Line Dancing
6:45 p.m. Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. An evening of line dancing hosted by Nantucket Culture and Tourism. Bring comfortable dancing shoes. Drop-in.
Classical Music Concert
7 p.m. St. Paul’s Church, 20 Fair St. The Nantucket Musical Arts Society presents pianist Ying Li in the second installment of its summer concert series. Tickets $34 at the door.
Night at the Aquarium
8:30 p.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. Discover what Nantucket’s fishy friends do when the sun falls below the horizon and the moon fills the sky. $20. Registration required on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org
Live Music: JoJo
9 p.m. The Muse, 44 Surfside Road. Pop singer-songwriter JoJo will perform. 21 and over. Tickets at musenantucket.com/shows
Live Music: Ziggy Marley
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Reggae star Ziggy Marley brings his Brightside Tour to the Chicken Box. 21 and over. Second show Wednesday.
Live Music: La Tulipe
10:30 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Nantucket vocal duo La Tulipe performs a versatile repertoire ranging from classic rock covers to dance hits. 21 and over.
WEDNESDAY, PAGE 28
Cellar: Cabernet Sauvignon’s greatness is earned, not inherited
(Continued from page 8)
It is also Stacey’s favorite grape in the world, not a coincidence but a reflection of her character: she has excellent taste, knows what she wants and does not waste time on things that do not merit her attention.
A woman who has ordered Cabernet Sauvignon at every date-night dinner for 30 years has done the research, reached a conclusion and sees no reason to revisit it.
I have spent 40 years traveling the wine world and have arrived at the same conclusion by a considerably more circuitous route.
The grape is great. The answer is always Cabernet Sauvignon. And yes – to answer the first question, which I should perhaps have led with – very much.
What makes Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon
The variety’s signature aromatic profile –black currant, black cherry, cedar, graphite and in warmer climates dark chocolate and espresso – is among the most recognizable in the wine world and among the most consistent across regions.
A Bordeaux, a Napa and a Tuscan Cabernet Sauvignon will taste meaningfully different from one another, yet they will all be recognizably Cabernet Sauvignon, a testament to the grape’s varietal strength and the extent to which it imposes its character on whatever soil and climate it inhabits.
Cabernet Sauvignon’s natural tendency toward high tannin and acidity makes it an ideal blending grape, which is why Bordeaux has long blended it with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, and why many Napa producers follow suit.
Blending softens tannins, adds aromatic complexity and yields a more complete wine than any single variety could produce alone.
The purist argument – that 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, as many Napa producers make it, expresses the grape most completely – has genuine merit. So does the Bordeaux blending tradition.
Both approaches produce wines of the highest order, and the debate between them is among the most enjoyable in wine.
The world in three glasses
• The Left Bank, Bordeaux, France: The Médoc and Graves appellations of Bordeaux’s Left Bank – Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Saint-Estèphe, Pessac-Léognan –represent the oldest and most fully codified tradition of Cabernet Sauvignon winemaking on Earth.
The gravely soils of the Médoc drain well and warm quickly in the sun, stressing the vine, concentrating the fruit and building the tannic structure that makes great Bordeaux wines cellar-worthy for decades. The wines here are almost always blended: Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant, with Merlot providing roundness and Cabernet
Franc adding its characteristic herbal, pencil-shaving aromatic lift.
The result, in the great years and from the great châteaux, is the most complete expression of what Cabernet Sauvignon becomes when given every possible advantage of soil, climate, tradition and winemaking precision.
• Napa Valley, California: Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon makes a different case than Bordeaux – more opulent, more immediate and more generous with its fruit, reflecting the warmer, more consistently sunny California climate – and that case has won adherents around the world since the Judgment of Paris in 1976, when California Cabernets beat classified Bordeaux in a blind tasting the French wine establishment would rather forget.
Stacey and I have driven the Silverado Trail in every season and tasted through the Rutherford Bench, the Oakville District and the mountain appellations of Howell Mountain and Spring Mountain with the focused attention of people who know they are in one of the great wine regions of the world.
Napa Cabernet at its best – from the hillside vineyards that produce the most structured, age-worthy examples – is a match for anything Bordeaux produces, and several producers have long since made the comparison redundant by simply being great on their own terms.
• Bolgheri and the Maremma, Tuscany: The Super Tuscans – wines made outside the traditional Italian classification system, often from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted in coastal Tuscany in the 1960s and 1970s by producers who were convinced that the terroir was exceptional and the rules were wrong — represent one of the great acts of vinous rebellion in wine history and one of the most thoroughly vindicated.
Sassicaia, the founding Super Tuscan, was made from Cabernet Sauvignon plant-
The producers: Region by region
Two producers per region, one accessible, one for the cellar. Wines I know firsthand, from cellars visited and bottles opened over four decades of following this grape around the world.
The Left Bank, Bordeaux
The oldest Cabernet Sauvignon tradition on Earth: gravelly soils, centuries of accumulated knowledge and wines that define what patience with red wine means.
• Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, Fifth Growth, $90–$120. Drink now to 15 Years.
Lynch-Bages is the great overachiever of the 1855 classification, Fifth Growth that has consistently performed at Second Growth level for decades, producing Pauillac of extraordinary concentration and character at a price that, relative to its peers in the appellation, remains genuinely reasonable.
ed by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta on the Bolgheri coast. It was initially dismissed by the Italian establishment and later recognized as one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in the world.
Stacey and I have tasted through the Bolgheri lineup – Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Masseto, Guado al Tasso – on a trip through coastal Tuscany that I regard as one of the great wine-education experiences of my life. The consistency of quality across that group is as impressive as anything produced in Napa or Bordeaux.
To age or not to age
Cabernet Sauvignon is the cellar wine par excellence: the variety most transformed by aging and most rewarding to the patient collector.
The great Bordeaux châteaux need a minimum of 10 to 15 years and can develop with full confidence for 30 to 50 years.
The top Napa Cabernets from hillside appellations need eight to 12 years and develop comfortably for 25 years.
The Super Tuscans – Sassicaia and Ornellaia – follow a similar trajectory to Bordeaux, needing 10 years and rewarding 25 or more.
The wines to drink young are the more accessible, fruit-forward Cabernets: the Right Bank Bordeaux-influenced styles, entry-level Napa bottlings and the excellent Chilean and Australian Cabernets designed to be enjoyed at three to five years, with generous, immediate fruit.
The rule for Cabernet Sauvignon is simple: the more it costs and the more tannic it is on release, the longer you should wait. Tannin is not a flaw in young Cabernet. It is a promise.
The wine is dense, dark and structured in youth, with black currant, cedar and graphite, and a tannic frame that needs eight to 10 years to integrate. At 12 to 15 years, it is among the most complete and satisfying Pauillacs available. This is the Bordeaux to buy by the case and open one bottle a year to watch it develop.
• Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, First Growth, $500–$700. Age-worthy.
One of five Bordeaux First Growths, it is the one whose Cabernet Sauvignon percentage is consistently the highest, often 90 percent or more in the blend.
The wine is a statement of what Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon becomes at the absolute pinnacle of ambition and execution: black currant concentrate, dark chocolate, graphite, cedar and a tannic architecture that is monumental in youth and requires at least 15 years before it begins to show its full complexity.
At 25 years, it is among the most profound red wine experiences available. A wine for significant occasions and significant cellars.
Napa Valley, California
The New World’s most compelling argument for Cabernet Sauvignon: generous, structured and made with an ambition that matches anything the Old World produces.
• Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, $55–$70. Drink now to 10 years.
Jordan has been producing some of the most consistently elegant and food-friendly Cabernet Sauvignon in California for nearly 50 years and the Alexander Valley bottling remains one of the most honest expressions of what California Cabernet tastes like when restraint is valued as highly as concentration. The wine is not a blockbuster. It is structured, complete and designed to work at the table rather than to overwhelm it.
Black currant, cedar, a touch of dark cher-
Courtesy of Peter McEachern Organic vineyards near Mendoza in Argentina with the Andes in the background.
ry and a finish that is long without being exhausting. Stacey and I have opened more bottles of this over dinner than I can count.
• Opus One, Napa Valley, $350–$425. Age-worthy.
The joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild, established in 1979 to produce a wine that would stand alongside the great Bordeaux on its own terms, has largely achieved that ambition over more than 45 years of production.
Opus One is a Bordeaux-style blend – Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot – crafted with Old World discipline and precision that set it apart from most Napa Cabernet.
At 10 years, it is beginning to show its full complexity. At 15, it is extraordinary. It is not cheap. It is worth it.
Bolgheri, Tuscany
Where Cabernet Sauvignon went rogue in the 1970s, broke all the Italian wine rules and was subsequently proven completely right.
• Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Bolgheri, $150–$200. Age-worthy.
The founding Super Tuscan and one of the great Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines of the world, a wine initially dismissed by the Italian establishment as outside the classification system and now recognized as the reason the system needed to change.
Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Cabernet Franc, grown on the Bolgheri coast in soils
that have more in common with the Médoc’s gravels than with Chianti’s limestone.
At 12 to 15 years, it develops a complexity and tertiary depth – tobacco, leather, dried cherry, iron – that justifies every word written about it. The wine that proved Tuscany c ould make world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. It still does.
Ornellaia is Sassicaia’s great rival and, in many recent vintages, its equal. It is a Bordeaux-inspired blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from an estate adjacent to Sassicaia on the Bolgheri coast.
It is made with precision and consistency, placing it firmly among Italy’s great wines. In most vintages, the wine is more opulent and immediately seductive than Sassicaia –more Pomerol than Pauillac in its personality – yet it retains the structure and aging capacity of a great left bank Bordeaux.
Stacey and I opened a 2010 on our Bolgheri trip and it remains one of the great bottles of recent memory.
Drink it with
Cabernet Sauvignon’s combination of tannin, acidity and dark fruit makes it the natural partner for red meat in almost any form. This is not a cliché but a chemical reality.
producing a whole that is genuinely greater than its parts.
Bordeaux with a properly aged rib of beef, with lamb rack seasoned simply or with a plate of aged hard cheese that the French call the wine’s “natural companion.”
Napa Cabernet with the great grilled preparations of California’s wine country restaurants, with prime rib or with short rib braised until it falls apart.
The Super Tuscans with bistecca alla Fiorentina – the thick-cut Chianina T-bone that is Tuscany’s greatest contribution to the pleasures of the table, grilled over oak and served with nothing but olive oil and sea salt. There is no better pairing in the world for a serious Bolgheri Cabernet. Stacey and I had exactly this combination on our Tuscan trip and I have thought about it at least once a week since.
A final word
Cabernet Sauvignon does not need advocates. It has been making its own case, loudly and convincingly, for the better part of three centuries, and that case has persuaded more wine drinkers in more countries than any other red grape in history.
What it requires – what all great wine requires, but what Cabernet Sauvignon requires more literally than most – is time.
has deepened and the wine has developed the complexity and authority that only age can produce.
Buy the best bottle you can afford. Put it away. Open it when the occasion is worthy. It will be ready.
Stacey asked me at dinner last week – our usual date night, the usual two questions, the usual answer – whether a great Cabernet improves with age because of chemistry or patience.
I told her it was both, inseparably, and that you could not have one without the other.
She considered this for a moment, took a sip and said that sounded about right for most things worth having.
She was, as she has been for 30 years of date nights and the same two questions and the same answer, completely correct.
The wine in the glass was a 2005 Napa Cabernet at its absolute peak: silky, deep and more beautiful than it had any right to be.
The marriage, I am happy to report, is even better still.
Next Thursday, July 23: Merlot, the grape that Hollywood killed with a single line of dialogue, and why it deserves a serious second look. Pomerol produces Pétrus, the most expensive wine in the world, from Merlot. The grape is not the problem. Don’t miss it.
The tannins in the wine bond with the proteins in the meat, softening both and
LOBSTER DINNERS
The king is not at his best on the day of his coronation. He is at his best a decade later, when the tannins have integrated, the fruit
Peter McEachern is the general manager of the Nantucket Yacht Club. He has been buying wine, creating wine lists and running wine tastings since 1983. He can be reached at peter@nantucketyachtclub.org
(Wednesday, continued from page 25)
Wednesday, July 22
Birding Field Trip
7:45 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. Explore Nantucket’s birding hot spots and observe birds in their natural habitat. Binoculars, a spotting scope and field guides available to borrow. Free, but registration required on calendar page of www.llnf.org
Native Plant Landscaping Tour
9 a.m. Nantucket Conservation Foundation, 118 Cliff Road. Learn how native shrubs, trees and wildflowers can find a home in your own yard on this tour by NCF plant research ecologist and botanist Kelly Omand. Register on events page of www. nantucketconservation.org. Second session 9 a.m. Thursday.
Wellness Wednesday
9:30 a.m. Children’s Beach bandstand, Harborview Way. Free children’s yoga with Phoebe Strobino that encourages movement and mindfulness in a relaxed outdoor setting.
Crafts in the Courtyard
10 a.m. Atheneum courtyard, 1 India St. Children are invited to make a paper-plate stegosaurus. Younger children might need adult assistance.
Book-signing: Elin Hilderbrand
11 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Best-selling island author Elin Hilderbrand will sign copies of her books. The first 100 people in line will get a ticket. Line starts at 10 a .m. Only books purchased at Mitchell’s and Bookworks can be autographed.
Hands-on History at Greater Light
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Greater Light, 8 Howard St. Learn about the Monaghan sisters and their artists’ retreat, and color in a painting by Gertrude Monaghan with watercolor. Free.
Reader Advice
11 a.m. Nantucket Atheneum, 1 India St. Annye Camara of the Atheneum’s Readers’ Advisory Group will help you find books tailored to your interests.
Polpis Harbor Kayak Paddle
1 p.m. Location provided upon registration. The Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s coastal ecology team leads this paddle through Polpis Harbor while discussing
Island Calendar
harbor health, saltmarsh ecology and nature-based resilience solutions using oyster reefs. Register on events page of www.nantucketconservation.org
Game Night
5:30 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. Tabletop board and card games, including Mag-ACK The Gathering and drop-in Dungeons and Dragons. Intended for adults and teens. Free.
Wonderful Women on Wednesday:
Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley
5:30 p.m. Susan Lister Locke Gallery, 28 Easy St. Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, a longtime island summer resident, will offer insights from her diplomatic career which has included positions at the U.S. State Department, as adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and ambassador to Portugal.
Knitting Group
6:30 p.m. Atheneum first floor, 1 India St. Curious about learning how to knit? The Atheneum’s veteran knitters can get you started. Stymied by a challenge in your project? The group can help with that. Free. Drop-ins welcome.
Art Reception: “The Landscape Observed”
7 p.m. Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts, 23 Wauwinet Road. NISDA hosts an opening reception for its exhibition of work by Ian Torney and Illya Kagan, on display through July 26. Followed by an artist talk at 8 p.m.
Film for Thought: “Reading Lolita in Tehran”
7 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Inquirer and Mirror and the Dreamland present the 2024 documentary “Reading Lolita in Tehran” as part of their Film for Thought” weekly film series. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Trivia Night
8 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Test your general trivial knowledge. First place wins a $50 gift card.
Live Music: Tyler Ballgame
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Rhode Island’s Tyler Ballgame, whose style is reminiscent of both Roy Orbison and David Bowie, will perform. 21 and over.
Thursday, July 23
Dance Party in the Garden
9:45 a.m. Atheneum garden, 1 India St. Cory
Morgan leads an energetic, joy-filled dance time with songs, silly dance moves and challenges like Freeze Dance and the Cha-Cha Slide. Weather permitting. Bring a blanket.
Book-Signing: Alexander Starritt
10:30 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Author Alexander Starritt will sign copies of his book “Drayton and Mackenzie,” a New York Times Editor’s Pick.
Hands-on History at the Old Jail
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Old Gaol (Jail), 15R Vestal St. Learn about the Nantucket Historical Association’s Old Jail and some of its inhabitants, and make a beaded keychain. Free.
Read to a Buddy
2 p.m. Atheneum gallery, 1 India St. Children 6-12 are invited to bring a book from home or choose one from the library and read to a READ (Reading Education Assistance Dog) therapy dog. Registration required by calling (508) 228-1110, ext. 103.
Live Music: Wim Tapley and the Cannons
4 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Athens, Ga.-based Americana, folkpop and neo-soul band Wim Tapley and the Cannons will perform.
Art Reception: AAN
5 p.m. Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery, 8 Federal St. The Artists Association of Nantucket will host a public reception for its Never Out of Beach exhibition, on display through Aug. 4.
Meet the Artist: Alyssa Fortin
5 p.m. Hostetler Gallery, 42 Centre St. Photographer Alyssa Fortin will discuss the creative vision behind her underwater ballet photography, including a coastal wine tasting.
Nantucket Preservation Trust Annual Meeting
5 p.m. Upstairs at 11 Centre St. Nantucket Preservation Trust will host its annual members meeting. More information at www.nantucketpreservation.org
Where Science Meets Stewardship
5 p.m. Nantucket Conservation Foundation, 118 Cliff Road. Woodwell Climate and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation partner to explore how science and stewardship work hand in hand to advance practical climate solutions. The event will feature a discussion between Woodwell president and CEO Max Holmes and NCF president and CEO Cormac Collier, followed by a panel discussion. Register on events page of www. nantucketconservation.org
John Mulaney: “Mr. Whatever” 6 and 8:30 p.m. Nantucket Performing Arts Center, 5 North Water St. Four-time Emmy, Critics Choice, and WGA-award winning writer, comedian and actor John Mulaney will take the NPAC stage. Tickets at www.nantucketperformingarts.org
Special Screening: “Influenced”
6 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The Dreamland will screen “Influenced,” starring author, actress and “Odd Mom Out” creator Jill Kargman, preceded by a conversation with Kargman. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Stargazer Gala: A Night at the Circus
6 p.m. Tom Nevers Field, 130 Tom Nevers Road. The Maria Mitchell Association hosts its annual gala fundraiser, an evening of magic, marvels and wonder, featuring world-class acrobats, aerialists and jugglers, followed by live and silent auctions and dancing. Tickets, $750, available on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org. The circus remains in Tom Nevers for general-public performances Friday through Sunday.
On the Isle: “42nd Street”
8 p.m. Sconset Casino, 10 New St. On the Isle, Sconset’s long-running community theater group, presents the classic Broadway hit “42nd Street.” Continues through Sunday. Tickets at www.ontheisle.org
Live Music: Goth Babe
10 p.m. The Muse, 44 Surfside Road. Goth Babe – American indie rock singer-songwriter Griff Washburn – will perform. Tickets at www.musenantucket.com/shows. Second show Friday.
Live Music: Local Notes
10 p.m. Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket’s homegrown rock band Local Notes will perform. 21 and over.
Live Music: Morrissey Blvd.
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. New Bedford-based soul, funk, R&B and rock band Morrissey Blvd. will perform. 21 and over.
Live Music: One Night Stands
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. New England party band One Night Stands will perform. Additional shows Friday and Saturday.
Walk: The outwash plain
(Continued from page 6)
the road here are sparsely fruiting, unlike some other patches of blueberry on island.
The location of these plentiful patches remains a closely guarded secret by many islanders, so it is best not to ask but instead explore for your own blueberry spot.
I park on the side of the road and walk down to the beach, more interested in the plants and animals I find along the way than the beach itself.
Common wood nymph butterflies flutter between the low shrubs and Carolina rose bushes. The tan patches on the tips of their forewings hold dark eye spots which mimic a predator peering out from the darkness, a tried-and-true method of deimatic display to stave off being eaten.
After staring at the ocean for what seems like a solid amount of time, enough to clear my thoughts and prepare me for the inevitable return to the world of traffic and screens, I walk back to the truck and continue my quest for water along the uneven and sandy New South Road.
Traveling in a westward direction I put
my truck’s undercarriage to the test.
The potholes on this rugged way are so massive that they encompass the entire road. It feels like I am cresting waves over rough seas and descending into large puddles which slosh and churn as I drive through them.
The puddles are deceptively deep and each thrills me as my truck’s momentum carries through the murky water. At least they are fresh water and I am not driving through the salty flooded Easy Street basin. Now with my fill of puddle jumping, I find the outer fence of the airport and head back to the pavement.
In a final parting gift for voluntarily reducing the resale value of my Tacoma, dozens of eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies swarm in the pitch pines as I roll to the edge of asphalt, a swirling display of yellow and black that resembles both the summer sun and the tumultuous storm cells rolling through our July skies.
Neil Foley is the interpretive education coordinator and ecologist at the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
Photo by Neil Foley Torrential rains have filled the puddles on sandy south shore roads.
Eat: 50 years of timeless elegance, delicious food at Le Languedoc
Le Languedoc’s wine list is first-rate.
(Continued from page 4)
It sounds contradictory, until you spend an evening at Le Languedoc.
The menu changes (some parts, at least).
The upstairs dining room has been refreshed over the years. The floors are redone and the walls get painted.
Chef de cuisine Anthony Nastus, who came to Languedoc after cooking at Topper’s at The Wauwinet, has brought his own ideas to the kitchen while honoring the restaurant’s traditions. But there are some things that simply cannot change.
Like the downstairs dining room. Cunha laughed as he recalled adding a mirror above the fireplace years ago. “You’d think we had burned the building down,” he said.
The artwork gets refreshed in the upstairs dining rooms and in the guest rooms of the inn that shares space with the restaurant, but downstairs remains largely unchanged.
Every year, the owners purchase a new piece of local art to commemorate another year of business, but the walls of the downstairs bistro have become sacred ground.
Generations of diners haver celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, date nights, summer vacations and so much more there. If you change too much, people notice. And they don’t like it.
“They go cuckoo,” Cunha joked.
It’s because Le Languedoc has become something increasingly rare on Nantucket: familiar and consistent.
On an island where the streets change every year, it’s nice to know you’ll always be walking into the same Languedoc.
The familiarity extends beyond the decor. Many staff members have worked there for well over 15 years.
Servers know clients by name, customers know the servers’ families. During our interview, longtime staff members Jimmy Jaksic and Alison Stravato wandered through the dining room preparing for service. Alan smiled as he pointed them out.
“Jimmy’s a fixture, he said. “Everybody knows Jimmy.”
“And Alison and her husband finally closed on their house,” he added with nothing short of pride.
It’s abundantly clear, even just sitting in the room and observing, that this is a family.
Today, the restaurant welcomes third-generation families who have been coming for decades. Alan estimates he can recognize three-quarters of the dining room by name on any given night.
“Our intention,” he said, “is to make people feel comfortable.”
That philosophy is found everywhere at Languedoc. The wine list, carefully curated by Cunha, is organized geographically rather than by price or prestige because he wants it to educate rather than intimidate.
The menu itself isn’t divided into neat sections. Instead, dishes are simply laid out in
rows, putting a spotlight on the ingredients and what you’re actually eating, not what part of the meal it’s supposed to be. Cunha said this encourages customers to build a meal however they please.
“People have different tastes. We want the menu to represent a general cross section, so you can order anything, if that’s what you want,” Cunha said. “It’s meant to be more free-flowing, we don’t want it to be regimented.”
There are no rules here (besides no ball caps in the dining room).
That same sense of confidence carries over to the food.
“Our main goal operating the restaurant was to try to focus on consistency,” Cunha said. “That was the trick, so we didn’t get lost in taking Hershey’s syrup and putting it on filet or fish. Our philosophy is to only cook seasonally, source as much locally as possible and only use fresh, so everything is made in-house.”
Dinner begins with a basket of cranberry walnut and garlic ciabatta-like bread, served alongside creamy, lightly salted butter. The art of the bread basket has nearly been lost in today’s dining scene, but not at Languedoc.
A restaurant rooted in tradition knows that those small details are often the most important in creating a reputation.
The soft-shell crab is delicately fried and shatterignly crisp. It never feels heavy, but the butter sauce, capers, fresh vegetables and bitter greens add a sense of quiet luxury. The delicate sweetness of the crab remains the star.
The cheese souffle is a dish that lived rentfree in my mind for years before I ever got the chance to taste it. It is my mom’s favorite thing on the Languedoc menu, and every year, when she and my dad returned from dinner she would not stop raving about it.
I remember the first time my parents brought me to Languedoc and the souffle I had dreamed of for so many years was finally placed in front of me. It not only met, but exceeded all of my expectations, and still does to this day.
Airy and impossibly light beneath a delicately crisp outer shell, served with mornay sauce, it delivers all the comfort of homemade macaroni and cheese with the elegance of classical French cooking.
The there’s the steak frites, a truly timeless dish that never fails to satisfy. Perfectly pink beef arrives beneath a silky Bearnaise. It cuts like butter and nearly melts in your mouth.
It’s served alongside peppery watercress and some of the best fries on Nantucket: golden, thin, crisp and with some secret flavor that makes them irresistible.
Everything on the menu tells part of the Languedoc story. During tomato season, the restaurant serves burrata made by a mother-daughter producer in San Francisco.
After discovering it on a trip to California,
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
Bread service has become a lost art at many restaurants, but not Le Languedoc.
Photo by Francesca Giangiulio
Cunha said the team extended their trip an extra day to track down the cheese-makers and arrange for overnight shipments to Nantucket.
The burrata salad doesn’t appear until Bartlett’s Farm tomatoes are at their peak because quality and seasonality are what dictate the menu.
That commitment to ingredients has never changed. Neither has the restaurant’s willingness to embrace classics that other places may have abandoned years ago.
Sweetbreads remain on the menu, and come highly recommended by Cunha. Chicken livers have survived countless revisions because every time they disappear, customers demand their return.
On the flip side, the cheeseburger – not your standard fare at a French bistro – is widely considered among the best, if not the best on the island.
Le Languedoc evolves, but never forgets its heart: the French bistro.
“A bistro is usually more family operated, extensions of the family, and much more relaxed [than fine dining], and that’s really what we are,” says Cunha.
I hope you save room for dessert because the Small Town Girl Sundae cannot be skipped. Another dish that I grew up listening to my mother rave about, this sundae will convert anyone into a sweet tooth.
Vanilla ice cream, rich chocolate fudge hidden beneath every scoop, ribbons of caramel, salty toffee crunch, whipped cream and
The soft-shell crab is delicately fried and shatterignly crisp.
dark, glossy maraschino cherries.
Genuinely, what more could you want out of a dessert. It’s unapologetically decadent. Every bite convinces you the next one will be
Years
“We’ve been blessed, you have to be grateful,” he said. “I think success in life many times is if you like what you do. It is work, but this situation here, it’s always changing and we enjoy it.”
Cunha said he’s especially grateful to the Nantucket community for its support year after year.
He recalls when they first came to the island. “There were 1,200 people here. I can remember doing two, three dinners a night.”
Things have certainly changed since then, but the support for Le Languedoc has remained through generations of diners.
Looking around the dining room, it’s difficult not to feel that gratitude flowing both ways. And maybe that’s why Le Languedoc doesn’t feel like a restaurant celebrating its 50th anniversary. It doesn’t feel old. It feels timeless.
The restaurant continues to evolve, but the feelings and the warm glow remain. The wooden floors still echo beneath hurried footsteps. Families still gather and laugh around the familiar blue-checkered tables.
And every night, the people behind Le Languedoc continue doing what they’ve done for half a century: make everyone feel like a regular, like part of the family.
your last, until suddenly the bowl is empty.
How did that happen?
Before I left, I asked Cunha what 50 years in business meant to him.
In an era where restaurants race to become the next big thing, Languedoc has achieved something far more difficult, becoming an eternal classic.
Le Languedoc, 24 Broad St., (508) 2282552, www.languedocbistro.com
