Anchor Inn

OCTOBER 1ST Scalloping Day!

anchorinn — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:06:16 +0000

Saturday October 1st was the first day of family scalloping on Nantucket. The commercial scalloping season begins a month later on November 1st. So…it is time to get out the hip boots and waders, the scallop rakes and baskets and inner-tube. There is nothing better than scalloping the Nantucket harbor on a sunny fall day at low tide. Folks of all ages return for this experience…to go scalloping on Nantucket. As you push the rake through the eel grass for the first time, you never know how many scallops you will get…if any! A true Nantucket scalloper does not tell where he got his catch. These sea creatures move around the harbor with the tide. Our Town Biologist has a shellfish lab at Brant Point where they incubate shellfish and create spat to place around the harbor to continue to grow the famous Nantucket Bay Scallops. They are a delicacy, small, not like sea scallops. Our scallops are hand opened, same day, and shucked….not steamed open or processed. If someone shares their scallops with you…they really like you. Years ago we would go scalloping and bring some back to our elderly friends who could no longer push the rakes themselves. But they still knew how to open them! They could ‘open’ faster than we could. If you get a bushell of scallops , it can take hours to open them. The shells are taken each night to the Jetties Beach parking lot, saving you a trip out to Madaket (the landfill). The pile of shells from the first day was a good indication of a good scalloping season. We’ll see what the newspaper reports when the INKY comes out on Thursday.

Saturday October 1st was also the Scalloper’s Ball at the Yacht Club. The Egan Maritime Institute hosted a Maritime Festival at Childrens Beach also on Saturday. They had an oyster opening contest (they are harder to open than scallops!) , tug of war on the beach, paddle board race, remote model boats racing, arts & crafts tent with children making fish prints, a touch tank of critters , making telescopes, a food tent, and music for the festival. It was a fall celebration of this special season on Nantucket.

Nantucket Restaurant Week- but much more!

anchorinn — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:38:07 +0000

Last week we enjoyed a lovely dinner at FIGS at 29 Fair Street. This restaurant is located in an historic house that was built in 1709. There are 3 dining rooms on the first floor, all give you a cozy, warm feeling, rich from the years of history that have been lived there. The rooms are candlelit, with low ceilings, transoms over doorways, wooden walls with rich patina, and all have a fireplace in each room. This historic restaurant has been renamed in recent history. It is operated by the Summer House team. They have several inns around town, plus the well known beach restaurant and cottages in Sconset. Todd English lent his name to this new menu that includes creative pizzas made in a special pizza oven that was installed. This building was previously called ” The Woodbox” and had a long history in the Tuetin family. During restaurant week they offered a fixed price 3 course menue. But even with the special pricing, several in our group enjoyed salads and pizza. The warm spinach salad with bacon, egg and sliced apples was WONDERFUL! The Caesar salad was artfully presented and was a great choice too. The pizzas are oblong in shape and easy to share if you have a salad and want to save room for desserts. I suggest the warm bread pudding that everyone enjoyed. So though the fine dining options for great food at there too at Figs…..I can not think of a more wonderful place to enjoy an evening visiting with friends enjoying wine, salad, pizza, and dessert. We lingered to enjoy this experience in a wonderful Nantucket historic site and the chef visited our table. The surprise here is in a wee spot under the stairs!

It is an easy evening stroll from ANCHOR INN to the other side of Main St. and up Fair Street to FIGS.

AUGUST ON NANTUCKET WAS AMAZING!

anchorinn — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:11:28 +0000

August is peak season on the island. The weather was terrific and there were summer events happening daily. Some of the highlights this year were the House Tour, the Boston POPS Concert, & Race Week.

On the second Wed in August the Nantucket Garden Club presents an annual house tour. Different neighborhoods are selected each year and several private homes and gardens are opened for 1 day. This was the 57th annual house tour! Club members display beautiful flower arrangements in the rooms of each home, and local artists paint garden scenes during the tour, which includes tea in one of the gardens. The proceeds benefit scholarships for Nantucket High School students. The Nantucket Historic Association featured 2 of their properties on the House Tour: “The Greater Light’ home of the Monaghan sisters was recently restored, and the ‘Hadwen House’ and garden at 96 Main St.

The second Saturday in August was the 15th year that the Boston POPS benefit concert was held for the Nantucket Cottage Hospital at Jetties Beach. Over 8000 people gathered to hear the POPS and see Carly Simon perform for this SOLD OUT event, celebrating our hospital’s 100th birthday. The fireworks were awesome! Purchase your tickets online early next year, it is an amazing evening on Nantucket for everyone.

The 39th Race Week was held in August. Classic yachts in several classes have challenge races throughout the week. The One Design Series features fleets of Marshall18′s, Rhodes 19′s, Indians, Alerions, Rainbows and Open 420′s. Throughout the week the Women’s Sail, Youth Regattas, the International One Design fleet, 12 Metre Regattas all occur before the big finale of classic wooden sailboats for the Opera House Cup. The Rainbow Fleet parade begins early Sunday morning rounding Brant Point. The historic red Nantucket Lightship was here in the harbor for Race Week. Labor Day Weekend the large Broward (motor) yachts are here at the boat basin. Walking the docks in the evening to view these spectacular yachts is like a floating houseboat tour of sorts.

As we go into September we think of changing seasons. But really it is like another month of summer for those of us who live here. It is the best. We just experienced our first storm of the fall season….slightly. We had wind one day, but it was less than a typical nor’easter. We did not lose power, we did not have rain. The days before and after that one day, were perfect beach days all week. Please join us “INNside Nantucket” at Anchor Inn.

Wine Fest, Film Fest, Dance Fest-All on Nantucket!

anchorinn — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:12:59 +0000

Nantucket is a remote island, but the most amazing things happen here! You never know what event will be scheduled that might include your favorite actor, comedian, or a famous celebrity.

There are many benefits scheduled each year to help various charities. These special events often attract special guest performers or celebrities.

The 15th Annual Wine Festival was in May this year. Celebrity chefs and famous vinters gathered to celebrate Napa Valley winemaker Tim Mondavi. Over 190 wineries were featured at the Grand Tastings event. This is a favorite event for foodies and wine collectors.

The 16th Annual Nantucket Film Festival was held June 22-26th. The focus is on screenwriting and this year Paul Haggis was honored. Over 50 movies were shown around town in various locations, along with workshops, panels, morning coffe gatherings, late night storytelling, and the all-star comedy roundtable. A friend invited me to attend this comedy roundtable, held in our local high school auditorium on a Sunday afternoon to a packed house. It was hosted by Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live, and included Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, among others. Amazing… right here on Nantucket!

This past weekend July 22-23 was the Nantucket Dance Festival to benefit our local library, the Atheneum. Benjamin Millepied a Principal Dancer of the New York City Ballet & international choreographer was artistic director for this Nantucket Festival for the 3rd year, bringing an assembled program of first rate ballets to Nantucket. He featured dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet and the New York City Ballet. Justin Peck choreographed his World Premiere Ballet “ 7 (for seven)” here on Nantucket! It was amazing. Benjamin Millepied choreographed and starred in the feature film ” Black Swan” with his wife Natalie Portman.

Last night I attended a lecture by Fen Montaigne, an author who spent 5 months in Antartica studying Fraser’s Penguins. So you never know what you might find to interest you on Nantucket. There is something different to enjoy each week of the summer. Tonight there is a concert next door at the church. Nantucket Musical Arts Society presents a classical music performance each Tuesday evening. So there is something for everyone to enjoy right here on our small island during the summer season.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

anchorinn — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:43:09 +0000

Patriotic Nantucket!

anchorinn — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:52:09 +0000

the home across the street from Anchor Inn

Red, White and Blue on Nantucket !

anchorinn — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:07:06 +0000

On Nantucket you will see American flags flying from homes and flagpoles all over the island. You will see window boxes decked out with flowers that are red, white and blue. You will see the Main Street fountain & veterans monuments filled with these flowers and flags too. It begins at Memorial Day and grows to include more houses and businesses as they reopen and folks return to their summer homes. By the July 4th weekend the cliff flag poles are all flying Old Glory. Bunting is hung from windows on homes throughout the island. Bicycles and baby carriages are decorated….and dogs have colorful festive attire. On Main Street on the morning of July 4th the street is closed to cars and a street festival of family fun arrives….face painting, blueberry pie eating contests, watermelon eating contests….and at high noon prepare for the firetrucks to battle in a water fight, when everyone gets wet. At Children’s Beach at 5pm there are contests and 3 legged races. At Jetties Beach the fireworks display begins at 9pm- fog willing! Every year we never know what the weather will be. Due to hatching piping plovers on the beaches, the fireworks are launched from a barge, where the display can be seen from many locations throughout the island. We wish you all a Happy Fourth of July ! Think of joining us sometime for our wonderful small town American celebration.

Please join us “INNSIDE NANTUCKET”at Anchor Inn!

Innkeeper featured in Nancy Thayer’s new novel HEAT WAVE

anchorinn — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:11:34 +0000

Local Nantucket author, Nancy Thayer has just introduced her 21st book this summer. We were pleased to invite her to share this news at a recent meeting of innkeepers here on Nantucket. I just finished reading the book and I did not want it to end. Her main character Carley chooses innkeeping as a lifestyle, as so many of us have done. It seems to be everyone’s dream. We teased Nancy when she told us the repairmen in her book came as expected and easily fixed everything….that is fiction! We shared more real life innkeepng stories with her. Who knows… that might prompt her to write another storyline that includes inn life?

I’m glad to recommend HEAT WAVE to you, it is due to be out in stores this summer. I’m sure you will enjoy it as I did, and you’ll be wanting Carley to be your neighbor and friend too. I’m pleased that in real life, Nancy is both of these….my neighbor and friend.

Celebrating 25 years of the Nantucket Lodging Association

anchorinn — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 21:54:36 +0000

Back in the fall of 1985 we gathered fellow innkeepers for the first meeting of our new organization : the Nantucket Lodging Association. We welcomed hotels, motels, resorts, bed & breakfasts, inns, and guest houses. We wanted all members to be licensed with the town of Nantucket to rent rooms , belong to the Chamber of Commerce, and collect the room tax. We meet monthly 8 times a year, skipping two winter months, when many are closed, and skipping 2 summer months, when everyone is busy. Over the years we’ve learned alot, shared information, and helped each other, as we have become friends. We opened our inns for inn tours for each other so we could all know what is available- who has first floor rooms, no stairs, who has a family suite that can sleep 4, who has fireplaces in rooms and are open in the winter, etc. We were able to help each other, and help guests find accommodations that best meet their needs. They say that the average length of time someone is an innkeeper is about 7 years, but I think Nantucket breaks those trends. Many innkeepers have passed down this tradition of hospitality in their family. We have several second generation innkeepers in our group. We recently paid tribute to one innkeeper who has been doing this over 40 years. You might think that with the current economy, we might be more competitive with other lodging establishments here on the island. But we feel that each property offers something special, and unique, with a large range of pricing and amenities. Typically the historic and quaint houses in the historic district were the norm for Nantucket tourism for hundreds of years. B&B’s were common, like in Europe, years before the trend started to span the USA. Today with the internet, you can find a property and actually choose an individual room, from the many photos available. Pricing in peak season can range from about $175 per night to $3000….there is something for most everyone! But remember to ask if the room has a private bathroom! (NOTE: ALL rooms at Anchor Inn have private bathrooms)

We recently gathered innkeepers past & present on Nantucket for a group photo, as we celebrated 25 years of comraderie in our association. June 15, 2011

SPRING RESTAURANT WEEK

anchorinn — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:01:55 +0000

This week is a fun week to try a new restaurant or a favorite extra special restaurant. Special fixed price 3 course dinners are available at many of the island’s best restaurants. Why not try Figs on Fair Steet for $29 or try a new restaurant like Pazzo for $45? Queequeg’s special menue is $40, and Black Eyed Susan’s is $35. Fine dining and famous chefs are expected on Nantucket, but each spring and fall there is a restaurant week offering special values at some of the best restaurants. Come and enjoy great food, fine wines and great weather this week on Nantucket! Many restaurants are close by and within walking distance of Anchor Inn. Bon Appetite!