Reprinted with permission from Yesterday's Island. From the July 5, 2007 issue.
The Jetties Offers Beach Dining at its Best
 Open one restaurant on Nantucket, and you’ll have little time for the beach. Open two, and you’ll never get there. Unless, of course, your second restaurant is at the beach. How much the desire for some beach-time played into restaurateur J. Marshall Thompson’s motivation when he took over the concession at Jetties Beach this spring, we’ll never know, but there’s no denying the appeal of a restaurant whose location is the wide stretch of beach leading to the calm blue waters of Nantucket Sound.
Anyone who’s spent more than a few weeks on Nantucket during July and August knows that the best time to go to the beach is late in the day, when the crowds have thinned and the sun is lower in the sky. Now, with the impressive changes that Marshall has made at The Jetties, you don’t need to pack a picnic. The Jetties is fast becoming a favorite spot for after-work gatherings, whether it be an evening out or just cocktails.
It’s hard to beat the setting and the view. The wide wooden three-level decks that make up The Jetties’ dining room and bar are set right into the soft beige sand of Jetties Beach. There’s no better way to savor summer on Nantucket! If you so desire, you can order a Madaket Mystery and sip this signature cocktail (a summery rum concoction) with your toes in the warm sand while seated in one of new beach chairs that The Jetties beach shop rents during the day. You might want to bring your sunglasses to this restaurant, as well as a light sweater for after the sun goes down.
Views from the decks are stunning. Look south and you can see the rooftops of town, church steeples, and the golden dome of the Unitarian Church glinting in the sun. Gaze north, east, or west, and you see the the wide, pristine beach with a few children playing by the shoreline and the calm blue waters beyond with boats sailing past. There’s even a roped-off area for the piping plovers to nest. (You don’t want to venture too close to this area, but birders can check the “Piping Plover Report” kept in the beach shop).
For the past several years, food service at Jetties Beach has been scant: soda, ice cream, hot dogs, chips, and what passed for burgers. Marshall has improved both the dining area and quality and selection of the food to the point where this restaurant that has replaced the old beach concession now rivals several downtown eateries.
The Jetties starts serving at 8 am: croissants, coffee cake, muffins, bagels, fruit, granola, yogurt, egg sandwiches, and some of the same great Carrabassett coffee served at Even Keel Café, Marshall Thompson’s other island venture.
 At 11 am, the menu expands to include sandwiches, salads, wraps, a lobster roll, hummus, clam chowder and gazpacho, and about a dozen grill selections (burgers, cheeseburgers, chili dogs, cheesey fries, veggie burger, popcorn chicken, clam roll, and more). Beach treats are also available — ice cream bars, candy, chips, cold and frozen drinks — and there’s even a Slurpee machine that can pump out those fun red and blue frozen carbonated beverages.
Dinner begins at 5 p.m., with The Jetties’ blue picnic tables set with a arrangement that is casual and funky: a cruet of olive oil, a shaker of crushed red pepper, a decorative container with sand and shells, a peppergun, a tin bucket of heavy duty plasticware, and a roll of papertowels in a silver holder in place of napkins. Table settings are remarkably sturdy for disposable. What look like paper plates are actually made from bamboo — “it’s a renewable resource and it’s biodegradable,” Marshall explained. Even the plastic cups are biodegradable.
On the uppermost deck of The Jetties, round the corner from the bar, is their Raw Bar. Succulent shrimp, and ocean-fresh local clams and oysters are opened to order and served by the half-dozen. You could spend the evening with a couple of dozen oysters and a cold draft or chilled glass of Prosecco—yes, The Jetties has a wine list!
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The New York TImes has described The Jetties as “New England meets Italy” — if the Raw Bar is New England, then the beautifully composed Antipasto must be Italy. Delicious and colorful, the chilled platter is filled with chunks of provolone, thick shavings of parmesan, thinly sliced proscuitto, grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, and mixed olives. Share this with friends—it would take a very hearty appetite to polish it off solo.
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Another Italian delight is the simple Caprese salad. Thick, juicy slices of ripe Bartlett Farm tomato are topped with creamy white mozzarella, and a fresh leaf of basil. Drizzles of fruity olive oil and puckery balsamic vinegar finish the salad.
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Other stellar choices among the first course selections include Fresh Lobster Salad, refreshing and light in its iceburg lettuce “bowl,” creamy New England Clam Chowder, and freshly made Gazpacho, cold with just the right amount of spicy heat.
Fried Calamari doesn’t get much better than the calamari at The Jetties. A pile of golden rings and tentacles, lightly breaded and cooked just till done, the calamari is impressively tender and absolutely addictive when dipped in the Asian Pepper Sauce.
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We didn’t realize what a treasure Nantucket mussels are until we tasted the Local Nantucket Mussels prepared by Chef Bruce Yancy at The Jetties. Tiny and plump, the orange morsels peeking out of their blue-black shells are sweet and tender. The mussels are served in an intoxicatingly good white wine and pesto sauce. We recommend that you pop the mussels out of their shells, then eat them with a spoon to get plenty of sauce with each mouthful.
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The Jetties makes more than a half-dozen different specialty pizzas, 12-inch on a thin, crisp crust. The tempting combinations include Pesto Shrimp, Lobster Carbonara, Veggie with Goat Cheese, and, the one we tried: Fungi. Our pizza had plenty of mozzarella, melted and bubbly over housemade red sauce and studded with a mix of porcini, shiitakes, portobello, and oyster mushrooms. You can also build your own Jetties pizza from their choice of fourteen toppings.
Because a restaurant at the beach has got to have a burger, The Jetties serves a Handcrafted Italian Burger, a thick patty formed with garlic, fresh herbs, and mozzarella.
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Destined to be among the most popular entrees at The Jetties is their New England Shore Dinner. This feast of lobster, mussels, sweet corn, and potato can be steamed or grilled. It’s served with drawn butter and lemon in a box whose lid, when open, serves as a tray for the shells and corn cob. Lobster dinner at the beach at sunset is always fun, but when it’s this good, it makes for a memorable Nantucket evening. You can even take your Shore Dinner, complete in its bamboo box, closer to the shoreline for a romantic beach dinner for two.
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The other eleven entrees center around pasta (mostly linguini, although whole wheat angel hair is available). The Grilled Chicken Parmesan is delightfully homey, though it would take talent to make chicken this moist and flavorful at home. The breast is topped with marinara and lots of mozzarella and is served nestled against a tangle of perfectly al dente linguini.
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Our favorite among the pasta dishes so far (we haven’t tried them all yet) is the Lobster Carbonara. The platter is heaped with linguini tossed with large chunks of sweet shellfish and drenched in a creamy carbonara sauce that clings perfectly to the pasta and the lobster. Rosemary, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, and smoky bacon add depth to the buttery sauce. This is an elegant dish on par with an entree you might order at a much pricier in-town eatery, and it’s served in an ambiance that is quintessentially Nantucket. (Suggested wine pairing: Penfolds Thomas Hyland Chardonnay)
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For dessert The Jetties offers Tiramisu al Fabio. Light yet creamy, with flavors of whipped cream, coffee, chocolate, and tantalizing hints of liquor. It’s a luscious dessert that brings Italy right to the shore of New England.
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Looking around, we realized there were couples having romantic sunset dinners at the beach level...the bar was humming with 20- and 30-somethings...and all around us the picnic tables were filled with families who had come to The Jetties because its the only place on Nantucket where you can order dinner, go play in the sand with your little ones, then return to your table for lobster and champagne while the kids munch happily on popcorn chicken and hot dogs.
The Jetties truly does have something for everyone.
The Jetties
Bathing Beach Road at Jetties Beach
www.thejettiesnantucket.com
508-228-2279
Breakfast 8 to 11 am; Lunch 11 am to 5 pm
Dinner 5 to 10 pm; Bar open 5 to 10 pm
Dinner Entree prices range from $12.50 to $26 (one entree is $38)
Kid’s menu available; Sheltered and open air outdoor seating
Full liquor license; major credit cards accepted
next to an NRTA shuttle stop
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