Solo Dining Martha's Vineyard: Guide for Eating Alone
Featuring Beach Road and Sweet Life Restaurants.
Solo dining is surprisingly liberating. During two recent meals at Beach Road Restaurant and Sweet Life in Oak Bluffs (Martha’s Vineyard), I discovered that eating alone isn't lonely—it's an opportunity for mindful indulgence and genuine connection.
Recently, I put on my big girl pants and went out alone to eat, alone, twice in one week. Not to grab a quick sandwich, but to eat a dinner and try a new drink. And here’s the thing: each event was a blast in its own way: communal enough and definitely satisfying and liberating. I’m already looking forward to “next time.”
Beach Road on Martha’s Vineyard: The Best Hot Dog on MV and a Warm Welcome Home
There’s a briny Vineyard bite in the air as the ferry pulls into the Vineyard Haven Steamship terminal in Vineyard Haven. The sky is that lovely lavender-blue color reflecting off the water. I’ve been gone all winter and it feels good to be back.
I go home, drop off my bags, and start thinking about my stomach. I am hungry and the house is food-empty. I could go to the Stop ‘n Shop, but I don’t want to. I want to mark my return with something a little special.
So I take myself to my favorite restaurant on the island: Beach Road.
I’m secretly hoping to see someone I know (how fun!) and just as secretly hoping I won’t (is it sad to be solo?)
Inside, the place is buzzing. Every table is taken. I slide onto the one lone stool at the bar. The menu feels pricier than I remember, even after living in Miami all winter. I order my favorite glass of wine, a Nebbiolo ($15), and—to offset my sticker shock —the cheapest meal on the menu: the hot dog. Price: $24.
Except it isn’t really a hot dog.
It is steak disguised as a hot dog. The meat is Black Angus from 44 Farms in Texas, a place where cows are raised with care and the people have been ranching the same land for over a century.
The “steak dog” was hot and juicy and spicy with a crispy skip. It sat in a soft brioche bun and was topped with kimchi and mustard. I’ve been on a kimchi kick lately (take a look at Peter Kim’s hangover soup from the NY Times and you’ll see why). This kimchi-addition brings a little crunch and chew, fire and funk, to the delicious dog.
The pile of fries on the plate are everything fries should be: crispy on the outside, tender in the center, properly salted. The bartender tells me they soak the potatoes “just the right amount of time” to pull out the starch, then double fry and salt them. Nothing fancy. Just done right.
There is absolutely nothing healthy about this meal, which is definitely part of its allure.
And I do run into a friend, with whom I have a happy reunion. And I chat with a film producer and his wife, a designer who are sitting next to me while I munch on fries.
So solo at Beach Road can be pretty great. And I am home, tucked into bed by 9:30, feeling liberated and content.
Mezcal Magic at Sweet Life, Martha’s Vineyard
A few days later, Sweet Life, an Oak Bluffs restaurant housed in a rabbit-warren of rooms in an old Victorian house, sends a late afternoon email. “Andrew and Filipe from Yola Mezcal are taking over the bar, bringing with them their own flair and cocktails….one night only.”
I have a thing for Mezcal and want to go. All my friends have other plans. So I think, “what the hell, I can just go by myself”.
The plan is simple: Go early. Try one drink. Ask questions. Be home before dark. So I collect my courage (because going to a bar solo seems scarier than going to a restaurant solo) and drive over.
It is early and quiet as I walk in; I am one of three at the small bar; the vibe is laid back, welcoming, totally comfortable. Filipe and Andrew, the mezcal experts and bartenders, have time to share mezcal basics as well as the particulars of their brand, Yola Mezcal, with me.
They explain that all tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila. Both are made from the agave plant. Here’s the difference:
Tequila is made from one particular type of agave plant: blue agave, which is known for its high sugar content.. Mezcal can be made with 30 or 40 different types of agave (the number of types depends on the your source of information, evidentally!).
Tequila and mezcal are made differently . Tequila is generally cooked in ovens or steamed while Mezcal is smoked in underground pits. Mezcal tends to be earthier, smokier and more robust than tequila.
This night at Sweet Life is all about Yola Mezcal, a mezcaleria in Oaxaca owned and operated by women….a pretty special situation in Mexico.
Yola Jimenez is the central figure at this distillery. She is a Mexico City native who inherited her grandfather’s mezcal farm. She now has two other (female) partners and they are committed to preserving the traditional mezcal techniques while promoting the economic independent of women. Workers at the farm are all women.
The drinks that are being showcased at Sweet Life are pretty special. Not too sweet. Not too acidic. Formulated with interesting ingredients.
I have the Fresca Verde, a perfect combination of Mezcal, cucumber, cardamon and citrus. It is perfectly blended, cool and refreshing.
As I finish the drink and my endless questions, the Yola men-behind-the-bar offer me a drink of Yola Pechuga. Pechuga literally translates to chicken or turkey. It is a very special kind of mezcal created through a third distillation process, where a raw chicken or turkey breast is suspended in the still along with fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices. It sounds gross. But it is pretty great. The drink is surprisingly clean with a complex, nuanced flavor profile.
I loved it and plan to give it as a gift to a Mezcal lover I know!
My Bottom Line on Solo Eating and Drinking. Or rather Ruth Reichl’s bottom line. Because she said it better.
Ruth Reichl, a famous food writer, says in her book, Garlic and Sapphires:
“Dining alone, I was able to slip into someone else’s life, unnoticed. There is a kind of freedom in solitude - no expectations, no performance, just the pure pleasure of food and observation.”
In other words, dining alone is an act of solitude in the best possible sense. It can be an opportunity for self-discovery, mindfulness, and indulgence (I’m talking to you, hot dog and fries!)
So, if you are reading this, give it a go. And let me know what your experience is like.
Cheers, Anne
Beach Road
79 Beach Road
Vineyard Haven
Martha’s Vineyard
508-693-8582
info@beachroadmv.com
Sweet Life
63 Circuit Ave.
Oak Bluffs, MA 02557
508-696-0200
One thing I'm wondering - fresh off the boat for the Summer - I always feel an internal pressure to order seafood as my first meal! Anyone else!?
It's so special to be in a place where it's easy to run into people you know at every meal, love to hear the island welcomed you back with such a confidence boost!
Great piece. I hate the packaging waste of take-out and you present dining solo as a much, much, better option!