Inline reviews

Zagat Guides Top Pick for food & Service 2005 & 2006

Wine Spectator Award of Excellence 1996-2006

Award of Unique Distinction From the Wine Enthusiast
2005-2006 For Excellence in an all American wine list

Best Of Boston 2005

New York Times, Sophisticated Traveler Pick

Food & Wine, The best of Whats next 2005

Top Pick For Zagats Tried and True summer series 2006

New England Travel & Life Best of New England 2006

Where to eat guides pick for Nantucket 2006

Boston Magazines Summer Escapes June 2006

Robb Reports Where to Eat on Nantucket 2005

Fodors Number One Choice for Nantucket "Creative fare from all four corners of the country and wine from the best of American vineyards are served in a romantic and artistic setting".
-Fodors Guide 2000

"American Seasons represents Nantucket perfectly, the food is both local yet cosmopolitan, sophisticated yet without pretense".
-Bon Appetite Magazine

Nestled in the heart of downtown Nantucket on quiet residential Centre Street is one of the island’s culinary treasures. American Seasons is adored by island residents for its deliciously imaginative preparations using American ingredients, and it is sought out by visitors who have heard of its wide-spread reputation for consistently serving unique dishes flawlessly prepared and beautifully presented.

The restaurant itself is unassuming, blending in well with the neighborhood and marked simply by an arbor and trellis and by their sign depicting a harvest of American foods. Inside, the harvest theme is continued with murals and brass "weathervane" animals. Hand-painted tables surrounded by a combination of cozy, cushioned booth style seats (complete with pillows) and comfortable chairs are simply adorned with candles and carafes of olive oil (much better than butter on the freshly baked French bread and the warm asiago and scallion focaccia that will be brought to your table). American Seasons is all about celebrating and enjoying food.

One look at the menu is enough to make you loosen your belt in anticipation of the feast to come. You may need to read it over more than once, study it, to take it all in—there are so many unusual and tempting choices that it’s hard to make a quick decision. Should you start with an appetizer from the "Wild West" or the "Pacific Coast"...? And how can you possibly decide between the "New England" entrees and the selection from "Down South." Relax, order a glass of champagne from their award-winning all-American wine list, and savor the experience. Any of the dishes you choose will take you on a delicious cross-country journey.

Like colorful paintings on canvas, each dish is served on a white plate, emphasizing the composition and color of chef Michael LaScola’s artistically presented food. We began with a favorite appetizer returning from last spring’s menu (American Seasons modifies it’s menu several times throughout the year): the Spring Pea Risotto. We weren’t surprised, given the dependable consistency of this restaurant, that it was as delicious as we remembered. The creamy risotto, studded with large, freshly-shucked peas, is served cupped inside a large crisp-chewy parmesan tuille. Tender pea shoots decorate the top and surrounding the tower is a vibrant red lobster bolognese with plenty of lobster chunks, fresh tomato, onion, and more spring peas. The seafood bolognese cuts the creaminess of the risotto, and the risotto adds a richness to the light bolognese. It’s a perfect pairing that is typical of the cuisine of Chef LaScola.

New to the menu and a veritable breath of spring is the Smoked Salmon Rillette. Very refreshing, avocado and cucumbers in horseradish vinaigrette form the foundation for this layered dish. The top layer of smoked salmon in a light binding with just a few tiny bits of red onion and yellow pepper lends most of the flavor, while the cool creaminess of the avocado and the crunch of the cucumber add contrasting textures. Radish matchsticks in colorful light green basil oil dotted with brilliant pink beet juice garnish the dish. A tiny half quail egg and a dollop of caviar top the appetizer.

Like a flower with frilled petals, the Peeky Toe Crab and Potato Ravioli blooms atop bitter greens, asparagus, and country ham, its gentle harmony of sweet and tart and salty flavors tingle the palate. A sherried shallot vinaigrette with diced fresh tomato surrounds the ravioli with bold flavor and color.

One of our favorites among the new appetizers on the American Seasons spring menu is the Sauteed Gulf Shrimp from the "Wild West" offerings—a kaleidoscope of colors and flavors in a beautifully graphic presentation. The shrimp, grilled just till they "pop" with succulent flavor, are laid tip-to-tip curled upon a nicely browned corn and scallion griddle cake, which is set in a circular pool of mole sauce, resonant with spice and deeply flavorful. Circles of creme fraiche surround the warm appetizer, which is garnished with chilled sweet orange segments and homemade tomatillo salsa with a nice cooling bite.

As soon as the entrees arrive, you’ll know your first impluse to loosen your belt was right on target: despite the generous size of the portions, it is impossible not to finish every bite. The entrees, like the appetizers, are tantalizing and imaginative. The Jerk Rubbed Loin of Pork is thick and juicy, a smoky, wood-fire taste grilled into it. The pork is arranged atop a bright orange sweet potato hash on a black rum reduction and topped with a relish of grilled pineapple and red onion. Sandwiched between these slightly sweet contrasting elements, the pork is heightened in flavor.

For one last, fond and lingering memory of the cooler season, order the Roast Breast of Duck. The duck is sliced and fanned out around the plate, exposing the rare, lean, pink center of the meat and leaving a bit of crisp, salty skin for each bite. A richly dark apricot ginger reduction with just a whisper of sweetness is drizzled overtop. Accompanying are sliced anjou pear and a crunchy "egg roll" filled with crisp vegetables and a generous amount of duck confit, good enough to be a dish on its own merits. We’re not entirely convinced that the spiced peanuts fit the entree, but we enjoyed their salty counterpoint, and they were delicious with the small salad of wilted frisee.

Chef LaScola’s kitchen is just as good with fish as they are with meat and poultry. A true taste of New England can be savored with the Oven Roasted Atlantic Halibut. Thick, succulent, and cooked just till translucent and flaky, the mild white fish is topped with a piquant red pepper and olive tapenade garnished dramatically with a mussel perched in its blue-black shell. The halibut is served in a bowl of "mussel and chorizo chowder" that has all the best flavors of a true New England clambake—mussels, potatoes, swiss chard, spicy sausage—in a light tomatoey broth.

We are unanimous in our praise of the Cumin Dusted Yellowfin Tuna. With a definite wood-fire flavor to its seared exterior and an ocean-freshness to its very rare middle, this tuna entree is a taste of island summer. The tuna is set on a cool, crisp, and sweetly fruity mango slaw that is simply spendid when eaten with the fish. Atop is a tight roll of crisp phyllo filled with a spiced black bean mixture and liberally dusted with cumin.

Pastry Chef Joanna Polowy’s desserts are a gallery of sweet delights, each artfully adorned with shining sugary squiggles, shaped cookies, and colorful sweet sauces. Her Ginger Creme Brulee is the perfect traditional choice infused with slightly peppery, slightly sweet hints of ginger, and her Banana and Spiced Rum Cake has a deliciously moist yet light crumb and is perfectly accompanied by a scoop of coconut ice cream. One of our favorite finishes is the Blackberry and Anise Bombe. Impressively light like a souffle, yet full of fresh berry taste, this is an airy marvel and the perfect end to a feast. The chocolate lovers in our group feel compelled to mention both Chef Polowy’s Chocolate Lover’s Sampler and her Colombian Coffee Mocha Tart. The trio of rich morsels on the Sampler—white chocolate sorbet, mint truffles, and hazelnut and chocolate pyramid—can evoke fits of ecstasy. And the simple tart has just the right balance of rich sweetness and dark bitterness to remind us of just how good a match coffee is with chocolate.