Nor'Easter Hits Nantucket

As we knew a Nor'easter was imminent, we needed to get out and hit the town while it was still relatively dry. We were lucky that we had been able to sit outside on the ferry. Even though clearly it was a bit windy....

It was a Saturday and some of the stores were still open, so we headed out. The first order of business for me always is to hit Aunt Leah's Fudge. www.auntleahsfudge.com. Always need to stock up for the days on Nantucket and then do a final stock up before leaving on the ferry. It is by far and away the best fudge ever. It is hidden in a little shop just off the Straight Wharf. One of the other great shops on Main Street is The Hub. This is literally a card and newspaper shop, but it's amazing at how many wonderful things you can find there. They have an entire section of Nantucket authors on their book shelf. Which brings me to another Nantucket treasure, author Elin Hilderbrand. She has written numerous fiction novels, all set in Nantucket. My friends and I are completely addicted and I keep a list of all the wonderful places she mentions in her book so that I will remember to visit them when I am on island. This past spring while a friend and I were taking a walk along the beach, we wound up at the Galley Restaurant and the Cliffside Beach Club. We wanted to go in and look around at the Beach Club as it seemed to obviously be the setting for the book "The Beach Club" by Ms. Hilderbrand. We wound up meeting the General Manager, Chip Cunningham, and talking about our Nantucket experiences. We finally asked him if he knew Elin Hilderbrand and of course, he was her husband!

The shops in Nantucket at this point in the off season and with the horrible weather approaching wound up closing and it was time to look for a place for dinner. Not everywhere was open, but some of the mainstays that I love and return to year after year are open year round. The perfect location for a rainy night in October with a huge storm approaching was of course The Brotherhood of Thieves, located just up the street from the Steamship dock. This restaurant is one of my favorites as it is a bit below ground, with brick walls, a fireplace and an extremely cozy atmosphere. This night there was a roaring fire with carved pumpkins sitting on either side. They were serving a special Oktoberfest menu which was wonderful. The food is good and the atmosphere is perfect. We wound up going back the next day just to get out of the storm and grab a cup of chowder and a beer.

By the next morning, the storm had hit in all its fury. I loved it. What better place to be than on an island in the middle of a semi-hurricane! Us westerners don't get that very often. It made you want to huddle under that down comforter just an hour longer knowing there wasn't much point in going out in the storm. But we were in Nantucket! We wanted to get out and see everything! So after some room service cappucino's for some, we were lucky enough that the hotel van was able to take us and drop us off at breakfast in town.

I have explored most of the breakfast options within walking distance of The White Elephant and I can say for certain the best choice by far is Black Eyed Susan's. It is tiny and cozy with very few tables and a counter adjacent to the stove. It is wonderful. Everything on the menu is good, but especially fantastic is the Cinnamon Pecan French Toast. They didn't have a big enough table for our group, so we bellied up to the lunch counter and were able to watch the cook make every single order by himself at a quick pace. He spoke to no one but he was completely in charge of every burner on that stove and every order looked delicious. We felt as if we were watching a Food Network tv show. It was entrancing. The food as always was phenomenal.

Once sated, we were ready to brave the elements and shop and explore. We quickly wound up breaking into smaller groups. As it was off season, there were plenty of deals to be had in buying t-shirts, etc. I showed everyone my favorite shops and two of us made our way down to the Straight Wharf where the storm was particularly violent. It was awesome.

We found a shop open at the end of the Wharf that sold beautiful suncatchers in Nantucket blue. Found out the next day that we had been the only customers that day! A lot of the shops had closed due to the weather, so we were forced to head indoors and grab a beer and watch football. Oh well.

It was quickly becoming obvious that any stores that were open, were closing due to the storm or just simply because it was a Sunday. We wound up heading back to the hotel for happy hour and tried to make a plan for dinner. After having walked past The Boarding House the night before which is another basement type of restaurant that looked extremely cozy with tables with couches, we decided to try it. It is now one of my new favorite restaurants. It is unbelievably cozy and quickly became quite crowded as all of the locals apparently knew what I was just learning. Get the steak frites. It was amazing. I can't wait to go back there.

There were so many weddings going on at the White Elephant this weekend that the guests had taken over the Brant Point Bar at the White Elephant and we were forced to retire to our rooms. It is definitely a favorite destination for weddings. There is usually one there every time I'm on the island. Book carefully as there are only so many rooms to go around!

By the next morning, the storm was dying down and we headed out to breakfast again at Black Eyed Susan's. For whatever reason, it was closed this time, so we chose the next best thing down the street, the Fog Island Cafe, another solid choice for breakfast. After breaking up to do all of our last minute shopping, it was time to head for the ferry. So depressing. I hated to leave that place but hope to return soon! All in all, I think I have 5 new fans of Nantucket as one of the great American travel destinations and I'm sure all will return.