Chicken thighs are appealingly fatty, but this can sometimes cause flare-ups when grilling. Bank the coals before igniting so that you have a cooler side, and move the chicken there if needed.
pend time with chef Chris Fischer and you get the sense he’s maybe a little disappointed that people ever moved on from bows and arrows. The 34-year-old, who took over the kitchen at the Beach Plum Inn & Restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard about a year ago, believes that for food to taste good, it has to be fresh—like, still-flapping-on-the-plate fresh. “When you use the best ingredients, you can do less to them,” he says. “I can pretend I know what I’m doing.”
Don’t be fooled by the modesty. Fischer, whose family has lived on Martha’s Vineyard for 12 generations and who still runs his grandfather’s Beetlebung Farm, knows exactly what he’s doing. After all, he cooked at Babbo in New York City and London’s St. John Bread & Wine. Under his brief charge, the restaurant has become known as the best on the island (yes, the Obamas are fans), serving food that was grown there: Two-thirds or more of the menu now comes from within five miles, produced by people Fischer has known his whole life. If the tangy feta tastes as though it just arrived from down the road, it’s because it did (thank you, Mermaid Farm).
Fischer created his produce-centric menu to solve a restaurant problem he believes plagues us today: “There are too many chefs who either serve you 25 courses that leave you hungry, or they fill you so full of carbs that you have to go to bed.”
So what should a chef serve? “People ought to be able to identify what’s on their plate,” he says. “There is a specific feeling that comes from filling up on good, fresh, real food. It’s hard to explain, but you know it when you eat it.”
Hungry for more? Learn how to how to fillet a striped bass with Beach Plum Inn's Lee Desrosiers
1. GET THERE: Connecting flights to Martha’s Vineyard Airport are available from Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. Ferries run regularly; see mvy.com for info.
2. STAY: Booking a room at Menemsha’s Beach Plum Inn or sister property Menemsha Inn & Cottages is the best way to score coveted reservations at Beach Plum Restaurant.
3. GO: In September and October the crowds are gone, the heat of summer has abated, and farms are still abundant with produce.
4. PACK: Excellent wines are hard to come by. If arriving by car, bring a few choice bottles with you.
5. BRING BACK: Chilmark Chocolates, made by workers with disabilities, is a favorite of Fischer’s. A sweater or throw from the Allen Farm Sheep and Wool Company is a soft (and lasting) souvenir.