Greek Is Chic At The Coach House

This month, The Coach House at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, welcomes back theme nights and fun menus, as Executive Chef Joshua Hollinger serves up Greek specialties and colossal burgers created on a chef's whim.

As Vineyard locals start to get restless for something new, Hollinger kicks off his Thursday theme night series with a nod to the flavors of the Mediterranean in a Greek Revival menu. Featuring dishes designed for sharing, Hollinger focused the menu around the traditions of Greek culture. With items ranging from $8 to $19, each dish is a tasty glimpse into another seaside land where rich, salty flavors abound. Hollinger's menu debuts on February 22 and will continue every Thursday until the chef reveals a new theme sometime in March. The complete Greek Revival theme night dinner menu follows.

"I love the Mediterranean family-style dining that brings people together," says Hollinger. "Nothing is more nourishing for the soul than foods that have been with us for thousands of years: olive oils, basil, dill, lemons, almonds, delicate honey, fresh fish, hearty lamb and zesty feta. The Mediterranean offers fruits of the land and the sea...much like Martha's Vineyard, and I take my inspiration as much from the local ingredients I use, as from the warming flavors of Greece."

At the same time, Hollinger has no problem admitting, "I'm a glutton for good, old American bar food," with the introduction of his Bodacious Burgers that require two hands ("and a sense of adventure") to enjoy. His reverence for burgers is apparent in an entire menu dedicated to the pub staple at the Harbor View's Carlos Fuente Club House. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights showcase carnivore creations like the Bubba Style, with spicy BBQ sauce, coleslaw, jalapeqos and hickory smoked bacon, and the Jamaicanmecrazy, jerk spiced and lime rubbed with habaqero relish and leafy greens. Vegetarians won't feel left out with the Tree Hugger, a mix of black bean and rolled oats, avocado and local farmer Jack's hippie sprouts. Click here for the complete menu of Hollinger's Bodacious Burgers.

On March 14, The Coach House will open its doors to local growers, purveyors and neighbors as they rejoice the coming of spring with the 2007 Slow Food New England "Boiled Dinner." In celebration of the island's bounty, Chef Hollinger will craft dishes featuring Martha's Vineyard ingredients in a menu that pays tribute to the hard-working people who maintain the island's abundant agriculture and seafood businesses. While guests enjoy the meal, Executive Sous Chef Troy Himmelman, a world-class pastry chef, will demonstrate how to pull sugar as he creates a seascape good enough to eat. Highlights on the menu include Scarlet oysters from Katama Bay, fresh lobsters caught by Louis and Jeff at The Net Result and Allen Farm beef brisket. Dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. and costs $35 for Slow Food members and $40 for non-members. The Harbor View Hotel will make a $5 donation to Slow Food for each person who attends. For more information, call 508-627-3761.

About the Harbor View Hotel
Home to one of the most spectacular views on Martha's Vineyard, the Harbor View Hotel, a member of Historic Hotels of America, is the island's only full-service hotel open year-round, offering guests unparalleled amenities and 130 beautifully appointed guest rooms and suites. The hotel lies at land's end overlooking beautiful Edgartown Harbor, the Edgartown Lighthouse and Chappaquiddick Island. This historical landmark offers luxuriously appointed accommodations, an exceptional collection of amenities and services, fine New England dining, an outdoor swimming pool and beach access. The hotel has the only golf club partnership on the island and is able to offer its guests tee times at the nearby Farm Neck Golf Club.