Ray Whitaker and Laurel Redington on radio, romance, traffic and playlists
Jessica B. Harris on the origins of American food
+MOM ’ S FRIED CHICKEN
•Ceramics for beginners
•PASTA AT THE MAKER
• Sha rks at bat
•I CE CREAM STATS
•Book festival headliners
16
Featherstone pottery teacher Debbie Hale leads beginners — calmly and kindly — through the basics.
By Louisa Hufstader
18 BRAIDED
An excerpt and recipe from Jessica B. Harris’s new cookbook.
A dedicated manager, loyal fans, hardworking players and Island-wide support keep the MV Sharks up at bat.
By Aaron Wilson
Igota kick out of reading that July is apparently national anti-boredom month (page 6). It’s also national ice cream month (page 24). Obviously, we are supposed to have fun and eat well –two things we’ll have no problem doing on the Vineyard in July.
In the culinary department, we’ve got a story about The Maker Pasta Shop & Café, the new spot in Vineyard Haven where Little House Café used to be (page 8). You can also check out Jessica B. Harris’s recipe for her Mom’s Fried Chicken – as well as an excerpt from her fascinating new cookbook, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine on page 18. For fun? Every week there are dozens of events happening across the Island, and one thing you can always count on is a Martha’s Vineyard Sharks baseball game – thanks to a dedicated manager, loyal fans, hardworking players and a supportive Island community (page 20). Featherstone Center for the Arts has classes for all ages; Debbie Hale’s beginning pottery classes are some of the most popular, thanks to Debbie’s calm teaching demeanor (page 16). And for those of us who are bibliophiles, the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival (page 6) begins on August 1.
What I really love in this issue is Sissy Biggers’s converstaion with Islanders Laurel Redington and Ray Whitaker. Their love of the Vineyard – the laid back rhythms, the natural beauty, the connections – is infectious.
Enjoy the issue, eat well and above all, have fun!
– Susie Middleton
4 EDITOR’S NOTE 6 BOOKS
8 VINE AND DINE
Keep calm and pasta on.
10 Q&A
In Tune: A Conversation with Laurel Redington and Ray Whitaker
24 BY THE NUMBERS
July is National Ice Cream Month.
24 THE VIEW Dog Days
Cover Photo: Ray Whitaker and Laurel Redington. Photo by Jeanna Shepard.
EDITOR
Susie Middleton
ART DIRECTOR Jared Maciel
CONTRIBUTORS
Sissy Biggers, Chris Burrell, Molly Coogan, Mindy Dutka, Ray Ewing, Larry Glick, Laura Holmes Haddad, Louisa Hufstader, Jeanna Shepard, Aaron Wilson
PUBLISHER
Monica Brady-Myerov
GENERAL MANAGER
Sarah Gifford
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Frederica Carpenter ads@vineyardgazette.com
AD SALES TEAM
Carrie Blair, Isabela Fernandez, Serena Ward
MARKETING & SPONSORSHIPS
Tresa Lovio-Slattery
EVENTS MANAGER
Kharma Finley-Wallace
AD PRODUCTION
Jane McTeigue, McKinley Sanders
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Looking for the best beach, lobster roll, or shoe store on Martha’s Vineyard? Our readers have the answers!
They’ve cast their ballots, and we’ve tallied them up!
Check out the full results of our annual Best of the Vineyard awards in the July issue of Martha’s Vineyard magazine.
PICK ONE UP at Cronig’s, Our Market, Alley’s General Store and other newsstands around the Island.
BY MOLLY COOGAN
July is National Anti-Boredom Month (who knew?), and while I can’t imagine being bored on the Vineyard in the summer, I’m happy to offer some book recommendations that should keep you entertained as we all eagerly await the return of the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival (see below).
The festival always features an impressive lineup of authors, and this year’s roster is no exception. A couple of dishy memoirs by giants of New York’s legendary cultural landscape are sure to transport you to some of the city’s least boring touchstones of the past century. When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines (Penguin Press, $32) by Graydon Carter revisits his time as the longtime editor of Vanity Fair, and all the glamour and intrigue (and gossip!) that came with it.
And surely, many celebrities featured in Carter’s memoir have graced the tables of any number of Keith McNally’s era-defining Manhattan restaurants, even if Carter himself was banned from all of McNally’s places in 2021. The New York Times called McNally “the restaurateur who invented downtown” and his new memoir, I Regret Almost Everything (Gallery Books, $29.99), offers a moving, intimate and
irreverent glimpse into the life of the visionary figure behind such landmark restaurants as Balthazar and Pastis.
While truth is sometimes stranger, and more entertaining, than fiction — as evidenced by the stories in the aforementioned memoirs — the novels included in this year’s festival draw from worlds just as glitzy as those of Carter and McNally. Playworld (Knopf, $29), a bildungsroman by Adam Ross, follows a child actor through one transformative year during a bygone era in Manhattan, when the boundaries between youth and maturity, morality and impropriety were casually crossed, though not without significant consequences.
Bestselling author Danzy Senna returns to the festival this summer with her latest, the acclaimed novel Colored Television (Riverhead, $18).
Jane is a writer who yearns for stability and success, but when her longawaited second novel, a centuriesspanning epic, brings neither, she finds herself chasing the Hollywood dream. In collaboration with a bigtime producer, Jane develops “the Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies” for a streaming network, only to have everything go horribly wrong. Senna’s keen eye and wry humor deftly explore ideas about art, identity and the pursuit of success.
You can find the full lineup of authors at mvbookfestival.org and pick up any of the available books at Bunch of Grapes. But until we meet in August, here’s wishing you a July that’s almost entirely free of boredom!
Molly Coogan is co-owner of Bunch of Grapes Bookstore.
This year’s Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival takes place over three days (Friday, August 1 to Sunday, August 3) at the Chilmark Community Center. In addition to an impactful lineup of authors from around the country, Martha’s Vineyard–based authors — including John Abrams (From Founder to Future), Julia Blanter (Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook), Geraldine Brooks (Memorial Days), Wampanoag journalist Joseph Lee (Nothing More of This Land) and seasonal resident Jessica B. Harris (Braided Heritage, see excerpt, page 18) — will be part of the lineup.
Foodies will be delighted to know that chef Steven Satterfield (Vegetable Revelations), Eric Kim (NYT Cooking) and Joan Nathan (My Life in Recipes) will be participating in the festival as well. Saturday the festival features author panels (usually three authors and a moderator); Sunday is a series of single-author interviews. Book signings follow all talks.
Events are free with the exception of the opening night fundraiser, which will feature an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, by veteran journalist (and now staff writer for The Atlantic) Ashley Parker. For more information go to mvbookfestival.org.
For longtime Vineyard chef Carlos Montoya and his partner Sheenagh Caridi, The Maker in Vineyard Haven is a dream come true.
BY LAURA HOLMES HADDAD • PHOTOS BY RAY EWING
Chef Carlos Montoya had no idea that learning how to make rice from his mother as a teenager would turn into a lifetime in the kitchen. Carlos’s plans to be a graphic artist were upended when a college counselor asked him about his true passion. “I had worked in my neighbor’s restaurant kitchen through high school and I was drawn to the chaos,” he says, laughing. “My passion was cooking.”
After attending the renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Carlos spent his formative years in his native New York City, honing his culinary skills in many different restaurants. In 2009 he found
an ad on Craigslist for a position at a restaurant on the Cape. “The Cape” was actually the Vineyard, and the restaurant in “an old Victorian house” was The Sweet Life in Oak Bluffs. Carlos was hired as sous chef and his Island life began. He eventually moved to the Edgartown Yacht Club, became head chef at the Café at Farm Neck Golf Club and chef de cuisine at Garde East before returning to The Sweet Life.
But in 2018 Carlos wanted a change and relocated to Boston, learning invaluable lessons in operating a fast-casual concept and opening a restaurant from the ground up. Working with Cushman Concepts,
a Boston-based culinary group, he opened Gogo Ya in Time Out Market Boston as well as the second location for the American cuisinefocused Bianca. But on the second day of business at Bianca in Chestnut Hill, Covid shuttered the restaurant industry. A call from a friend at the Harbor View Hotel brought Carlos back to the Island as culinary director. After that position was eliminated, Carlos decided to pivot to private events.
Carlos worked year-round as a private chef, all the while developing a business plan for his own restaurant. His very first client would prove fortuitous. It was during a family dinner that the name “the maker” was born. “I was cooking for my client, and his family and grandchildren were over for dinner,” Carlos says. “His three-year-old grandson asked for something to eat and said, ‘I want the maker to make it. He makes us delicious dinners.’” And with that, Carlos became the maker, a name he would carry forward to his own
restaurant.
It was also during this time that he met his life and business partner, Sheenagh Caridi. With her years of restaurant and hospitality experience, including managing The Newes from America, Sheenagh was game to run the front of the house for the new restaurant they envisioned. Sheenagh had started a dog walking and training business during the pandemic, completing a master dog training course. “And then I fell in love with a chef!” she says with a laugh.
The former Little House Café location in Vineyard Haven was a dream for the duo, who had started looking for available spaces in 2024. With 32 seats, parking spaces and two kitchens, they knew they could execute the restaurant, private events and pasta production they envisioned. It seemed The Maker had found a home. Carlos was also happy that prep cook Jose Rodriguez was willing to stay on and work with them, noting he
has been invaluable in assisting with the myriad tasks a restaurant kitchen requires.
“We wanted a menu that offered local, seasonal fare and that was pastadriven but not necessarily an Italian restaurant,” says Carlos of their plan for The Maker Pasta Shop & Café. “I have a love for pasta and it’s the vessel to showcase the ingredients available to us.” Carlos and Sheenagh invested in an Arcobaleno pasta extruder, a high-end professional pasta machine that allows them to produce bucatini, fettucine and lumache (a snail-shaped pasta) for both the restaurant and wholesale orders. Carlos also makes mezzaluna, a halfmoon shape, by hand. He stuffs it with roasted eggplant, ricotta and lemon.
Much of the restaurant’s produce is sourced from Island purveyors, including greens from Morning Glory Farm; scallops from local fishing vessel Martha Rose; and beef and cheese from The Grey Barn & Farm. Summer tomatoes and zucchini blossoms will come from North Tabor Farm. Along
with meat and vegetable dishes, the menu also includes Carlos’s signature dish: big-eye tuna tartare with truffle ponzu, miso caramel and yuzu chips.
Sous chef Ryan Brown helps Carlos execute the menu and pastry chef Patricia Oliveira produces seasonally inspired desserts. The current dessert menu includes a vegan chocolate cake and a fresh ginger pavlova, with some ingredients reflective of Patricia’s Brazilian roots. Sheenagh has created a retail area at the front of the restaurant with locally made food items, pasta by the pound and other gift items. And the cheerful dining room reflects a cozy yet modern vibe.
Watching Carlos and Sheenagh move through their day in the fresh, welcoming space, you can see that they clearly embody their restaurant’s mantra: Keep calm and pasta on.
Laura Holmes Haddad is a former cookbook editor and regular contributor to The Vine
339 State Road, Vineyard Haven 508-687-9794
Lunch: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.
Pasta Shop: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Reservations accepted and highly encouraged @themakermv themakerpastashop.com
Note: The Maker’s liquor license is pending
BY SISSY BIGGERS • PHOTOS BY JEANNA SHEPARD
If you’ve ever tuned in to MVYRadio, attended a program at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum or stood in line at Reliable Market wondering, “Whose voice is that?” you’ve probably crossed paths with Laurel Redington and Ray Whitaker. These two creative powerhouses have helped shape the Island’s cultural soundtrack for decades – Laurel as a longtime voice and producer at MVY and now director of programming and audience engagement at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum; Ray as a DJ, storyteller and host of the station’s popular Sunday interview show, the Vineyard Current. They met on the air and built a life rooted in shared creativity, humor and deep community connection. Their love story is a Vineyard classic – too much to lay out in this space, as much as I’d like to! Married 29 years this October, they continue to contribute to
the best of Island life.
This month, I put the dynamic duo in The Vine hot seat to talk about high summer, radio, road etiquette, reinvention – and what makes a perfect summer day on Martha’s Vineyard.
Q. Laurel, you first came to Martha’s Vineyard as a young person.
Laurel: Yes, in the late-eighties my dad was a wetlands expert and came here as an environmental consultant. And I learned to love the natural world, the wetlands, the cedars, the fields, the oaks. It’s in my blood.
Ray: I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that we don’t look at this place and think how gorgeous it is. You can’t get jaded.
Q. Ray, you came in the early nineties, but when did you first learn about Martha’s Vineyard?
for many, many years and we moved around a lot, but nobody in my family had ever left the tri-state area. Before I got here I was working at three different radio stations in New Jersey and I kept seeing this ad for the Martha’s Vineyard station. It had such a mystique. I had read a book about John Belushi, and it had really great descriptions of the landscape. When I saw the ad I just kept calling and calling and sending my headshot and eventually I got the job.
Laurel: I remember driving up and seeing this electric blue car with Jersey plates in the station parking lot at the end of the dirt road and I’m like, “Oh, this is gonna be fun!”
Q. Was there an immediate connection?
Laurel: Well, he was like nobody else here, full-length black leather jacket – very matrix before The Matrix –sunglasses, the ducktail. I walked into the studio and the track lighting hit his blue eyes, and well, it was one of those things where our souls kind of highfived each other and just went back to
Q. Laurel, as programming director at the museum, you’ve had a front-row seat to the mounting of the seminal exhibit, Jaws: Creating Amity Island. How has the show influenced your summer programming?
Laurel: I’ve had the privilege of witnessing this exhibit come to life from a unique vantage point – not shaping the content but supporting and responding to it. Behind the scenes, it’s been incredible to witness the care, thought and sheer effort that’s gone into building something of this scale. It made me feel both proud and deeply grateful to be part of this team. It reminded me of the power of storytelling, and the importance of creating space for people to connect – not just with history, but with each other.
We’ve been working to design programs that feel open, welcoming and rooted in the themes the exhibit explores – whether through music, conversation or shared experience. My hope is that our summer offerings feel like an extension of the exhibit’s
energy: inviting, thought-provoking and grounded in community.
Ray: It’s definitely going to provide some programs on the Current. In some regards Laurel and I work in tandem. We share ideas, so there’s a lot of cross-promotion.
Laurel: It’s almost a twofer – but not quite. But it’s a Vineyard thing. That’s what’s so beautiful about the Vineyard – we’re all connected and we all help each other. In other places, there would be real competition, but here we have a collaborative spirit.
Q. Ray, for summer visitors tuning into 88.7 FM for the first time, what should they know about this incredible station and what sets it apart?
Ray: MVY has a [more than] 40-year-old history and bragging rights to being at the forefront of what came to be known as the adult album alternative format. It was once called album radio when we were a commercial station. Deeper album cuts, some newer tunes and unique Island programming that, thanks to the
internet, can be heard all over the world. As much as the Vineyard is known as being tony and for the vacationing high rollers, MVY is still a local radio station.
Q. In the height of July, what do you think summer visitors need to understand about our Island home?
Laurel: Well…we could get into the traffic.
Ray: It’s July, let’s talk about it.
Laurel: I know Islanders will understand this. There are road rules of engagement – like what to do when turkeys are crossing the road and how you navigate The Triangle [in Edgartown] or drive through Five Corners [in Vineyard Haven]. The biggest takeaway for the visitor: Don’t put on your blinker if you’re going straight through Five Corners!
Q. Aside from an awkward intersection that hundreds of cars coming off the ferry have to drive through, could you share another aspect of living here that makes the Island so special?
Laurel: Our way of doing things the old way, old courtesies, rules that don’t apply when going off-Island.
Ray: It’s kind of like a Mayberry at sea.
Laurel: And everybody here has more than one story. You see them one way, but you scratch the surface and there’s the alternate, the other story. And the three-job phenomenon: So many people have three part-time jobs, consulting gigs or a side hustle.
Ray: I was going to add that this place is perfect for reinventing yourself.
Laurel: July is my birthday month so I love disappearing. We go to the beach when everyone is off the beach. We’re definitely not amongst-the-crowd people. When I’m out there I embrace it, it’s genuine, but I definitely have to remove myself. Just hearing the sound of the wind at our house on our deck –it’s so private. That’s one of my favorite places.
Ray: I like hearing the ferry whistle from a distance. That’s one of my
favorite things. If you listen to the Vineyard Current, in between segments you’ll hear the sound of the waves but you’ll also hear the ferry. I recorded those from our deck. And now we’ve got new whistles with the new freight boats which I have to record!
Q. Ray, I think for most Island residents catching the Vineyard Current on Sunday morning is appointment radio. Do you ever run out of interesting guests?
Ray: It’s impossible. We can always come up with something, and now actually one of the favorites is our recurring dog training segment with Jeremy Jones. He’s very well spoken, he’s funny and people have come to rely on hearing this once-a-month feature.
Q. Is there something you two haven’t done on this Island?
Laurel: We haven’t done a program together – not yet! We have all of these ideas written down and one that keeps rising to the surface is us doing a radio show together called The Great Compromise – because we’re so different. But we complement each other so well. The compromise is that we have very different approaches –so we have to work independently and then come together.
Q. This last question I gave you ahead of time. If you are programming the ultimate WMVY radio summer mixtape, what’s the opening and closing song?
Laurel: We’ve been thinking about this because when it comes to doing playlists, we always do it together. This might be boring, but the first one would be Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye. That song embodies the need to get out of the city, go be by the sea.
Ray: The very final song would be Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra; it might seem cliché, but that song is perfect.
Q. Ray and Laurel, thanks for being in our hotseat at The Vine!
Laurel: Thank you so much. We have never done a joint interview before and this is really special for us.
Sissy Biggers is the Q&A columnist for The Vine and a regular contributor to Martha’s Vineyard Magazine
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Ceramist and Featherstone pottery teacher Debbie Hale has a knack for leading beginners calmly and kindly through the basics.
BY LOUISA HUFSTADER • PHOTOS BY JEANNA SHEPARD
Inside the pottery studio at Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs, the wheels are spinning as clay takes shape in students’ hands.
“We’re not machines. So it’s not going to be perfect,” said ceramics teacher Debbie Hale, showing the beginner class how she trims excess clay from a bowl to make it more light and shapely.
Debbie’s calm, encouraging approach to teaching has drawn a loyal and committed following of adult students who take her four-week pottery courses again and again, often for years, as they develop their skills at throwing and shaping bowls, plates and other vessels on the wheel.
“Everybody learns at a different pace; it can take a long time to learn,” she told the Vine during a pre-class interview at the pottery studio.
“Some people can sit right down and
they can do it, and for other people, it takes a long time,” Debbie said.
Featherstone executive director Ann Smith said pottery is the most popular of all the studio arts classes at the center, drawing dozens of adults a week year-round.
“A lot of that is Debbie,” Ann said. Featherstone also has children’s pottery classes and periodic open studios for experienced ceramists who don’t need instruction.
A gifted ceramist in her own right, Debbie sells her tablewares at the Chilmark Flea Market, The Beach House in Vineyard Haven and the Featherstone gift shop, where her bowls and vessels are displayed alongside work by fellow pottery teachers including her own former instructor, Frank Creney.
Jane Seagrave, who began taking Debbie’s Monday afternoon classes
after retiring last year, found herself instantly captivated by the craft.
“It’s very tactile, and you end up getting a feel for the clay. I love the wheel,” said Jane, former publisher of the Vineyard Gazette Media Group.
“I have given bowls to every relative and friend and I have a whole cupboard full of bowls that I’ve made,” she said. “It’s totally absorbing and fun and I’m completely into it.” This is her fifth goround in Debbie’s beginner class.
“She is a wonderful teacher who gives you small nudges that help you figure out what it is that you’re doing wrong,” she said. “Every week I get better, and that’s a very gratifying feeling,” Jane said.
Debbie also teaches an intermediatelevel class on Wednesdays for potters who have taken the beginner course, but Jane said she still has plenty to learn in the basic classes.
“I expect I’ll remain a beginner for quite a while.”
Debbie was herself a beginning potter when she took her first classes at Featherstone around 2008, when she was still working full-time as business manager for the Reynolds, Rappaport, Kaplan and Hackney law firm in Edgartown.
“A friend of mine that winter said to me, ‘I have always wanted to take a pottery class. Do you want to come with me?’” Debbie recalled. “And I said, ‘Sure,’ having never thought about taking a pottery class in my life! I had no idea where Featherstone was. Nothing.”
Debbie’s friend wound up getting sick for the first class, so she went on her own — and got hooked on the wheel. “I just kept on taking lessons and kept on taking lessons and kept on taking lessons, and then, as I got
better, started selling some of my work,” Debbie said.
“Everybody here [at Featherstone] has always been so supportive of me,” she added, recalling that founding Featherstone director (and Ann’s mother) Francine Kelly provided extra access to the pottery studio so that Debbie could practice outside her work hours at the law firm.
Her first teacher was an exacting perfectionist, she said. Then came Frank, who helped her see things differently with just a few words of advice.
“Frank was like, ‘Okay, it didn’t do exactly what you wanted it to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful.’ And that was huge for me. Huge,” Debbie recalled. “That just, like, gave me freedom.”
Debbie fosters the same sense of freedom in her own students, leading them gently and reminding them often that they don’t have to do things exactly the same way she does.
“There is no right way in trimming,” Debbie told the beginner class, as she ran a carving tool along the edge of a spinning bowl. “Now we’re into aesthetics, and this is the look that I want, because I want my bowl to be more refined,” she explained.
Debbie takes a similarly light touch with her intermediate students.
“They’ve done many, many cups
and bowls and handled items in the beginning classes. In this one, we’re going bigger, or taller, or wider, or whatever they want, or they can add texture to their piece,” she said. “So this class can go in any direction; I follow everybody else’s lead.”
Intermediate student Sheila Elliott also started in Debbie’s beginner class.
“She was the right teacher,” said Sheila, who recently completed a stoneware bowl with a vibrant blue glaze.
“I think I’m trying to become artistic,” Sheila added.
“You are!” Debbie said.
At any level of skill, pottery requires patience.
“It’s about centering the clay, centering yourself and being patient. You never can just finish something in one shot when you’re on the wheel, and I like that,” Debbie said.
“I love the whole process: It’s very peaceful. It sucks me in completely,” Debbie added.
“When you’re throwing something, if you’re thinking about problems in the world or something else, you can’t do it.”
Louisa Hufstader is senior writer for the Vineyard Gazette
For more information on ceramics classes at Featherstone Center for the Arts, visit featherstoneart.org.
In a new cookbook, Jessica B. Harris explores how a trio of cuisines — Native American, African American and European — intertwined to form the backbone of American cuisine.
BY THE EDITORS
Taking a ride through culinary history with Jessica B. Harris as your tour guide is never dull. In fact, there’s always an aha! moment when ingredients and the roads they’ve traveled and the hands that have cooked with them come together to reveal a story that’s more than just points on a journey. For many of us, the James Beard award–winning historian and Oak Bluffs summer resident has enriched our understanding of the foods and cultures of the African diaspora – while giving us delicious recipes to explore them too. It’s no surprise then, that her latest cookbook, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine, brings together a fresh historical perspective, personal
An excerpt from the introduction to Braided Heritage
stories and recipes to illustrate how American cooking developed from the forged cuisines of Indigenous peoples, Europeans and Africans.
In an excerpt from the introduction to the book (at right), we pick up Jessica’s timeline in the mid-18th century.
And while Jessica showcases chefs and cooks from each cuisine throughout the book (including the Vineyard’s Juli Vanderhoop and her Beer-Battered Sugar Maple Leaves and Cranberry Syrup), she devotes a final chapter to her personal food journey, including recipes such as Deviled Eggs, Baked Ham, Chicken Croquettes, Summer Southern Succo-tash and Mom’s Fried Chicken (facing page).
“By the year 1776, the place that would become the United States of America was not just about Pilgrims and plantations, but was an increasingly rich mixture of Native Americans from large swaths of the Eastern seaboard, multiple European communities of different classes, and Africans from western and central parts of that continent eating foods as diverse as corn pone, okra soup, and bean pottage. And we begin to see those foods come together.
This then is the American braid. Acknowledging the existence of many hands and many cultures and many ways of growing, hunting, fishing, and foraging and cooking, serving, and eating of necessity, changes the picture of the formation of the American pot.
An oft-quoted proverb asserts that, until the lion speaks, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter. That is indeed the case in modern times. Imagine world history if it were written by the vanquished, not the victors; the
underlings, not the overlords. Or, if both were put together, then there might be an equity of experience.
In Braided Heritage, I have attempted to give diverse it would be folly to claim ‘all’ — parts of the American braid a voice. In the beginning, I consulted histories and old texts to paint a picture of these foodways as they likely existed in the first decades and centuries after contact between the Native peoples, the Europeans, and the Africans. But in thinking of what recipes to include in this book, I kept coming back to the fact that the story of food is always personal; recipes that are ‘traditional’ are inevitably cooked differently in one family versus the next, and dishes evolve in these hands, from one generation to the next, or perhaps from one meal to the next. I have been a culinary historian for many decades, but I have been a person devoted to the pleasures of sharing conversation around the table for far longer.”
— Jessica B. Harris
My mother could put a hurtin’ on some fried chicken. She was a purist and used only a few ingredients to season the chicken, which was then fried in a black cast-iron skillet that had been her wedding present from my paternal grandmother. My parents married during the Great Depression, and it was the only thing that my grandmother had to give. I still use it on very special occasions. Fried chicken is a very interesting thing in the African American world. Chickens are thought to have originated in Asia, probably on the Indian subcontinent. They may be
Serves 2 to 4
By Jessica B. Harris
the first domesticated bird, and are almost certainly descendents of the dinosaurs. Once chickens were domesticated, they migrated from the subcontinent through the Middle East into the Mediterranean basin and from there to Europe. Some, though, feel that their journey to the New World may have taken a different route and that they may have arrived here with Polynesians before Columbus’s voyages. No matter how they got here, they were taken to heart and stomach by all. African Americans were not left out.
2 cups rendered bacon fat, lard, or vegetable oil, for frying, plus more as needed
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon Bell’s All-Natural Seasoning Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (3¼ to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces, patted dry
1. Line a wire rack with paper towels and set near the stove. In a large heavy cast-iron skillet, heat the fat to 325°F over medium-low heat. (Use a thermometer.) If you think all the chicken pieces won’t fit in the skillet at once, cook in batches, but turn the oven on to the warm setting or to the lowest temperature possible to keep the chicken warm.
2. In a large brown paper bag or plastic food storage bag, combine the flour, cornmeal, Bell’s Seasoning, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper, as this will season the chicken. Add the chicken to the flour mixture a few pieces at a time. Shake well to ensure that each one is well coated and remove to a tray while you repeat with the rest of the chicken. Discard any remaining coating mixture in the bag.
3. Double-check the temperature of the oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Arrange as many chicken pieces as will fit comfortably in the hot skillet without crowding and cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. If you’re unsure of the doneness, use a thermometer— it should read 165°F in the center of a piece; however, for juicier chicken, you may safely remove chicken from the pan at 155°F in the center, as carryover cooking will continue to cook the chicken for a few minutes. If you don’t have a thermometer, pierce the chicken to the bone with a small knife, if the juices run clear, the chicken is safe to eat.
4. Drain the cooked chicken for a minute or two on the paper towels. Adding more oil as needed, repeat with the remaining chicken if you are working in batches. Season the hot chicken with some more salt. Serve, or place in the oven to keep warm before serving.
It takes a dedicated manager, hardworking players, loyal fans – and the Island community –to keep the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks on the field every season.
BY AARON WILSON • PHOTOS BY LARRY GLICK
No boat ticket, interstate traffic or overnight accommodations are necessary. Just load up the family or grab a couple of friends and take in our nation’s beloved pastime in an environment truly in tune with the best the Vineyard has to offer.
Since 2011, the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks have included some of the best collegiate players in summer league baseball. And for years now, our local ball team and the field they play on have been an integral part of our Island community.
Behind it all is Russ Curran, the general manager of the team, steward of the Shark Tank and year-round
Vineyarder who makes it all possible every single summer. When Russ joined the organization nine years ago, the Shark Tank was only a few years removed from being a scrub-oak covered makeshift junkyard tucked away off Sanderson Avenue in Oak Bluffs behind the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS). At first, few Islanders knew of the transformation, but over the years this gem of a ballpark has become a favorite summer destination.
Every season, Russ brings in new ideas and debuts new features for Sharks fans to enjoy. There’s the bounce house for little league (MV Youth Baseball & Softball) night, partnerships with local businesses to sell concessions, and enough seating and comfortable grass to cheer on the Sharks and have dinner almost anywhere around the field. You can find the Mad Martha’s ice cream truck
Shark Bites, which sells familiar ball game fare, local business Aquila sells specialty lemonades and acai bowls.
If you ask Russ what makes the Sharks who they are, he’ll tell you the Island community is the heartbeat of the team. “There are people there every game no matter what,” Russ muses. “We could be getting beat 20-1, but they’re still sitting there watching the team because they love it.”
Thanks to Russ and other Vineyarders, the Sharks have a yearround presence on the Island. You’ll find Sharks tickets available at any fundraiser that asks for them. Russ makes a point to support the high school teams as well, from hockey and basketball in the winter to the high school nine that also calls the Shark
Russ said he’s gotten the green light from MVRHS to renovate the field on the condition that he secures all the funding himself. And while it’s difficult and costly to keep the field the way it is now, giving it a facelift is an attainable goal if folks are willing to invest in the organization that’s given so much to the Island and especially Vineyard kids.
Looking to support the Sharks?
Consider hosting a player. As The Vine was going to press, Russ said he still had players waiting to join the team this summer but nowhere to house them. “The sad fact is that this team will go away someday because there aren’t enough host families,” Russ said. “That’s the biggest issue.”
The cost of building a dorm for players is prohibitive and the current
state of housing on the Island leaves too few options.
“(The team) is a nonprofit, we survive. Every year, that’s all we’re trying to do. Survive,” Russ said. And so far, the Sharks have, all while cultivating family fun and, as it happens, one of the most affordable meals on the Island.
If you’re a baseball fan, or just have an unoccupied room (consider next summer!), there’s a chance that hosting a college ballplayer might one day lead to a friendship with a major leaguer. On June 6, the Yankees’ starting pitcher for their first series with the Red Sox this year was Will Warren, a former Shark who played on the dominant 2019 squad.
There’s also Tyler Hardman, a 2017 Shark and first baseman who is one injury away from joining Warren on the Bronx bombers. Warren’s Sharks teammate Nick Raposo made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals last year, and Alejandro Torres, the flamethrowing closer from the 2022 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) championship team was just promoted to the Houston Astros’ Triple A affiliate and looks to be on his
way to the big league.
The relationships Russ builds with his players are one of the things he enjoys most about his role as the general manager. “I still talk to guys we had five, ten years ago,” he said.
Many former players are now coaches at division one schools and help their players find their way to the Island. Most come with no knowledge of the Vineyard but quickly learn to embrace the spirit of community so prevalent here. By the end of the season, Sharks players have been spotted at the Possible Dreams auction, the harbor fest in Oak Bluffs, on the field at 9 a.m. teaching youngsters fundamentals during drop-in clinics and parading down Edgartown’s Main Street on the Fourth of July.
These NECBL players come to the Island hoping to be discovered by a major league scout, and within weeks, they discover what it’s like to be a hometown hero. That’s the power of baseball and the power of Martha’s Vineyard.
Aaron Wilson is an Islander who works at the Vineyard Golf Club and writes for the Vineyard Gazette
Pups need a summer vacation too.
Destination: Martha’s Vineyard. Reviews? 5 stars.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY
MINDY DUTKA
When it comes to vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard, bringing your dog doesn’t just make the trip more fun; it transforms the whole experience – for you and for your pet. Recently, I set out to meet a few of the dogs who travel here with their humans. Armed with my camera and a curiosity about how dogs experience the Island, I met four pups strolling through Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown and confirmed what I already knew: a Vineyard vacation gets high marks from canines and humans alike.
In Oak Bluffs, I met DJ and Frankie, two mini bernedoodles from Delaware traveling with Deanna and Jeremy Irving. DJ, just three months old, is a wiggle-butted rookie with a nose for adventure. Frankie, age four, is the embodiment of chill, content to lounge quietly under café tables. They explored Inkwell Beach and the Edgartown Harbor Light, soaking in sea breezes and racking up compliments.
Frankie and DJ’s Yelp Review: “Five stars! So many treats, so many dogs to greet and so many places to walk and wiggle. Would paws-itively come again.”
In a serendipitous twist, I kept running into the same dog – Frank, a five-year-old golden retriever with a big personality and an even bigger fan base. Over three days and three towns, there was Frank: tail wagging, eyes smiling, soaking in attention like sunshine. His humans, Peter and Colleen Beecham of Needham, Mass., said it was Frank’s third Vineyard visit. “We got engaged here 32 years ago,” Peter shared. “It’s a special place for us, and bringing Frank just makes it even more meaningful.”
Frank’s ideal itinerary? Swimming, eating chicken and collecting admiration from every passerby. If elected to town council, Frank would propose open dog cafés on every corner. He’s a foodie who believes the more choices, the better.
Frank’s Yelp Review: “Island life is my style, being outside all day, swimming, walking around town and trying new food. Lobster in Menemsha
Over in Edgartown, I met Nova, a seven-year-old, wooly Siberian husky, who was turning heads wherever she went. Her humans, Krista and Steve, bring her every year when they travel to the Island from their home in Melrose, Mass. “She’s part of the adventure,” Steve said. “We’ve had her since we started dating.” Nova is a ferry fan, wildlife watcher and dedicated bunny spotter. This year, she became enamored with a robot lawnmower, prompting Steve to joke they might need to buy one just to keep her entertained.
Nova’s Yelp Review: “Great sniffs, friendly people, top-notch treats. 10/10. I especially loved riding the ferry.”
Mindy Dutka is a photographer, dog advocate and founder of dogsImeet.com.
Explore
BY SUSIE MIDDLETON • ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRIS BURRELL
DECISIONS, DECISIONS. At Mad Martha’s three locations (Oak Bluffs, Edgartown and Vineyard Haven), you’ve got a choice of 27 flavors of Island-made ice cream, including three created with local ingredients: Apple Fritter, Chilmark Coffee and Martha’s Vineyard Sea Salt Caramel. Mad Martha’s stores are listed on the official Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail Map.
ALL IN THE FAMILY. The Ice Cream and Candy Bazaar in Edgartown has been owned by women since Bonnie Jo Hakala (only 16 years old at the time) and Geraldine Averill opened it in 1975. The retro harborside spot is now owned by Kimberly Averill, who’s step-grandmother-in-law is Geraldine Averill. The popular waterside shop is open for its 51rst season this year.
THAT’S A LOT. The ice cream elves at Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium in Oak Bluffs make between 50 and 60 buckets of ice cream a day in the summer. A fan favorite? Lobster ice cream! You’d think that would keep the elves busy, but this summer the perennial Best of the Vineyard award-winners have taken on a new challenge: adding a store in Edgartown on Dock street.
SOFT SERVE WITH A VIEW. The Menemsha Galley, with its scenic views of Menemsha Basin, is the place to go for softserve. The 85-year-old family-owned business keeps things simple: three flavor choices (vanilla, chocolate or twist) and three dip flavors (chocolate, cherry or chocolate–peanut butter). You can’t go wrong – just grab plenty of napkins.
