Zephrus

Sangria

Farfalle

Roasted Statler Chicken Breast

Located inside the Martha's Vineyard Mansion House, Zephrus Restaurant was a great pick on a warm summer evening. With plenty of indoor seating, as well as a few tables on the restaurant's enclosed patio, this was a great place to enjoy the summer evenings while people watching along Main Street in Vineyard Haven.

We ordered the white wine sangria, which was crisp and refreshing, and perfect for the summertime.

For dinner, we ordered the farfalle, which was perfectly light, while still being filling. The garlic sauce was delicious and everything was cooked perfectly.

We also ordered the roasted chicken, and substituted green beans for artichokes. The chicken was succulent and juicy, the risotto was creamy, and the sauce was amazing!

We would highly recommend Zephrus for lunch or dinner in Vineyard Haven.

Sailing with Mad Max

Sailing with Mad Max in Edgartown was a fun adventure. Mad Max recommends bringing snacks, drinks, adult beverages, and more.

Guests are welcome to steer the boat, as well as ask about what you're seeing as you explore the area. Unlike other sailings and boat tours, your navigators and hosts do not do a narrated tour of the bay.

That said, this is a great chance to lay back and relax. Bring a sweat shirt, as it will get colder as it gets later into the evening. It's also a great chance to take some beautiful photos of the area as the sun sets on Edgartown.

The Newes from America

Located in the historic Kelley House Hotel, The Newes From America Restaurant, is serving up three meals a day, and has ice cold beer to boot.

We heard rave reviews of the onion soup, so of course we had to order that, which was as delicious as expected! We also had a cheeseburger, which was so good, I actually finished it (note: that NEVER happens!), and split a house salad.

We recommend swinging by here for lunch and grabbing a bite to eat before heading for a sailing, to Chappaquiddick Island, or back to shopping around Edgartown.

West Tisbury Farmers' Market

If you're staying on Martha's Vineyard for more than a weekend, swing by the West Tisbury Farmer's Market, open on Saturday's at the site of the West Tisbury Grange. There's lots of local farmers selling fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as homemade jams, teas, and other goodies.

There's also a family that makes fresh squeezed lemonade, limeade, and a "citrus refresher," all squeezed right in front of you.

The market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon.

Skinny's Fat Sandwich

For lunch, or a mid-afternoon snack, Skinny's Fat Sandwich, in Edgartown shares a building with Mad Martha's Ice Cream. If you can make it past those delicious ice cream cases, the sandwiches here are delicious!

We ordered the ham and cheese sandwich on wheat and an Italian hoagie. Both were fantastic. The ham sandwich was humongous and the meat tasted fresh and the rolls and breads were soft and fresh.

There a very few tables inside the restaurant, so grab a table early, or grab these sammies to-go.

We highly, highly recommend Skinny's Fat Sandwich.

Offshore Ale Company

Offshore Ale Company, just a little off the main strip in Oak Bluffs, brews there own beer, including a very crisp and refreshing blueberry beer. They also make really delicious food.

We ordered the turkey club, which was a pretty standard turkey club, but also their pulled pork sandwich with a honey BBQ sauce.

The honey BBQ sauce was sweet and tangy and sticky and yummy. The pork is also super tender.

Both were served with their homemade potato chips, which were yummy, and perfectly salted.

Black Dog Tavern

 BBQ Ribs

 Fish and Chips

Decadent Blackout Cake 

With stores all around Martha's Vineyard, and the New England area, we had to eat at the tavern that started it all: Black Dog Tavern. Right on the water, with a view of the ferry from the main land, and the Vineyard Haven marina, the restaurant is a great location for lunch or dinner and some boat watching.

We ordered the BBQ ribs, which smelled amazing as we walked into the restaurant. The meat fell off the bone, and there was a lot of meat and the perfect amount of sauce. We also ordered the fish and chips, which, while the fish was very good, the breading could have been crispier.

For dessert, we ordered the famed decadent blackout cake, which was a-mazing, but definitely needs to be shared.

The Black Dog Tavern, in Vineyard Havenhttp://www.theblackdog.com/pages.php?pageid=5

Sharky's Cantina

Sharky's Cantina, in Edgartown, is one of the two Sharky's on Martha's Vineyard. We stopped here for dinner after our original plans fell through, and, for once, we were thankful our original plans fell through.

We ordered the watermelon margarita, because the bar makes their own sour mix and watermelon puree (how could you turn this down?).

We ordered chips with salsa and queso, all was delicious. We also order soft tacos. We ordered pork, ground beef, and chicken, The beef and chicken were really good, but the pork is where it's at. It was perfectly cooked, succulent, and, I almost wished I had ordered two pork tacos rather than one of each.

The restaurant was comfortable, decorated really fun, and felt like a place where the locals go rather than a tourist restaurant. It's also outside the downtown Edgartown area, so you have to drie or take the public transit there, but its definitely worth it.

Kelley House, Martha's Vineyard

Kelley House, is the near the marina in Edgartown, and is a perfect location for any Martha's Vineyard vacation.  This hotel has top notch service from the minute you're greeted by the doorman to the interaction you may have with the staff throughout your stay.

They have their own parking lots, which comes in handy in a place like Edgartown.  Each morning, there's coffee, tea and muffins available, and at night, cookies and milk are also made available to all guests.

The rooms are quite spacious, they're clean and the beds are very comfortable.  Each day the housekeeping staff did an excellent job on keeping the room clean.

Another pleasant surprise is that in each room they put 2 re-usable water bottles for guests to keep as a souvenir.

All guests should note that there are no elevators in the building, so you will need to take the stairs if you have an upper room floor.  Anyone who cannot handle stairs should check with the hotel before booking to see if they can make arrangements for you.

Mad Martha's Ice Cream

Mad Martha's, with lines at all hours of the day, is in all the major towns of Martha's Vineyard, including Edgartown, Oak Bluffs & Vineyard Haven.  They have numerous flavors (all available to sample) and the ones we tried were delicious, including the delectable Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  There are reasons this place is always crowded and it's definitely worth any wait for their tasty treats.

Note though, that they are cash only.

Flying Horses Carousel

For just a couple bucks, you can ride the historic Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard.  This is considered to be the oldest carousel in America and the horses' hair comes from actual horse hair.  On the ride, you have the (easy) opportunity to grab some brass rings, which entitles you to another free ride, one free ride per rider is allowed.  However, one spin around the carousel is enough to satiate most adult's desires for the ride.

Gingerbread Cottages

The picturesque gingerbread cottages of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association are quite a sight to see.  These houses are brightly colored with various types of designs on them.  You'll find butterflies, hearts, flowers and other random objects painted on these houses.  The colors range from hot pink to sky blue and are all quite compact allowing you to easily walk through the neighborhood and see them in a short period of time.

There is also the Cottage Museum here, built inside one of these houses (The only one you can access, unless you feel like asking someone who owns a house if you can go inside).  The museum is a bit lackluster as there really isn't too much to see in it.  Upstairs you'll see some artifacts from the days when these houses were first erected, but beyond that, not much else.  However, for only $2, at least you don't feel like you lost too much money to step inside.

The Gayhead Cliffs, Aquinnah Cliffs

The Aquinnah Cliffs, formerly the Gayhead Cliffs, are located at the far west side of Martha's Vineyard.  At this point, there are plenty of kitschy gift shop options, as well as some quick dining options and a beach.  However, the highlight are the cliffs, and there's an overlook giving people a great viewing point to see them. While there really isn't much else to do in this area, it's worth the approximately half-hour drive from the main tourist spots, like Edgartown, to see the cliffs.  There is plenty of parking in the area, also, making it easy to access.

Mytoi Garden

Chappaquiddick Island is located adjacent to Martha's Vineyard island, but only a short (1 minute) ferry trip away.  The ferry can be accessed either by foot, bicycle or car.  However, if you wish to explore past the beach at the ferry port, a car or bicycle is definitely needed.

One of the highlights of exploring this secluded island is seeing Mytoi Garden.  This garden has a Japanese style and is very peaceful to walk through.  In the lake in the middle are snapping turtles and there are various forms of botany in the garden.  This is a place that doesn't get as many visitors as it deserves due to its seclusion, but because of that, it makes it a better place to visit and is highly recommended.

South Beach, Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard has no shortage of beach options for visitors.  During our stay, we spent a few hours at South Beach, which is just a few miles south of Edgartown with ample parking.  This peaceful beach is quite nice with soft sand and only mildly sized crowds that were very laid back.  The waves were slightly rough, not exactly the type you can only put your feet in without getting the rest of your body wet, but it was a very nice and clean ocean (unlike other parts of the country...I'm looking at you Jersey shore).

If beach time is something you're looking for while visiting Martha's Vineyard, this is an excellent choice!

The Oldest House on the Vineyard

Vincent House

Old Whaling Church

Dr. Daniel Fisher House

Most people visit Martha's Vineyard to get away from every day life and to just relax.  However, if you are interested in the history of the island, you can take a one hour tour in Edgartown, run by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust, to learn about what life was like in the early days of the island.

The first building on this tour to explore, and where you get your tour ticket and meet the tour guide, is the Vincent House, built in 1672, which is considered the oldest house on the island.  You'll learn about what life was like on Martha's Vineyard in the 17th century up through modern 20th century history and see various artifacts inside the house.

Next up is the Dr. Daniel Fisher House, built in 1840.  This beautiful house is still used today for events such as weddings.  Inside you'll see the house set up to be modern to accommodate for this, but you can still get the idea of what the house was like when first built.

Finally, you'll get to spend some time in the Old Whaling Church, built in 1843.  Inside, it is quite plain and simple, but that in itself makes it quite nice.  It is still actively used today, especially for town meetings.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly and we'd recommend this tour, three houses and the Martha's Vineyard Museum, for $10 to give you a good appreciation of Martha's Vineyard's history.