Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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DECKED OUT These waterside gems offer divine food and heavenly views. New England boasts a passel of waterside dining options all summer long. The choice locations attract star chefs crafting everything from classic American cuisine to refined French fare. Here are three Boston-area standouts. Water Street The sprawling front porch is where you want to see and be seen while enjoying a drink at Water Street, the fine-dining restaurant in the Victorian-style Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown. Executive Chef Nathan Gould makes ample use of island ingredients to create small and large plates of polished New England fare like local watercress rabbit confit salad with grapefruit and ricotta salata; slow-cooked Vineyard egg in a lock-top mason jar with house-smoked trout, trout caviar, and bitter greens; and bison tenderloin with parsley gnocchi, mushrooms, tomatoes, and thyme. Harbor View Hotel, 131 N. Water St., Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, 508-627-7000; harbor-view.com/dining/water-street Pier 6 Head straight to the roof deck of this newly renovated restaurant with floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors, a mahogany bar, and breathtaking views of the Boston skyline for the ultimate seaside experience—with no Cape traffic. With Executive Chef Greg Reeves at the helm (he's an alum of Green Street and B&G Oysters), you know you're in able hands for lunch, brunch, or dinner. Seafood is the star of the raw bar, with standouts like pineapple-avocado shrimp ceviche, and in entrées such as the juicy hunk of grilled swordfish sauced with cool mint yogurt. 1 18th St., Charlestown, 617-337-0054; pier6boston.com Henri-Marie Situated in the newly opened Mirbeau Inn & Spa at The Pinehills, the sophisticated French restaurant Henri-Marie has a romantic outdoor patio overlooking a lush garden and lily pond fashioned after Giverny. Executive Chef Stephen Coe uses as many local ingredients as possible, including seafood, produce, meat, herbs grown on the property, and honey from a nearby beehive. For his first menu, look for such tantalizing fare as farm-raised rabbit three ways with mustard and tarragon over a summer bean and artichoke ragoût; French bouillabaisse served en papillote; and Provençal-inspired smoked lavender cheesecake with huckleberries and lavender "glass" candy. Mirbeau Inn & Spa at The Pinehills, 35 Landmark Dr., Plymouth, 877-647-2328; mirbeau.com/pinehills There's Something About Mary BOSTON BARTENDERS RAID THE SPICE CLOSET TO DELIVER THE ULTIMATE BLOODY MARY. BY VICTORIA ABBOTT RICCARDI Custom-build a perfect Sunday sipper at East Coast Grill's Bloody Mary Bar. PHOTOGRAPHY BY WOLLERTZ A pickled egg, cornbread croutons, and a dilly bean? Seems as though the Bloody Mary has made some new friends. This summer, Boston cocktail slingers mix up the Bloody Mary scene by adding in some surprises sure to hit the sweet and salty spot. "The Bloody Mary is a timeless drink that's a part of our culture, and people want to put their own spin on it," says Scott Shoer, master cocktail-maker at Sycamore (755 Beacon St., Newton, 617-244-4445; sycamorenewton.com). His twist has resulted in the Ghost of Mary, a sexy, rose-colored sipper mixed with citron vodka and spicy tomato water (made by straining puréed tomatoes through cheesecloth) and served with a sleek dilly-bean garnish. "We wanted a lighter drink, so we cre- ated what is basically a Bloody Mary without all the chunks." At East Coast Grill (1271 Cambridge St., Cambridge, 617-491-6568; eastcoastgrill.net) manager Brian Kuhlen took the opposite tack when dreaming up the weekend Make-Your-Own-Bloody-Mary Bar. "It's like gazpacho with vodka in it, and then some," he says. You choose your booze—vodka, gin, or tequila—then select a Bloody Mary base, either straight tomato juice, house Bloody Mary mix, or Clamato. After that, pick your fixings from at least 40 different hot sauces, mul- tiple spice mixes, house-made pickles, condiments (such as crudités or citrus wedges), and wild cards like cornbread croutons. Seth Yaffe, general manager at the South End gem The Gallows (1395 Washington St., 617-425-0200; thegallowsboston.com) turned to Asia for inspiration. "We infused gin with Szechuan peppercorns, which have a deep heat and this cool numbing effect on the tongue and lips." He added some Bloody Mary base and a kimchi pickled egg—and the Horse Whisperer was born. "We have a lot of dishes with kimchi in them," he says, "and now the pickling liquid won't go to waste." BC Enjoy a seaside experience without Cape Cod traffic at Pier 6. 70 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM SOUND BITES