Provincetown, the "Outer Cape," and Wellfleet Too

[weinoo]

On 6/29/2019 at 5:13 PM, kayb said:

Poke has become quite a "thing" in Little Rock, where there are a couple of restaurants who center their menus around it.

It's kind of a thing here, there, and pretty much all over.

 

As with all fads, I give it a year or two before they start falling by the wayside.

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

It's kind of a thing here, there, and pretty much all over.

 

As with all fads, I give it a year or two before they start falling by the wayside.

Bet it’s quicker. How much of an appetizer can one eat?

[kayb]

Hoping it lasts longer here. I love a bowl of it for lunch.

[liamsaunt]

I am back on the Cape through Labor Day.  There will be lots of eating out, lots of home cooking, and some interesting stuff like a whale watch and a tour of an oyster farm to share with you.  We came out last night to beat the weekend traffic and are staying in a hotel for two nights before moving to a home in Chatham for a week, and the rest of the time will be spent at our favorite rental house in Wellfleet, which I have mentioned here before.  We made it out in time for dinner at Brine.  This place is great for us because there is no shrimp, crab or lobster on the menu, so my nephew can have whatever he wants.

 

The restaurant was pretty empty and I overheard a waitress telling another table that while weekends have been busy, this whole summer season has been pretty slow compared to other years.  People are blaming the increased frequency of great white shark sightings close to shore.  I blame the new short term rental tax that was instituted this year.  

 

Anyway, on to the food!  Drinks

 

 

Baked oysters with black garlic panko crumbs

 

 

A pork belly with sambal chile glaze special that my niece and nephew split.  They both said it was very good

 

 

Steak tacos for my niece

 

 

Shellfish scampi for my husband

 

 

Pesto gnocchi for my nephew

 

 

Scallops in a corn nage with bacon, turnips, and sugar snap peas for me

 

 

Only my nephew could manage dessert.  Chocolate mousse

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by liamsaunt (log)

[Okanagancook]

Those tacos look fantastic...you can see that they have puffed so were probably really tender.  So jealous!

[kayb]

All set for seafood envy for two weeks. Please eat at least one scallop specfically for me. Lord, but I love 'em.

 

[liamsaunt]

Because we are in a hotel, we had to eat all of our meals out yesterday (we are moving to our first rental house this afternoon).  We went to my nephew's favorite for breakfast yesterday, the Fairway.  Nephew had his usual pancakes (they look flatter because they have to cook them in a special pan rather than on the griddle as they cook crab cakes on the griddle)

 

 

Niece went for cranberry pancakes

 

 

Husband had a garden benedict on foccacia

 

 

I had a Nova benedict

 

 

We entertained ourselves by playing hangman while waiting for the food

 

 

We went to Provincetown for the day.  It is Carnival week, which draws up to 100,000 people to a town with only 3,000 residents, so we were expecting a crowd.  It really was not too bad, maybe everyone was sleeping in expectation of the evening festivities.  A cruise ship was docked in the harbor, a very unusual sight

 

 

The town was festively decorated for Carnival

 

 

My niece and nephew know that I am sharing my food photos here, so they insisted I take a picture of their smoothies, purchased at Cafe Maria on the harbor. Espresso and blueberry-banana smoothie

 

 

We went shopping for books to read on this trip, and got quite a haul.  I know this might be a little political, but I have to include this picture of books we found for sale.  My niece thought it was hysterical that people write political fan fiction.  She is more accustomed to the Harry Potter variety  🙂

 

 

We stopped in to Mac's Fish House for a small snack.  Drinks for the husband and myself.  The one on the left is a strawberry-tequila fizz, and the right is a spicy margarita

 

 

Oysters

 

 

Toro poke

 

 

Toro crudo with a guajillo chile sauce and crispy kale

 

 

We had dinner at Karoo.  It was very dark by the time we ate so I had to switch to my phone for pictures, and I did not get pictures of everything.  Vegetable samosa

 

 

Peanut soup

 

 

Cape Malay stew

 

 

Falafel

 

 

Milktarte

 

[kayb]

4 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

 

We went shopping for books to read on this trip, and got quite a haul.  I know this might be a little political, but I have to include this picture of books we found for sale.  My niece thought it was hysterical that people write political fan fiction.  She is more accustomed to the Harry Potter variety  🙂

 

 

 

 

These would be a worthwhile purchase just for the cover art. Especially the one on the left. Now I have to look these up.

 

[liamsaunt]

18 hours ago, kayb said:

 

These would be a worthwhile purchase just for the cover art. Especially the one on the left. Now I have to look these up.

 

 

My husband said he is going to pick them up the next time we are in Provincetown, just for the cover art.  I had already picked out six other books and I am the package sherpa when we shop, so did not want to carry anything else 🙂

 

We are now in the Chatham rental house.  My husband did not show me any pictures before booking it and now I know why.  The kitchen is vintage!  It has wall to wall carpeting, eek.  The stove is a "Magic Chef."  I think there are going to be more restaurant meals this week than I had planned for.   The house does have a small grill and a swimming pool and is walking distance to downtown and the beach so it is all good.  

 

We had linner in town yesterday while waiting to get in to the house.  We chose the Impudent Oyster.   It has a huge menu so there is something for everyone. Take a look:

 

 

 

 

Blueberry lemonade

 

 Fried calamari, artichokes and banana peppers

 

 

Broiled cod tacos

 

 

Fried local cod with wasabi cream and Asian slaw

 

 

Scallop roll.  This was my brother in law's.  I pointed out the burned part of the bun but he opted to just pick that art off and eat the rest rather than sending it back.  

 

 

No pictures of my nephew's Beyond Burger (verdict: he likes the Impossible Burger better) or my sister's fish burger, which came out burned and had to be replaced.  They comped the replacement and a drink so no complaints.  The restaurant--the whole town really--was so jammed and busy.  

 

Desserts for the teens: sticky toffee pudding

 

 

strawberry rhubarb pie

 

 

Edited August 18, 2019 by liamsaunt
Typos (log)

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

wonderful and colorful posts.

 

looks so delicious 

 

good for you 

 

and a big thank-you for the Menu's

 

Ill be making my selections soon.

[liamsaunt]

Minor update. Snacks at Bistro on Main this afternoon after attending the Chatham Festival of the Arts. Raw bar.  Oysters and littlenecks

 

 

smoked fish dip

 

[liamsaunt]

Sunday night we cooked at the house.  I took inspiration from the Mantoulin blog on the Food Traditions and Culture page and made a clipper ship cocktail for everyone.  It was tasty.

 

 

For dinner we had grilled swordfish and grilled mackerel, a loaf of bread from a local bakery and a caprese salad made with arugula, tomatoes and burrata purchased at the Cape Abilities farm store.  Cape Abilities is a pretty cool operation, you can check it out here:

 

https://www.capeabilities.org

 

 

Last night we went back to Bistro on Main for dinner.  Menu photos:

 

 

 

 

Drinks

 

 

Toro poke

 

 

Clams balboa

 

 

Cod and sweet potato fries

 

 

Lobster roll

 

 

Mussels in a white wine sauce

 

 

Short ribs

 

 

Pasta bolognese

 

 

Tiramisu

 

 

Creme brulee

 

 

 

Sun setting on the beach by our rental house

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by liamsaunt
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[liamsaunt]

Tonight we went to Bluefins Sushi and Sake Bar in downtown Chatham.  My niece loves sushi.  Adult drinks.  I know my husband's was a saketini. Mine was a gin, elderflower, cucumber drink 

 

 

My nephew with the crustacean allergy left with his Mom today before this meal to get ready to go back to college, so we ordered crispy Thai flavored shrimp.  Overbreaded in my opinion

 

 

Deconstructed lobster rangoon.  An interesting idea for my next Super Bowl party, if I can host one (I am not a football fan and only host when my home team--the New England Patriots--are in it)

 

 

Pork belly lettuce cups.  Niece approved

 

 

Tiger eye roll (salmon, jalapeño, cream cheese, unagi sauce) chosen by niece. 

 

 

 

Tuna crunch roll (with avocado tempura crumbs and thai chili sauce), another niece selection.  Chatham sunset: raw scallop with spicy crumbs, tobiko and mango.  Negi toro, with wasabi and mango sauce (again, chosen by niece).

 

 

Bluefin (spicy tuna and cucumber w/tuna sashimi, mango, tempura crumbs and mustard soy.  And lobster steamed, with spicy mayo, and cucumber and tobiko

 

 

Niece's dessert, a lemon ginger cheesecake

 

 

 

[liamsaunt]

 

Yesterday we went out to breakfast at the Captain's Table.  Right now the group consists of only my husband, my niece and myself.  My brother is joining us later today, and my sister and my husband's brother are returning on Friday.  Husband had the Portuguese egg sandwich

 

 

I chose the smoked salmon and roasted pepper eggs benedict

 

 

and niece had the blueberry breakfast bread pudding

 

 

Later that that day we walked in to town and went to Buffy’s Ice Cream Shop.  

 

 

For dinner we had planned to try a new to us restaurant but it was closed for some reason. We are going to try again tonight. We ended up back at the Impudent Oyster. Drinks—a rosemary gin fizz and a lemon drop.

 

 

They brought us an entire loaf of bread to share. We ate about a third of it.

 

 

Husband and I shared a striped bass seveche. Niece ate the avocado and some of the chips.  This was really good.

 

 

We also shared some raw oysters topped with a roasted tomato and shrimp mignonette. Delicious again

 

 

Niece had had a sesame crusted tuna with rice and a wasabi cream sauce. There were two huge pieces of tuna, and she ate them both 

 

 

Husband had a striped bass and lobster dish 

 

 

and I had seafood puttanesca

 

 

The lady sitting beside us also ordered this dish. She told the server she did not like lobster or olives but she was going to order it anyway as she thought the other pasta dish (fra diavolo) sounded bland. We left before her plate arrived so I did not get to see if she ended up liking it.

 

We were too full for dessert

Edited August 22, 2019 by liamsaunt
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[liamsaunt]

Yesterday we had a late lunch in town at the Blue Coral.  Drink--two kinds of margarita and a glass of Whispering Angel rose

 

 

A goat cheese and ricotta dip with mushrooms and pistachios

 

 

Tuna poke

 

 

Tuna melt

 

 

Crab cake burger

 

 

Lobster and beef burger

 

 

Tonkatsu ramen with pork belly

 

 

Despite eating all the poke and ramen my niece was still hungry after lunch so we took her to Brick House where she selected this cappuccino chip ice cream

 

 

And here are some scenic pictures from last evening’s sunset walk. A panorama of the dunes and Light House Beach

 

 

Chatham Light

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by liamsaunt
Extra photos (log)

[weinoo]

I forgot to post my pictures of the Highland Light...

 

 

 

You can probably guess which one of these is Hopper's.

[TicTac]

Those sunset photos are spectacular.

 

Thank you for sharing with us, as always!

[kayb]

Those sunsets are things of beauty. (So are the meals.) 

 

Thanks.

 

[Okanagancook]

Droole, droole.......thanks for sharing the meals your group had.  Some beautiful dishes.

[liamsaunt]

19 hours ago, weinoo said:

I forgot to post my pictures of the Highland Light...

You can probably guess which one of these is Hopper's.

 

 

Have you ever seen the house he lived in?  The window that he used to look out to get inspiration for the light of his seascapes is now boarded over to block the view of a monster house that was built illegally nearby.  I am not sure what the current status of that property is, I know it was in court for a while because Truro wanted it torn down.  

 

Fun fact, one of the first houses we used to rent often in Wellfleet is in a Hopper painting.  The second one from the left in this image:

 

https://iartprints.com/buy/edward_hopper_cottages_at_wellfleet_art_print-35726.html?ds=11x8&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwIPrBRCJARIsAFlVT8_vSq590aN5toFo6k4B1JFX86jnR-wTK8C4a5LPEDjmuBnV8TQM07EaAlN3EALw_wcB

 

The guy who owns it is a direct descendant of Walt Whitman.  Unfortunately, he dramatically raised the rental rate and t's out of our price range now.

 

Our last meal in Chatham was at the Squire. Drinks: dark and stormy, Sancerre and salty dog

 

 

Oysters

 

 

 

Fried sole

 

 

Fishwich

 

 

Fried shrimp

 

 

And now this morning we pack up for our move to Wellfleet, where we will be through Labor Day.

 

 

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday we had lunch at Winslow's Tavern to kill time while waiting to get in to our Wellfleet rental house.  Drinks: crush and blush, te amo tequila, and summer in a glass

 

 

We got two kinds of roasted oysters, our usual tabasco-lime butter ones

 

 

and one from the specials list that had blue cheese butter and bacon jam

 

 

some people got their usual, such as my niece's prosciutto-fig jam-gruyere panino with herb fries

 

 

and my husband's lobster-prosciutto-saffron aioli sandwich

 

 

Sister and brother opted for a fish taco special

 

 

brother in law opted for a kale salad with shrimp

 

 

and I had the summer ravioli special

 

 

only niece had room for dessert, her usual triple chocolate mousse

 

 

Everyone ended up getting hungry again later, and I had brought my pizza stone and peel with me, so I made pizzas for dinner using fish I picked up in town.  Clam

 

 

Fresh mozzarella and bacon

 

 

Lobster

 

 

Today's food is unplanned.  Brother in law wants to go to the Beachcomber but parking there on a weekend can be challenging to say the least.  

Edited August 25, 2019 by liamsaunt
correcting autocorrect (log)

[BeeZee]

@liamsaunt, I so enjoy the seafood-centric meals. I did notice, and it is a huge pet peeve for me, the fish tacos swimming in liquid. Last time I had that kind of situation I wound up having to knife/fork them because the tortilla disintegrated.

[liamsaunt]

3 hours ago, BeeZee said:

@liamsaunt, I so enjoy the seafood-centric meals. I did notice, and it is a huge pet peeve for me, the fish tacos swimming in liquid. Last time I had that kind of situation I wound up having to knife/fork them because the tortilla disintegrated.

 

Yes, they were definitely oversauced with avocado crema. Both siblings opted for the knife and fork approach. 

[liamsaunt]

Last night we went to dinner at Mac’s Shack. We did our usual strategy of showing up before the start of service and having a drink in the outdoor bar to be sure to make the first seating. Unfortunately, a LOT of other people had the same idea. This place had a write up in the New York Times a few weeks ago and the secret is out!  Here are a few of the things we ate:

 

drinks

 

 

oysters

 

 

Hamachi aguachile

 

 

Ritz cracker crusted bluefish

 

 

Coconut curry sea scallops

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by liamsaunt (log)

[weinoo]

Other than a tiny bit or two of shell or sand, they really shuck oysters nicely.