If you want to eat like a fisherman, order the hash and eggs.

So says Mary Sobel, owner and the smiling face of the Dock Street Coffee Shop in Edgartown, the year-round breakfast and lunch counter that serves up over easy eggs and piping hot coffee with a side of nostalgia.

Town business owners, vacationers, uniformed cops, hungover college kids, and, of course, the men and women stopping in for a quick bite before heading out to fish all count themselves as regulars.

“One thing I’ve learned is that during the Derby, everyone comes back for the hash and eggs,” Sobel said one recent morning during breakfast service. “Regulars love it. It’s so popular during the Derby; I’m not really sure why. It must be something about the weather and going out all day on the boat. It must hold them over.”

Mary Sobel (right) with daughter Emily.
Jocelyn Filley

The Dock Street Coffee Shop is a comfortable throwback, a good mix of old Edgartown charm with a classic diner feel, from the simple handwritten menu, rebuffed leather stools, and free newspapers to read while you eat.

While Sobel credits the portion size with enticing the fishermen, the quality and taste of the food makes Dock Street a haven for locals and visitors. To make your meal extra authentic, order a side of linguiça. “During the Derby almost everyone orders a side of linguiça, because our linguiça is really, really good,” Sobel said, pointing to the hot pink meat she just cooked up on the flattop.

“We cut each piece of linguiça in thirds and cut it off-center on both sides, kind of like an accordion. That way it heats up nicely without burning it. Then we pop the toast in the toaster, griddle the hash, and take the potatoes that we boiled earlier and finish them on the griddle, while cooking the eggs.” It’s a perfect plate, she added, calling it the “fisherman’s special.”

Sobel said buying the diner in 1991 was the best decision she’s made to date. “Being part of a local downtown hustle and bustle, being friends with all the other local business people, having our regulars – you know, it’s been really nice and it’s a great group of people down here.”