Pm: Eat At Dapper Dans Favorite Diner
On Fridays at 3 p.m., Grace Church in Vineyard Haven sells the best lobster rolls. Theyre big and succulent, and theres no filling no celery and shit. Just a little bit of mayo and seasoning.
We also like to go to Edgartown Diner , which is Black owned. Its really divey with great diner food. Dapper Dan goes there with his wife.
Meghan Cadden Pastry Assistant
Hi, my name is Meghan! Im a recent graduate of Eckerd College where I studied International Relations, Latin American Studies, and Spanish. After having enjoyed four years in the Florida sun, Im excited to be returning to my home state of Massachusetts to work with Pie Chicks for the summer season! Aside from my academic interests and growing knack for baking, I love exploring my natural surroundings, practicing yoga, and spending any free moment at the beach.
395 State Rd.
Pm: Get A Lobster Roll At Obamas Favorite Restaurant
We usually get in around noon, and if its a nice day, we try to hit the beach. If were super-hungry at that point, well go and get food. I always love my first meal to be a lobster roll from Nancys . Its probably the most famous restaurant in Oak Bluffs and is rumored to be President Obamas favorite on the island. We either bring it back to the house, or we eat outside in the dining area because its good for people watching. Its at the top of Circuit Avenue, so its down near the water and you can see people coming in from the ferry. Then theres this bar next to the pickup window called Donovans Reef. Donovan is this Jamaican guy who comes up every season, and hes a town favorite. People wait in line for an hour to get a dirty banana. Its this banana and chocolate and rum situation that everybody loves. We also stock up on alcohol for the house from Jims Package Store or Our Market , which we tend to go to more. Its close to Nancys.
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Pm: Wait In Line For Honey
We start going out with friends toward the end of the week, typically on Thursday or Friday. We like to do drinks at Nancys because its by the water. Offshore Ale Company is also great. It has craft beer and burgers and lobster rolls. Its a very chill vibe. They give you peanuts, and all the shells are on the floor its that type of place.
If were not going out as adults, well go to Circuit Avenue with the kids and go get ice cream at Carousel , which is my favorite place. They have carousel horses inside our son, Orion, likes to sit on them. But the biggest thing is Back Door Donuts . Its a regular bakery during the day, where you can buy coffee and donuts and muffins. But at night, they sell doughnuts out the back door, and it turns into a scene. Theyre known for their doughnuts and their apple fritters. You can get maple-bacon donuts, honey glazed , old-fashioned, chocolate frosted, one with sprinkles. Its like Krispy Kreme but homemade. There tends to be a line wrapped around the block of people buying donuts. Its almost gimmicky but still cool.
Am: Pick Up Some Jumbo Shrimp
By the third day, we have to get groceries because its more affordable and we like grilling at the house. So well go to our favorite local fish market, the Net Result , which is in Vineyard Haven and near Stop and Shop . Well buy jumbo shrimp there and salmon and soft-shell crab. Its really great because the fish is so fresh, and everyone is so nice. You can also eat there theyll fry or steam any fish you ask for, and they have sushi as well. People will eat outside on the picnic benches. Its a place a lot of people go to, so we usually run into people we know.
Then we head back home, pack up the car, and go to the beach. We sit on the beach every day during the day the only difference is what beach were going to. Sometimes well go to South Beach in Edgartown. People like going there because the waves tend to be bigger and more aggressive. We dont usually go because we have children, so its not as fun.
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Baking Up A Vineyard Business One Pie At A Time
Christine Kinsmans commercial kitchen is nestled in a sleepy, tree-lined neighborhood in Vineyard Haven. Through the kitchens glass door and windows, pine trees, blue sky and a fence are visible. There is also a wooden shed which holds four large freezers and one giant walk-in refrigerator.
Chrissy, as everyone calls her, is the founder and owner of Pie Chicks. And pies, it turns out, need a lot of refrigeration. In her kitchen there are two more freezers and a reach-in refrigerator.
Pastry wants to be cold, she says. You cannot make pastry in a hot kitchen. In the winter, I have pastry-making days and baking days. In the summer we make pastry in the early morning with the A.C. cranked and then bake in the afternoon.
She brushes a milk wash over her blueberry pies and slides them into the oven. In the summer, people really like mixed fruit pies, mixed berry pies, strawberry rhubarb, any kind of fruit combination, but in the winter, people are more inclined to have a single fruit pie.
During the summer Chrissy and her crew bake and sell over 100 pies a day, seven days a week. The demand slows in the off-season, especially after the holiday rush.
Alison L. Mead
No one buys pie in January. Well, maybe not no one. There are a few. And I bake two days a week for them.
Storms can also increase demand. Its one of the things people seem to include when they know they might be stuck for a few days: water, candles, maybe food for a stew and pie.
Alison L. Mead
Am: Go Outlet Shopping In Oak Bluffs
We usually do souvenirs and shopping on the last full day. Everyone who goes to the Vineyard gets a Black Dog T-shirt and sweatshirt. What people dont know is that theres a Black Dog outlet store in Oak Bluffs. We go there because were not buying retail-price Black Dog. Its been a tradition for us to get Orion a sweatshirt or T-shirt. I also like to go to Cest La Vie , a Black-owned shop. Its great because they have all the Vineyard T-shirts, but theyre the only ones on the island licensed to carry Black sorority and fraternity paraphernalia. So if you want an AKA Oak Bluffs T-shirt or sweatshirt, its there. Theres also a Black-owned art gallery called Cousen Rose Gallery . It has a lot of great local art from Black artists, plus souvenirs and childrens books about the island.
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Pie Chicks Bakery Shifts From Home Business To Retail
The popular Pie Chicks bakery will open a retail shop in Vineyard Haven later this summer. At the town select board meeting Tuesday, owner Chrissy Kinsman was approved for a common victualers license at the former location of Shepherds Provisions on State Road.
Were excited to get resettled and get in a new space with the new energy, and make some pie for yall, Ms. Kinsman told selectmen during their regular public meeting online.
Since starting the business in 2013, Ms. Kinsman has been baking her pies and pastries in a commercially-certified kitchen located in a home on Norton street, she said. Once the operation has moved to the State Road location, she plans to continue with wholesale only while determining how and when the retail shop will begin serving customers.
Im still a little concerned about having an open front door, she said. Im willing to open a window. The property also has stone tables outside where people can sit at a safe distance from one another, Ms. Kinsman said.
In other business Tuesday, the board voted to authorize town administrator John Grande to review and approve restaurant applications for outdoor dining, with alcohol service for liquor-licensed eateries.
When Ms. Trusty returns at the end of July, we will reevaluate, the chief said.
Board chairman Melinda Loberg said she is pleased to see the police department recruiting from the Island community.
It will be put to good use, to purchase steamer seeds, Ms. Ewart said.
Pm: Go Clamming For Dinner
Theres also a beach there called Lobsterville , where you can go clamming. But theres a catch: There are a lot of regulations around who can clam. They dont want just anyone there affecting the ecosystem you have to have a license, and they dont give out many a year. If youre renting a house in Aquinnah for a long time, you can go to the city office and get one for $50. But there are also services you can hire to take you fishing, like Black Dog Tall Ships or Book-A-Boat, who can take you. You just stand there and move the sand below you with your feet and try to find the hard clam. Once you feel it, you dig it up with your feet and pick it up. We took ours back to our friends house that they were renting in Aquinnah, and we cooked and ate them. Sea to table.
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Am: Watch The Polar Bears
I get up early and meet up with a girlfriend whose family has owned a home on the island forever. We usually get coffee at Mocha Motts . Its no-frills. I get an iced latte, but they have a lot of great pastries. Sometimes we go to Biscuits , which is Black owned and across the street from Nancys. Its one of those places where people will wait outside. There are a few places like that on the island Linda Jeans in Oak Bluffs and ArtCliff Diner in Vineyard Haven, which is apparently Gayle Kings favorite restaurant. Biscuits has amazing breakfast sandwiches, so Ill get a bacon, egg, and cheese on a biscuit. Then we go sit at Inkwell and watch the polar bears, a group of Black mostly women who will gather and do water aerobics at seven in the morning. Theyre really legendary. It could be 50 to 100 people chanting, singing, and dancing in a circle in the water. The number of people fluctuates, but it happens every morning.
Am: Pick Up Salt And Smoked Bluefish
On Wednesday and Saturday mornings, theres the West Tisbury Farmers Market , which starts for the season on June 12. It opens at 9 a.m. Theres the I always buy salt from them to bring back to New York. I pick up smoked bluefish from . Its a spread you can put on crackers, and its so good I cant get enough of it. If you like sweet stuff, theres Enchanted Chocolates and Pie Chicks I love their apple-cherry. I also love Milkweed Farm it has great produce. Beetlebung Farm is also there. Thats Amy Schumers husbands family farm.
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Pm: Eat Lobsters At Atria
Hennessy throws its annual party at my favorite restaurant, Atria , on Thursday night of the second week. Its invite-only and D-Nice DJs it every year. Its kind of a whos who party, but once you get invited, youre kind of on the radar. If youre not invited, Atria is worth going to another time the restaurant is stunning indoors and outdoors. It has a swing hanging from a tree branch outside on the front lawn. Theres also a firepit you can sit around while you wait for your table. Its cozy but also fancy. Dont wear flip-flops. Put on your nice dress.
Any Fruit Pie Any Season
Makes two pie crusts for one double-crust pie or two single-crust pies.
Chrissy Kinsman, owner of Pie Chicks Bakery, shared her crust and filling recipe template that can be used interchangeably for fruit pies, depending on your choices and the season. Make it a blueberry pie for July or August or peach, peach/blueberry, peach/raspberry, peach/plum/cherry, apple, and so on. Below, she also guides you through the pitfalls of making a good pie crust. The crust calls for butter plus sustainable palm shortening, which can be found at Whole Foods or online, or by substituting Earth Balance from Cronigs Market or leaf lard if available. These days, Crisco is considered a harmful trans-fatty oil that can lead to inflammation.
Pie Crust:
- 8 tablespoons cold European-style butter
- 5 tablespoons organic, sustainably sourced palm shortening
- 3 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
1. Cut butter into ½-inch pieces and return to refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together. Using a food processor or KitchenAid mixer, pulse the cold butter into the flour mixture until butter pieces are the size of almonds.
3. Pulse shortening into the mixture until just combined. Butter and shortening pieces should be pea sized.
5. Separate dough into two even-sized balls and then flatten into two rounded discs.
6. Wrap discs tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
To Assemble Pie:
4. Flip pie plate and dough. Remove remaining parchment paper.
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Pm: Go Out In Oak Bluffs
On Tuesday night, theres the Jack and Jill party, which is a fundraiser hosted by the Boston chapter. You can buy tickets, but they go fast so you have to buy them months in advance. Its an adults-only white party, and its at one of the bars in Oak Bluffs. For the past few years, theyve done it at the Chowder Company . We get dressed up with all of our friends and dance and drink.
Chrissy Kinsman Of Pie Chicks
If youve ever had a slice of great pie on-Island, it might have been baked with love by Chrissy Kinsman of Pie Chicks. She recently shared how her dream of pie began, and the secret behind what makes a great pie.
You mention that your Grandma Helen inspired you in the kitchen. Whats your favorite memory of you both in the kitchen?
My grandmother raised 11 children in a 1,200-square-foot house. Biscuits and pies for her werent a treat they were a necessity. Flour and lard were cheap. She used to cut her flour in with two knives and cut out her biscuits with a juice glass. There were always biscuits at Grandmas. And if you were lucky, there was pie. When she died and my mom gave me her rolling pin, I felt like someone had handed me a magic wand.
Youve been baking for over two decades, yet Pie Chicks is fairly new in town . What pushed you to open your own food business?
You must have noticed a lack of great pie on-Island and went from there, right? How was the buzz created for the brand?
I created and sketched the logo myself, and people were really drawn to it off the bat. I was fortunate to have good placement at Fiddlehead Farm my first year, and Cronigs has been very helpful and generous as well. I was told that a lot of people were introduced to Pie Chicks via potlucks. Its a pretty common thing to bring a pie to a party. I didnt do much advertising in my first year, so most of it was word-of-mouth. It turns out people love pie as much as I do!
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