POSTCARD FROM...Nantucket

Our friend Zachary Weiss shares his favorite new(ish) stay, raw bar & martini spot, beach to bike to, and an affordable charter that avoids big airports

HELLO FROM….

Nantucket, a true slice of American summer living, where the season can stretch well into September. I try to get here every summer, and when I’m not able to mooch off of a friend, one of my favorite places to stay is the Life House Hotel, which was stylishly updated a couple of years ago from a bygone B&B. Honorable mention to their sister property, too, The Faraway.

THE BEST MEAL I HAD… 

I live to eat, so this is a hard one, but a standout is always Monday night dinner at Company of The Cauldron by Chef Joseph Keller (brother of Thomas!). Homemade popovers, and lobster bisque en croute! For fancy raw bar and martinis, Cru Nantucket, where you can gawk at the yachts. For late night bites, all roads lead to Stubby’s for chicken fingers and fries. 

MOST FUN THING I DID… 

A rotation of cocktailing, sunning, and swimming at Galley Beach, which is walkable from town. If you’re looking for something little more active (and ambitious), try a bike ride out to Sconset and reward yourself with the meatloaf sandwich at Claudette’s. 

THE BOOK I READ (AND WOULD RECOMMEND)… 

Little and Often, a memoir by Trent Preszler, a canoe maker from Long Island’s North Fork who hails from South Dakota. 

A THING OR TWO I LEARNED… 

Getting to the island from Manhattan can be a little arduous, but I recently gave Tradewinds puddle jumpers a try and found it to be affordable and super-efficient — and you don’t have to deal with the big airports! 

The island has over 9,000 acres of protected land, so there are lots of great “hikes,” which are more like low-impact walking paths through beautiful scenery. The Nantucket Conservation Foundation has an app, ACK Trails, that highlights all of them. 

We spotted several horseshoe crabs that had washed up on Steps Beach, which sent us down a Google rabbit hole in which we learned that horseshoe crab blood is blue, incredibly valuable, and an important tool in new vaccine testing. 

THE BEST THING I’M BRINGING HOME… 

A pair of ‘80s turquoise cargo short shorts I found at the thrift shop benefiting the local hospital for a whopping $3 — they’ll be coming with me on my next trip to Ibiza!

—Zachary Weiss