Provincetown, the "Outer Cape," and Wellfleet Too

TicTac · May 29, 2023

On 5/27/2023 at 11:26 AM, heidih said:

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

Agreed. Not to mention it ruins the crisp exterior that they worked so hard to (hopefully) achieve!

weinoo · June 15, 2023

Kelly Fields weighs in (via Saveur) on Where to Eat and Drink in Provincetown.

As I may have mentioned previously, Kelly will be making brunch all season at the Crown & Anchor:

Quote

Brunch (Thursday through Sunday) is hosted by yours truly and features a New Orleans-meets-New England menu. Expect my famous biscuits and gravy, plus live drag performances fueled by talent and fantasy.

liamsaunt · July 3, 2023

We are back in Wellfleet for the next 10 days. Right now, it is my husband, my sister, my niece, and me. Later this week, we will be joined by my nephew, who is currently driving cross country to move home from Montana, and two of his three Montana roommates, who came with him to keep him company on the drive. We are staying on the beach in an old historic home, which is good because we won't have to drive much now that we are here. The house is very quirky. Here it is from the beach (I think I have posted this picture here before)

Here's the kitchen area.

Many of the board games up there were donated by us over the years. It's hard to get a spot at this house because it is usually being used by members of the extended family that owns it. It's a great place to hang out, but not a great place to cook, so I think we are going to be eating out most of the time.

Our first dinner, per tradition, had to be at Mac's Shack. They don't take reservations (most places in Wellfleet do not) and the wait was crazy, which seemed odd because we have certainly been here when it is busier. Once we were seated we found out why: they took out at least half of the tables--I assume due to short staffing. Here's the line for the bar. It goes inside and around the bend there.

After 40 (!!!!) minutes in line, my husband and sister returned with their drinks, plus a mocktail for my niece (she is now old enough to drink, but chooses not to.)

All in all, it took about 90 minutes to be seated. Luckily we were not doing anything else that night. Oysters

Spicy tuna mango martini

A maki special of shrimp tempura with striped bass, avocado and aguachile sauce

Fried oyster plate

Seared scallops with green curry sauce, pickled beech mushrooms, bok choy and rice.

Moon over Wellfleet harbor.

Edited July 3, 2023 by liamsaunt
duplicate photo (log)

kayb · July 3, 2023

Sigh. It's nice to be back on Cape Cod.

Senior Sea Kayaker · July 3, 2023

I always enjoy these vicarious tours (and all the seafood).

However I'm very curious about the house. Places like this are fascinating and most likely have an interesting history.

The sides appear to be clad in either aged cedar shakes or shingles, it appears to have a relatively new asphalt shingle roof to match the siding (makes me wonder if the roof was originally cedar shingle) and finally what is the area with the wraparound windows atop the hexagonal central tower and how is it accessed (spiral staircase)?

liamsaunt · July 4, 2023

20 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

I always enjoy these vicarious tours (and all the seafood).

However I'm very curious about the house. Places like this are fascinating and most likely have an interesting history.

The sides appear to be clad in either aged cedar shakes or shingles, it appears to have a relatively new asphalt shingle roof to match the siding (makes me wonder if the roof was originally cedar shingle) and finally what is the area with the wraparound windows atop the hexagonal central tower and how is it accessed (spiral staircase)?

Oh, the history of the house is extremely interesting! It was built by son of the man who was the first major importer of bananas to the continental United States. It was originally built as a changing house and guest accommodations for his family and friends. The roof is newer, I think it was replaced about 10 years ago--but you are right, the siding is cedar shingles. The tower area is a small bedroom accessed by a spiral staircase that goes off of another bedroom. My niece is staying up there but she said I could take a few pictures. The small bedroom

The view

Here's a view of the covered porch at low tide. The boats in the picture belong to this house, and the long rectangles are oyster cages. The oyster farming lease is also owned by the family, but somebody else tends to the actual farming of the oysters.

The porch from outside with the tower and lower bedroom. The closest windows in the photo are the kitchen area.

My sister went over to PB Boulangerie to buy some pastries for the house. A representative sample:

My niece wanted to visit the used bookstore in town, so of course I obliged. The cooking section had an unused copy of 50 chowders, by Jasper White for $10. I almost bought it because my copy is falling apart from overuse. If it's still there next time I visit, I might pick it up.

My sister and niece had tickets for a play last night, so we decided to do an early dinner at the Pearl. It was crowded but not terribly so

While we waited I went for a walk down the pier to look at the osprey nest. They have babies now

Cocktails for my husband and sister. My sister ordered a Cape Cod margarita, and I don't know what my husband's was

We were all starving so ordered some garlic fries to share

and an order of wasabi pea encrusted tuna sashimi

My sister got a cod sandwich. I am not sure how one was supposed to eat those two giant cod filets on a sandwich! She just ate one.

Niece ordered a tuna poke bowl. I had the same thing, but with shrimp

Husband had fish tacos

My husband and I went to the sunset while the others enjoyed the play

Full moon from the porch

kayb · July 4, 2023

Posted 4 minutes ago

ok, this one goes in the “keepers” album. Thanks!

weinoo · July 4, 2023

45 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

It was built by son of the man who was the first major importer of bananas to the continental United States.

A little more...(I like that bookstore, and have probably bought a few used cookbooks there!)

https://provincetownindependent.org/history/2020/07/02/wellfleets-most-famous-son-and-a-fateful-partnership/

TicTac · July 4, 2023

Great shots as usual, @liamsaunt!

The house is indeed quirky - love it; so much character and charm.

Have you guys ever hooked up with local fisherman at the pier to acquire the closest to a 'fresh catch' as one can possibly get?!

heidih · July 4, 2023

Those portions sure are generous. Looks like expert frying. I love wassabi peas and will keep then in mind as a coating.

Thanks for the home tour and story. It is like a fantasy. Oh and that wooden stool/table in the bookstore - need want covet!

liamsaunt · July 5, 2023

On 7/4/2023 at 10:16 AM, TicTac said:

Great shots as usual, @liamsaunt!

The house is indeed quirky - love it; so much character and charm.

Have you guys ever hooked up with local fisherman at the pier to acquire the closest to a 'fresh catch' as one can possibly get?!

We have not. As far as I know, there are no fishermen who sell at the docks in Wellfleet. There is a fish market at the pier, as well as one in town, both of which sell the local catch. There's also a local scallop boat that sells their catch on the side of the road on Wednesdays (I think). I'm not cooking this visit, but will be cooking a lot when we come back to a different house with a better kitchen next month (the range in this one only has one working burner at the moment).

Yesterday was a wash, weather wise and food wise. We had dinner reservations in Provincetown and plans to see the 4th of July fireworks after, but severe thunderstorms made it unsafe to travel. I did call the restaurant a few hours before our reservation, but they still charged a $25 per person fee and marked us a a no show on open table. I can understand the fee, but the no show thing is annoying since I called them and told them we were not coming and why. Oh well. It stopped raining around 9, but I don't know if the fireworks ever happened or not. The fog was awful all night.

We ended up just grabbing food at a place down the street. It was terrible and I am going to forget that we ever ate there! No pictures because I don't want to look at them 😂 We did go to Gelato Joy after for dessert, which salvaged things a bit. Here's the "red white and blue" special gelato for the 4th (sweet cream, blackberry, and strawberry)

We were at home relaxing around 11PM when I heard a car roaring along at high speed and then what sounded like an awful accident on the road right above us. I called 911 but they already knew about it. My husband walked up there this morning, and the driver knocked over two large pine trees and destroyed the entire fence of the house where the trees were. Hopefully the car occupants survived. So basically, it was a bad day.

On to today! It's still foggy, but the weather is set to improve. Here's a view of the tidal marsh taken from the porch

And oyster fishermen working the flats in front of the house in the fog earlier this morning.

liamsaunt · July 6, 2023

Yesterday was a mix of walking, birding, beach, and food. My husband and I went walking over by Marconi station. There are trails that go through a white cedar swamp (mostly dry yesterday)

and then out to the dunes and views

Marconi is the site of the first wireless transmission in the country!

Later we drove up to Provincetown

To have dinner at Pepe's Wharf

Oysters Rockefeller

Crab cake (only OK, but the salad was good)

My niece wanted burrata

And a steak frites

I had blackened swordfish

Sister had cod with tomato stew

and my husband chose halibut

We shared a slice of their famous coconut cake for dessert.

A long walk on Herring Cove beach after helped digest dinner. Unfortunately there was no sunset to speak of due to heavy fog rolling in.

gfweb · July 6, 2023

Crabcake looks like a muffin. Odd

heidih · July 6, 2023

That buratta plate looks good with the vegetables. As always looks like plentiful portions and well done seafood. It is only 7am here and I don't breakfast til 9:30 but I am now super hungry.

weinoo · July 6, 2023

4 hours ago, gfweb said:

Crabcake looks like a muffin. Odd

I have often seen the Sysco truck in Ptown...you be the judge!

liamsaunt · July 7, 2023

Yesterday my niece and I were up before the others so went out to try and get breakfast. We ended up going to PB Boulangerie because my niece had a croissant stuffed with a gruyere omelet and bacon there earlier in the trip, and she wanted another one. Bakery

The line to go inside starts here.

They turn the red traffic light green when it is your turn to go inside and make selections. Despite that very large stoplight, and all the signage at the entrance to the walkway, every time we come here at least one person tries to bypass the line and just walk right in. What do they think the line is for, I wonder? I have no patience for people like that and always tell them to go to the back of the line.

I took a few pictures of the items for sale

My niece's croissant

Lunch was ice cream from PJs. Coffee/black raspberry swirl for my husband, sister, and me

and vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles for my niece

We didn't do much, just walked on the beach. I found this dead baby shark (I think?) on the beach. Not sure what kind it is. EDIT: it's a dogfish

For dinner, we just went back to Mac's. Drinks

Jalepeno yellowtail sashimi

Halibut turadito

spicy tuna mango martini

Big kahuna roll

Big mac roll

Seared tuna with soba noodles

Lazy lobster

No sunset again, due to fog. We will try again tonight.

Edited July 7, 2023 by liamsaunt
shark ID and remove extra photos (log)

**TdeV** · July 7, 2023

I love that traffic light!

liamsaunt · July 8, 2023

Yesterday was another beautiful day on Cape Cod. My husband, niece and I walked down to the pier

Where of course ice cream was had (I actually skipped this one in favor of having gelato after dinner)

We were not sure what to do for dinner, so decided to give Winslow's Tavern another try. We swore we would not eat there again after a series of bad meals last summer, but I guess we lied. Something changed, because last night's dinner was my favorite meal of the trip to date. I took a couple of menu photos

Crush and blush cocktail for my sister and husband

We shared the clams and calamari appetizer special. This was so good!

We also tried the pappa al pomodoro, again very tasty

For dinner, my niece got the pork schnitzel. It was huge! She said it was delicious, but it was too big to finish

My sister and husband got the striped bass. They loved it.

And I had the cod. It was excellent.

No dessert, too full. We will be back for sure.

No sunset again! Too many clouds.

My nephew and two of his three Montana roommates arrived last night for a brief visit to the National Seashore before they all go their separate ways (they have been teaching on the Crow reservation for the past two years, but are all moving back to their home states now). They want to go to Provincetown today to go to Race Point. One of his roommates has never been to the ocean before! Dinner is TBD.

heidih · July 8, 2023

Wow - glad you tried the clams and calmari - that first caught my eye,

liamsaunt · July 9, 2023

Yesterday we took everyone to Provincetown. We went to Race Point, which was very foggy. I found some sea glass. People were actually swimming in the water. Not us. I snapped this picture of shark food--he was about three feet from the shore. Seals were popping up right next to the swimmers.

We also visited my niece's favorite Cape Cod bookstore, Tim's Used Books

And had lunch, ice cream of course, at Lewis' Homemade Ice Cream. No pictures of our choices, it was too chaotic with seven people.

We decided to try our luck and go back to Wellfleet and attempt to park at the Beachcomber for dinner. Even though we had two cars we were able to park right away, and even though they were very busy as usual, there was no wait for a table either. This is extremely unusual. In fact, in all of our years of coming to the Cape, this has NEVER happened before! The town did ban alcohol on the beach for the first time this year, after a series of fights and messes left behind last summer, so maybe that had something to do with it. I don't know (the restaurant can still serve alcohol, and frankly I have no idea how they can police alcohol use on the beach either--they don't have enough police or lifeguards to do that). Whatever the reason, we were happy.

Menu

Oysters

I did not get photos of everything, but here's the stuff that was near me. My niece's steak tip sandwich

Fish sandwich for me

Fried clams to share

Husband's oyster po' boy

My nephew and his roommates are leaving today because the roommates have flights tomorrow, and the rest of us are switching houses, to an antique right in town. Most of the rentals in Wellfleet are week to week only, but we were able to get this one for a few extra days to avoid the terrible Sunday traffic back over the bridge.

rotuts · July 9, 2023

nice looking clams

a favorite of mine. hopefully w bellies

and thank you for the menus.

liamsaunt · July 10, 2023

23 hours ago, rotuts said:

nice looking clams

a favorite of mine. hopefully w bellies

and thank you for the menus.

I don't understand the appeal of clam strips (aka no belly clams). They are not the same thing at all. Plus all of the flavor is in the belly! If I ordered fried calms and got clam strips, I would send them back!

Yesterday, after checking out of the beachfront house and moving in to the antique in town, we needed breakfast. We drove over to the Fox and Crow to see if we could get one of their few parking spaces. Success! We arrived right before all the people you can see in line in this photo.

It's counter service only with a very limited menu at the moment, but they still had their tasty egg sandwich

The house in town is really cute. It's been restored. Some parts have been modernized, like the kitchen and bathrooms, but it still has lots of original features, like the very steep staircases. Here are the front stairs, up to the bedrooms

The back stairs do not have carpet, and you can see the grooves from all of the steps trod over the years

Here are some pictures from town. This building was the original location for Fox and Crow. It's a craft gallery now. The building is as crooked as it looks in the picture. I think it might be sinking in to the ground.

One of the two fish markets in town. This one smokes all different kinds of fish, and it's delicious. They also have an attached farm stand that also sells locally made jams and popsicles. That's the back area.

Walking bridge to Lieutenant Island (there's houses and a beach on the other side of that hill, and a road to drive over also, but it's impassable at high tide)

A better view of the marsh area. This is called Duck Creek. A 16 foot great white shark with a tracker named Catherine swam in here about five years ago. It caused quite the stir.

Niece lobbied very hard for another visit to Mac's Shack for dinner.

Drinks: mocktail of pomegranate juice, mint and soda water for my niece, a gin spin for my sister, soda water for me, and a dirty martini for my husband

Menu pictures for @rotuts

niece wanted the spicy tuna mango martini again. I got one chips' worth, and I think she ate the rest

We also ordered oysters

And tried the maki special

Niece got the salmon poke for dinner

I tried the scallop special

My sister got the scallop dish I had last time

and my husband got the ritz cracker bluefish

Everything was very good.

Duvel · July 10, 2023

5 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

I like the subtle visual reference to @CantCookStillTrys legendary Mining Meals thread …

liamsaunt · July 11, 2023

19 hours ago, Duvel said:

I like the subtle visual reference to @CantCookStillTrys legendary Mining Meals thread …

I wondered if anyone would pick up on that! 😂

Yesterday my niece and I walked down the street to pick up breakfast for everyone

Menu

I decided to just get four different bowls and everyone could pick which one looked the best. Fern

Fuschia

Gold

Violet

It was a pretty tasty start to the day. My niece and I went out after for a long walk around town. We filed up the little free library with books we did not want to bring home and then walked over to see if Herridge had anything new we wanted

Score! Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors. I already have this book, but this one was signed and only $9. I'll give my other copy away.

I love this house. It just sold to new owners a few months ago after being on the market for a very short time.

We went to Provincetown for a very long walk on Herring Cove beach, then to town for shopping. My niece picked up a few things, but I decided to wait until we come back next month. It started pouring rain, so we went back to Wellfleet rather than eating in Provincetown. We returned to Winslow's Tavern (picture taken earlier in the morning, before the rain started)