What did Obama eat at a Martha's Vineyard restaurant?
On Sunday, the first full day of President Obama's last vacation on Martha's Vineyard while still in office, he played a round of golf and ate dinner out with family and friends at Down Island in the town of Oak Bluffs. The establishment, in the basement of the historic Lampost building, just opened in May.
While Down Island is new to the Vineyard restaurant scene, its executive chef Scott Cummings is not - he has been cooking on Martha's Vineyard for twelve years. Cummings believes in an "island to table culinary experience" and sources much of his ingredients from local Martha's Vineyard farms and fisherman.
Obama arrived in the 40-seat turquoise-painted dining room Sunday night with what restaurant staff described as a big party. There was no need to order - Down Island has a weekly set five course menu that the presidential party ate from.
The meal begins with rosemary potato bread accompanied by roasted garlic butter mixed with dehydrated Kalamata olives.
The first course is what Down Island calls a wild mushroom forest. It is an array of warm king trumpet mushrooms scored in a lattice pattern and seared, a morel stuffed with chicken liver mousse and pickled chanterelles, all over a bed of spiced onion puree.
The second course is the restaurant's signature, roasted carrots, the only mainstay on the menu week after week. The carrots are sourced from nearby Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown and they are punctuated with citrus, pearl onions, Thai basil, salted almonds and a harissa yogurt sauce.
The third course is Spanish octopus, but many in the President's party had shrimp instead - prepared the same way, in a local lobster and clam bouillabaisse with marble potatoes and ice lettuce. On top sits a bit of foam made from frothy island saltwater.
The fourth course is a filet of Striped Bass, caught by local fisherman off the coast of Menemsha, sprinkled with a ribbon of sea salt and topped with sea beans - succulents from North Tabor Farm in Chilmark, the town where President Obama is staying on his vacation.
The fifth course is a chocolate pate bursting with blueberry compote. It is paired with Island corn-flavored ice cream, pralines and a corn husk. The corn used in the dessert is from the same local farm as the signature second course roasted carrots - Morning Glory in Edgartown.
Down Island is located at 6 Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs, MA. The entrance is on Kennebec Avenue. The set menu changes each Wednesday.