10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Organized by the Nantucket Historical Association, “Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket” presents more than 150 objects from the NHA’s costume and textile collections to tell stories of making, meaning and island identity from across Nantucket history. Free with museum admission.
Historic Downtown Walking Tour
10:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. Walk through historic downtown Nantucket with a museum guide and discover the unique history of the island. The tour transports visitors on a journey through Nantucket’s past and tells the story of the rise and fall of the whaling industry, the rise of tourism and the impacts the island’s economy had on social and racial development on Nantucket.
Island Calendar
Honoring Juneteenth
11 a.m.-3 p.m. African Meeting House, 29 York St. In honor of Juneteenth, the Nantucket Historical Association, Chamber of Commerce, Museum of African American History and the Nantucket Cultural District will host a day of crafts, lawn games, live music and food. There also will be a screening of the documentary “Nantucket’s Historic Coloured Cemetery: Stories Told by Nantucketers.” Free.
Juneteenth Drag Performance
Noon, African Meeting House, 29 York St. Island drag artist SheShe Fogo will perform an energetic set at the African Meeting House in honor of Juneteenth. SheShe Fogo is a multi-generation Nantucket native who has been performing as a drag artist on-island for over a decade. She’s about inclusivity, freedom of expression and diversity. Free, tipping welcome.
Live Music: B3 Kings
4-7 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Rock and soul band B3 Kings will perform.
THURSDAY, PAGE 18
To purchase tickets, scan the QR code or visit FairwindsCenter.org!
A curated wellness-themed silent auction
Seasonal hors d’oeuvres from Island Kitchen ✨Live music by Billy Voss ✨Remarks from Nantucket Police, Fire, and Cottage Hospital ✨Mission moment from Kaeyllane DeLima Dias on our islands youth …and more
File photo
Sustainable Nantucket’s Farmers & Artisans Market is held downtown every Saturday from spring through fall, weather permitting.
Legacy of fine dining continues at The Chanticleer
By Joshua Balling jballing@inkym.com
Out on the east end of the island, The Chanticleer has epitomized elegance and fine dining for over a century.
Originally opened as a tea house on New Street in Sconset in the early 1900s, it has been run for the past 20 years by Susan Handy, who took the reins from the venerable Berruet family after they ran the restaurant for nearly four decades.
This season, however, marks a new era in the long legacy of The Chanticleer, as chef Andre Miller, most recently of Straight Wharf Restaurant, has taken over in the kitchen from Jeff Worster.
Miller has promised to stay true to the Chanticleer’s French bistro roots, but with his own twist.
“I very much did a revamp of the menu and gave it a new look,” he said this week.
“It’s very much inspired by my time at Hammersley’s Bistro in Boston, with a feel that ties back to the origins of this
Let’s Eat!
restaurant in the bistros of France. I’ve spent time in Paris, and the French restaurants there feel much more avant garde. The kind of food I want to present is globally inspired that still feels French. I do a foie gras dish but use prickly pear and hibiscus. It’s done in a very French way, but with Mexican flavors.”
Miller, whose pedigree includes culinary school in Portland, Ore., Fore Street in Portland, Maine and Hungry Mother in Cambridge in addition to Hammersley’s and Straight Wharf, is also an ardent supporter of sourcing his ingredients as locally as possible.
The Chanticleer’s greens come from Aidan Feeney’s Fog Town Farm, other produce from Dan Southey’s Washashore Farm and the oysters from Matt Herr’s Grey Lady Oysters.
“I will do everything I can to use the
LET’S EAT, PAGE 17
Photo by Joshua Balling
The Best in Show, left, and Island Time.
Photo by Joshua Balling
Tuna carpaccio with arugula, pickled maitake, taggiasca olives, miso vinaigrette and a sunchoke chili crisp.
Photo by Joshua Balling
Chef Andre Miller’s grilled heritage pork chop with house-made bacon and sausage, caraway-green garlic sauerkraut and rutabaga.
Mo Lowda & The Humble find themselves
Fifth studio album, “Tailing the Ghost,” drops Friday
By Kendall Graham kgraham@inkym.com
Most bands typically make albums in studios. Mo Lowda & The Humble made theirs in riverside cabins, the desert and the in-between hours of life on tour.
The Philadelphia quartet’s fifth studio album, “Tailing the Ghost,” drops tomorrow, June 20, and is a document of growth and the kind of pursuit of self that only happens when you leave comfort behind.
The entirety of the album was written
and recorded between shows over nearly a year of touring, and the band made a habit of renting cabins and immersing themselves in natural landscapes as much as possible, noting the environment as a big inspiration.
“We always tried to be around rivers or mountains or lakes,” lead singer Jordan Caiola said. “I think that’s always been a part of our music, definitely the lyrical content.”
“We did a good bit out in Joshua Tree in the desert. That’s definitely the first time we’ve written or recorded in that kind of environment. We’re always trying to capture a desert-type thing, I just think it’s a
cool aesthetic.”
There’s no shortcut to the kind of clarity Mo Lowda & The Humble found while writing “Tailing the Ghost,” only long drives, late nights and a willingness to sit with what hurts.
The band’s performances at The Gaslight next Wednesday and Thursday mark their fifth time playing Nantucket.
They have been making music and touring together for over a decade. This, members said, has afforded them a sense of ease and cohesion that bled into the making of “Tailing the Ghost.”
While writing and recording the album, “We were playing every night, and then you take that (energy) straight to the studio, so you feel like a locked-in band by the time you get there, and then
it’s just time to execute,” Caiola said.
“We’re in our early 30s now. But rather than feeling burnout, I feel like we’re really hitting our stride and (getting) locked in in the studio. It’s very much that we know what sounds we want to get and how to accomplish that.”
Songs like “Sara’s Got Big Plans,” “7.31” and “Postman” all serve as meditations on the inevitability of change, the discomfort of being vulnerable and the lingering ache of farewells.
All these motifs address the purposeful, intentional effort of change as an instrument of growth.
“Postman” is a metaphor for the emotional baggage that many of us carry around, and the idea that we don’t always know what someone else is going
MusACK
Courtesy of Mo Lowda & The Humble
Mo Lowda & The Humble bring their introspective sound to The Gaslight next Wednesday and Thursday.
through.
“And how could you (know that) unless they feel comfortable enough to let that out?” Caiola said.
“Everybody deals with pain or whatever feelings differently, whether you internalize it or you let it out and share it.
(The song) is more just a message of, ‘It’s alright to be feeling that, and it’s alright to confide in people you trust so you don’t have to bear that all the time.’”
The band knows they are not reinventing the wheel as a four-piece rock and roll band, but they say they rely on their capacity to create unique sounds to individualize themselves. They’re constantly chasing new tones, warping guitars until they sound like other instruments entirely.
“We’re all pretty obsessed with production, so it’s fun to think about how we can do something we haven’t done before,” Caiola said.
“On previous records, we’ve had guitars tuned to sound like strings or synths, and I think there are just so many ways you can package a song idea and get the song itself and the essence of it across. That’s part of what keeps this thing exciting.”
”Tailing the Ghost’s” central theory revolves around creating your own changes, Caiola said. He acknowledged that after more than 10 years together as a band, the present stage of life they’re in is one that requires both conscious choice
“Everybody deals with pain or whatever feelings differently, whether you internalize it or you let it out and share it. (The song) is more just a message of, ‘It’s alright to be feeling that, and it’s alright to confide in people you trust so you don’t have to bear that all the time’.”
– Jordan Caiola
Lead singer, Mo Lowda & The Humble
and relinquishing control.
“You’re going to be tested in a lot of ways,” he said. “I think there’s definitely sacrifices we’ve made for this path that we’ve chosen.”
“It’s not to say that this quest is more noble than any other, but you do have to create your own changes. And even while you’re doing that, there are constant changes coming at you from all angles.”
“The only constant is that things continue to change. So, dealing with those in real time, as well as making your own path is, thematically, very much what a lot of this stuff is talking about on the record.”
Mo Lowda & The Humble performs Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26 at The Gaslight, 3 North Union St., with doors open at 9 p.m. Pre-sale tickets are $25 online at gaslightnantucket.com, or $30 at the door. 21 and over only.
Quick and Convenient Medical Care on Nantucket
Urgent Access at Nantucket Cottage Hospital provides walk-in medical care for non-lifethreatening conditions.
Urgent Access is located in the Anderson Building on the hospital campus at 57 Prospect Street, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Visit nantuckethospital.org/urgentaccess for more information.
Brittany Packard, Lead LPN, Jayne Culkins, PA-C, and Steven Kohler, MD
Courtesy of Mo Lowda & The Humble Mo Lowda & The Humble will release their fifth studio album, “Tailing the Ghost,” Friday, June 20.
Pinot Noir having its moment in Germany
actually improved the quality of many German Pinot Noirs.
By Peter McEachern I&M Columnist
When most people think German wine, they picture crisp Rieslings and maybe some awkward memories of Blue Nun from college.
Red wine? From Germany? That’s like expecting great barbecue from Vermont: theoretically possible, but not exactly what comes to mind.
It’s time to update that misconception, because Germany has been quietly producing some of the world’s most elegant and surprising red wines. Leading the charge? Pinot Noir, or as the Germans call it, Spätburgunder.
The grape that defied geography
Let’s be honest, Germany doesn’t exactly scream “red wine country.” It’s cold, it’s northern and for centuries, it was ba-
sically the land of white wine and beer.
But here’s the thing about Pinot Noir: it’s picky, moody and absolutely loves cool climates. While other red grapes are busy basking in Napa Valley’s sun, Pinot Noir thrives in places where you might need a sweater in July.
Germany sits at roughly the same latitude as Burgundy, the spiritual home of Pinot Noir. Coincidence? Definitely not.
The grape has been grown in Germany since the Middle Ages, but it’s only in the last 30 years that German winemakers have figured out how to make it sing instead of just survive.
Afterthought to award winner
For decades, German Pinot Noir had a reputation problem. Most of it was light, sweet and forgettable, the kind of wine
Wine Cellar
Peter Allgaier Climate change has
Courtesy of Peter McEachern
Acres of Pinot Noir grapes, or as the Germans call them, Spätburgunder, under cultivation in rolling vineyards in Germany.
you’d politely sip at a cousin’s wedding and then quickly forget.
But starting in the 1990s, a new generation of German winemakers decided they were tired of apologizing for their red wines.
They studied in Burgundy, experimented with different techniques and most importantly, stopped trying to make their wines taste like something they weren’t.
Instead of chasing the big, bold style of warmer climates, they embraced what their cool climate could do best: elegance, finesse and food-friendly wines with bright acidity.
The results have been nothing short of remarkable. German Pinot Noirs are now winning international competitions, earning respect from wine critics and-perhaps most surprisingly, actually tasting really, really good.
Why German Pinot Noir works
Here’s what makes German Pinot Noir special: it’s not trying to be California Pinot or Burgundian. It’s doing its own thing, and that thing happens to be pretty fantastic.
German Pinot Noirs tend to be more restrained than their New World
CELLAR, PAGE 16D
Bernd F Meier
Wine grows on extreme steep slopes in the Ahr Valley near Bonn. In summer 2021 the valley was destroyed by a flood that claimed more than 130 lives. But today, the future looks much brighter. The Ahr Valley is well known for its high-quality Spätburgunder red wines.
Countdown to “Counted Out” and other films
By Sarah Wright I&M Columnist
The Nantucket Atheneum will host a special screening Saturday of “Counted Out,” a tribute to the power of math.
But “Counted Out” is so much more than a simple love letter to numbers and figures.
As Vicki Abeles notes in her heartfelt director’s statement, the film explores how math is taught in the classroom. She wonders why so many students fear math and why math proficiency in America lags so far behind other countries.
Everything about “Counted Out” resonates with me. One of my favorite books is John Allen Paulos’ “A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper.”
This 1995 collection of short essays deconstructs the world in entertaining ways that make math less scary and kind of cool.
At the same time, his 1988 book “Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences” also aligns with what Abeles sets out to do in her documentary film project.
Film Buff
“Counted Out” will screen in the Great Hall of the Nantucket Atheneum Saturday evening.
“Bono: Stories of Surrender” is streaming now on Apple TV+.
I am enormously grateful to my social work colleague Lisa Lothian at the Atheneum for her openness to hosting “Counted Out.”
Other movies I recommend last week include “Karate Kid: Legends,” the sixth installment in the storied martial arts franchise.
Predictable in nearly every way, seeing 63-year-old Ralph Macchio on the silver screen in 2025 is somehow strangely soothing.
Call it “cinema for the very middle-aged.” I also think younger audiences will enjoy this PG-13 fare at least as much as I did, if not more.
For one thing, the bulk of the action in this movie takes place in New York City. With a skyscraping showdown I relished from a cinema in Ireland last week, “Karate Kid: Legends” just wrapped up a run at the Dreamland.
Before leaving the Republic of Ireland, I also streamed “Bono: Stories of Surrender” on Apple TV+. Part memoir, part confessional, part “tall tales from a short man,” Bono’s theatrical endeavor to reveal his most personal life story is quite moving.
paperback. Meanwhile, the documentary’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival garnered a seven-minute standing ovation last month.
Back on May 10, 1983, an up-and-coming band called U2 played Woolsey Hall on the Yale University campus. During the concert, Bono climbed a ladder midsong to the first balcony where my high school girlfriends and I had ticketed seats. To us, the Irishman’s approach felt Shakespearean, like we were all Juliet.
Enthralled by this 23-year-old lead singer and his edgy band, we were all starstruck and smitten. The edgy band even had a guitarist called The Edge. As Bono slithered through our section of the intimate Ivy League venue, I had little idea what the band’s new album “War” truly meant. Barely post-pubescent, my young mind was still trying to decipher John Waters’ “Female Trouble,” let alone the Troubles.
To wit, anyone who last sees their mother collapse on a casket during a funeral has my deepest sympathy and lifelong concern. Because Bono falls into this unique category, I feel for him.
After watching this documentary, I suspect his general storytelling prowess is a genetically encoded gift, too.
Indeed, “Bono: Stories of Surrender” is the film version of Paul “Bono” Hewson’s 2022 memoir of a similar title.
Coinciding with the cinematic event, the U2 front-man’s book is now out in
After seeing “Bono: Stories of Surrender” and visiting Northern Ireland for the first time, I am starting to appreciate his personal history more fully. Now that I am a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, my desire to learn all I can about Irish history naturally includes Irish cinema.
Stay tuned for more.
Matthews
IMDb
Jackie Chan and Ben Wang in “Karate Kid: Legends.”
A cautious traveler’s guide to speculative fiction
By Clara Kempf Contributing Writer
Speculative fiction is kind of a weird term, when you think about it. It irked me a bit when I first heard it used to describe the genres of fantasy, sci-fi and horror, in all of their intersections.
I mean, isn’t all fiction speculative? Isn’t the whole point of creative writing to speculate something, whether that thing is as fantastical and intriguing as John Scalzi’s moon made of cheese or as grounded and beautifully rendered as Niall Williams’ small-town Ireland?
It seemed at first a bit like an attempt to shake the red letter of “genre fiction” from the breast of literature that just so happened to have one too many wizards to pass for respectable and sober literary fiction.
Quibbling about terminology aside, however, I find that there are some works that really truly do deserve to be recognized first and foremost for the way in which they do not only imagine a world strange and different from our own, but also speculate about all the ways that these changes would influence culture, society, politics, infrastructure and even interpersonal relationships: books that are speculative not only in genre, but that make speculation their ethos.
One such book I recently read that really reignited my interest in world-building is Sarah Brooks’ “The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands.”
In the gaslamp fantasy world of “The Cautious Traveller’s Guide,” a large swath of land between Beijing and Moscow has become uninhabitable in the aftermath of some Earth-shattering but unexplained event.
Nature has begun bending the rules of reality, growing and changing at a dizzying pace, rendering this space a kaleidoscopic, hostile and remarkably sapient dreamscape, only traversable via heavily-protected train.
It is so vividly written that, despite caring a lot for the squishy humans on board the train, I found myself at times rooting for the sheer destructive/creative force of the Wastelands to overturn the rails and consume the world with glimmering plant life.
It is one task entirely to make a setting compelling. In reading, we are primed
Good Reads
to pay attention to character and plot, which makes sense.
These things change and shift throughout the story. Characters make choices and change and bump up against each other, and the plot twists and turns and meanders, forcing the characters to respond to it.
The third component of setting is often overlooked, however, being often static, or at worst, a mere set piece.
“The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands” not only bypasses this, but elevates setting to a primary force of the narrative.
Here, the setting shapes our characters, defining the worldviews of Weiwei, the child of the train, and Elena, the child of the Wastelands, alike.
Their bond, complicated, characterized by mutual misunderstanding and painfully earnest as only a friendship between two isolated teenagers can be, is haunted by the ghosts of their respective spaces.
When they speak, when their differences cause conflict, even when they find mutual understanding and kinship, one can almost imagine the forces of technology and nature speaking through them.
Setting, too, shapes the plot, though
much more literally. “The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands” is a journey, beginning with the Trans-Siberian Express’ departure and ending in its arrival.
As the story becomes more complicated and tensions rise, the scenery echoes it, the wilderness surrounding the train becoming stranger, more vivid and of course far more threatening to the vulnerable characters trapped within the train’s carriages.
The story lives and breathes with the creaking of steam engines and the rush of photosynthesis.
Ultimately, truly excellent specula -
tive fiction first dreams up a strange new world, and then convinces you to believe in it. It hooks you in with a compelling premise, the stranger the better, and then it actually sits you down and takes you through all the implications, only to lastly bring that far-off beautiful thing close to you again through genuine emotional resonance.
This is the journey that “The Cautious Traveller’s Guide” sent me on. I began the book excited about the fact that “heck yes, we’re doing steampunk again,” and ended it misty-eyed and compelled to wander into my nearest forest for a few hours.
Sarah Brooks
Sentinels of the sea: Nantucket’s lightships
By Robert R. Reed
Contributing Writer
A simple answer might be: a sea-going vessel designed to function much like an Earth-bound lighthouse.
Just as lighthouses were situated to warn mariners of hazards along our shores, lightships were the sentinels stationed at offshore shoals or ledges.
The Nantucket South Shoal, extending 35 miles south of the island, were of great concern to coastal shipping throughout the history of navigation off New England.
From the Museum
The shoals were a notorious shipwreck site, with wrecks numbering 100 or more during the early centuries of American settlement.
In 1843 this problem was presented to Congress in an effort to support the placement of a lightship there.
The report cited that, “Many a gallant ship lie buried in one common grave.”
Congress responded favorably and, as a result, the first lightship was stationed at Nantucket’s South Shoal on June 15,
1854.
Exposed to the elements of the raging Atlantic, any lightship placed at South Shoal had to prove her sea-worthiness. Most importantly, her anchoring equipment had to withstand the continuous punishment dealt by winds and swells.
The first lightship to be anchored at South Shoal was based on a sturdy “schooner”-style hull commonly used in these waters.
She had two masts on which, at night, large lanterns were hoisted. Whale oil lamps within these lanterns supplied the light, which at best, fog permitting, could
only be seen for a few miles. In contrast, the lamps of the last lightship, which ended its service in 1973, had an intensity of 400,000 candle-power and could be seen for 23 miles.
The first ship had a rather brief tour of duty. After just 18 months at the shoal, her mooring failed and she was blown 50 miles to the west, where she went aground on Montauk Point, Long Island. Nantucket’s second lightship faired better in longevity but not in staying put. Though she served faithfully for almost 37 years, it is reported that she parted
Courtesy of NHA
The Nantucket lightship on station, circa 1950s.
Museum: Nantucket lightships floating sentinels of the sea
(Continued from page 14)
from her mooring at least 23 times while at the shoals.
In 1878 a nor’easter blew her clear to Bermuda, some 800 miles south of Nantucket.
She crept back to the island without a motor, rigged only with two small trisails. Her end at the shoals came with a final, unanticipated journey.
During a blizzard in March 1892, she parted her chain and weeks passed without any sign of her whereabouts.
Finally, she was spotted grounded on a reef at Noman’s Land near Martha’s Vineyard. The crew survived, the ship was repaired and sent away to calmer waters.
It was aboard those early lightships stationed at South Shoal that basket making emerged as a cottage industry for the Nantucket crewmen.
Their craft was as much a means of diversion from confinement as it was a source of extra income.
The extent of basket production aboard South Shoal vessels was unique to this
isolated location. A commentary written in an 1891 edition of Century Magazine caught the desolation, monotony and dis-
comforts of life aboard.
The following are excerpts from the 1891 article.:
Quoting an old whaling captain, “The loneliest thing he had ever seen at sea was a polar bear floating on a piece of ice in the Arctic Ocean; the next loneliest object was the South Shoal Lightship.”
An ex-captain of another lightship said, very solemnly, “If it weren’t for the disgrace it would bring on my family, I’d rather go to State’s Prison.”
The author was also told of times when the South Shoal Lightship so pitched and rolled that “even an old whale man that served at sea for 17 years felt squeamish.”
Life on the lightship, therefore, presented itself to us as a term of solitary confinement combined with the horrors of seasickness.
Although over the years, numerous lightships were moored at South Shoal, saving many a vessel from disaster, the making of lightship baskets aboard these guardians of the sea ended soon after the turn of the 20th century.
Courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association. To learn more visit www.nha. org.
Cellar: Pinot Noirs making a name for themselves in Germany
(Continued from page 9)
cousins.
Think elegant and mineral-driven rather than jammy and powerful.
They have this beautiful balance of fruit and earth, with enough acidity to make your mouth water rather than coating it in tannins. It’s wine that plays well with food rather than demanding to be the star of the show.
The best German Pinot Noirs have the distinctive character that wine lovers call “terroir:” they taste like the place they come from.
You can often detect hints of the cool climate: red berries rather than dark fruit, floral notes and a kind of refreshing crispness that makes you want another sip.
Regions making magic happen
Baden is the warmest of Germany’s wine regions, and it shows in its Pinot Noirs. They tend to be the richest and most powerful German versions: still elegant, but with more body and concentration. Think of Baden as Germany’s answer to Oregon.
Pfalz produces Pinot Noirs that are food-lovers’ dreams. They’re typically medium-bodied with beautiful fruit expression and enough structure to handle everything from roasted chicken to mushroom risotto.
Württemberg might be the most un-
derrated region for Pinot Noir. The wines here often have a distinctive mineral edge and exceptional aging potential.
Ahr is tiny but mighty. This northern region produces some of Germany’s most celebrated Pinot Noirs, with an almost Burgundian elegance that can make wine snobs weep happy tears.
Climate change plot twist
Here’s where things get really interesting: climate change is actually helping German Pinot Noir.
As temperatures have gradually warmed over the past few decades, previously marginal vineyards are now consistently ripening their grapes. What used to be a struggle has become an advantage.
German winemakers are finding that their grapes are reaching perfect ripeness more reliably, while many warmer regions are dealing with over-ripeness and excessive alcohol levels.
It’s like Germany finally got invited to the adults’ table, except now everyone else wishes they could sit there, too.
Why you should care (and what to buy)
German Pinot Noir offers something increasingly rare in the wine world: genuinely distinctive character at reasonable prices.
While Burgundy prices have gone completely bonkers and California Pinot
Noir often costs more than your monthly streaming subscriptions combined, quality German Pinot Noir can still be found for $25-$40 a bottle.
These wines are perfect for people who want something more interesting than basic red wine but less aggressive than a big Cabernet. They’re sophisticated without being intimidating, food-friendly without being boring and distinctive without being weird.
What to look for on labels:
• Spätburgunder (the German name for Pinot Noir)
• Trocken (means dry)
• GG (Grosses Gewächs, equivalent to grand cru)
• Vintages from 2018-2022 are drinking beautifully right now Five producers to seek out:
• Bernhard Huber (Baden): The gold standard of German Pinot Noir. Julian Huber continues his father’s legendary work, using Burgundy-style open-topped fermentation tanks. Their Schlossberg vineyard produces wines that rival the best of Burgundy for depth and refinement.
• Rudolf Fürst (Franken): Sebastian Fürst trained in Burgundy and it shows. Working with iron-rich red sandstone soils, they produce elegant wines from three grand cru-level sites. The family has been making wine since 1638, so they know a thing or two about what they’re doing.
• Meyer-Näkel (Ahr): Now run by sisters Meike and Dörte Näkel this produc-
er makes intensely mineral wines from steep slate vineyards. Their Kräuterberg vineyard literally means “herb mountain,” and the wines have a distinctive herbal complexity you won’t find anywhere else.
• Friedrich Becker (Pfalz): Creates concentrated, silky Pinot Noirs that punch way above their weight class. Becker’s wines consistently score in the high 90s from critics, offering Burgundy-level complexity at German prices. Becker is my favorite.
• Ziereisen (Baden): A consistently excellent producer making elegant wines that showcase Baden’s unique terroir. Look for their single-vineyard bottlings for the full experience.
Food pairing sweet spot
German Pinot Noir is basically the Swiss Army knife of food wines. The bright acidity and moderate tannins make it incredibly versatile. It’s fantastic with roasted poultry, pork dishes, mushroom-based anything and surprisingly good with salmon or tuna.
But here’s where it really shines: German food. These wines were born to pair with schnitzel, sausages and hearty stews. It’s like they’ve been training their whole lives for Oktoberfest (which, ironically, is mostly about beer, but you get the idea).
File photo
A refurbished Nantucket lightship returns to the island in 2013.
Let’s Eat: The Chanticleer
(Continued from page 4)
purchasing power I have to support local food systems and local farmers,” said Miller, who went to college to study jazz guitar before making the kitchen his calling. “When I can’t get things on the island, I source from two companies that use exclusively New England products.”
“My food is always very playful and internationally derived. Opening with this menu, I wanted to lean very French, stick to tradition a little bit, kind of give a sense of a theme, but be able to play and build off that, evolve from there, while keeping a cohesiveness,” he continued.
“As more and more local produce becomes available, it will become the high-
light of what the dishes are. We’ll transition to tomatoes and eggplant in the summer, and move into squashes and root vegetables in the fall. We’ll get lighter as things get warmer, and heavier as fall approaches. There is a definite seasonality to my menu.”
Handy sees Miller’s culinary sensibility in many ways as a throwback to the days when Jean-Charles Berruet ran the kitchen at The Chanticleer, just with fewer French sauces.
“Our previous menu was more traditional fine dining. It was more focused on French technique. That’s the biggest difference. Even though Jeff tried to source
LET’S EAT, PAGE 18
Cellar: Pinot Noirs in Germany
(Continued from page 16)
The bottom line
German Pinot Noir represents one of wine’s best-kept secrets and biggest success stories. In a world where wine regions often try to copy what’s already successful, Germany has quietly figured out how to make Pinot Noir that’s distinctly German and distinctly delicious.
The next time you’re browsing the wine aisle and see a bottle of German red wine, don’t assume it’s a mistake or a novelty.
It might just be your new favorite discovery. After all, the Germans have been engineering excellence for centuries. Why should wine be any different?
Just don’t tell the Burgundians how good these wines are getting. They’re already nervous enough about the competition.
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
Photo by Joshua Balling Cavatelli and asparagus with English peas.
(Thursday, continued from page 3)
Live Music: Jacob Butler
6 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket singer-songwriter Jacob Butler will perform.
“The Cottage”
7 p.m. Bennett Hall, 62 Centre St. Theatre Workshop of Nantucket presents “The Cottage,” a side-splitting tale of sex, betrayal and desire fresh from Broadway and full of mistaken identities, door-slamming mayhem and jaw-dropping twists. Through June 21. Additional times and tickets at www.theatrenantucket.org
Live Music: Turn It Up!
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Boston-based 1990s party band Turn It Up! will perform. 21 and over. Additional shows Friday and Saturday.
Island Calendar
Friday, June 20
Nature Walk
8:30 a.m. Altar Rock, location details upon registration. Explore the rolling hills and ridgelines of the glacial outwash plain of Altar Rock with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Hike from the flat open fields of the Serengeti to one of the most beautiful and iconic vistas on Nantucket. Free with registration, on calendar page of nantucketconservation. org.
Nature Ramble
10 a.m. Linda Loring Nature Foundation, 110 Eel Point Road. Tour the Linda Loring Nature Foundation property with director of research and conservation Sarah Bois, who will showcase LLNF research and restoration in action while discussing what’s budding, blooming, flying, and crawling around the trails. Free. Visit llnf.org to register.
Let’s Eat: Legacy of elegance continues at The Chanticleer
(Continued from page 17)
locally, Jean-Charles really focused on local ingredients. But that was back during a time when you were still allowed to fish and serve the fish you caught, to serve the venison you hunted. You’re not allowed to do that anymore. We’ trying to stay in that same spirit but within the boundaries we live with today,” she said.
Less than a month into his tenure as executive chef, Miller’s commitment to local ingredients and fresh takes on tried and true classics is clearly evident.
The cavatelli and asparagus sings spring on a plate. A perfectly-composed forkful of English peas, porcini, asparagus and hazelnut persillade was like eating fresh vegetables just picked from the garden with a foundation of pasta that added some depth to the dish on a chilly late-spring night with a hint of drizzle in the air. It could easily have served as an entrée had we not been sharing.
The tuna carpaccio epitomizes Miller’s willingness to embrace contrasting flavors. It was sweet with just a hint of bite from the pickled maitake and sunchoke chili crisp, with savory undertones provided by the miso vinaigrette.
The entrées we chose were truly a study in contrasts.
The miso-crusted halibut was cooked perfectly, light and flaky and served over a bed of gigante beans, piquillo peppers and roasted garlic, with preserved lemon and herbs. I imagine it would be equally appealing on a chilly early spring night
The miso-crusted halibut with gigante beans, piquillo peppers and roasted garlic, with preserved lemon and herbs.
or after a day under the baking sun at the beach.
The Choucroute Garnie, based around a succulent and tender grilled heritage pork chop, tasted like Oktoberfest on a plate, but it still worked in the spring.
The house-made sausage has nice fennel notes, and the slab of bacon was tender, salty and delicious, providing just the right savory note to the dish. The fig and Dijon emulsion was the perfect bass note to a hearty dish that wasn’t overpower-
ing.
We began the meal with a pair of cocktails that were whimsical twists on old favorites and excellently mixed. The Best in Show truly was, a refreshing mix of vodka, fresh raspberry purée, elderflower liqueur and prosecco. The Island Time was an elevated take on a poolside frozen drink with guava purée, coconut rum and fresh citrus juice.
We did not avail ourselves of wine, but the Chanticleer has one of the best cellars
on the island, its wine program this year overseen by Handy.
After two courses and cocktails, we decided to share a dessert, and stuck to the spring theme.
The strawberry trifle is a well-balanced mix of fresh fruit, counterbalanced by a tart rhubarb granita adding just the right counterpoint to the sweetness of the toasted angel food cake and rosewater meringue.
Reflecting on the past two decades running The Chanticleer, Handy said her goal has been to retain the restaurant’s elegance while lessening the formality.
“We want to appeal not only to our visiting fine-dining customers but to fulltime Sconset summer residents, focusing on their needs as more regular customers,” she said.
“There have been some big shoes to fill, and I’ve tried to do that, particularly in the gardens. I wanted to make them a huge focus as people walk in the front door, maybe take it to a different level with lots of color. At the same time, we are honoring the tradition and the legacy of the Berruets’ Chanticleer. People walk in, they feel that it’s exactly the same, but somehow just a bit different. That’s what we want.”
The Chanticleer, 9 New St., Sconset. www.chanticleernantucket.com, (508) 257-4499. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations required. Indoor and outdoor seating available.
Photo by Joshua Balling
Courtesy of David Dean Bottrell
David Dean Bottrell brings his one-man show “Teenage Wasteland” to the Dreamland Theater Friday.
Live Music: Glen David Andrews
4-7 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. New Orleans musician Glen David Andrews brings his commanding voice and fierce trombone sound to the brewery.
One-man Show: “Teenage Wasteland”
7 p.m. Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. Actor David Dean Bottrell (“Modern Family,” the new “Frasier”) returns to Dreamland with his latest solo show, “Teenage Wasteland: Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,” a collection of true stories from his early adolescence. Tickets at www.nantucketdreamland.org
Live Music: Sean Lee
8-10 p.m. Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket singer-songwriter Sean Lee will perform. Second show Saturday.
Stargazing at the Observatory
9:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Loines Observatory, 59 Milk St. Join professional astronomers from the Maria Mitchell Association for a guided tour of the night sky, including the moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae and more. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Island Calendar
Saturday, June 21
Happy Place: A Wellness Symposium
8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dreamland Theater, 17 South Water St. The reimagined Nantucket Yoga Festival aims to empower you to create a blueprint for a happier and healthier life and raise consciousness through the power of deep connections and meaningful conversations. For the complete schedule, visit https://happyplaceevents.com/schedule/
Nantucket Clean Team
8 a.m. Handlebar Café, 15 Washington St., and 158 Polpis Road at the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum. The Nantucket Clean Team meets weekly from spring through fall to clean up trash around the island. Bags and pickers provided.
Farmers & Artisans Market
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cambridge Street, between Federal and South Water. Sustainable Nantucket hosts a market of fresh local produce, island cottage-industry artisans and food. Weather permitting.
SATURDAY, PAGE 20
LA VOZ ISLEÑA
El Inquirer and Mirror se enorgullece en presentar La Voz Isleña, versiones en español de las historias que aparecen en el Inquirer and Mirror y en la página web ack.net
our Spanish language section
Por favor, háganos saber qué historias y cobertura le gustaría ver en el futuro. Envíenos un correo electrónico a newsroom@inkym.com
File photo
The Nantucket Clean Team meets Saturdays from spring through fall to pick up trash around the island for an hour.
Island Calendar
(Saturday, continued from page 19)
NanPuppets
9:30 a.m. Moors End Farm, 40 Polpis Road. Join Lizza Obremski and her puppet friends for a morning of educational entertainment for all ages. $10. Bring a blanket.
Maria Mitchell and the Daring Daughters of the Nantucket
10 a.m. Mitchell House, 1 Vestal St. Join the curator of the Maria Mitchell House for a walking tour exploring the lives of Maria Mitchell and Nantucket’s famous and infamous women, as well as the lesser known women of the island. Learn why whaling, Quakerism and the isolation of an island afforded these women opportunities that women elsewhere in America at the time could not pursue. Registration required on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
NanPuppets
11 a.m. Children’s Beach, Harborview Way. Join Lizza Obremski and her puppet friends for a morning of educational entertainment for all ages. Free, but donations welcome.
Live Music: Stephen Marley
2 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Jamaican-American musician Stephen Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley, will perform.
NCEA Jewelry Sale
4 p.m. Saltmarsh Senior Center, 81 Washington St. Islanders will sell the jewelry they no longer wear to give it a second life.
Art Talk: Jeffrey Blondes
4:30 p.m. Greater Light, 8 Howard St. Having recently completed a 4-1/2-hour landscape film across the four seasons on Nantucket, Jeffrey Blondes will talk about the film and his unique approach to capturing time and nature. The film will be on display from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. June 18-21 and 25-28 at Greater Light.
“Counted Out”
6 p.m. Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India St. The Atheneum screens this new documentary that explores math as the foundation of democracy and economic opportunity. Visit the calendar page of www. nantucketatheneum.org for tickets.
File photo
Lizza Obremski and NanPuppets will perform at Moors End Farm and Children’s Beach this week.
Sunday, June 22
Bird Walk
7:45-10 a.m. Maria Mitchell Association, 33 Washington St. Explore Nantucket’s avian landscapes and hidden nooks with local bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror columnist Ginger Andrews. Register on calendar page of www.mariamitchell.org
Hristo Botev 5K
8 a.m. Surfside Beach Parking Lot, end of Surfside Road. Nantucket’s Bulgarian Education Center host this 5K road race fundraiser in honor of Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet who sacrificed his life for Bulgaria’s freedom and independence.
Breathwork and Meditation
11 a.m. Nantucket Conservation Foundation, 118 Cliff Road. Led by instructor Andrew Viselli, this 60-minute session incorporates guided meditation, reiki and subtle movement to relax, calm and empower. Free with registration, on calendar page of nantucketconservation. org.
Island Calendar
Drag Performance
Noon, Nantucket Inn, 1 Miller Lane. Island drag artist SheShe Fogo, a multi-generation Nantucket native who has been performing as a drag artist on-island for over a decade, is about inclusivity, freedom of expression and diversity. Free, but tipping welcome.
Live Music: Pepper
2 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. San Diego-based reggae-rock band Pepper will perform.
Boston Civic Symphony and Nantucket Youth Orchestra
3 p.m. Nantucket High School, 10 Surfside Road. An inspiring afternoon of music, mentorship and the power of arts education on Nantucket. Free.
Nantucket Pride Tea Dance
3 p.m. Nantucket Inn, I Miller Lane. Sip on expertly-crafted cocktails while you dance to DJ Uncle Dayumm. Performances from local drag artists. This year’s theme is “DISCO: Take Back the Village, People!” 21 and over.
MONDAY, PAGE 22
Courtesy of B3 Kings
Boston’s B3 Kings plays Cisco Brewers Thursday, June 19.
(Continued from page 21)
Monday, June 23
Guided Bike Tour
8 a.m. Ram Pasture, 118 Madaket Road. Join avid cyclist and Nantucket Conservation Foundation trustee Jim Meehan to tour the trails and dirt roads of the Middle Moors or Ram Pasture. Space is limited. Helmet and a mountain bike suitable for rough roads is required. Free with registration, on calendar page of nantucketconservation.org.
Live Music: Steve Rondo
4-7 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Boston-based singer-songwriter Steve Rondo brings his alternative, folk, indie, rock sound to the brewery. Second show Tuesday.
Live Music: DJ Lay-Z-Boy
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Boston’s DJ Lay-Z-Boy will man the turntables. 21 and over. No cover.
Island Calendar
Tuesday, June 24
Nantucket Film Festival
Through June 30, various locations around town. The 30th Nantucket Film Festival opens with a 6 p.m. screening of “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story” at the Dreamland, and continues through Monday with a full schedule of films, signature programs awards and other events. For tickets and more information, visit www.nantucketfilmfestival.org
Music in the Morning
9:45 a.m. Atheneum garden, 1 India St. Led by local musician and teacher Cory Morgan, this fun-filled 45-minute session invites kids to explore rhythm, sound and song through clapping, instrument play. Bring a blanket. Canceled in the event of inclement weather.
Nanpuppets
11:30 a.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Join Lizza Obremski and her puppet friends for a morning of educational entertainment for all ages.
Folger’s Marsh Kayak Paddle
2 p.m. Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, 158 Polpis Road. Nantucket Conservation Foundation coastal ecology research technician, Jisun Reiner and environmental educator Isaac Hersh lead this paddle through Folger’s Marsh to showcase the true value of a saltmarsh ecosystem. Free, but registration required at eganmaritime.org/events
“Stitching at a Distance”
5:30 p.m. Nantucket Whaling Museum, 13 Broad St. The Nantucket Historical Association presents 2025 Verney Fellow Rebecca Tolley, who will explore how mid-century needlework courses bridged leisure and labor, revealing how embroidery functioned as both an expressive art form and a pathway to economic empowerment.
Night at the Museum
8 p.m. Hinchman House Natural Science Museum, 7 Milk St. Join Maria Mitchell Association naturalists reveal secrets of the natural world, offer natural history facts, present museum specimens up close and lead arts and crafts activities. Tickets on calendar page of www. mariamitchell.org
Live Music: The Revivalists
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Island favorite The Revivalists from New Orleans bring their rock sound back to the Box. Second show Wednesday. 21 and over. Tickets at www.thechickenbox.com
Wednesday, June 25
Native Plant Landscaping Tour
9 a.m. Nantucket Conservation Foundation, 118 Cliff Road. Visit the Nantucket Conservation Foundation office to learn how native shrubs, trees and wildflowers can find a home in your own yard. Free with registration, on calendar page of nantucketconservation.org.
Book-Signing: Elin Hilderbrand
11 a.m. Mitchell’s Book Corner, 54 Main St. Bestselling island author Elin Hilderbrand will sign copies of her new guide to Nantucket, “The Blue Book.” Limited to first 120 in line.
Did someone order a spectacular harbor view? Visit the newly renovated Brant Point Grill Deck at White Elephant, where the menu is rivaled only by the sunset over Nantucket Harbor. Enjoy al fresco dining in our fresh new outdoor bar and deck space, where our chefs use local flavors to prepare lobster, grilled steaks and signature New England dishes. Visit RESY.com or call 508-325-1320.
ReserveToday
Behind the Scenes at the Research Library
4 p.m. Nantucket Historical Association Research Library, 7 Fair St. The NHA hosts a behind-the-scenes look at some of the ephemera in its collection.
Live Music: Buckle & Shake
4-7 p.m. Cisco Brewers, 5 Bartlett Farm Road. Buckle & Shake, Nantucket’s own alt-country band, will perform.
Fishing for Food and Money
5:30 p.m. Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum, 158 Polpis Road. This installment of the Foghorn Speaker Series examines the history and evolution of Nantucket’s fishing and aquaculture industry. Moderated by Tobias Glidden and featuring longtime fisherman Carl Sjolund.
Women’s Support Group
7:30 p.m. Atheneum Learning Lab, 1 India St. A space for women to come together in support, strength and self-discovery. Connect with a community of individuals, uplift one another and embrace your worth with confidence. Facilitated by Lisa Lothian, LCSW. Free.
Island Calendar
Live Music: Mo Lowda & the Humble
10 p.m. Gaslight Nantucket, 3 North Union St. Philadelphia-based indie rock band Mo Lowda and the Humble will perform. Second show Thursday.
Thursday, June 26
Shorebird Walk
9 a.m. Location upon registration. Nantucket Conservation Foundation wildlife technician Gracie Bell and staff lead this visit to an important breeding site, discuss nesting ecology the complex journey of protection. Open to all birding levels. Bring sunscreen, water, binoculars and walking shoes that could get wet. Space is limited. Free with registration, on calendar page of nantucketconservation.org.
Dance Party in the Garden
9:45 a.m. Atheneum Garden, 1 India St. Cory Morgan leads an energetic, joyfilled dance time for babies and children with songs, silly dance moves and fun challenges like Freeze Dance and the Cha-Cha Slide. Bring a blanket. Canceled in the event of inclement weather.
DINING OVERLOOKING NANTUCKET SOUND.
Enjoy fine dining in our intimate dining room or a relaxed experience on our deck. In summer months, cruise to lunch or dinner aboard the Wauwinet Lady. Nantucket’s only AAA 5-Diamond restaurant.
or call
Night at the Aquarium
8:30 p.m. Maria Mitchell Aquarium, 32 Washington St. Join MMA aquarists to discover what some of their favorite fishy friends do when the sun falls below the horizon and the moon fills the sky. Learn about animal nocturnal powers like enhanced night vision or sleeping with half their brain awake. Tickets at www.mariamitchell.org
Live Music: Elephant in the Room
10 p.m. The Chicken Box, 6 Dave St. Boston party band Elephant in the Room will perform. 21 and over. Additional shows Friday and Saturday.
Live Music: Local Notes
10 p.m. The Rose & Crown, 23 South Water St. Nantucket’s own rock and roll band Local Notes, led by front-woman Natalie Mack, will perform.
Photo by Bill Hoenk Theatre Workshop of Nantucket’s production of “The Cottage” is on stage at Bennett Hall through Saturday.
