Provincetown, the "Outer Cape," and Wellfleet Too

[liamsaunt]

On 7/2/2024 at 9:24 PM, FauxPas said:

 

That might be pricey for them. I looked them up just for interest and found this on their Facebook page:

Sal's Place

We’ll be opening in Provincetown towards the end of June, unfortunately we basically get fined every day we’re open due to the ongoing nine years of litigation with our neighbour, so we’re doing the best we can to be open and limit our financial exposure.

 

Some background:

https://provincetownindependent.org/news/2022/11/02/owner-of-sals-fined-for-contempt/

 

 

Yeah, there are surveyors stakes in the sand now, so I am not sure there's room for tables on the sand on their property.  I know a lot of the dispute centers around not just the tables in the sand, but the deck we were seated on.  I don't understand how the overall property would even work without that deck though.  The building extends out further into the water than the part that the restaurant occupies, and there are condos in the part beyond the restaurant.  The people in those condos walk down the restaurant deck to access their properties.  If the deck wasn't there, they would have to walk through the water to get to their homes.  The dispute is actually with the owner of the big house next door, not the condo owners.  It seems that the majority of people in town, including the select board, are backing the restaurant in the dispute, so who knows what will ultimately happen.

 

My sister and niece came out on Tuesday night and, of course, requested that we go to Mac's.  

 

Oysters

 

 

Fried calamari

 

 

Spicy tuna mango martini

 

 

I ordered a fried shrimp plate because I like the fries at Mac's.  Unfortunately this night they were a little under fried and not very hot.  Disappointing!

 

 

My sister and husband both had broiled striped bass

 

 

and niece of course had sushi--a poke bowl and some sort of roll.

 

 

We got out of dinner well past sunset time.

 

Yesterday we had dinner at Ciro and Sal's.  The restaurant is cute inside but the lighting is terrible for pictures so I apologize in advance.  Setting

 

 

Drinks for husband and sister

 

 

Fried oysters.  The breading was too thick on these.

 

 

Fried zucchini for the niece.  The same breading was on the zucchini.  Niece liked it though.

 

 

Breseola with arugula salad

 

 

Sister had a cod dish with tomatoes.

 

 

I chose seafood puttanesca (again)

 

 

Husband had seafood fra diavolo

 

 

and niece had what we ended up dubbing the Strega Nonna of carbonara.  No matter how much she ate, the plate did not seem to diminish.  

 

 

Everything was tasty, but the timing of the dishes was really off.  We felt quite rushed.  I heard other tables around us complaining too, so it wasn't just us.  Definitely no room for dessert.

 

Back to the beach for sunset!

 

 

 

 

 

[FauxPas]

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

The dispute is actually with the owner of the big house next door, not the condo owners.  It seems that the majority of people in town, including the select board, are backing the restaurant in the dispute, so who knows what will ultimately happen.

 

From the bits of information I saw, it certainly sounded like it was just the one neighbour. But sounds like he's been able to make things pretty awkward for the restaurant owner. Too bad, the restaurant does sound like it's well supported otherwise. It looks like such an interesting place to eat.  

 

[liamsaunt]

16 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

From the bits of information I saw, it certainly sounded like it was just the one neighbour. But sounds like he's been able to make things pretty awkward for the restaurant owner. Too bad, the restaurant does sound like it's well supported otherwise. It looks like such an interesting place to eat.  

 

 

I think he bought the house when the space was not being used as a restaurant.  It had been in the past, but was vacant when he bought his place.  Maybe he did not expect that a new restaurant would eventually open there.  I am not sure why, as space of all kinds is definitely at a premium in Provincetown.

 

Yesterday we started the day by heading to town for the Fourth of July parade.  We found the parade a little underwhelming, to be honest.  I was expecting a bit more flair, but it was mostly emergency vehicles.  I prefer Wellfleet's funky and weird parade.  Here are a couple of pictures.  My niece wanted me to show her breakfast: Fourth of July cake, and a coffee "black as midnight on a moonless night." 

 

 

The town crier led the parade

 

 

Cheerleaders

 

 

Floats

 

 

Classic cars

 

 

And general fun

 

 

After the parade we walked back to our house and spent the afternoon relaxing before walking back in for dinner and the fireworks. We had dinner at Pepe's on the Wharf.  Restaurant

 

 

View from our table

 

 

Menu

 

 

Drinks.  My sister and husband had Don Julios (left) and my niece and I had cucumber mocktails (right)

 

 

 

We had oysters Rockefeller

 

 

and mushroom flatbread 

 

 

Then my niece had steak frites

 

 

I had scallops with cauliflower mash and asparagus

 

 

And my sister and husband both had a halibut special with roasted potatoes and broccolini

 

 

We shared a slice of coconut cake for dessert

 

 

We went down to the beach for the fireworks afterwards.  They were quite good.  Here's a couple of pictures.

 

 

 

 

My husband's brother unexpectedly joined us late last evening, so now we are a party of five for the next few days.  I think today we are driving back to Wellfleet for dinner, but our plans will depend on the weather.

[liamsaunt]

Friday we drove back to Mac's Shack in Wellfleet to have dinner, since they had been advertising lots of local tuna specials.  This turned out to be a mistake.  They were insanely crowded.  Mac's Shack does not take reservations.  We waited over two hours for a table, and once we were finally seated the five of us were crammed around a table meant for a smaller party.  Plus, they were out of all of the specials by the time we got seated.  Live and learn.  We had drinks while we waited (and waited, and waited).  Mescalitos for my husband and his brother

 

 

Gin spin for my sister and a pomegranate mocktail for my niece.  I stuck to club soda

 

 

Halibut turadito

 

 

jalapeño yellowtail 

 

 

big mac roll

 

 

fried rice with shrimp

 

 

tuna with soba

 

 

fried clams

 

 

We had originally planned to go back to Wellfleet yesterday too, but decided not to deal with the hassle and instead take our chances with wherever we could get a table for five with no reservation on a Saturday night in Provincetown (a tall order to be sure).  We ended up at the Patio.  Menu

 

 

Drinks.  Lavender spritz, cucumber mocktail, I'm not sure what the next one was, and a cucumber martini

 

 

Husband and his brother wanted the lobster deviled eggs

 

 

And we also ordered the fried calamari

 

 

I had a special of blackened swordfish with succotash

 

 

Husband had the lobster grilled cheese

 

 

Husband's brother ordered the fish and chips (there was a huge amount of fish buried under all those fries!)

 

 

Niece had the ribs, which she devoured

 

 

and sister had the salmon tacos

 

 

We were all too full to attempt dessert.

 

The weather's been iffy the past couple of days.  Right now it is so foggy that you can only see a few feet in front of you.  I am glad  that we are not driving home until tomorrow morning.

 

[lindag]

Fabulous looking food!!!

[TdeV]

Thanks again, @liamsaunt, for a mouth-watering virtual vacation!

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

thank you for taking us along .

 

and thank you for the menu's  and pics of such wonderful dishes you have enjoyed.

 

sunsets  quite nice too .

 

cheers

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I like the seafood heavy focus of those meals. Gives me a few ideas.

Thanks for bringing us along.

 

[weinoo]

A nice piece on Provincetown in this week's New Yorker magazine:

 

Quote

No one visits Provincetown for the food, exactly, but its restaurants evince a singular mixture of gay utopia and New England kitsch. There’s a bakery called ScottCakes, which exclusively serves vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting; at a sandwich shop called Pop+Dutch, you can order the Celine Dijon, a spectacular play on a jambon-beurre, with sweet, nutty brown butter instead of fresh. 

 

Tea and Beachside High Jinks in Provincetown

[Smithy]

On 7/22/2024 at 6:00 PM, weinoo said:

A nice piece on Provincetown in this week's New Yorker magazine:

 

 

Tea and Beachside High Jinks in Provincetown

 

That's a fun read. I've only been to P-Town once, back in the 80's, and I daresay it's become more flamboyant than it was then although it had plenty of vibe at the time. This bit, about the original Sal's, really amuses me:

 

Quote

...Salvatore Del Deo, a painter with a reputation as a showman: he’d keep bottles of wine in trapdoors in the ceiling, rigged by wire to drop in front of unsuspecting guests. 

 

[liamsaunt]

On 7/22/2024 at 7:00 PM, weinoo said:

A nice piece on Provincetown in this week's New Yorker magazine:

 

 

Tea and Beachside High Jinks in Provincetown

 

Thanks for posting that article.  I often forget to read the New Yorker and might have missed it.  Siobhan has always been like that.  When my husband and I were first married and living in Boston, she owned a really small Italian place in the North End called Pomodoro.  Many of the menu items at Sal's Place are carryovers from that menu.  We used to eat there twice a month.  There was always a wait, and she was always temperamental.  Her food is so delicious though that it dd not matter.

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Many of the menu items at Sal's Place are carryovers from that menu.  We used to eat there twice a month.  There was always a wait, and she was always temperamental.  Her food is so delicious though that it dd not matter.

I seriously don't think we've paid for a meal there, though we tip large.

[liamsaunt]

We are back in Wellfleet for the next week and a half.  My husband booked this visit as a surprise for me, because what has always been my favorite house in town (from the outside, anyway) came on the rental market for the first time.  He snatched it as soon as he saw it.  We are literally the first people to rent it.  It's an old sea captain's house that, according to the sign on the door, was built in 1820 and renovated in 2000.  Here it is from the outside

 

 

And here's the kitchen, where I will be making some meals later this week.  That's my weekly tomato share from my CSA piled in the far corner.  I guess the crop was abundant this year!

 

 

My sister and niece are with us for a few days before my sister has to bring her back to NYC for college. My nephew is also here for the whole time, and my husband's brother is joining us later today.  

 

The first night it was just me and my husband.  We walked into town to try Winslow's Tavern, since we have not been there yet this year.  Menu, with some new things for this season

 

 

 

We were seated at an outdoor table

 

 

We ordered the striped bass belly roulade to share.  The flavors were nice, but the fried oyster on top was odd and didn't go with the rest of the dish

 

 

Since this was our only meal where we'd be able to order shrimp due to my nephew's allergy, we also ordered the grilled shrimp appetizer.  It was pretty but nothing special, flavor wise.

 

 

Husband ordered the mixed sea pasta.  It was kind of flavorless

 

 

And, continuing the shrimp theme, I ordered the shrimp pasta even though it sounded really weird.  Tempura shrimp on pasta?

 

 

And it was, indeed, weird.  The pasta was good, and the flavors of the tempura were nice, but they did not work together at all.  Plus the sauce made the tempura coating soggy.  I ended up picking the shrimp out of the tempura batter. 

 

We shared a lemon tart for dessert.  Again a mixed bag.  The curd and meringue were delicious, but the crust was terrible.  It was raw tasting.  And the compote was incredibly bitter. We just scraped the curd off it and ate that with the meringue, leaving everything else on the plate.

 

 

Winslow's is always hit or miss, and that meal was no different.  The beautiful setting makes up for a lot.

 

My sister, niece, and nephew joined us yesterday, and we headed back to Mac's Shack.  Oysters

 

 

Calamari stew for my nephew

 

 

Razor clams (nephew requested I cook these at home later this week.  He could not eat these at the restaurant as the broth had lobster stock)

 

 

Spicy tuna mango martini for my niece

 

 

More niece food: salmon poke bowl and gon jah mon roll

 

 

 

Falafel burger for my nephew

 

 

Tuna with soba noodles and wasabi cream sauce for me

 

 

Special of lobster pesto gnocchi for my husband

 

 

Lobster fettuccine for my sister

 

 

Mac's doesn't really do dessert and we were all stuffed anyway.

[weinoo]

21 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

 

 

 

That's a pretty nice restaurant price on the bottle of Lauer Riesling.

[liamsaunt]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

That's a pretty nice restaurant price on the bottle of Lauer Riesling.

 

Yes, they usually have specials of nice bottles for reasonable prices.  Unfortunately for my husband their by the glass list is nothing special.  I had to give up alcohol completely about four years ago for medical reasons, and though I adjusted quickly, I do occasionally miss sharing a nice bottle of wine with dinner.  

 

Yesterday my niece requested that we go to the Beachcomber, but their parking was full (not surprisingly on a warm summer Saturday), so we ended up walking down to the water and having dinner at the Bookstore.  Menu

 

 

 

 

Niece of course wanted the tuna nachos.  Nephew could not have then since the chips were fried in house

 

 

so he chose an order of clams casino. I did not try one but he said they were good.

 

 

He had the special of linguini with clams and nduja sausage for his main

 

 

sister ordered the regular linguini with clams

 

 

husband had a swordfish sandwich

 

 

niece had a steak sandwich

 

 

and I had a bowl of mussels

 

 

Only nephew wanted dessert.  He got a tiramisu

 

 

My niece wasn't too impressed with her sandwich, but everyone else really enjoyed their food.  We missed the sunset again, but should get there tonight.  

[lindag]

@liamsaunt

IIRC you subscribe to ATK?

They recently reviewed a number of non-alcoholic cocktails and found some of very very good.  I can send you some of that info if you'd like.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

 

Yes, they usually have specials of nice bottles for reasonable prices.

 

 

Couldn't your husband have taken a partially full bottle home?

 

[rotuts]

def.: " partially full bottle "

 

1) exceptionally rare 

 

2) non-existent   

 

3) mythical 

[YvetteMT]

@liamsaunt I can see why you wanted to stay at that home! Is that a deck off the back that would have been a widows walk once upon a time? And while I love the outside, the sign over the kitchen sink is the icing on the cake!

[weinoo]

19 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Couldn't your husband have taken a partially full bottle home?

 

Actually...

 

Quote

Massachusetts — A Wine Doggy Bag® State
ABCC regulations issued pursuant to Chapter 33 of the Acts of 2006 allows a licensed restaurant or hotel dining room patron to remove one partially consumed bottle of wine that has been purchased with a meal. The bottle that is removed must be placed in a one-time-use tamper proof transparent bag with the meal receipt attached to the sealed bag.

 

Wine Doggy Bag State Laws

[rotuts]

good old MA

 

making things so complicated.

 

a Dot.Ma.Gov   unemployable niece or nephew 

 

controls the TPTB  trade.    

 

for sure

 

its easier in MA to buy dope.

Edited August 26 by rotuts (log)

[liamsaunt]

21 hours ago, lindag said:

@liamsaunt

IIRC you subscribe to ATK?

They recently reviewed a number of non-alcoholic cocktails and found some of very very good.  I can send you some of that info if you'd like.

 

I do subscribe to Milk Street and Cook's Country (which I should cancel since I never make anything from it anymore).  I would like to see that info if you have it.  My problem with most mocktails is that they are just too sweet.  I don't like sweet drinks.  I save all my sugar for desserts!

 

20 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Couldn't your husband have taken a partially full bottle home?

 

 

Some restaurants allow this, if they have the equipment to provide the required sealed bag (see weinoo's post below).  However, he generally only bothers if there's a nice bottle of red he wants to have with dinner.  He has equipment at home to reseal it so it lasts a while longer.  The waitstaff usually treats it as a hassle if you want to bring wine home, so if he is going to do it, he informs them when he orders the bottle. 

 

1 hour ago, YvetteMT said:

@liamsaunt I can see why you wanted to stay at that home! Is that a deck off the back that would have been a widows walk once upon a time? And while I love the outside, the sign over the kitchen sink is the icing on the cake!

 

Yes, there are decks on two levels of the house.  The main deck has a huge hot tub (it's debatable whether we will use it) and a large fire pit.  That upper deck you can see has high chairs with a good view of the water and the sunset.

 

That sign is indeed funny, but my favorite part of the kitchen is a wall that has a massive built in ice maker, a large wine fridge, and multiple refrigerator drawers.  I wish I had thought of something like that when I remodeled my kitchen! 

 

31 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Actually...

 

 

Wine Doggy Bag State Laws

 Yep...

 

28 minutes ago, rotuts said:

good old MA

 

making things so complicated.

 

a Dot.Ma.Gov   unemployable niece or nephew 

 

controls the TPTB  trade.    

 

for sure

 

its easier in MA to buy dope.

 

This is SO true!  There are at least four dispensaries in Wellfleet, maybe more!  I don't understand how a town of 4,000 people can support that many dispensaries.  There are more dispensaries than liquor stores! Choose your pleasure I guess 🙂

 

Last night was my niece's last night for this visit, so we let her pick the restaurant.  She wanted to go to Winslow's Tavern, even though my husband and I had just eaten there.  We aim to please so off we went.  Oysters to share

 

 

Nephew wanted the meatball appetizer with harissa tomato sauce.  

 

 

and niece selected the fried polenta with prosciutto and whipped ricotta

 

 

My sister, husband, and husband's brother shared the lobster croquetas

 

 

For entrees, nephew chose pasta with prosciutto, figs, corn, and arugula

 

 

niece had an arugula salad with grilled zucchini, grilled peaches, parmesan foam, and cashews

 

 

 

I had a cod dish.  It had two types of tomato sauce pickled fennel and basil mashed potatoes.  The portion was small (which was fine with me) and the flavors were delicious.  Much better than the tempura shrimp pasta I had last time!

 

 

My sister and husband both got seared striped bass with pommes anna, grilled peppers, and sweet corn bisque 

 

 

And my husband's brother ordered a swordfish schnitzel with grilled artichokes and au poivre sauce.  It was huge!

 

We ordered a bunch of desserts to share.  Housemade tiramisu gelato.  Very creamy, but my favorite is still at the little gelato shop in town, Gelato Joy

 

 

Lemon panna cotta

 

 

Salted caramel tart with peanut butter ice cream

 

 

Everyone was really happy with their dinners!  That's how it can be at Winslow's Tavern.  Sometimes it is mediocre, and other times it is a wonderful meal.

 

My sister and niece drove home early this morning.  My sister will be back on Saturday, so until then it is me, my husband, my nephew and my husband's brother.  Not sure what the day will bring--right now it is pouring rain and thundering, so it could be a good day to just stay home and make some chowder...

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

'  There are at least four dispensaries in Wellfleet  '

 

for capturing tourist dollars. 

[johnnyd]

Terrific pictures!

[liamsaunt]

Monday we decided to go to Van Rensselaer's.  We have not been there yet this year, and enjoyed a dinner there last summer.  Menu

 

 

 

It turned out that my nephew could not have anything from the fryer, so he asked to get a plate of clams casino to share.  They were OK-- the ones at the Bookstore were better.

 

 

He ordered the short ribs for dinner, minus the fried onion strings.  He said they were fine, but the ones I make are better (smart nephew!)

 

 

Husband ordered the swordfish New England style with lobster stuffing.  He said the stuffing was a bit bland, and his swordfish was overcooked.

 

 

Husband's brother ordered the fish and chips, and he was very pleased with those

 

 

I had the Cajun swordfish with mashed potatoes and asparagus.  I would have liked more vegetable--they only gave me three spears of asparagus.  

 

 

We passed on dessert.

 

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so beaching was in order.  As you can see from the sign, the water is a "warm" 60 degrees. I will stay on the shore, thanks.

 

 

Guards guarding.  There's no cell phone service out this far, so it's best not to get in trouble while swimming as it can be difficult to get timely emergency services. 

 

 

The lovely beach.  We saw many seals.  Another reason to stay on the shore...

 

 

We decided to stay in for dinner tonight.  The guys all wanted tuna, and the seafood market had local bluefin, so we got that, and a piece of swordfish for me.  My nephew grilled the fish up.  Here's my husband's plate of tuna with deviled shallot butter, with the corn and tomatoes from my CSA that I brought out with me, and some grilled garlic bread.  You can see that my husband poached a big bite of my swordfish before I took the picture too.