Provincetown, the "Outer Cape," and Wellfleet Too

[liamsaunt]

I loved reading about your visit.  You went to a couple of places we have never tried.  Maybe next year!

[weinoo]

23 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

I loved reading about your visit.  You went to a couple of places we have never tried.  Maybe next year!

 

We were real "townies" this trip. Wish we could have stayed longer.

[liamsaunt]

4 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

We were real "townies" this trip. Wish we could have stayed longer.

 

It's never long enough.  Though I keep telling myself I would not feel that way in January! 

[weinoo]

We were recently in Provincetown, after a few nights spent further north, in Portland, Maine.  Arriving on a Sunday (as we are wont to do), in mid/late April, means the dining choices are, to put it mildly, limited. The bar/restaurant at the Red Inn wasn't yet open (I think they opened a few days after we left), but an old favorite was...Front Street. A throwback, but evidently under newish ownership. No food pix, but our party of 5 (or maybe 6?) had a good time with some good eats.

 

Monday night was a little different, as we got invited to a bit of a barbecue. Up "on the hill." As a matter of fact, at this guy's house...Daniil Zakharevich. Daniil's is a local fisherman (mostly scallops), who is part of a close circle of friends our niece and spouse have...it's a very interesting life led way out at the end of the world.

 

I offered to make a pasta first course, and after a futile search, found this for Amatriciana...

 

 

Fun cooking in Daniil's kitchen - small but very functional.

 

 

Good canned tomatoes, real parmesan/pecorino and good enough pasta all worked in my favor. Pasta was good.

While I was busting my balls in the kitchen, this crew was having fun outside...

 

 

That's Daniil in between Sig Eater and one of the owners of Pop + Dutch.

 

 

Now, both owners of Pop + Dutch, Sig Eater, and Daniil playing with fire. Daniil is wearing this really crazy brace on his back up to his neck - he had a minor accident chopping down a tree, and let's just say - he's happy to be alive. (The guy is nuts).

 

He cooked us up some steaks, and some Merguez...

 

 

 

There was burrata, red pepper puree, and a salad. And Daniil also grilled two giant swordfish steaks that he got from one of his fisher mates. They were great. So good, in fact, that no picture was taken.  Great night.

 

Nothing stops Significant Eater from her time on the deck outside our room at the Red Inn, reading a book. Not even gale force winds...

 

 

Tide's out...

 

 

Like all the way out. 

 

 

And then, strangely, like clockwork, it comes back...

 

 

Literally right under our deck...

 

 

On our final night in P'town, with choices still a bit limited, we did it and went to the famous Lobster Pot, currently up for sale for a mere $14mill...

 

 

It's kind of a running joke amongst certain locals that one goes to the Lobster Pot for overcooked lobster. So, no one in our party of 6 ordered the lobster.  Instead, we were pleasantly surprised with these...

 

 

2 orders, as a matter of fact - the Portuguese baked clams with linguica were quite wonderful.

 

Sautéed squid...

 

 

Less wonderful. But my main...

 

 

Was a really excellent piece of halibut, cooked just right.  All in all, not a bad meal.  The bathroom at the Lobster Pot...

 

 

Is much nicer than the bathroom at the Old Colony...

 

 

But nothing beats the OC...

 

 

Oh, don't do this on your way home after dinner and stopping to see Billy Hough finish up a show at the Tin Pan Alley.

 

 

And this might've been a mistake too...

 

 

I'll end with a little local news; appears as if the well-known chef Kelly Fields will be doing brunch service, 4 days a week, at one of the venues in the Crown & Anchor. Kelly, as most of you know, is the author of The Good Book of Southern Baking: A Revival of Biscuits, Cakes, and Cornbread (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). Kelly also worked at Pop + Dutch last year, and joined us for dinner a few times while we were in P'town.

Edited May 2, 2023 by weinoo (log)

[FauxPas]

14 minutes ago, weinoo said:

But nothing beats the OC...

 

Aw, you two are such a cute couple!  🙂

[heidih]

Wow Mitch you have outdone yourself with wonderful photos, great narrative, and great food + adventure & fun. Thank you muchly!

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

 

Aw, you two are such a cute couple!  🙂

You should see us when we’re NOT on vacation!

 

Thanks, we try to have fun.

[weinoo]

Oh - also of note.  On our last morning, breakfast wasn't served (as it usually is) at The Red Inn.  Seems we were the only guests, and the manager offered me $50 if he wouldn't have to come in and set up the breakfast room. I accepted, and if you've ever had the "breakfast" at The Red Inn, you know I got the better end of that deal. 

 

But - where to have breakfast?  How about Salty Market, in Truro?

 

 

Egg and cheese sandwich, on a biscuit - not bad, though the biscuits are nowhere near as good as the ones made at Pop + Dutch, which will be open in a few weeks.

But the thing that had us headed to Salty Market wasn't necessarily the food at Salty Market; it was that right nearby is this place:

 

 

Chequesset Chocolate, where all the coffee drinks are made with the same stuff I use at home, George Howell Coffees.

 

And for only $3.25, I had a very good pour over, made a la minute!

[liamsaunt]

Oh, thank you for the Cape fix!  I have been craving it.  We are not scheduled to be out there until the week of the 4th of July. I don't know if I can stand to wait that long haha.  

 

The Lobster Pot thing is ridiculous.  All I can think of is that they are hoping someone will buy it and convert the space to very expensive condos, if that is even an option.  No restaurant in Provincetown is worth that kind of money.

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Oh, thank you for the Cape fix!  I have been craving it.  We are not scheduled to be out there until the week of the 4th of July. I don't know if I can stand to wait that long haha.  

 

 

You're welcome...you really like to get there in the midst of the insanity!

 

Oh, another place where we had lunch, and which has, according to the locals, the best fish and chips in town...The Squealing Pig Pub.

[gfweb]

@weinoo but what about the ice cream?

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

@weinoo but what about the ice cream?

 

I never eat ice cream until May!

[liamsaunt]

16 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I never eat ice cream until May!

 

 

Ice cream and iced coffee are essential food choices year round for most Massachusetts residents 🤣

 

Thanks for the Squealing Pig recommendation.  I'll try to get there this summer, if not in July, then when we head back in August.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

Ice cream and iced coffee are essential food choices year round for most Massachusetts residents 🤣

 

I never understood the need for iced coffee, not in the mornings ever; nor any time of the day, unless the temperature is above 90℉.

[liamsaunt]

23 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I never understood the need for iced coffee, not in the mornings ever; nor any time of the day, unless the temperature is above 90℉.

 

Based on my observations of what I see people walking around with, and the fact that a "regular" ice coffee at Dunkin' Donuts is full of sugar and cream, I think the regional version of iced coffee is basically ice cream in disguise.  My feeling is, why drink gooey sweet iced coffee when you can just have ice cream?  I am an iced tea person myself.  Unsweetened with lemon, please.

[weinoo]

37 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Based on my observations of what I see people walking around with, and the fact that a "regular" ice coffee at Dunkin' Donuts is full of sugar and cream, I think the regional version of iced coffee is basically ice cream in disguise.  My feeling is, why drink gooey sweet iced coffee when you can just have ice cream?  I am an iced tea person myself.  Unsweetened with lemon, please.

 

Right - the coffee is barely recognizable; basically a milk shake for those who don't really love the taste of coffee.

 

When I was a kid growing up in Forest Hills, Queens - we lived above my paternal grandparents; I'm sure I've related this story before, but my grandmother and everyone else in the family were big coffee drinkers (and smokers!); there was always a pot of coffee on the stove or in the percolator (which is when cream and sugar come in handy). 

She would always save the leftovers in a jar in the fridge.

 

On hot summer days and nights, they would take that leftover coffee, put it in a blender with ice, sugar and cream (or evaporated milk), and blend it up.  I swear, they invented the frappucino...back in the 1950s!

[liamsaunt]

The weather is going to be really nice this weekend, so we made a last minute decision to come out to Provincetown for the Memorial Day holiday.  The house we have stayed at before was available, so that was nice.  My niece, husband and I came out in the late afternoon and my sister joined us a bit later.  We arrived to discover that the chandelier over the dining room table had fallen from the ceiling and shattered all over the table and dining area.  I am just glad that it happened when no one was at the house!  There were large, thick shards of glass everywhere.  Someone could have been seriously injured.  My niece found a shop vac in the garage and cleaned most of it  up.  Here's the light on the table post clean up attempt. That bag is filled with large pieces of glass.   The property manger came out later and finished cleaning up and moved the light out of the way.  The electricians were here this morning, but it's going to be a bit of a job to fix it, so we agreed that they would come back and deal with it after we check out Tuesday.

 

 

We took it as a sign that we are meant to eat out for this entire visit.  😉

 

Pond view from the house.  There are lots of birds around to watch.

 

 

We could hear a great horned owl hooting while we watched the sunset.

 

 

My niece opted to have takeout sushi and stay at the house to play D+D with her friends while my sister, husband and I went out to a late dinner at Mac's Fish House.  Oysters

 

 

Fried calamari with cherry peppers

 

 

Sister and husband had cocktails

 

 

We were all quite cold so decided to choose the hottest sounding entrees on the menu.  I went with roasted swordfish with mashed potatoes and roasted broccolini

 

 

Sister went for truffled lobster bucatini.  We were surprised that there was cheese on it, but both she and my husband said the dish was delicious

 

 

Husband had roasted halibut with lobster mashed potatoes

 

 

[heidih]

Scary on the chandelier!  All the fish looks wonderful. And the views of course - appreciate the images.

 

Must say I don't like it when the kitchen sauces my calamari - I want control

[lindag]

3 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Sister went for truffled lobster bucatini.  We were surprised that there was cheese on it, but both she and my husband said the dish was delicious

Husband had roasted halibut with lobster mashed potatoes

 

 

 

I am SO envious!

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day.  We decided to go to Herring Cove Beach.  This is one of the National Seashore beaches.  The entry fees seemed more expensive this year--it's $25 for a car, but also $15 for you to walk in or ride a bike in.  I thought the walk/bike fee seemed pretty high.  I thought it was around $3 to walk/bike in just a year or two ago.  Honestly based on where I see the bikes lines up, I think all the walkers and bikers just go on to the beach in another spot to avoid paying at the guard shack.   We have an America the Beautiful pass, so don't have to pay at the gate anyway. It's a bargain if you are here for more than a couple of days, or if you plan to visit almost any other National Park during the year.  

 

 I loved this new art installation at the restroom/snack shack building.  The shark is made entirely from trash found on the beaches--mostly fishing gear with some other stuff sprinkled in. 

 

 

Dead lobster on the beach.  Poor dude.

 

 

There were actually people in the (freezing) water yesterday!  Not us.

 

We went to town and did some shopping.  Here's my haul from one of the bookstores in town.  There are three notebooks in the set: carrots, strawberries, and lettuce.  I forgot my usual journal and should be able to just slot one of these into it when I get home.  The dune shack book is for my Cape Cod book collection.

 

 

Dinner was at Pepe's on the Wharf, one of my husband's favorites.

 

 

Cocktails for husband and sister

 

 

Niece wanted burrata with grilled vegetables for an appetizer.  She ate all of the broccolini, but hates asparagus so gave it all to me.  It was tasty.

 

 

We also ordered some oysters Rockefeller.  These ones were lighter than some others I have had covered with gloopy cheese.

 

 

I had the halibut for dinner.  It was huge.  Husband ate some of it because it was so big.

 

 

Husband ordered the pesto linguini with shrimp.  He said it was very good.

 

 

My sister had the catch of the day (swordfish) with roasted potatoes and arugula salad

 

 

And my niece had the steak frites

 

 

We split a piece of their famous coconut cake for dessert.  The frosting was really good.

 

 

Then back to the beach for sunset.  I could not decide which I liked better, so you get two.

 

 

 

[lindag]

How beautiful!

[kayb]

Two for the keeper file! I marginally like the first on better.

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day.  We decided to go to Herring Cove Beach.  This is one of the National Seashore beaches.  The entry fees seemed more expensive this year--it's $25 for a car, but also $15 for you to walk in or ride a bike in.

And a month and a half ago, I drove in and there wasn’t even a guard! But they were still working on the installation.

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday was another beautiful beach day.  We spent the day walking at Race Point Beach, but I did not take any pictures.  We went in to town for dinner and on a whim decided to check out the Governor Bradford.  This used to be a divey bar, but someone bought it and spiffed it up and changed the menu a year or two ago.  I took some pictures of the rehabbed interior (most people were eating out on the large patio, but my sister wanted to sit inside)

 

 

New menu

 

 

 

Drinks for my husband and sister

 

 

 

Husband's second drink was a beer.  They had a very good beer list, with things like Trillium on tap.  That brewery is only a couple of miles from our house, so he went for a Bissel Brothers IPA on tap.  We visited that brewery when we brought my niece up to Maine for college tours.   I have not had beer in years but remember how much I liked that one.

 

 

 

Appetizers were hake katzu (too heavy on the breading, but very crunchy)

 

 

 

Oyster bao buns. I really liked the pickles in these, but the buns could have been softer

 

 

 

Niece wanted the spicy pork dan dan noodles.  She enjoyed it.

 

 

 

I chose the tuna bolognese.  I prefer the version at Blackfish in Truro (and the version I make at home) but it was acceptable.

 

 

My husband and sister both chose the tuna frites.  They both really enjoyed this.  I snuck a fry and they were nice and crispy.

 

 

Overall we thought it was pretty good, but not sure we will come back, since there are so many other choices in town.  We did hear a couple of tables complaining about the new menu.  We never ate here before the rehab so I'm not sure what it used to be like.  We always thought it was more for drinks and live entertainment (which they still have) than food.

 

 

Dessert was ice cream from Lewis Brothers.  I chose peppermint stick and husband had coffee heath.  

 

 

It was too windy to go to the beach for sunset, so we watched it from the house

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by liamsaunt (log)

[Smithy]

It looks like a fun place. How nice to have so many good choices of places to eat!
 

This "small plate" option made me do a doubletake:

 

Quote

Stuff Cake

fried scallion pancake stuffed with rotating filling

 

I'm sure I know what they mean, but the wording gives me a silly mental image. 😀