Mahon About Town Nantucket Blog

The 30th Annual Nantucket Junior Miss Program, “Stayin’ Alive - 30 Years and Going Strong” is this Saturday night (3rd), one show only, 7:00 pm at the High School Auditorium. Fifteen candidates vie for $30,000 in scholarships. Tickets are $10 and available at NHS Main Office, the Hub on Main Street and the box office on show night.

The White Elephant Chef Series continues tomorrow (Saturday 3rd) from 3 to 4 with Dan Silverman, Executive Chef at New York City’s Lever House, where he has received a Michelin Star for his menu. After graduating from The French Culinary Institute in 1988, Dan worked at Bouley for 6 years, working his way up to sous chef. During that time, he worked a few stints at several Michelin starred restaurants. He has also worked at San Francisco’s Zuni Café, Chez Panisse, and Postrio. He has also worked as Executive Sous Chef at The Markham, and Executive Chef at Alison on Dominick Street, both in New York. While at Alison, he won Food and Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chef” award and Gourmet Magazine’s prestigious “20 Top Table” award. In his 4 years as Executive Chef at Union Square Café, the restaurant was the most popular restaurant in the Zagat Guide. Now to Lever House, which the James Beard Foundation nominated as one of the Best New Restaurants in 2004. Dan is pictured below.

Girls Guns & Glory has been nominated for a Boston Music Award in the Outstanding Americana Act of the Year category. The Improper Bostonian calls GG&G one of the 10 Bands you Have to Hear. The band plays traditional country, folk, and rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s all at the Box tonight and tomorrow night, (2nd and 3rd).

The Nantucket School of Music presents a free recital with performances of Cellists River Bennett and Jacob Butler, and pianist Junyi Fitzgibbon. That’s on Sunday (4th) at 3:00 pm at Sherburne Hall.

Note: The Bob Lehman Trio will not be playing at the Brant Point Grill this weekend.

This is the last weekend for the Short Play Festival’s “Lessons Learned” at the Performance Center in the Methodist Church, fully staged readings of 3 short plays selected from the Nantucket Theatrical Productions nationwide competition. The production features Eddie Loring, Richard Ross, Dwight Beman, Jeffrey Goss, Pam Murphy and Lenny Germinara. $10. Presented by the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket and Nantucket Theatrical Productions. Friday and Saturday (2nd and 3rd) at 7:30 pm.

The Chamber of Commerce’s Annual $15,000 Red Ticket Drawing is off and running, through 1:00 pm on Monday, December 24. Pick up one ticket for each participating Chamber businesses for each $25 spent. The drawing will be held on Monday, December 24th at 3:00 p.m. on Main Street. Ten $1,000 prizes and one $5,000 grand prize will be awarded to ticket holders present at the drawing. For a list of participating businesses, call the Chamber office at 508-228-1700.

Go to the N Magazine/Mahon About Town Arts & Social Calendar for additional listings.

Alice’s Restaurant is finally open out at the airport. I attended a pre-opening party on Wednesday night, July 11, along with many other newsletter subscribers who received the invitation, and I would say that the long wait was worth it. Chef and owner Richard Bailey was there greeting guests, and overseeing the preparation of the passed menu samples, including the prep of Thai dishes by K-Mom on the new outdoor patio dining area. Everything is new, including a full bar tucked off to the left (as you walk in from the parking lot), with Jeff Herman behind the bar, and display cases for take out food, including doughnuts from Dunkin’.

If you see someone you know in any of these photos, please forward the newsletter to them, and encourage them to subscribe. Go to the very end of the newsletter and click the “Forward email” link.

For more photos, go to the Mahon About Town Photo Pages.

For those times when weather has you stranded on the Cape, or you need a shopping break, ex-islander Susan Fernald, now a Cape resident and lover of fine restaurants, sends us a dispatch from time to time.

Looking for a few good breakfasts?

What a great find is Perry’s . . . a good old fashioned breakfast, and it’s served ALL DAY! In addition to numerous choices on the standard menu, Perry’s has a daily board offering soup, several quiches, (all sell out quickly - they are that good) and omelets of the day. The numbered breakfast specials range from #1 (one egg with buttered toast for $2.25) to #12 (lox scramble, eggs, onions, bagel & cream cheese for $7.75). The most expensive is the Delmonico steak, 2 eggs home fries and toast for $8.50. The home fries are made right there with peppers and onions, and cooked with a bit of crunch . . my favorite.

I had a mushroom, onion and swiss cheese omelet with home fries and toast for $6.25, my friend Wendy had a zucchini and swiss omelet with home fries and toast for $5.25. The grits ($1.25), one of ten 10 sides to choose from, were perfect: slightly salty with lots of butter. The omelets were well sized, hot, with the both the filling and the outside cooked just right. If you can’t find what you want on the menu, you can create your own omelet, with about 20 ingredients to choose from. The ketchup is Heinz, if that is as important to you as it is to me.

Lunch looked good too. We were disappointed that all three quiche specials had sold out by noon, but they do open at 5 a.m. We saw the Mob Burger, served with mushrooms, onion and bacon, good fries and a pickle for $7.75.

Perry’s is also a bakery with breads, cakes, cupcakes, and their famous muffins.

The ambience is that of an old-fashioned no fuss breakfast place with a counter. The waitstaff is friendly, the service quick, and the kitchen in view for all to see.

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Jazz seems to be the theme this weekend, with 3 events over 3 days:

Jake Vohs will perform Friday and Sunday, each time with a different band configuration. On Friday, he plays piano as the leader of a quintet with Tom Stoddart on sax, Chris Montgomery on guitar, Richard Sylvester on drums, and Jon Byler-Dann on bass. No cover. Faregrounds, Friday (9th), from 7 to 10.

On Sunday, Jake moves over to the Great Hall of the Atheneum to play solo jazz and pop piano, and will then invite some of his friends to join. It’s a part of the Atheneum’s Winter Community Concert Series, sponsored in part by a grant from the Nantucket Cultural Council. Great Hall Nantucket Atheneum, Sunday (11th), 3 to 4:30.

That leaves Saturday night open for the Nantucket School of Music (NCMC) Jazz Band under conductor Erik Wendelken. Presented by the NCMC and the NHA, the band will play the popular music of the 1940’s: Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Artie Shaw. Dance instructor Jedediyah Williams will dance with Mara Meaney-Ervin, and teach an introductory lesson on the fox-trot. The Nantucket High School Ballroom Dance Team will also give a short performance. Light refreshments. $10 NHA members, $15 non-members. Whaling Museum Gosnell Hall, 13 Broad Street. Saturday (10th), 7:30 p.m.

And several benefits:

An Evening Mardi Gras Style: Cocktails, dinner and live auction to benefit the Children’s House of Nantucket. Open bar. Music by the Dave Provost Trio. Tickets $100. 508-228-5454 or children@nantucket.net. Westmoor Club. Saturday (10th), 6:30 p.m.

Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament: Entry forms at Faregrounds Restaurant. 228-0158. Benefits the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club. Faregrounds Restaurant, Sunday (11th). Registration at noon, play begins at 1 p.m.

They Called it Puppy Love - A 50’s style sock hop. Prizes for best costume, best dancing and best hula hooping. Era-inspired food, decorations, photo booth, games, raffles. Proceeds benefit Nantucket’s homeless animals. Tickets: $25 at Geronimo’s, Rose & Crown, MSPCA and at the door. 228-2287. Rose & Crown. Wednesday (14th) at 7.

And a few more events of note:

One Book One Island: Afghan Culture. Anthropology professor David Edwards presents a talk and film on the culture and politics of life in Afghanistan. Opening event of an island-wide initiative called ‘One Book, One Island’ to encourage islanders to read a selected book, followed by discussions and events centered on the book. The books for 2007 are: ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini, for adults and high school students; ‘The Breadwinner’ by Deborah Ellis, for middle school students; and ‘The Librarian of Basra’ by Jeannette Winter, a picture book for small children. Books are distributed free in the schools and at sponsoring organization locations. Free. Coffin School, 4 Winter Street. Saturday (10th), 3 to 5 p.m.

Kate Zuckerman: ‘The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle’ Talk, tasting, and cooking demonstration by the pastry chef of New York’s Chanterelle. Free. On the menu: Goat Cheesecake with Roasted Medjool Dates Stuffed with Cashews, Currents and Candied Citrus and Pecan Honey Caramel Chews. Book signing follows. Sign up required: Great Hall, or www.nantucketatheneum.org. Atheneum Great Hall, Saturday (10th), 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The Spelling Bee will take place on February 17 at 6 p.m.

The winter we thought we had escaped has settled in; it’s been a somber week here on Nantucket.

15 year old Nantucket High School freshman Vaughn Mitchell Peterson took his own life last Saturday. In a community as small as this, we ask how we missed the signs, or were there any signs, and how have we failed as a community. We’ll likely never know. But we do know that this island came together quickly, efficiently, selflessly and compassionately to help those who suffered the most from this tragedy: daily student assemblies, yellow ribbons, a bulletin board of messages and remembrances, counselors and clergy. And we’re all reminded that that which affects one of us affects all of us, and if you feel desperate, talk to someone. We are here if you need us.

The island also lost Phil Murray last week. Born on Nantucket in 1921, Phil died at the age of 85. He was probably best known for making Nantucket Reds famous through the store he owned, Murray’s Toggery; Phil was also instrumental in building the hospital you see today at 57 Prospect. There will be a service in August at the Sankaty Golf Club.

Here are some pictures from the The New School Harvest Bash, Saturday, November 4. More in the Nantucket Independent and at MahonAboutTown.com.

Islanders Greg Bourbeau (actor and director) and Finn Murphy (producer) have teamed up to produce a short film entitled “She and He”, shot in 35mm at the Nantucket Cottage Hospital this past weekend here on Nantucket. The film will star Anita Gillette (Moonstruck, Boys on the Side, Frasier, Sex and the City, and many many more), island actor and painter John Devaney, and island actor and dancer Caitlin McDonough-Thayer. Both papers have the full story this week. Here are a few photos from the cast party Saturday night. More online at MahonAboutTown.com.