Provincetown, the "Outer Cape," and Wellfleet Too

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday was gorgeous weather.  My efforts to go for a walk in front of the house were thwarted by the tide.  That temporary moat at the bottom of the stairs was waist deep (I saw someone else walking though it) and the water is way too cold for me to submerge myself that far!

 

 

After my husband finished his work day, we drove to Provincetown to have dinner at Mews.  Menu

 

 

We had looked at the menu the night before and knew that we wanted to share the crab terrine for an appetizer.  However, they also had a special of tuna tartare.  What to do...order both of course!  Crab

 

 

Tuna (with seaweed salad, mango salsa, and wasabi aioli)

 

 

They were both very good, but I gave the slight edge to the crab, and my husband preferred the tuna.  

 

My husband opted for the catch of the day, which was halibut with a balsamic, wild mushroom, and onion reduction.

 

 

i had the miso cod.  

 

 

and for dessert, we shared a mocha pannacotta

 

 

Everything was lovely.  I do think Mews is one of the better restaurants out here.

 

After dinner we went to Herring Cove to catch the very tail end of the sunset and go for a long walk to help digest dinner.

 

 

Another beautiful day on Cape Cod comes to a close

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by liamsaunt (log)

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday we went to PB Boulangerie and Bistro in Wellfleet for dinner.  We go to the bakery all the time but had not been back to the bistro for many years--definitely not since the pandemic.  A few years ago they switched to a three course prix fixe menu, and I often find prix fixe setups to be way too much food.  The menu had a lot of options. 

 

 

They started us off with an amuse bouche of a seafood sausage made from scallops, monkfish and cod with a tomato sauce.  

 

 

They also brought out a large bread basket with a sampling of breads from the bakery, with a plate of olive oil, butter, and salt.  It looked delicious, but since I have already had all of their breads, I tried to avoid that to save room for the meal.

 

For first course, I chose a U10 scallop with spinach salad and pomegranate seeds.  Husband had oysters gratineed with spinach.  Based on the menu desciption, I thought the dish was going to be one large-dish scallop with a small salad.  Nope...

 

 

It was really delicious, but this is as much food as I would eat for an entire dinner!  This is always what happens to me at prix fixe meals, sigh...   Meanwhile, my husband's oyster serving was very large too, but he knew that it would be.

 

 

He said they were perhaps a bit overstuffed with spinach, but very good.

 

For mains I chose the sole, which was very delicious, but again, too large!  It turned out to be OK though, because I ended up sharing with my husband.

 

 

He ordered the lobster pasta, which was really not that good.  The pasta was badly undercooked, and the lobster was overcooked and chewy.  Too bad, because it looked pretty.  He ate a little bit of it and then we shared my main course.

 

 

There was a snafu with desserts.  You order your whole meal at the beginning, and I chose the crepes suzette, while husband chose the floating island. Something was going on with my crepes, but I don't know what the issue was.  It took 45 minutes to get our desserts.  Finally, they bought out my husband's dessert, along with a free, second dessert for me while we continued to wait for the crepes.  I wish they had said something first, because I was so full I would have been fine with skipping dessert entirely.  Husband's floating island (he said it was delicious)

 

 

Free chocolate mousse (we both tasted it, but then had them pack the rest up to go)

 

 

And finally, the long awaited crepes Suzette. They were very nice, but I was too full to eat them.  My husband asked for them to be packed to go for his breakfast 🙂

 

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

very interesting menus

 

 

thank you for sharing.

 

 

[liamsaunt]

Last day of Wellfleet dining for this visit.  I lost Thursday to a terrible migraine.  I only get them rarely (the last one was almost two years ago) but when I do, they are completely debilitating.  I thought I had kicked it before dinner, but it came back with a vegenance after the first course, and we had to leave.  Luckily, the restaurant kindly allowed us to come back last night (they book up well in advance), and squeezed a table in to the corner for us. It was so nice of them.  After 14 hours of sleep, and a reset, we returned for the Ceraldi menu for Friday evening

 

 

They offer a wine pairing or a soft beverage pairing with the meal (or just water of course).  My husband did the wine and I did the soft pairing.  I thought the soft pairing was by far the best I have ever had at any restaurant.  Sometimes they are too sweet, or just too odd, but this one worked perfectly.  There was a lavender lemonade to start that I forgot to take a picture of.  First course, oyster three ways, paired with a lemon spritz

 

 

 

 

The second course was a salad, and I honestly think it was my favorite of the evening. The candied walnuts were amazing.  

This was paired with a hibiscus iced tea.  They left the speck off my salad, since I don't really eat meat.

 

 

Husband's salad, with speck

 

 

Cucumber gazpacho with local lobster

 

 

Paired with a lemon tonic

 

 

The next course was eggplant and it was completely delicious--incredibly creamy.

 

 

Paired with another chilled tea

 

 

The fifth course was halibut, with a romesco sauce and a leek pudding.  Incredible, and just the right portion size.  This was paired with a green tea.

 

 

 

At this point, I was full.  Two courses left.  If we were not going home this morning, I would have had them packed to go.  The risotto was a wild mushroom topped with parmesan foam.  It was pretty dark at this point, so the picture did not come out, but I did get a picture of the pairing, which was a tonic made with balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.  It sounded really weird, but worked well to cut the richness of the risotto (what I could eat of it).  

 

 

Dessert was a small cannoli stuffed with chocolate mousse.  Again, too dark for food photos.  Restaurant interior:

 

 

And that's it, until we come back for Oysterfest weekend next month.  I am always grateful for the peaceful times we are able to spend in this beautiful, fragile place.  

 

 

[rotuts]

thank you for taking us along.

[Okanagancook]

Excellent trip reporting.  Thank you.

[TdeV]

Lovely adventure for us reading your posts. Thank you. Again.

[Duvel]

6 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

 

 

Is serving drinks in labware „a thing“ ?

 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Duvel (log)

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Is serving drinks in labware „a thing“ ?

 

 

Labware maybe but that clamp thing looks odd.  The N/A flavor combinations do sound interesting.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Is serving drinks in labware „a thing“ ?

 

Let's hope not.

 

A few places here (NYC) use some labware as mixing glasses, but I've not seen any of it used for serving.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

2 hours ago, heidih said:

Labware maybe but that clamp thing looks odd.  The N/A flavor combinations do sound interesting.

The 'clamp thing' appears to be part of a standard old school lab apparatus used when conducting dissections of small objects (such as lab mice, examining petri dish cultures....etc...) as evidenced by the magnifying lens and the retort base.

As an aside this apparatus is the ideal tool for tying flies.

Maybe it's 'cool' but if I was served a drink in a lab beaker I'd be about as happy if they started serving drinks in urine sample bottles.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

 

Let's hope not.

 

A few places here (NYC) use some labware as mixing glasses, but I've not seen any of it used for serving.

 

NIH served coffee in beakers, at least in the 1960's.

 

I use labware for my orgeat and for louching absinthe, although I almost always sip my absinthe neat.  Plus I am out of absinthe* and I'm not sure where the funnel is.

 

 

*but I found a practically full bottle of Pastis de Marseille.

 

[gfweb]

@Senior Sea Kayaker I don't think that those alligator clips would hold a hook securely, but I like the way you are thinking.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

9 minutes ago, gfweb said:

@Senior Sea Kayaker I don't think that those alligator clips would hold a hook securely, but I like the way you are thinking.

I'm looking at this as a separate apparatus that was used for any task that needed magnification.

A stand alone fly tying clamp would also be necessary.

 

[blue_dolphin]

34 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

I'm looking at this as a separate apparatus that was used for any task that needed magnification.

A stand alone fly tying clamp would also be necessary.

 

Fly tying was my first thought, as this one is described but you are quite correct that it's really a general purpose "helping hands (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)" sort of thing. 

 

Edited to add that with all these stunning food and drink photos, I can't believe I'm choosing to comment on a piece of vintage table decor 🙄

Thanks, @liamsaunt, for taking us along on these marvelous trips!

Edited September 10, 2023 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

16 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Fly tying was my first thought, as this one is described but you are quite correct that it's really a general purpose "helping hands (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)" sort of thing. 

 

Edited to add that with all these stunning food and drink photos, I can't believe I'm choosing to comment on a piece of vintage table decor 🙄

Thanks, @liamsaunt, for taking us along on these marvelous trips!

 

You're right. I saw this as a cobbled together piece of old labware. I can only blame it on the perspective.

And thanks to @liamsaunt for the virtual tour.

 

[MetsFan5]

I’m pretty stupid— I thought the apartatus was to help make sun tea. 
 

Thanks for taking us with you on your trip! Gorgeous as always! @liamsaunt

Edited September 10, 2023 by MetsFan5 (log)

[liamsaunt]

The decorative lab ware things have been on the tables since we started dining here (10 years ago, maybe?)  As far as the beaker "glasses" for the iced teas, it did not really bother me. I did prefer drinking from the stemmed glasses when those were offered, just because they are easier to hold and feel nicer.   I guess if the wine was served in a beaker, that could be quite problematic, but they were always presented in proper stemware.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

There may be a market for a graduated wineglass.

 

[gfweb]

12 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

There may be a market for a graduated wineglass.

 

 

Why?

 

Full is full.

[Duvel]

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

There may be a market for a graduated wineglass.

 

[johnnyd]

liamsaunt

Those plates are works of art. Thank you for sharing wonderful photos of your trip  🙂

[liamsaunt]

We are back in Wellfleet for a few more days.  We are staying at that marsh house I have shown pictures of before.

 

 

 It's walkable to town, which is great, because we are here for this weekend's Wellfleet OysterFest.  My husband and I have tickets for both days, and today, my sister, nephew, and brother in law are joining us today only.  The fest started at 10 AM, and we are walking over in about half an hour.  I have already seen photos, and it looks pretty packed, so I am not sure how long we are going to manage to stay.  This is our first OysterFest since Covid. We came in last night and had our usual opening dinner at Mac's Shack.  Drinks

 

 

Nephew wanted some oysters

 

 

and a spicy tuna roll

 

 

The rest of us shared some jalepeno yellowtail and halibut turadito

 

 

Sister ordered fried clams

 

 

Nephew and husband both ordered Ritz cracker crusted bluefish with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach

 

 

and I had a grilled swordfish special with a butternut squash and chickpea stew.  This was excellent, and I ordered another one to go for my brother in law, who was arriving later in the evening.  He concurred that it was excellent.

 

 

Hopefully I will have some pictures from the OysterFest to share later.  Sunday is always quieter and less crowded than Saturday (today is sold out), so I might have more luck tomorrow.  We will see.

[liamsaunt]

As expected, OysterFest was extremely crowded.  We did manage to sample a few things.  An oyster booth

 

 

Main stage for the shucking competition.  My husband and I are going over in a bit to watch the finals.  We could not get close to the stage yesterday.

 

 

Oysters (of course)

 

 

Fried oysters and fried clams 

 

 

Scallop stuffie (I thought this was mushy but my husband's brother liked it and finished it)

 

 

More fried oysters

 

 

 

Salted caramel ice cream (not the best)

 

 

My nephew cannot have a lot of the food at the festival because of his crustacean allergy.  There was one food truck that didn't have any lobster or shrimp, so we stood in line there (for an extremely long time) and then waited for a very long time for the food to come out.  After an hour, he got these things to try: pretzels, chili dog, and churros. 

 

 

Mac's Seafood was selling fried lobster tails

 

 

and oyster rolls.  Those were all enjoyed.

 

 

All the beverages were in cans this year.  They used to have free water filling stations, but not this year.  Maybe because of covid, I don't know.  They did let me bring in my Yeti filled with water though.  My sister had a rose from a local vineyard.

 

 

and nephew had more oysters, just because

 

 

I tried a mushroom, kale and butternut squash galette from the vegetarian booth.  It was pretty bland. It reminded me of something I would have made in college when all of my recipes came from the Moosewood Cookbook

 

 

Beer drinking is a big thing for some at OysterFest of course

 

 

Post festival my husband and I stopped by Gelato Joy for an affogato and a mint gelato

 

 

Later that night, everyone but my nephew went out to dinner at the Pearl.  He was not too hungry and wanted to relax at the house, so asked me to bring him back takeout....

 

Drinks

 

 

I got a salad with grilled salmon

 

 

Husband had a lobster roll.  He was not too hungry so just ate the lobster out of it.

 

 

Sister had scallops

 

 

and brother in law had cod

 

 

For my nephew, I ordered a chicken pesto alfredo penne to go, and mentioned his allergy, which the waitress noted on the ticket.  The meal came out in a brown bag and I did not check it before leaving.  We got home, opened the bag, and found this!

 

 

Chicken pesto alfredo penne WITH lobster and shrimp!  What the heck?  I checked the bill and it was listed as chicken, and they only charged us for the chicken dish.  All I can think of is that the kitchen misread the "allergy" on the ticket as "add"?  Maybe?  Luckily he was not very hungry, and just ate some gelato that I had picked up at Gelato Joy earlier.  Crazy.

 

 

[TdeV]

That Chicken pesto alfredo penne WITH lobster and shrimp sure looks good though. Won't go to waste, I hope!