Nantucket’s Reef: Here’s the Skinny

I suffer from an ailment that plagues me nearly every day. It isn’t painful, but it does bring on pangs…of hunger.  This ailment is food envy, and I feel it most often on weekdays as I browse through other people’s photos on Twitter and Instagram.  Photos of tantalizing doughnuts, exotic sandwiches, and food truck delicacies make me wish that I lived or worked closer to the District.

The reality is that I am a suburbanite. Sometimes I need to just embrace it.  I do this with a visit to Nantucket’s Reef- a restaurant off of Traville Road in Rockville that just may be the antitheses of a DC restaurant.  It’s brightly lit, the tables aren’t jammed in next to each other, and there is free parking.  While the bright lights make me feel like I’m in a cafeteria, I can’t complain about being able to hear the person across from me.

Nantucket’s Reef is meant to conjure up a visit to a New England.  It takes some imagination to evoke New England in a shopping center anchored by Giant Food, but once inside it’s not impossible to get swept away by the nautical theme.

I am attempting to stay faithful to a weekday Weight Watchers regimen.  This is entirely feasible at a seafood restaurant.  I can’t help but think about many of my female dining companions who routinely order a serving of fish atop a healthy pile of vegetables for dinner.  I am one of you now, at least temporarily.

I’m torn between “lobsta” and crab salad.  I am at a New England style restaurant, so lobsta (their word not mine) seems like the way to go.  On the other hand, I am actually in the state of Maryland.  This sways me to order crab.  Both salads have the same elements: romaine, avocado, roasted corn, tomatoes, tortilla strips, croutons, and cilantro vinaigrette.  I hate hearing myself say hold the croutons, and dressing on the side.  But I have goals to meet, and weekend indulgences lie ahead.

Nantucket’s Reef crab salad satisfies my desire for a healthy and and relatively low cal dish. It’s not the least bit creative, but I appreciate the generous serving of fresh crab, and the tortilla strips sate my desire for crunch. It’s just salad, which makes it hard to make much of a judgement about the food, but it is respectable if not covet-able.

Would I prefer my friend’s New England stuffed cod with jumbo lump crab, seasoned cracker crumbs, and lemon butter sauce?  Why yes, yes I would.  Although, I wonder how an ordinary blend of zucchini, squash, and carrots can be called Nantucket veggies. I get that it’s just a weak attempt to incorporate the theme. My friend is delighted that the fish is served piping hot.  Accompanying corn meal muffins are a plus. And while she would appreciate more crab and less butter, she is satisfied enough to consider a return visit.

Nantucket’s Reef New England stuffed cod

Nantucket’s Reef calls itself  “a casual ‘New England’ style seafood restaurant with top quality fresh food, affordable prices, unmatched service, in a ‘Nantucket’ beach setting.”  The moderate prices are indeed a plus, and service is attentive. The menu also features a selection of oysters, clams, lobster rolls, and fried seafood baskets. Nantucket’s Reef may fill a void for those who are pining for a taste of New England, and live in the surrounding area.  For me, it doesn’t satisfy my food envy, but I am able to resist temptation and stick to my diet plan.  And that, as they say in New England, is “wicked hahd.”

Nantucket’s Reef, 9755 Traville Gateway Drive, Rockville, MD