Best of the best dining on Martha's Vineyard

We arrived home from Martha's Vineyard late last night with Hurricane Irene hot on our heels. Timing not so great for our week of vacation but we had five amazing days of sun, biking, the beach and good food. I will post more later about the Best of the Vineyard, but the most pressing news is regarding our favorite restaurant: State Road Restaurant located in West Tisbury. Farm-to-table, low-key casual, but amazing food. 

So much so, that the Obama's, the Governer and Vernon Jordan decided to dine there last Thursday night - the same night as us! Two tables over from us. What luck to see the President up close and in person. Barack and Michelle Obama are so tall and elegant the two of them - and both so handsome. We were in awe. Now I love them both even more.

But back to State Road. Some pics below from their site (we were there too late to take our own pics, but wish I could have snagged one of Barack dining. We were nervous to do so with secret service literally swarming the place). We had 4 courses each with tea at the end. Everything is fresh from the island or the sea around the island. They have an amazing garden you can walk through near the restaurant. They sell their own handmade chocolate bars. They are an earthy, classy, friendly staff too. 

I usually don't like to over promote or over sell anything, but this restaurant is one of the best. Note - if you want to go, make your res weeks or months in advance. You can also check them out or buy their chocolate at www.stateroadrestaurant.com.

Had to show you - The SALTY BUTTERSCOTCH WHISKEY PUDDING with sunflower seed brittle!!

Turks vacay

I'm back. We had an amazing time in Turks and Caicos.  Everything was great with the exception of airport trouble, but all was well worth it. A few pictures today and then back to the Modish stuff tomorrow.

Check out this cool piece of art that was hanging outside our room. No named artist.

 
And check out the great color palette in the main dining room. Light turquoise chairs and wood work with white, white walls and linens and bright red artwork. If you looks closely, the curve line on the red piece is a line of shells. How easy to re-create? I'm very inspired to use this palette in my own dining room some day. Very spicy.  And yes, that's my husband in the photo!

The resort was really well designed and beautiful all the way around. I wish I got better photos. The darn iphone doesn't get the job done sometimes. I can away the details of you'd like. I highly recommend both the island and the resort. I don't think the beach could have been better....it looks like this every day.

And finally, two tired kids at the airtport...

 

 Back tomorrow!

Japan....

First, I think we all have bleeding hearts for Japan right now. Here's a link to the Red Cross to donate if you feel inclined to do so. I just got done donating. What else is there to do?  Positive thoughts and giving money is all I got in my bag of tricks right now.

So this Japan disaster has inspired me to learn a bit more about this country and culture. I'll forward interesting tidbits onto you as I find them but I'll start with some fascinating facts about this country:

- Raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan.
- Sometimes the trains are so crowded railway staff are employed to cram passengers inside.
- Japanese celebrate Christmas, but it is more like Valentine's Day in the western world.
- Poorly written English can be found everywhere, including T-shirts and other fashion items.
- More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes.
- Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, is an active volcano.
- Many Japanese do not know the difference between Shintoism and Buddhism.
- A nice musk melon, similar to a cantaloupe, may sell for over $300US.
- There are four different writing systems in Japan, romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji.
- Coffee is very popular and Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaica's annual coffee production.
- Japan's literacy rate is almost 100%.
- Sumo is Japan's national sport, although baseball is also very popular.
- Sumo wrestlers eat a stew called Chankonabe to fatten up. Many restaurants in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo serve this nabe (Japanese word for stew).
- Many toilets in Japan have a built-in bidet system for spraying your backside.- When you use the restroom in some one's home, you should put on special bathroom slippers so as not to contaminate the rest of the home.
- Noodles, especially soba (buckwheat), are slurped very loudly when eaten. It is often said slurping symbolizes the food is delicious, but the slurping also serves to cool down the hot noodles for eating.- Japan is the world’s largest consumer of Amazon rain forest timber.
- Vending machines in Japan sell beer, hot and cold canned coffee, cigarettes, and other items.
- When moving into an apartment it is often required to give the landlord a "gift" of money equal to two months' rent.

- There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.
-  It is not uncommon to eat rice at every meal, including breakfast.
- Average life expectancy in Japan is one of the highest in the world. Japanese people live an average of 4 years longer than Americans.
- Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.
- Some men in Japan shave their heads to apologize.
- Some women in Japan cut their hair after breaking up with a boyfriend.

So also, here's Part Two:

Posting about home decor seems so trivial today, but life does carry on, and no matter what, we all need some inspiration right now.

So I'm out of the baby stage, but I saved these inspiring photos awhile back because I just loved how put together and sweet these rooms are. If these don't apply to you, maybe forward Modish onto someone you know who could use an idea or two!

Under the Williamsburg bridge..

...there is a great little store called Brook Farm General Store. When you happen to be under the Williamsburg bridge, located in Brooklyn, NY, stop in! It's a fun place to shop.

But I'm guessing most of you won't be in this location anytime soon, so here's a glimpse of what they sell. And the good news is you can visit their website and buy just about everything online. Brook Farm General Store

In my never ending quest for organization and simplicity in my home, the styling and quality of their product selection is very inspiring to me. Take a look!

Tourne Wool Blanket

Glass Tumblers made from recycled Franciscan wine bottles

Fog Linen Table Cloths

Woven hamper/basket

Whiskey Rocks. Substitute for ice cubes but for hot and cold beverages - love these!!

Savon Rose DeMarseille/Soap

Simple Home, book by Mark and Sally Bailey

Homeade bees wax candles

Cutting Board

Large market backpack - great idea!

Cape Cod Part II. The Packard Gallery, Provincetown, MA

As promised, I wanted to tell you about my favorite art gallery on the Cape. It's the Packard Gallery in Provincetown, on the main strip. I think the gallery structure used to be an old church and it's filled with the work of three generations of painters. Anne Packard, her daughter Cynthia and her daughter Leslie. All three are so talented.  The work is beautiful and many of their paintings hang in the lobby of major corporations and celebrity homes today.

Go to their website to see a better representation at www.packardgallery.com but ofcourse the best way to see the work is to visit the gallery. Trust me when I say these jpeg postings do not at all convey the strength of this art.

Now that I am back...

So sorry for the long blog vacation!  I took a quick trip to the Cape during school break, everything got caught up, and I left without sending out my last planned post. What was I thinking?!

But it has been a nice week away. And I have lots of ideas bubbling over since I've been gone for so long. I hope you're all still here, checking in!

To start with, I thought I'd share with you a few of my Cape favorites.

Cape Weekends is located in Orleans on the way to Nauset Beach. I only recently discovered this shop, last year. It's huge. I love their collection of items. The owner has great taste and seems to find the trendiest stuff in every category - kids, clothing, home goods, art, jewelry. She carries some Brooklyn designers too which I always seem to favor. Lucky Fish for one. Love Lucky Fish. Here is a very tiny sampling. She has a website with a small online shop too capeweekend.com, but visiting is way better.

Orla Kiely ofcourse

Feisty Elle "Dhalia" felt earrings

Cate and Levi lamb

Zaishu Flower table

Cape Cod artist Wendelin Glatzel

Another favorite is Salon 16 West also in Orleans. Mainly because they carry a great line of skincare products called Welstar, that are all natural, totally organic and essential oil based.  They are a made in very small batches using only pure, raw materials. Visit their website to see the whole product line www.welstar.net. I love how pure these products are and she even carries a sun protection line that's essential oil based.

A few others to mention.

- The semi-new French bakery and restaurant in South Wellfleet called PB Boulangerie. I must admit, I've never been overwhelmed with the restaurants on the Cape, all very predictable, but this place is truly French and very sophisticated.

- Ofcourse the Candy Manor in Chatham..

- The Chatham Bars Inn is a luxury inn but also a great place for cocktails, dinner or a bar style lunch when in the area.

- East Wind Silver in Chatham for inexpensive but good quality silver jewelry.

- I love the bookstore, Where The Sidewalk Ends, in Chatham. Not only is this a great title for a bookstore, but this place is very cozy and friendly and they offer up a great selection of interesting books, local and otherwise.

- And then there is my favorite Art Gallery in Provincetown. I'll blog about this tomorrow...it deserves it's own blog post....

I'm off to start watching the Oscars...good night!

Cy Twombly Exhibit

I was so excited to post about this artist, Cy Twombly, when I learned online this morning, the Portland Art Museum was going to showcase his work February - May 2010 and since Portland ME is only a short ride from where I live, how exciting! His work is amazing. At first pass, some of it looks like something you'd see on the walls of a preschool, but actually, it's the real deal - modern, beautiful and very thoughtful. 

The downside of this post is that his work will not be featured in Portland, ME, but in Portland OR - www.portlandartmuseum.org. But I decided to write about his work anyway and show you a few pieces because I think it's inspiring, and who knows, maybe Portland OR is nearby for you! Wouldn't you just love one of these pieces hanging in your house?

Lepanto, 2001

The Castle, 1958

To see more of Cy Twombly's artwork see www.cytwombly.info, or visit the Gagosian Gallery at www.gagosian.com

Souen, NYC. A Macrobiotic meal. Broccoli Tofu, Mu Tea anyone?

My first post of a few on our trip to NYC last week. How I miss it so. I took my family back to my favorite macrobiotic restaurant located in SOHO. www.souen.net I used to eat there by myself when I lived in NYC because I was really one of two people I know who like or would really desire to eat Macrobiotic. Not my normal diet - too many grains - but really good food too. Here is a sampling of what you might expect at a Macrobiotic restaurant: maze salmon, gluten free cornbread, vegetable curry, bean soup, steamed greens, and healthy dessert goodies such as sugar, gluten and dairy free parfaits, scones and muffins and tofu cheesecake. Really good food. Once I was in NYC by myself, I ate a basic lunch at Souen and the meal not only fueled me for an entire day of walking the streets of NYC, but kept me full until a very late dinner 10 hours later.

It's all about Yin Foods and Yang Foods (which fascinates me), and the idea that we should eat balanced food, local and unprocessed, that's easy to digest, and it should taste good. Ofcourse, I think we would all agree with that as the desired diet, but what is also means is that you basically do the following:

• Make well-chewed whole grains (such as brown rice) 25 percent of your daily dietary intake.
• Vegetables should be 30-40 percent of your daily dietary intake.
• Beans and legumes should be five to 10 percent of your daily dietary intake.
• Bean and/or miso soups should be approximately five percent of your daily dietary intake.
• The remaining intake should be composed of fish, nuts, seeds and fruits.
• Nightshade vegetables (such as potatoes, peppers and tomatoes) should be avoided.
• Avoid stimulating foods (such as hot spices, tropical fruits, sugar and caffeine) and dense foods that create stagnation (such as dairy, poultry, meat, eggs and salt.) Instead, eat foods that promote balance such as whole grains, beans, fruits and nuts.
• Don't eat dairy, meat or poultry. These foods are avoided on macrobiotic diets.
• Avoid coffee, tea and soda. Teas made with roasted grains or dandelion greens are acceptable.
• All cooking and drinking water must be purified.
• Select only organic produce.
• Use only fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid canned and frozen produce.
• Avoid use of the microwave to prepare your food.
• Avoid intake of all animal products except for fish.

Yikes, a tad strict for me, but I admire those who can stick to it. It's truly a very healthy diet for most people. What about any of you, who may be reading this post one day - seem appealing?

So there you have it foodie readers. Check it out next time you're in NYC. I do recommend! This btw, will be one of my many posts about food and diet. An obsession of mine.